In tough times and in good times, a leader is the one who has learnt to take both good and bad in his stride. This gains significance in the real estate sector, which is particularly sensitive to external changes.
The ethos of Hiranandani Communities is best seen through the lens of its co-founder, Dr Niranjan Hiranandani . As he said in a TEDx talk - “Defying the limiting” his life theme is to break the glass ceiling and to do better than your best.
From a first-generation entrepreneur with no experience in real estate, Dr Hiranandani became a pioneer of the mixed-use integrated township concept. Vibrant community life is the hallmark of every Hiranandani project, each better than the last. The Group has diversified into education, healthcare, hospitality, infrastructure, entertainment, and organized retail.
The Hiranandani Group has its goals well-defined. It sets new benchmarks every time in Quality Construction, Precision Engineering, Technology & Innovation, Timely Delivery, and Holistic Development. Well-defined goals help to bear the pain of failure better as there are still goals to meet. Coming from a family with no entrepreneurial experience, Dr Hiranandani had a fixation to break the glass ceiling, without which he says, it’s extremely difficult to move towards the goal.
The Group uses other developers as a role model, to emulate their ideas. The biggest competitor to Hiranandani is Hiranandani itself, and that is the key to success – bettering yourself every single day by asking, “Are we making better buildings today than we were yesterday?”.
The next key is to not be held back by where you are today when you take on new challenges. Dr Hiranandani cites the example of Captain Krishnan Nair who founded the Leela Group at the age of 62 and had the first hotel up by 65. Dr Hiranandani tells his own story: “At age 48, I was quite unhealthy, and one day I went to my alma mater. Parents were required to run 20 m. I was breathless. At that time, I thought what was I going to be at 60, if this is how it is now.” He started going to the gym three days a week, did yoga two days a week and ran 10 km at the end of each day.
What happens to most successful people? They fall down at some time in life. Dr Hiranandani was one such. When he started with a power loom shed and some small investments in real estate, he had debts, bank loans and other liabilities. He had to decide which business to give up and which to focus on - and got into real estate with full vigour, having learnt from the failures.
The other aspect of the Hiranandani Group’s road to success was to move out of comfort zones despite the apparent pitfalls. The more successful you are, the more difficult it is to change. Being ready for rapid change is an important path to take when you are facing tough times.
The Hiranandani Group has made becoming better a habit. “Every building I construct has to be better than what I built yesterday,” says Dr Hiranandani. “I don’t copy paste, but the good developers are my role medals and emulating them is what makes me successful.”