10 Lessons this 'Eklavya' learnt from the book Invent & Wander

1.    Always Day 1.

Always. Have the same hunger you had when you started your first day towards your dream. Every day when you wake up, its Day 1. Nothing can beat that.

2.    Regret Minimization Framework

When in doubt, move forward, imagine yourselves @80 and ask, will I regret not doing this? If yes, then do. Else, delete.

3.    Missionary vs Mercenary

Still haven’t put this to test, yet. But someday I will. When buying a company or hiring talent, ask, does it have a strong mission. That’s ‘missionary’. Else, its mercenary. In investing, ‘missionary’ is long term. Mercenary is ‘trading’, always trying to flip.

4.    Customer obsession not competitor obsession

Be afraid of your customer. They always want more. They are always dissatisfied. They will always grow you.

5.    Write your pitch. Story-tell. But never more than 6 pages!

When I pitch, I try to follow this. Like an elevator pitch. Like a story.

6.    One door and Two door decisions

One door decisions – binary outcome, you can’t change them; take all the time. Two-door decisions – you can course-correct; don’t take too much time.

7.    Use Intuition. Listen to your heart.

I listen to my gut. Don’t always listen to the inner critic, the inner Amrish Puri. It is okay.

8.    Focus long-term shareholder value creation. Focus on free cash flow.

I try and share this with all our investee companies, Burger King India, friends who run listed companies, and emerging entrepreneurs. Cash flow is reality.

9.    Allow negative reviews

Negative reviews may cost you in the short-term but helps customer make better decision, ultimately pays off. The villain needs to be seen.

10. Focus on what won’t change in the next 10 years

Don’t focus on what will change. focus on what won’t change in the next ten years. That’s a great business to be in.