[0:00]It's 1987, and the younger of Anand Mahindra's two daughters is just one year old. The little one has an unfortunate accident. What happens next taught Anand a huge lesson. A lesson that all of us can benefit from without going through what he went through. The video of Anand telling this story at the Fourth Annual Atal Bihari Vajpayee Lecture in New Delhi, a few days ago, is currently viral over social media. So, many of you may have seen it. This video is for those who have not. Hi, welcome back to Stories At Work, a series where I share real stories from across the world that you can use when you want to drive home a business point. Our website www.storyworks.in already has over a hundred stories and we are adding one every week. Let's start today's story.
[1:09]In the year 1987, Anand Mahindra found himself navigating a parent's nightmare. His younger daughter, who was barely a year old, had just started walking, encountered a dangerous situation. She happened to grab a small glass vial of medicine that was placed on a low-lying table. Unfortunately, she fell while holding it, and a tiny shard of glass from the broken vial caused a deep cut on one of her fingers, severing a tendon. The severity of the injury necessitated expert attention, and Anand was advised to urgently take his daughter to London to consult with a specialist in microsurgery. Anand and his family promptly flew to London, where the microsurgeon performed a very delicate operation. Post-surgery, his daughter's hand was encased in a cast to safeguard the repair and to foster the healing process. The cast had to stay on for a month. After enduring a month filled of anxious anticipation in London, the day finally arrived to remove the cast. The removal brought about a wave of shock and horror both to the family and the surgeon, as they discovered that the finger remained rigid, it just wouldn't bend; the surgery had not succeeded in restoring its movement. In the wake of this disappointment, it was suggested that Anand seek the expertise of another microsurgeon based in Paris, Dr. Gleschenstein. Upon arriving at the Parisian clinic, Dr. Gleschenstein examined the young girl and, after a brief assessment, posed a question that caught Anand off guard: "Why haven't you consulted Dr. Joshi?" he asked. Anand was perplexed and replied, "I'm sorry. Excuse me. Who's that?" That's when Anand learned that one of the world's finest hand surgeons was based in India. His name was Dr. Joshi. The Parisian doctor emphasized that due to the unfortunate prevalence of hand injuries in India, Dr. Joshi had amassed an unparalleled breadth of experience. Dr. Gleschenstein then provided Anand with Dr. Joshi's contact information, revealing that his clinic was located in Worli, Mumbai - astonishingly, just ten minutes away from Anand's office at the Mahindra Towers. With a mix of relief and a renewed sense of hope, Anand and his family returned to India and consulted Dr. Joshi. The following day, Dr. Joshi performed surgery on the young girl. He explained to Anand that the key to successful hand surgery wasn't merely the process of surgery itself but also the complex recovery phase. He detailed how scar tissue, while essential for healing, could inhibit movement if not managed correctly. So the trick, Dr. Joshi explained, lay in retaining the flexibility of the finger even while the scar tissue was forming. Dr. Joshi employed a remarkably simple yet effective technique. After the surgery, he affixed a small metal eyehook to the tiny fingernail of the injured finger of the little girl. A kind of hook you find on a blouse. Another eyehook was secured onto the bandage wrapped around the girl's wrist, positioned opposite the first eyehole on the top of the finger. An ordinary elastic band was then stretched between the two hooks, allowing for minimal movement during the healing process - enough to maintain flexibility but not so much as to impede the formation of scar tissue. The total cost of this makeshift device? Just two rupees. This solution proved to be nothing short of a miracle. A decade later, Anand's daughter could be seen playing the piano with the very hand and with the very finger that had once seemed beyond repair. The overall experience, though traumatic, taught Anand Mahindra a very valuable lesson. One should always look for solutions within one's own backyard before assuming that the best answers lie elsewhere. The incident profoundly influenced his professional life, particularly when it came to making significant decisions in his business endeavors. He says, for example, that many people questioned his audacious decision in the late 1990s to push for the indigenous development of the Scorpio SUV. Despite it being the most substantial capital expenditure the company had undertaken and despite the company's lack of experience in independently designing or building a vehicle, Anand Mahindra went ahead with indigenous development. We all know what success the Scorpio brought to the automobile business of Mahindra and Mahindra. What a story! You can see how this can be a very, very powerful story to share when we want our teams to look for a solution closer home, instead of only looking outside or looking towards the West. Over generations, humans have passed on knowledge in the form of easy-to-remember idioms. Multiple idioms share the same message that Anand conveyed through this story. In Hindi they say, don't make a mistake that "Ghar ki Murgi Dal Barabar". Or in English we have at least two idioms: one that says we do make a mistake of thinking that the grass is always greener on the other side and the other, "Familiarity breeds contempt." I hope you enjoyed that story. See you next week. Bye for now.
