Lessons in Entrepreneurship from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam [Happy Birthday Sir!]

Defeat the Problem and Succeed!

If you're on a new mission or a complex task, you should also expect to experience equally challenging problems. You should not allow the problem to become your captain. You should become the captain of the problem, defeat the problem and succeed.

These were the words Abdul Kalam's professor gave him once and he's followed them throughout his life and is also what he suggests to young entrepreneurs. "This may be true for everyone of you in the decision making process, venture capital acquisition, equipment procurement, commissioning equipment, paying back large loans, acquisition of human resource, training of human resource, marketing of your products and everyone of your day-to-day activities as an entrepreneur. Till you break even and start making profit, you will have to have a willpower which is stronger than diamond. I am sure, you will develop this trait and become a very successful entrepreneur. Let me now discuss the law of development which should be known to every entrepreneur," says Dr. Kalam.

Competition and the Law Of Development

The world has few developed countries and many developing countries. What is the dynamics between them and what connects them? A developed country has to market their products in a competitive way to different countries to remain as developed country. The developing country to get transformed into developed country; they too have to market their products to other countries in a competitive way. " Competitiveness is the common driving factors between the two types of nations," mentioned Dr. Kalam.

Competitiveness has three dimensions: quality of the product, cost effectiveness and product is in the market just-in-time. Indeed this dynamics of competitiveness in marketing of products by developing and developed countries is the law of development. There is a relationship between the core competence and the competitiveness of the country or the enterprise. Such a law applies to all the enterprises.

During his talk on entrepreneurship, he said- Profit with integrity leads to sustained growth. How is it possible? We need to have National ethics for sustained growth and peace. Where from it starts?

• Nation has to have ethics in all its tasks, for sustained economic prosperity and peace.
• If nation is to have ethics; society has to promote ethics and value system.
• If society is to have ethics and value system, families should adhere to ethics and value system;
• If families have to get evolved with ethics and value system, parenthood should have inbuilt ethics.
• Parental ethics come from great learning, value based education and creation of clean environment that leads to righteousness in the heart.

"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds, your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, you will find yourself in a new great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be."

Happy Birthday Dr. Abdul Kalam!