Top honchos need to find ways to let the steam out

Begumpet: NVS Reddy, Managing Director, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) says ambitious entrepreneurs are lonely at the top and are generally reluctant to share their problems with colleagues and family members and this sometimes results in sudden explosion and suicidal tendencies, unless they develop a safety valve mechanism to let the steam out.

Citing Café Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha's recent suicide instance, HMRL MD enlightened a big gathering of businessmen and professionals belonging to the Rotary Clubs of twin cities on "Failure Management in Leadership During Crisis" here on Wednesday.

Explaining how extreme passion, impractical goals, high expectations and social pressure can put tremendous pressure on business leaders and high-profile project managers, he emphasised on the need for maintaining emotional balance and equanimity while tackling adversities in business and life.

Giving examples from his own experience of leading a high pressure and extremely tough Metro Rail project with a host of problems in the form of daily agitations, innumerable court cases, religious and other sensitive issues, encroachments, threats and attacks by vested interests, the MD explained how he tackled the problems and converted a "written off" PPP Metro Rail project into a reality and success. Courage of conviction, strict personal discipline, communication and negotiation skills; maintaining cool and calm demeanor and not getting provoked even by defamatory remarks, effigy burning and personal insults have helped, he added.

The MD SAID he maintained the spirit of his team members high even during the Maytas failure episode and the initial period of agitations against the project by constantly giving motivational lectures, to them. He stated that enormous patience, perseverance, tact and equanimity ultimately yielded a world class Metro Rail project and that it will aid in Hyderabad becoming a global city in the years to come.

Rtn. K Mohan Rayudu, President, Secunderabad Rotary Club, Marri Ravinder Reddy, past governor, Rotary Clubs in twin cities, and other Rotarians were present at the meet.