Just a few days ago, Abhik Prasad published an interesting piece on whether start-ups had considered how much they might actually need a Brand Nurturer. He used the word “Asha” in place of brand nurturer as an easy-to-understand analogy that every Rodinhooder would relate to – w.r.t. our very own Rodinhoods editor, Asha Chaudhry. I have continued the same analogy… with a wave and greeting to Asha, Alok and Abhik!!!! I had to write this one because it resonated deeply with me….. 🙂 So here goes!
Why does your company need an Asha?
We all can answer that one: We all need a loyal and sensitive nurturer who tells it like it is and is the glue that keeps our company together. She shares the organisation’s vision and adds value to its beliefs because she breathes life into them. An Asha is nothing but your Brand Nurturer; your sutradhar – the one who holds the thread of your story together; your loyal, guardian angel and finally your staunch ‘earthing’ who keeps you grounded and tells you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it. Beware of the last one. It stings and needs great openness of mind to accept. But look on the plus side – if someone who’s intelligent, sensitive and caring, believes in your vision and goes all out to promote it, then that says a lot more for your vision than you ever could!
But how do you go about creating an Asha for your fledgling company? (Or for your large organisation.) Is it even possible? Well, an Asha is not for everyone. Especially not the faint-hearted. But if you really, really need one, here are ten tips…. open up your heart and mind, and read on.
1. Look hard! Don’t settle!
Find an employee or a potential employee who is enthusiastic about your company and what you are trying to do. She could even be a friend, a neighbour, a college mate or a business associate. She could even be a fellow Rodinhooder! Start looking now!
2. Once you’ve found her, sell her your idea.
Enthuse her with your vision. Share your dreams. Be transparent. An Asha is for genuine people and not for pretenders. She is smart and will see through you quickly if you don’t believe! So be clear before you try persuade her.
3. Give her the status her role needs.
Define her role clearly. It should be formal and have complete clarity in her mind and in those of her company members. It should be publicly obvious that she is responsible for the aspects that you have entrusted to her. Trust her. Believe me, that always changes things hugely.
4. Defer to her better judgement.
If she is advising you differently from what you think, respect her by listening to her opinion. She really knows the pulse of the company and has interacted with each member and knows them better than you do. Remember, they reveal themselves to her more than they do to you!
5. Recognise her contribution. The more publicly, the better.
Give her the praise for a job well done. Give her her hurrahs and bravos in public. Make sure she is there for every single event your company organises. Keep her close to the centre of things. She is part of your corporate heart and your company’s Fairy Godmother, isn’t she? Then treat her with the public recognition she needs to work her magic.
6. Empower her to take decisions. Give her ownership.
Trust means you let her take the decisions. It means she knows you trust her and she is at peace because of that. Plus the company too should know who calls the shots. She is the steward and deserves to be recognised as such.
7. Brook no disrespect to her.
Give her your unequivocal support. Put your might behind her. If she advises you to ignore something, please do so. If she assigns priority to a task, take it up as soon as possible. Do not allow company members to get away with being rude to her or taking her for granted.
8. Keep sharing your ideas and thoughts. Every single day!
The more you share, the more she’ll care! It’s about being inclusive in your vision and not exclusive. Giver her the benefit of knowledge and watch her run with the ball, farther and farther than you could ever have done.
9. Use her as a sounding board and then listen to her!
No point having an Asha and not hearing her out with an open mind. So do respect her above all, by giving her a patient and fair hearing.
10. Reward her fairly and generously.
Give her the fuel she needs to keep that fire lit. It could be money, recognition, ownership, stock options, love! Or perhaps a combination of all the above. If you think she’s valuable, she’s worth rewarding! Think long-term on this one, especially if she’s a keeper.
What did you think! Yep, it takes effort to nurture an Asha. Have fun, and all the best. May the force be with you!
Darshan Bhambiru
Awesome Kaanchan!!!
You have brought out the secret to Clone ASHA 😉 You have become the Fairy Godmother to grant the Wishes for everyone on trhs.
This is one Hot topic for sure!!! You are Giving away the Secrets 😀 Well Done, very well written, clear and precise too.
Cheers!!
kaanchan bugga
Actually, Darshan, using the term “Asha” is just an analogy! But glad you liked the post, thanks. 🙂
asha chaudhry
🙂 thank you for the wave and greetings kaanchan! very humbled to be perceived as synonymous to a concept like ‘brand nurturer’ – you are very kind.
shall try to put add my thoughts over the weekend. meanwhile pls read this post by rohan bhansali – you might like it 🙂
https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/8-tips-to-a-successful-friendtrepreneurship-are-best-friends
8 tips to a successful “Friendtrepreneurship” [Are best friends great cofounders?]
“Friendtrepreneur” [Pronounced: friend-truh-preh-nur]
Noun: a person who starts a business, taking on financial and emotional risk to do so, with a friend
The most frequent question I am asked by friends, family, ex-bosses and aunts, “Doesn’t working with friends affect your friendship?”
The answer is yes, it most certainly does.
So does that mean you should avoid Friendtrepreneurship?
Not at all. That would be something (though not exactly and I repeat “not exactly”) like not marrying the girl you really love because you risk losing what you have with her.
Honestly, the question of whether good friends make good co-founders is a big fat grey area. And the answer, like the answer to most of life’s amazing questions is – It depends. There is no definite yes and there is no definite no.
Having run Gozoop with 2 of my closest friends – Ahmed and Dushyant – for 4 years now, I can safely say that the journey together has been amazing. In fact, I am closer to them now than I ever was. Does that mean we haven’t had differences and arguments? Of course not.
Truth is that despite it’s inherent advantages, partnering with friends throws in it’s own challenges – all solvable though.
Here are a few things you would want to consider / adopt while working with friends so that you are well positioned to build a good business and maintain your awesome friendship at the same time:
Choose a good business partner, not just a good friend
A good partnership takes much more than a good friendship. The comfort that comes with working with a friend helps resolve many issues but not all.
Ask your self the following questions – Does your friend share the same business vision and values? Do your strengths and weaknesses compliment each other? Does you friend have the basic traits you would look for in a business partner: honesty, reliability, commitment, adaptability, etc.?
Communicate – no matter how uncomfortable a conversation it maybe
It’s going to happen. You are going to make excuses to avoid an important conversation because you don’t want to hurt your friendship. “I will bring it up if he does it one more time” – is not the best way to deal with a situation that can affect your business. Building a good business takes commitment and as far as friendtrepreneurs understand that fully, an honest conversation will not jeopardize the friendship.
Write things down
It’s always a good idea to write down all decisions (big and small), targets, deadlines, etc. in an email and share it with your partners. As friends, things can get a bit casual sometimes. Writing things down ensures that all of you are committed to the decisions in the same manner and this will reduce misconceptions that could arise in the future.
Formalize your business relationship
For the sake of your friendship if nothing else, formalize your business relationship. Whether it’s a Partnership deed or a Shareholder’s Agreement, formalizing business terms greatly reduces the opportunity for misunderstandings and loss of trust in the future. In fact this is insurance for your friendship even if your partnership fails.
Pre discuss all things money
When and how will profits be distributed? What will be the monthly withdrawals? What if one partner needs a loan? Which expenses are reimbursable from the company? What if one partner wants to sell to a potential buyer while the other wants to wait and sell at a higher valuation?
Different founders come from different places financially and their monetary needs and motivations could differ. It’s Best to pre discuss all money matters.
Don’t make it all Professional
Working with friends has a lot of inherent benefits. To be strictly professional would be an unfortunate waste of these benefits.
Recently I was having a tough day. I went to Ahmed’s cabin and started venting. He shut my laptop and took me took me to this boutique cafe (I forgot the name) for coffee and croissants. We spoke about women, surfing, travelling, Ahmed’s younger brother Hasan and a few other things that make us happy. Post that I was all set to work again.
Make all important decisions over Ice cream
Whilst making big decisions such as Shareholder Agreement clauses (and sometimes even things like where the annual trip should be) there are bound to be uncomfortable conversations, disagreements, etc. My sincere suggestion to all friendtrepreneurs is make all-important decisions over ice cream. No discussion ends badly in the presence of Mint Chocolate Chip topped with Fudge.
At Gozoop, we have all our meetings with our lawyer over ice cream. It’s tradition.
Don’t mix Personal with Professional
It’s the unique ability to be comfortable enough to argue business issues and still be able to pull each other’s legs at the end of the day that makes friendtrepreneurship work. This is a tough one no doubt. But sometimes you got to put everything aside and find time to just be friends.
Disclaimer: Gozoop happened quite naturally for us. Back when we started we didn’t know better and just went with the flow. Some of the points I have listed have been adopted by us only recently. Looking back, we were really lucky. And though I wish all you friendtrepreneurs more luck, I humbly suggest you to adopt these points early in.
What are your thoughts?
kaanchan bugga
Thanks Darshan. But alas, have learnt the hard way that the Fairy Godmother is just ourself in another avatar… only we have the ability to grant our wishes! We are our own fairy Godmothers and our own Ugly sisters…..