THE LEGENDARY JOURNEY OF

Dhirubhai Ambani

Life story often known as

“Rags to Riches”

• Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani

• Born on 28th Dec 1932 in Chorwad, Gujarat.

• Lived an undefeatable life.

• Died on 6th July 2002.

A Legendary Entrepreneur

“Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s

monopoly”- DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• Always determined to do what he wanted to do, in exactly the way he wanted it done.

• He sold ‘Bhajjias’ to pilgrims on Mount Girnar during his childhood.

• Dhirubhai campaigned for the Socialists and thus became the secretary of Junagarh Students Union.

• After completing his matriculation at the age of 17 years he moved to Aden, Yemen to support his family.

• Started working with A. Besse & Co. as a dispatch clerk.

A Villager

“Don’t give up , courage is my conviction.”- DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• He always looked for an opportunity.• Temptation towards speculation.• Melted rials into pure silver and sold it to the

bullion traders in London.• He first sent to the commodities trading section &

later, transferred to the section that handled petroleum products for the oil giant Shell.

• Moved in India to become an Entrepreneur in 1958.

A Visionary

"You do not require an invitation to make profits.“- DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• Founded Reliance Commercial Corp. with cousin Champaklal Damani with initial capital of Rs.15,000 in 1959.

• Dhirubhai sets up spinning mill near Ahmedabad on capital of Rs. 15 lakhs in 1966.

• In 1977 Reliance Textile Industries issued IPO, 58000 investors participated.

• Dhirubhai sets up Reliance Petroleum at Jamnagar in 1988.

• In 2000 World's largest refinery complex was commissioned at Jamnagar.

A Winner

"If you work with determination and with perfection, success will follow.“

- DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

Autocratic

Democratic

Free Rein

(Dhirubhai)

Leadership Style

• Dhirubhai followed an ‘’open-door policy’’.Employees could walk into his cabin and discuss their problems with him.

• He was always inviting people into sharing their thoughts and ideas, rather than shutting them out.

• Always there for his team and brought around confidence in them. Famously known as ‘Arm-around-the-shoulder’ - leader.

• People s did much more than their capacities since they had trust on him, and that they had him on their side.

The People’s Man

“WE BET ON PEOPLE”- DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

The Helper

• When things went wrong, he was the first person to sense that the circumstances would have been beyond his team's control, rather than it being a slip on their part.

• His first instinct was always to join his men in putting out the fire and not crucifying them for it.

The Helper

“Give the youth a proper environment. Motivate them. Extend them the support they need. Each one of them has infinite

source of energy. They will deliver.” - DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• Using his connections in Aden, he exported a wide range of commodities to Aden.

• To promote Vimal he launched Advertising program, toured the entire country intensively offering franchises to shareholders.

• Dhirubhai managed to create favorable centers in all the important areas among the bureaucrats, the ruling politicians, as well as the media.

The Network strategist

“Business is nothing but a web of relationships and obligations” - DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• Received complains from the foreign exporters of which he offered to forego payments, thus build a trust among exporters and orders started growing.

• Dhirubhai faced resistance from cloth merchants, so he decided to open his own showroom named Vimal.

• Dhirubhai announced the buy back scheme when the polyester which he produced started loosing its demand.

The Problem solver

"Pursue your goals even in the face of difficulties, and convert adversities into opportunities.“ - DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

DHIRUBHAISMSFIVE MANAGEMENT LESSONS

From DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• He gently asked his employees if They needed any help in combating the problems they faced.

• Knowledge that he knew and cared for what his team was going through, and that he was there for them if they needed him.“He gave courage which we never knew we had”

1. Be a safety net for your team.

• Dhirubhai's "orbit theory."

• When you change orbits, you will create friction. The good news is that your enemies from your previous orbit will never be able to reach you in your new one. By the time resentment builds up in your new orbit, you should move to the next level….

“Changing orbits is the key to

our progress as a nation”.-DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

2. Change your orbit, constantly!

• Whenever a task seemed too big to be accomplished, he would reply: " No is no answer!" Not only did he dream big, he taught all of us to do so too.

• His favorite phrase “Dream with your eyes open"

"It's difficult but not impossible!“

-DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

3. Dream big, but dream with your eyes open.

• He did not breathe a word about profits, nor about becoming the richest

• A by-product is something that you don't set out to produce. It is the spin off when you create something larger.

4. Money is not a product by itself, it is a by-product, so don't chase it

"If you work with determination and with perfection, success will

follow.“-DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• He was not an MBA nor an economist. But yet he took traditional market theory and stood it on its head and succeeded.

• When everyone in India would build capacities only after a careful study of market, he went full steam ahead and created giants of manufacturing plants with unbelievable capacities.

5. Theory of Supply creating Demand

“Our dreams have to be bigger. Our

ambitions higher”.-DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

• (DA-IICT)- Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology - at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

• Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and medical research Institute in Mumbai.

• Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai.• He has established a sanatorium at Chorwad, Gujarat,

for the use of patients needing change of climate and recuperation.

• Dwarka, a religious destination near Jamnagar, has been a centre of attraction not only for pilgrims of the country but also for archaeologists, historians and tourists from all over the world. Relia

Works Towards Society

• Dhirubhai Ambani proved to be A King in his Diversification.

• RIL is now India's largest Private Sector with turnover over US$19.976 billion backed by a profit over US$2.03 billion.

• 25% of share holders in India own a RIL Script.

• Fortune Global 500 featured RIL in 342nd rank in 2006. Forbes Global featured RIL at 295 spot in 2000.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Chemtech and Chemical Engg. World gave the" Man of the Century " award in Nov 2000 to Dhirubhai Ambani.

• Dhirubhai won the " Dean's Medal " of  Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in June 1998 for " Outstanding Leadership “.

• FICCI conferred the title " Man of 20th century " to Dhirubhai Ambani in 2000.

• Times Of India in 2000 voted Dhirubhai Ambani as the greatest creator of wealth in the country.

LISTS GOES ON…….

"Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambitions

higher. Our commitment deeper. And our efforts

greater. This is my dream for Reliance and for

India.“

- DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

THANK YOU