Capital talk:Biz lessons from water

Water, or the lack of it, has been grabbing headlines for the past fortnight or so with even the powerful and lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) being directed by the Bombay high court to shift match venues to ensure the precious resource is not wasted in cities, already reeling under shortage of the precious resource. As of today, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has moved the Supreme Court against the order.

In Rajasthan, where the matches were shifted, the high court has served notices to the state government and the BCCI, asking for their arguments on why the state should hold these matches. The next hearing is on April 27. With water becoming a subject of courtroom discussion, there are business lessons to be learnt from the precious resource. Some wisdom as enunciated by a water drop.

Hello, tricity. A ‘splashy’ welcome to you all. I sometimes feel so privileged to be living with you — a whopping 87 million gallons daily of me. Here, I list my anguish and observations.

DON’T TAKE ME FOR GRANTED

The first lesson is stop taking me for granted and treat me well. Just as any good business owner budgets to keep his customers happy, I deserve respect. It infuriates me when you allow me to leak from sundry corners of your house. I leak and leak as you wait for the dripping to start from more places to save charges of on an extra visit from the plumber. Be prompt in attending to me, just as you take care of a customer.

PRESENTATION IS NOT EVERYTHING

The second business lesson, counter intuitively, is — presentation is NOT everything — the quality of the product is. I hate it when I am packed in fancily-shaped 1-litre bottles, labelled with an enticing tag and sold at Rs 50 a litre at fancy restaurants and movie halls. Ironically, the factory that made the bottle and the packaging paid peanuts for my use. Have you seen any businessman pay 10 times the cost?

INVEST AND EXPAND

Third, just as a business owner knows the importance of professionals, you should force your town administration to invest in expanding my pipeline network. Help me grow and I will double your trade. Else, economic activity will shift, just like the IPL.

FILE YOUR USE, KEEP A RECORD

Do not follow your friends and hordes of others who do not keep a record of transactions, thinking that are being ‘clever’ in evading tax. Any gains so made are wiped out 10-times over when, inevitably, the taxman does come calling. As against the national norm of 135 litre per person per day, Chandigarh has sectors where the same figure runs up to 1,300 litre. In a lighter vein, I plan to escape from the 1,300-litre a day users by petitioning the municipal corporation. A protest is definitely warranted.

PLAY WITHIN RULES

Finally, an illegal business can only last so long. Do not take me direct from the pipelines to your homes to escape metering as is the ‘norm’ in some cities. Remember, the Shimla jaundice outbreak. When I strike back, there is no escape channel.