I was reading Vidhu Vinod Chopra's interview on his style of film-making. Please do not pay attention to his contrarian views, but listen to his style.
"Ferrari took us four years to write, 3 idiots took us 3 years" , Vinod Chopra said in his interview. He further added that 'Munnabhai MBBS III is in writing for last 3 1/2 years, but he is not willing to start it because the script has not yet come out well. Please remember that with Vinod Chopra's background, if he makes a film, he can collect 100 crores in first three-five days. What makes Vinod Chopra work on excellence, when others run after money?
Take another example of Aamir Khan. Here is a man, who could have earned huge money, by doing more than one film at a time. But he refuses to do more than one film at a time, lets go opportunity to earn money in his 'hey days'. Film industry actors 'justify doing as many films as they can' because their shelf-life is short, as they say. But what makes Aamir Khan not worry about his shelf life, when other actors behave differently?
If you think that I am giving big celebrity examples only, let me give you a simple example of an entrepreneur. Let us call him Vikas. He is an entrepreneur in Nashik. Started his first unit supplying to Foundry manufacturer in early 1990's. Went through huge difficulty during recession. Now runs a unit of wire. Employees from 1990's are working with him still. ( Please remember that entrepreneurs find it difficult to retain good people !). Vikas follows highest standard guidelines of managing hazardous material called REACH. Has no target set for his unit, other than producing excellence. What makes entrepreneurs like Vikas practice excellence in business, where entrepreneurs do anything to justify 'business'?
What do you find common between Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan and Vikas? They practice excellence, and believe that it will fetch them the desired revenue. For them, Money is means to end, not an end by itself. For them, money is a byproduct of what they do, not the end by itself. For them, doing something 'right' is more important than doing something 'ok', even if that ok is acceptable to the majority.
More importantly, they have one important quality. They are not impractical and unrealistic zealots who practice 'quality' for the sake of 'quality'. Instead they understand the constraints of their excellence and are willing to work with it. For instance, Vidhu Chopra knows it takes so long to make these films and is willing to live with that constraint. Even when he makes a movie like Eklavya, he knows that the audience is not ready for it and is willing to wait for it. Or Vikas is ready to work with limited customers to ensure that his quality is 'paid' the right value.
Like others, they do not blame people and customers for not 'paying' them enough for their quality. Instead they are contended and wait for the right opportunity to come. This ability to wait for the right opportunity separates them from the herd. Instead of chasing money and projects, they chase 'excellence'.
I know of many individuals who have managed to chase excellence without chasing money. Money just followed them. It requires a specific mind of mindset and a 'set of skills' to do it. Do you have it in you to chase excellence in your field?
"Ferrari took us four years to write, 3 idiots took us 3 years" , Vinod Chopra said in his interview. He further added that 'Munnabhai MBBS III is in writing for last 3 1/2 years, but he is not willing to start it because the script has not yet come out well. Please remember that with Vinod Chopra's background, if he makes a film, he can collect 100 crores in first three-five days. What makes Vinod Chopra work on excellence, when others run after money?
Take another example of Aamir Khan. Here is a man, who could have earned huge money, by doing more than one film at a time. But he refuses to do more than one film at a time, lets go opportunity to earn money in his 'hey days'. Film industry actors 'justify doing as many films as they can' because their shelf-life is short, as they say. But what makes Aamir Khan not worry about his shelf life, when other actors behave differently?
If you think that I am giving big celebrity examples only, let me give you a simple example of an entrepreneur. Let us call him Vikas. He is an entrepreneur in Nashik. Started his first unit supplying to Foundry manufacturer in early 1990's. Went through huge difficulty during recession. Now runs a unit of wire. Employees from 1990's are working with him still. ( Please remember that entrepreneurs find it difficult to retain good people !). Vikas follows highest standard guidelines of managing hazardous material called REACH. Has no target set for his unit, other than producing excellence. What makes entrepreneurs like Vikas practice excellence in business, where entrepreneurs do anything to justify 'business'?
What do you find common between Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan and Vikas? They practice excellence, and believe that it will fetch them the desired revenue. For them, Money is means to end, not an end by itself. For them, money is a byproduct of what they do, not the end by itself. For them, doing something 'right' is more important than doing something 'ok', even if that ok is acceptable to the majority.
More importantly, they have one important quality. They are not impractical and unrealistic zealots who practice 'quality' for the sake of 'quality'. Instead they understand the constraints of their excellence and are willing to work with it. For instance, Vidhu Chopra knows it takes so long to make these films and is willing to live with that constraint. Even when he makes a movie like Eklavya, he knows that the audience is not ready for it and is willing to wait for it. Or Vikas is ready to work with limited customers to ensure that his quality is 'paid' the right value.
Like others, they do not blame people and customers for not 'paying' them enough for their quality. Instead they are contended and wait for the right opportunity to come. This ability to wait for the right opportunity separates them from the herd. Instead of chasing money and projects, they chase 'excellence'.
I know of many individuals who have managed to chase excellence without chasing money. Money just followed them. It requires a specific mind of mindset and a 'set of skills' to do it. Do you have it in you to chase excellence in your field?
