HYDERABAD: The best way to gauge the success of a business tycoon is to visit his little den, where he likes to relax and entertain his guests. Suresh Rayudu Chitturi’s green and outdoorsy office-cum-meeting spot in Jubilee Hills near Chiranjeevi Blood Bank speaks about him. The uneven walking path shows he loves change and adapts fast. The 20x20 feet photograph of bison in the wilderness (shot during one of his global sojourns) shows his love for adventure and life.
The Vice-Chairman & Managing Director of Srinivasa Farms Pvt Ltd’s chilled out attitude is perhaps what works best for him and his company. “In business, it is gut feeling and some brashness, not hyper planning that succeeds. From government policy to customer taste to environment, anything can affect businesses and therefore creating high-funda yearly plans, in my opinion, fail miserably,” he warns. Considering his business is present in eight states of India and has plans to add five more states to the list in six months, his process seems to have paid off big dividends.
Talk to him for a few minutes and he invariably quotes Steve Jobs and Robin Sharma. He doesn’t just quote, but applies these philosophies in life and at work too. “I remember reading a quote by James A Garfield in my college corridor. “A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck”. Steve Jobs also works on the same credo. Henry Ford said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses’. So business is a mix of many things. A good business is also about having the vision to understand what the customer wants without him not having to tell it. I belong this school of thought,” he explains. “Business is about looking at constraints... and then smashing it.”
Suresh loves to explore allied elements and it is obvious when he says he is not content just sticking to his core business. He is the Vice Chairman of International Egg Commission (IEC) for next two years and is the second Indian to hold this position. The post helps him understand the way things work in other countries and how we can get better.
Exposure and interaction are what such participation begets, he states.
A man known for his wanderlust, Suresh says that there is much to learn from other countries. “I have noticed that countries such as Holland and Israel seem to be thriving as the agricultural research that happens in their universities is being put to use. My dream is to start at least two agricultural colleges in India by 2025 and eventually India should boast of 15 such top institutes, “ says the head honcho who also has the distinction of successfully completing ‘The President’s Programme in Leadership’ from Harvard Business School.
Before you think he must be slogging from 9 am to 11 pm, he informs you that he also has a non-work to-do list that he wants to tick off fast. Nope, not really a hostile takeover of a rival company, but visiting the 120 countries that he hasn’t been to, so far. “Travel teaches you what education, books or work cannot teach you. I owe my success to this amazing addiction” he says. Before he signs off, he quotes Nadal, “One must always ask are we growing? Are we adding more value to people? Improving their lives?” To show that he practices what he quotes, he signs the cheque that states that the company is sending one day’s pay towards Kerala’s flood victims. “Read and practice,” he concludes.
— Manju Latha Kalanidhi
kalanidhi@newindianexpress.com
@mkalanidhi