Hunger for Success vs Talent ??

This blog is about my experience in life as a student and later as a professional. As a child I was conscious of the fact that I was born as a kid of reasonable privilege. My parents were not exactly rich but middle class, my mother was a salaried teacher and father a lawyer. Their education and intelligence along with hard work made them make the transformation from middle class to upper middle class thanks to business acumen and good investments. They were able to give us children comfort and provide all our needs. My sister who was 4 years older had a struggle compared to me. So we both today at age 67 and 63 respectively have tasted success in our careers. Looking back the problem was that I was always considered the talented creative counterfoil to my sister who was considered the hardworking less talented person. The ease with which success came to me in terms of beating the competition in school made me take my success for granted and this led to a sense of entitlement and complacency. My parents and teachers would often praise my intelligence and boast about the fact that I could do well in academics without breaking a sweat. Today, I realize that hunger for success is as important or even more important than talent. So I have underachieved as far as the measure of material success. 

As my career advanced and I left my cocoon of school and college, I quickly realised that lack of talent can easily be replaced by hunger for success. I who considered myself an English medium convent school educated elite used to act and feel superior to my vernacular colleagues. The myth of my superiority came crashing down when two of my friends Dr. Sanjay O. Shah popularly known as SOS and Dr. Sudhir Sane coming from Gujarati and Marathi medium schools topped our medical class regularly. They overcame their disadvantage by hard work. A disclaimer is needed, by saying they worked hard I do not want to imply lack of talent. There are countless examples of such occurrences in the world. 

Our generation was fed on the brilliant batting prowess of the supremely talented Sachin Tendulkar and the hardworking tenacity of Rahul Dravid. Was it really the case of talent vs hunger? Partly yes and partly no as even though Tendulkar was extremely talented he was never complacent or not hard working but yet I feel Rahul was a notch above him for the manner in which he overcame his lack of talent by sheer hard work and determination to succeed against all odds. He was a match winner and could deliver under pressure more than the talented Tendulkar. The expectations of a nation from a talented cricketer could weigh him down and create doubts leading to failure at crucial moments which was the case with Sachin. On the contrary Rahul Dravid conducted himself with grace and humility as he was conscious of his limitations and realised that cricket was a game and he was no greater than the unsung heroes like the soldier and the teacher who never get the praise and adulation cricketers received. Another such cricketer was Anil Kumble always the performer who won India more matches than his more talented colleagues. When he retired I remember him saying that the difference between his career and that of Tendulkar was that Tendulkar always seemed to prove the media and critics right and Kumble had to always prove them wrong. 

So while enough has been written about the role of talent vs hunger for success I feel that when we see talent we must let it blossom but ensure that it's presence does not lead to a sense of entitlement and superiority. Praise must be given by using verbs like praising the effort action and the tenacity or determination with a drive to do even better. Adjectives of super intelligence, talent and best of all can result in entitlement complacency and superiority. This also creates a burden of expectation and fear of failure. In this manner talent blossoms without destroying hunger for success. 

Should one hire talent or persons hungry for success. For this I would like to refer to the recruitment policy of the Taj group of hotels. This came to light in the report on the response of the employees of the Taj hotel on the night of 26 November, 2008 when in the face of an unprecedented terrorist attack and crises almost all the employees stood their ground, and even those about to leave or who were not on duty volunteered to work and put their customers first. Their policy of hiring second tier towns where the solid middle class values of respect for elders hard work and values of caring for family. The reference check was also from schools and teachers who gave a positive report. Cheerfulness in adversity and need for job were the other attributes searched for in prospective workers. After that the training takes over. Similar hiring policies for higher jobs from smaller town Business schools is done. 

I have only one final thing to say, make sure you recognize and nurture talent but ensure you do not praise them with adjectives but praise them with action verbs for their actions and efforts. Also as parents give enough to the kids for their needs but learn to deny them luxury. Do not kill the hunger for success. This fine balance will create the right human who will shine in the face of adversities like the employees of Taj Mahal Hotel on the fateful night of November 26, 2008. 

Vispi Jokhi