Using Crisis as an Opportunity to Change

Do you see an opportunity in crisis?

You have been in circumstances that have been so adverse that there could have been no positive side to it?

Retrospect & think about those incidents of your life, you will realize you must have learnt immensely from them. These adverse circumstances become opportunities, when you don’t let them hinder you, but let them motivate you.

This presentation brings to you some great people who found opportunity in the most adverse situations.

Narayan Murthy in prison in Bulgaria• In 1947 , when the co-founder of Infosys, Mr

Narayan Murthy was hitchhiking from Paris to Mysore. At Nis a town on the border of Yugoslavia & Bulgaria, he took the Sophia Express. He started a conversation with a local girl & discussed about the challenges of living in Eastern Europe. When the police observed this, they caught him & jailed him for 72 hours. Then they released him & put him on the freight train to Turkey.

• This experience made a deep impact on his mind. He concluded that the only way to eradicate poverty is by encouraging entrepreneurship that results in large scale job creation.

• Thus, he successfully founded the IT company Infosys in 1981.

Get inspired by adversity

• In adverse circumstances our view becomes pessimistic, but if we keep a positive attitude, we can think carefully as to what lesson we can derive out of them.

• We will get inspired by the adversity to overcome it to build institutions like Narayan Murthy did.

• Such situations change our ideas & leave us inspired.

Amitabh Bachchan after bankruptcy• In 1999 ABCL started by Mr. Bachchan faced a

liquidity crunch & went bankrupt. He was in deep trouble, but the reel life hero bounced back with Kaun Banega Crorepati. This program on Star Plus revived his fortune. He hosted this quiz show at a time when movie starts saw featuring on television as a step back in career & Mr. Bachchan changed this perception.

• He earned Rs. 15 crore for 85 episodes. Then came the rush of endorsements. He bagged the deal for endorsing ICICI Bank for Rs 10 crore. This helped him to clear all debts.

• At 60 plus Mr. Bachchan had fought a battle that even youngsters couldn’t have dared to fight.

No opportunity is small

• Don’t look at any opportunity to be small, take it and make it big.

• When you are going through tough times opportunities might knock your door. Don’t turn away by saying that your problem is too big & won’t get solved by this small opportunity. Take it & give it your best.

• Fortune favors the brave.

Narasimha Rao liberalized India• In 1991 India faced a Balance of Payment

crisis. Foreign Exchange reserves were low & the Indian government was in such a severe debt that it had to trade its gold reserves to the IMF to get a loan of $ 2.2 billion.

• The then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao introduced liberalization in India. Reforms were introduced to open up India to foreign investments. Capital market & trade regime were reformed.

• Rao along with economist Manmohan Singh then set goals to reduce the fiscal deficit, increase infrastructure investment & privatize the public sector. They opened up India to foreign trade & pulled India out of the crisis.

Bold decisions at a crucial juncture

• It is difficult to take the right decision at a crucial juncture, especially when you are a leader.

• Bold decisions are risky but, when implemented in the right way always lead to successful future.

Hurricane Sandy & Obama’s election campaign

• Barack Obama led the presidential elections in the final days and Hurricane Sandy is one of the reasons why he won the elections according to many.

• The storm devastated the West Coast of US just one week before the US Presidential Elections.

• The Federal Government did everything possible to provide all that was necessary to the affected areas. He closely monitored the situation and pushed the electric companies to get back power as soon as possible.

Obstructions are opportunities

• When you have planned something & things go wrong to disrupt your plans, the disruption might actually be an opportunity.

• Be prepared to use each impediment to your advantage.

• Obstructions in your plan are testing times, when you overcome them, you grow & rise above the situation.

• People start trusting you & relying on you.

Julian Assange in Political Asylum• Julian Assange the founder of WikiLeaks is

in Ecuadorian Embassy, as he faces the risk of extradition to the US, charging him for leaking out thousands of US military secrets & diplomatic information.

• According to him 40 % WikiLeaks' funds come from the US, despite the hostile government. In his second address since his confinement he said boldly that 2012 was ‘huge’ year for WikiLeaks, as it had placed million documents on internet, some even related to the Syrian Civil War.

• Despite the dire circumstances he has no intention of slowing down. He said that WikiLeaks was releasing some more million documents in 2013, that would affect all countries.

Challenge yourself

• When you take a step that challenges the authority it demands courage. But, you cannot give up even if you are confined.

• Even in dire circumstances you need to stand by what you believe strongly.

• In fact, you will gather courage from the people who stand by you.

• When tough times besiege you, your self belief will be challenged.

Grow from your challenges

• Bold decisions are risky but, when implemented in the right way always lead to a successful future.

• When you have planned something & things go wrong to disrupt your plans, the disruption might actually be an opportunity.

• Be prepared to use each impediment to your advantage.

• When you take a step that challenges the authority it demands courage. But, you cannot give up even if you are confined.

• Keep a positive attitude in adverse circumstances, only then will you learn from them.

• No opportunity is small, cash on it and make it big.