Lord Swaraj Paul is an Indian industrialist in England. His daughter died at a very young age due to leukemia (blood cancer). He used to take her to the London Zoo daily to cheer her up in her last days. When he heard that the zoo was being closed due to want of funds, he donated, in her memory, a very large amount to resuscitate the ailing zoo.
The Hindu of 16 July 2010 carried an article about his business acumen. It is reproduced below:
Lord Paul recalled how he had struggled to overcome the jealously guarded `network' when he set up business in Britain in the 1960s. But having broken through that, he faced no other barriers.
Asked how difficult it was for him to deal with the protectionist environment, he said that initially it was not easy but finally what mattered was perseverance and skill. `The most interesting case I had was when I built a plant, I chased one company for two years for an order. Every year they promised me (business). Even then I used to sit on the bench, not even on a comfortable chair, waiting for an appointment and they purposely made me wait. As luck would have it, two years later, I ended up acquiring the group that owned that company. When I went to visit the managing director, he said to me: I know we thoroughly misbehaved. If you want me to resign, I'll do so. I said `No, you stay right there. But as long as you are working in my group, don't be so ridiculous to anybody. He turned out to be a very good manager.
Britain was "always an old boys` network, whether in business, civil service, politics… but they recognised the perseverance and determination to succeed of another person." He said he had never come across any other barrier though people did find it strange that an Indian immigrant wanted to set up business in Britain at a time when the British manufacturing was not doing well. "They looked [at me] with skepticism. But I found [what] was lacking in Britain in industry at that time: a consistency in quality and on-time delivery. I saw the gap and said: `I am going to make sure that I deliver something that is consistent with what I promised. I don`t want to build a Rolls Royce, but whatever I want to build, it must be consistent`. …..it looked like a dream, but while running from pillar to post, I was able to raise money, and we built the plant. Then one thing just led to another. In the end, it was in the hand of God, which had a lot to do with it. If you can combine hard work and integrity and hope for luck, it works."
His Caparo Group is now a leading multi-million pound global business.
-- With Regards and Prayers (D. Bhanudas) 89035 36440 Visit: www.vkendra.org See : http://dbhanudas.wordpress.com See :The Ideal of Self-Confidence
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