Management Lessons from a 500 rupee note

Prakash Iyer, Managing Director, Kimberly-Clark Lever and Executive Coach shares two important management lessons he learnt from a 500-rupee note. Read on.

1. It happened some years ago but I can recall the evening like it happened just last week.
I was in an audience listening to a motivational guru.
The speaker whipped out his wallet and pulled out a five hundred-rupee note.
Holding it up, he asked, "Who wants this five hundred rupee note?"
Lots of hands went up. Including mine.
A slow chorus began to build as people began to shout "Me!" "Me!"
I began to wonder who the lucky one would be who the speaker would choose. And I also secretly wondered -- and I am sure others did too -- why he would simply give away five hundred rupees.
Even as the shouts of "I want it" grew louder, I noticed a young woman running down the aisle. She ran up onto the stage, went up to the speaker, and grabbed the five hundred-rupee note from his hand. "Well done, young lady," said the speaker into the microphone.
"Most of us just wait for good things to happen. That's of no use. You've got to make things happen."
The speaker's words have stayed with me ever since.

'Simply thinking about doing something is of no use'

Our lives are like that. We all see opportunities around us. We all want the good things.
But the problem is we don't take action.
We all want the five hundred rupee notes on offer. But we don't make the move. We look at it longingly
Get up, and do something about it. Don't worry about what other people might think. Take action.

2. Several years later, it was another day, another time. 
And another motivational guru.
As I watched him pull out a five hundred rupee note and hold it up for all to see, I thought I knew what he was going to do next. But he just asked a simple question. "How much is this worth?"
"Five Hundred rupees!" the crowd yelled in unison.
"Right," said the speaker. He then took the note and crumpled it into a ball and asked "How much is it worth now?"
"Five Hundred rupees!" screamed the audience.
He then threw the note on the ground, stamped all over it and picked up the note and asked one more time: "And how much is it worth now?"
"Five Hundred rupees!" was the response.
"I want you to remember this," said the speaker.
"Just because someone crumples it, or stamps on it, the value of the note does not diminish.
We should all be like the five hundred rupee note.
In our lives, there will be times when we feel crushed, stamped over, beaten. But never let your self-worth diminish. Just because someone chooses to crush you -- that doesn't change your worth one bit!
Don't allow your self-worth to diminish because someone says something nasty -- or does something dirty -- to you."

Do not waste your youth period.

We are born into this world. When we enter to the world everything is new. Whatever we saw makes us happy. We also cry in the beginning when we have a challenge that we have not faced before. And after some period we begin to learn to handle the challenges in life. We are not crying for small things. Then our life goes on.

Years pass by. For some who face challenges in life in the beginning itself, he began to set a goal and his mind is focused on to achieve it. He dedicates everything and with hard work he achieves it. When you start growing. That stage youth is the biggest stage. Whatever you read will sit in your mind. Whatever you think at those years will shape your life. Your brain is at the fastest growing stage at this age so is your body. If you try to enjoy your life at that stage, then your life will be miserable.

This is a stage where Whatever you do can be made happen. New Ideas will start popping out. The stage where you can take risk. So what is being said to you at this age will have an impact on you. There is a famous proverb. "If you did not bend on age 5 you can’t bend at age 50." So understand this and start doing activities which will improve your knowledge and doing things which will shape your life.

The Son

Take my Son..... A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art..

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.


About a month later, just before Christmas,

There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..


He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'


The father

Opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'


The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.


The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.


On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'


There was silence...


Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'


But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'


Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'


The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will... I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.


The man who took the son gets everything!'

Money is not EVERYTHING.

This may surprise few but is a fact.