Learning Management from Rahul Dravid. Part 2

It was my privilege to host and interview InCred’s Brand Ambassador Rahul Dravid a couple of weeks ago. This was at an event for our partners at the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) clubhouse. ?

?I’d done a similar event about a year ago (the write up is here), and if anything, this evening was even better. Rahul was even more relaxed and candid, the MCA clubhouse is more steeped in cricket culture than the St Regis, colleagues who play for InCred’s team had a memorable net session with India’s reigning coach. We covered a lot of the same ground as last year; the basics of cricket and our memories of Rahul’s glittering career haven’t changed. But the game has moved on. There was plenty of new material to talk about.

As was the case last year, Rahul didn’t just support our brand, he doubled up as our favourite management guru. I found sound management principles in most of the cricketing insights that Rahul shared with us, insights that we’re bringing to life at InCred.

Here are some of Rahul’s thoughts, and InCred’s interpretation of what they mean for business:

1.?????? On Bazball

Perhaps the biggest recent change in cricket is the emergence of Bazball, the ultra-attacking style of play that Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have brought to England, to dramatically turn around the team’s fortunes. My question to Rahul was “Is India going to play Bazball?”

Rahul’s answer was more nuanced than a yes/no.

?In his view, India have always attacked hard when we’ve needed to, and that England play defence when the situation demands it, even in the Bazball era. Yes, the game is more attacking now because player skills have evolved. But committing to relentless attack in all circumstances is neither intelligent, nor what England actually does on the field.

Rahul was sceptical Bazball would work in Indian conditions, say, when England tour India this winter. He didn’t actually say, “Bring It On”. But he does not expect Bazball to win this winter, or even for England to adopt the same style of play in India that they do in Old Blighty. The right balance of attack and defence depends on the playing conditions, the match situation, and the skills and chemistry of the individual players out in the middle.

At InCred, we couldn’t agree more. We’ve seen so many peers in the FinTech/ NBFC ecosystem flame out because they were too aggressive on risk or get stuck in quagmire because they weren’t aggressive enough on growth. At InCred, we know that finding the right balance between attack and defence requires constant re-calibration to changing conditions, that situational alertness and flexible thinking are what it takes to win. The kind of rigid doctrine that Bazball suggests can only end badly.

2.?????? On India’s Emerging Cricket Centres

A very interesting audience question was “What is behind the rise of India’s non-traditional cricket centres?”. Rahul loved the question and answered enthusiastically. The top three factors he called out were:

i. The improving facilities in secondary centres. For example, when he was growing up in Bangalore, one of India’s premier cities and cricket powerhouses, turf wickets were rare. He learnt to bat on matting. Now it is common to find several good turf wickets not just in Bangalore or Mumbai, but even in small towns in the hinterland??

ii. The quality of TV coverage and commentary. Today’s youngsters can watch their heroes in zoomed-in slow-motion, they can listen to some of the world’s greatest players analysing technique and tactics. This access-to-information dramatically reduces the gap between young players in the best big-city clubs/ schools and everybody else

iii. Mindset. Youngsters from small towns have seen players like themselves succeed. The last three Ranji Trophy winners were Saurashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha. None of these are teams is based in a top-tier metro. Of course, Mumbai and Karnataka are still competitive. But now, the small-town players and teams believe they can win. That was not the case a generation ago.

?At InCred, our business strategy is all about serving India’s emerging middle class, who, like India’s cricket talent, are widely distributed across both metros and a vast number of small towns.

InCred now distributes and collects in India’s top 100 cities. It is a matter of time before we cover all Indian cities. We’re proud to offer the same product features and customer experience in every location we serve. That pride owes something to our admiration for MS Dhoni from Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Shubhman Gill from Fazilka, Punjab.

3.?????? On Coaching Outstanding Players

As India’s head coach, Rahul coaches players like Virat Kohli and R Ashwin, who are among the most accomplished the game has ever seen. I asked him how he adds value to players of such stature.

Last year, Rahul talked about how his role is to create a team environment that allows these stars to shine. This year, Rahul talked about how he pushes even the best players to keep innovating to get out of their comfort zone.

I found this fascinating: the world’s best players at the top of their game are constantly being pushed to improve. On the one hand, Rahul doesn’t want to change a big player’s game too much, one could spoil the magic which got him this far. On the other hand, standing still is not an option. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse, losing your edge.

This approach is captured at InCred in one of our core values: Continuous Improvement. This value comes from the same place as Rahul Dravid nudging outstanding players to get out of their comfort zone, even while safeguarding the good things that got them this far. Like the balance between attack and defence, the balance between more-of-the-same and try-something-new is never obvious. But it always needs to be found, with situational intelligence and flexible thinking.

4.?????? On Getting the Basics Right

This year, Rahul Dravid spent time in the nets with our guests, giving them tips on their batting and bowling. Some were beginners, figuring out how to hold the bat. Others were accomplished players, like Jay Bhoir, a former Mumbai junior who is now InCred’s on-field captain.?

What was interesting was that Rahul offered much the same advice to everyone who played. It was variations on the themes of “watch the ball from the bowler’s hand”, “keep your head still”, “get fully forward or get right back”, “watch the point where you want to land the ball”.

What I learnt from this is that the basics are the same at all levels. There is no such thing as knowing the basics too well.

At InCred, our interpretation is our success too is about getting the basics right. The most important drivers of our success are the simplest: play in the right product segments, hire and invest in the best people, deliver strong customer value propositions, keep credit risk tight, focus on profitability. It’s not rocket science. But it is hard to do, and worth thinking hard about.

5.?????? On Concentration

Another interesting question from the audience was “What is the secret behind your powers of concentration?”.

Rahul laughed and answered, “if I could put that secret ingredient for concentration in a little blue pill and sell it, I’d be a billionaire.” But jokes apart, he also gave us a little insight into his mental game. He said, and I paraphrase, “when the bowler gets into his delivery stride, I shut off all other thoughts and just focus one thing: watching the ball.”

A player of Dravid’s intelligence is clearly thinking about a lot of different factors every time he takes strike – the match situation, his role in the team, the state of the pitch, the bowler’s special weapons, seam and swing movement, technical adjustments he is making, his batting partner’s needs, the opposing captain’s field placements, the last ball he faced – a lot of stuff. Regardless, what Dravid does is push all those complex thoughts into his subconscious. Or into his muscle memory. His attention, his consciousness, his awareness, these faculties are focused on just one ultra simple micro thing: watch the ball. Intently. From the bowler’s hand all the way to his bat. Everything else is noise. Distraction.?

My interpretation is that that businesses can learn a lot from Dravid’s intense concentration. The lesson is not about where to play (InCred is a highly diversified group, this choice has worked well for us) but about how to play.

Specifically, it is about making a very clear distinction between Design and Execution. All InCred’s products and business processes are based on design thinking. Every feature starts at the Design stage. At this early stage all ideas and options are on the table and up for grabs. Stakeholders are encouraged to contribute lateral or divergent thoughts and challenge the status quo.?

Further along the journey, a single design is chosen for Development and Execution. The chosen design is inevitably imperfect. When that design is chosen, the dozens of good options that were considered at the Design stage must be forgotten. The entire team’s energies must be behind that one preferred but still imperfect option that we choose to execute. Talking about pet ideas that were killed in Design is not allowed.

This isn’t easy, especially because the same people executing the current release are usually involved in designing the next generation of every product/ process. But it is vital. Regurgitating Design stage questions in an Execution context can be as distracting as chit-chat with silly point when the bowler is about to release.

BTW, I’ve known this same insight in my US days with the American Football phrase “Play the play that’s called”. Coming up with better ideas is great. Coming up with better ideas after the coach has called the play is a crime.

6.?????? On being a Brand Ambassador. Or a leader. Or a gentleman.

The most important insight I took away from this year’s event was about what it means to be a leader, or a gentleman.

This insight came to the surface when I asked Dravid, “Of the brands you’ve supported over the years, which is your second favourite after InCred?”. Rahul read the spin on that ball perfectly, got right to the pitch, and played it back through the “V” saying, “InCred is a great company… great bunch of people to be associated with…the number of lives you’ve touched, the number of people who have benefited from your work …congratulations to everyone at InCred…long may our association continue”. Amen.

Rahul paused, and then went on to reflect on how he enjoys being a brand ambassador because it gets him out of the cricket bubble, gives him a chance to meet people from different walks of life, understand their worlds and the work that they get to do.

It wasn’t until later that evening that the importance of that little riff - about enjoying being a brand ambassador and meeting people from different walks of life – sunk in. Those words aren’t empty. Rahul Dravid meant it. He is genuinely interested in people who don’t live in his bubble.

This came through after the event when a few InCred colleagues and I sat down for dinner with Rahul. We would have been quite happy to sit back and listen to more cricket stories from Dravid’s glorious playing days, or about the current Indian team. But Rahul switched the conversation track to our work life, by asking about InCred’s business, recent milestones, our growth plans, our business model, how we differentiate ourselves. Rahul listened intently, was interested in our answers, and asked relevant follow-on questions. That encouraged us to say even more about InCred.

It's hard to overemphasize how unusual that dinner table conversation was.

At the table was one of India’s most beloved and celebrated sons, the warrior-hero of Kolkata 2001, the dragon slayer of Adelaide 2003, India’s victorious captain in England 2007, head coach of India’s national team, Padma Bhushan Rahul Dravid. Also at the table were us corporate apparatchiks from a mid-sized NBFC. And the corporate apparatchiks were doing most of the talking. The conversation Dravid wanted to have was about how Saurabh Jhalaria and I grow our businesses without increasing credit risk, rather than about how he outwitted Shane Warne, or was feted at Rashtrapati Bhavan, or other glories of his past. Saurabh Jhalaria and I came away from that dinner table floating on cloud nine, feeling as accomplished as Dravid himself, because of the attention and consideration Dravid gave us.?

There is an important lesson there for InCred. Being a leader, or even a gentleman, is not about barking orders, or telling self-congratulatory stories. It is about elevating the people around you, by giving them your time and attention, regardless of whether you’ve anything to gain from them. I found this especially valuable because Rahul wasn’t even with us as a Leadership/ Communication/ Life coach. He teaches leadership by just being himself.

In conclusion, we are proud and happy that our Brand Ambassador Rahul Dravid so powerfully embodies our values. We look forward to working together for many more years.

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PS: I now know that learning about management, leadership or strategy from cricket is kosher. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, said in a podcast with Adam Grant that he learnt everything he knows from cricket. That is a school I’m proud to have attended :).

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