DHIRUBHAI

AMBANI
CASE STUDY ON LEADERSHIP
 Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani
 Born on December 28, 1932 in Chorwad,
Gujarat.
 Business sense came early as he sold bhajias to
pilgrims on Mount Girnar during his childhood.
 Went to Yemen to join his elder brother,
worked at a gas station. Later promoted to as a
distributor of Shell products.
 Came to India, started the business of exporting
spices.
 Founded Reliance Commercial Corp. with
cousin Champaklal Damani with initial capital
of 15,000.
 An Opportunist
 During 1950s-
 In the 1950s, the Yemini administration realized that
their main unit of currency, the Rial, was
disappearing fast.
 It was found that a young man in his twenties was
placing unlimited buy orders for Yemini Rials.
 Rials, pure silver coins and was in much demand at
the London Bullion Exchange. Young Dhirubhai
bought the Rials, melted them into pure silver and
sold it to the bullion traders in London.

Entrepreneurship’s true sense lies in the fact that he always looks

upon opportunity
 A Visionary
 Government of India introduced High Unit Value Scheme;
hence Dhirubhai shifted his interests from spices to nylon
fabrics.

 When most Indian business houses depended on government

– owned financial institutions for funds, Dhirubhai raised
capital from the public by offering shares of his companies.

“It does not require an invitation to make profits”

By Dhirubhai Ambani
 The Innovator
 Dhirubhai Ambani is credited with starting
the equity cult in India.
 Dhirubhai identified a new market for his
brand ‘Vimal’ - the non-metro urban
segment.
 Backward Integration: To strengthen his
position in the textile sector,Dhirubhai
integrated backwards and produced fibers.
 The Helper
 When things went wrong, he was the first
person to sense that the circumstances
would have been beyond his team's
control, rather than it being a slip on their
part.

 His first instinct was always to join his

men in putting out the fire and not
crucifying them for it.
 The Solution Seeker
 Dhirubhai faced resistance from cloth
merchants; so decided to open his own
showroom for ‘Vimal’
 ‘Polyester Prince’ announced a ‘buy-
back’ scheme when the polyester he
produced was losing its demand.
 Whenever a task seemed too big to be
accomplished, he would reply: " No is
no answer!"

"It's difficult but not impossible!"

 The Network Strategist
 Using his connections in Aden, he exported a wide range of
commodities to Aden.
 To promote ‘VIMAL’:advertising program was launched,
toured the entire country intensively offering franchises to
shareholders.
 Dhirubhai managed to create favourable centers in all the
important areas – among the bureaucrats, the ruling politicians,
as well as the media. These were the areas where power
vested.
Dhirubhai believed that "business is nothing but a web of
relationships and obligations."
 The People's Man
 Dhirubhai followed an 'open-door policy’.
Employees could walk into his cabin and
discuss their problems with him.
 He was always inviting people into sharing
their thoughts and ideas, rather than shutting
them out.
 Always there for his team and brought around
confidence in them.
 ‘Arm-around-the-shoulder’ leader
 This tendency that he had, to draw people
towards him, manifested itself in countless
ways.
People s View…that did much more than words
in letting people know that they belonged,
that they had his trust, and that they had him on
their side!
 Dhirubhaism
 Never followed the textbook style of
management , evolved a Unique style

 The American Style of entrepreneurship

 With the Japanese Focus on Technology
 And innate shrewdness of a Gujju
businessman

◦ A Perfect manager of Time , Money , Men

and Passion to find solution to problems

◦ Believed that business was not all about

Ethics & Morality ,it was all about
Expansion & Success
 Famous Motivational & Inspiring words of
Dhirubhai Ambani
 ”I am deaf to the word “no”.”
 “Growth has no limit at Reliance. I keep revising my vision. Only
when you dream it you can do it.”
 “Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly”
 “Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambitions higher. Our
commitment deeper. And our efforts greater. This is my dream for
Reliance and for India .”
 “Give the youth a proper environment. Motivate them. Extend them
the support they need. Each one of them has infinite source of
energy. They will deliver.”
 “We bet on people.”
 “Don’t give up, courage is my conviction.”
 “We cannot change our Rulers, but we can change the way they
Rule Us.”
 Criticism
 Accused of being a ‘manipulator’

 Accused of using ‘connections’ to get work done

 Some described Reliance as ‘an out of control monster,

a bubble that would burst any moment’.
 Highlights
*Unlike other corporate houses who dominated over a period of time, Dhirubhai Ambani could achieve within a
short period with a razor like sharpness and business acumen.

* Dhirubhai Ambani proved to be a king in his diversification.

* RIL is now India's largest Private Sector with turnover over US$19.976 billion backed by a profit over US$2.03
billion.

* 25% of share holders in India own a RIL Scrip.

* Fortune Global 500 featured RIL in 342nd rank in 2006. Forbes Global featured RIL at 295 spot in 2000.

*Chemtech and Chemical Engg.World gave the" Man of the Century " award in Nov 2000 to Dhirubhai Ambani.

* Dhirubhai won the " Dean's Medal " of Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in June 1998 for "
Outstanding Leadership "

* FICCI conferred the title " Man of 20th century " on D.A.in 2000.

* Times Of India in 2000 voted Dhirubhai Ambani as the greatest creator of wealth in the country.
 Sun sets down…
“Dhirubhai will go one day. But
Reliance’s employees and shareholders
will keep it afloat. Reliance is now a
concept in which the Ambani s have
become irrelevant.”
By Dhirubhai Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani breathed his last on

July 6, 2002