Anand Narasimhan: A STORY OF TRENDSETTING, BRAND MAKING AND RECORD SHATTERING

The protagonist of our story is N Anand(Anand Narasimhan). He is here to teach us where grit and perseverance can take us. He tells us how continuously and competitively adapting to adversity is the only way to level up in life.

Growing up in a modest household with little resources, middle-class life was a huge factor in this man’s life. He studied at a Government school and, at the tender age of 13, had to work part-time at a small shop as an “Accounts Boy.” At that mere age, for a nominal fee of Rs. 3.25, he was entrusted with the responsibility of accounting for the comings and goings of that shop.

He tells us a small anecdote about how he realized what the world was. He was offered an unsuspecting tea one day, as a small beverage in the middle of a busy evening but was paid only Rs. Three at the end of that month. When he enquired why he was underpaid, they claimed they settled the tea account he had taken that day. He never retook tea.

Growing up in poverty, he understood the value of money. He had little time for the fun and frolic that little children take for granted. Responsibilities weighed him down. He did not have long-term visibility at that point. He only focused on day-to-day affairs, whether his siblings were fed, and whether they would make it to another day. He scored average marks in his Twelfth Grade Board Exams. He was unable to focus on his studies with the weight of responsibilities on his shoulders.

Anand Narasimhan enrolled himself in an evening college while part-timing at a photocopy shop. Back in the day, firms did not have their photostat machines due to their limiting cost, and hence, they would take the services of independent photostat shops, with delivery being handled by young men like Anand.

He was provided a cycle and was taught to print the required content and deliver it to the firm. It would take him an hour to make deliveries. It was then that he began thinking ahead. He began canvassing his service to other photostat shops, making interim deliveries wherever possible for a commission.

Anand Narasimhan – the journey

Anand Narasimhan also explains the importance of not letting adversity get ahead of you. He explains how wherever he went, there was a slump in business or a pitfall. He never let that situation get to him; instead, he looked at it as an opportunity to make the situation better.

Upon completing his graduation, he joined Club Mahindra Holidays as a salesperson. When the concept of a holiday resort was still new, and a competitor – Sterling Holidays – went out of business due to poor performance. The concept of a holiday resort was in trouble at the time. At Club Mahindra, Anand was a top performer for months consecutively, closing 8 to 9 sales per month, where the average was 5.

He was promoted to Assistant Manager level, where he was also able to oversee operations. Within a few months, Anand realized he was knowledgeable enough for the Location Head role. He pitched the idea with his seniors, who laughed it off, said he had not completed the cycle of 5 years.

He thus shifted firms and started work as Assistant Manager in Avis Cars. Avis Cars was a subsidiary of Oberoi Hotels, providing transportation services to the customers of Oberoi Hotels. Anand Narasimhan saw the opportunity and took the plunge. He suggested diversifying the cab services to corporates with the same business model. Anand began streamlining the operations to enhance efficiency.

He contacted various firms from Yellow Pages and offered discounts per ride in exchange for being the designated cab service for the company. The superior service provided by Avis Cars led to their popularity among several corporate firms. With this, Anand set the trend of office cabs in India and popularized the concept of Airport Representative.

After his stint as Assistant Manager in Avis Cars, he requested a promotion to the Branch Manager level. He was confident that he would be able to handle the responsibilities that came with the role. The company told him that he was not cut out to be bigger than where he is currently. Anand did not stand for it, immediately seeking that role elsewhere. That was when he approached Hertz India.

Hertz India offered the Branch Manager role to Anand. He was responsible for the entire operations and procurement for the Chennai Branch. Within a few years, under Anand’s leadership, Hertz became the market leader in Chennai. In this duration, Anand admits that he has had his fair share of mistakes and downfalls. However, his contacts helped him overcome those failures.

There are times where he was laboring under his failures when his seniors picked him up and took him in their stride. Anand Narasimhan says good people always surround him, but indeed it was the other way round, where Anand’s warmth and friendliness and contagious optimism were hard not to reciprocate.

Anand’s restlessness got the better of him, and he sought a higher position – the level of the Regional Manager. However, his peers at Hertz discouraged him, asking him to stay with this cushy job. The difference in salary will be made up sufficiently.

But the fire for leveling up pushed him to approach Orix for the same level. Orix indicated that Anand Narasimhan was not “Regional Manager Material” and aired their doubts. He struck a bargain with Orix. He said he is ready to take on the role of Regional Manager for a lesser salary. Orix India agreed to give him the role of Regional Manager but on an 11-month consulting contract.

Within the year, Anand brought in radical changes in the laid-back mindset of the employees. He smashed the business records. His only mantra – We should be ahead of where we were yesterday, every day! He managed to pull the financials up from Rs. 35 Lacs a month to Rs. 1.5 Crores.

At around year two at Orix, Anand sought out additional responsibility and was entrusted with the Business Transportation Solutions vertical, yet no salary increase. Although there was incredible resistance to handing him this vertical, Anand was confident of his talent and knew that he had it in him to handle this.

Within the year, the entire system was changed and improved. He introduced backend processes, technology, and automation. By the end of 2007, Anand was single-handedly managing business worth Rs. 12 Crores in South India alone. He was handling more business in Chennai than any of his contemporaries on a PAN India scale! He was also given a record hike of 85% on his salary.

Anand Narasimhan set his goals for the Business Head position. He had the capacity and has exhibited the potential to handle that role successfully. However, his superiors indicated meaningless limitations, citing that he was a South Indian and did not have a mindset for PAN India operations. He was offered a salary surpassing that of Business Heads, so long as he is content in his current position. But Anand’s growth mindset would not stand for it.

At 40 years of age, Anand Narasimhan was given an opportunity by Select Cabs Car Rental Company. They were looking for somebody who could drive the highly human-intense business of Employee Transportation at a PAN India level. Anand had a familiar modus operandi. He assured that he did not want a salary hike yet, that he wanted to prove his mettle over a year, and that he only wanted an upgrade in responsibilities – he wanted to expand his expertise to other locations of India.

With one year in hand, Anand Narasimhan developed representatives and contacts from various cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, etc. He was able to establish his governance on a larger scale. Anand introduced the trend of compliance as a separate vertical and brought in veterans to implement said procedures. He brought in safety parameters such as breath-analysis for drivers to ensure they are not driving under the influence.

Anand brought the business from a loss of Rs. 3.5 Crores to annual revenue of Rs. 350 Crores! He brought in technological advancement and process refinement in the cab rental concept. He was able to impress his board of members sufficiently. After all, Select Cabs had become the market leader in the industry, based on the number of clients serviced on a PAN India basis!

Anand Narasimhan indicates that transport is a pain area, and being a transport solution provider was the need of the hour. He modeled the concept of outsourcing end-to-end transportation services as an entire unit. He posited to the customer that all he needed was a travel desk, and he would organize a team that would run the complete process. He indicated that a Service Level Agreement would govern their performance. With this, Anand set the trend for this service.

Anand’s life journey shows us the power to look at the big picture and understand the importance of end-product optimization. The end-user was the king. Their satisfaction was of utmost importance. Anand was keen on improving the peace of mind of the end-user after having used such efficient transportation service. Indirectly, the cab service contributed to the efficiency of a larger organization.

Anand Narasimhan leveled up yet again! With technology to dominate and streamline processes and with a mindset of providing transportation as a one-point service, he aims to dominate the transport market for five years, with the intellect gained with extensive experience in the industry.

Trendsetting, brand-making, and overall record-shattering, Anand has had a remarkable journey through hurdles and opposition to become a household name in the car rental market. His visionary ideas shone through his career and have led him to where he is today, as an unshaken force of positivity and restless leveling-up. With 8000 cars under his leadership, an unorganized sector came under the radar. He is now set to embark on an epic venture in partnership with a Transportation Technology Company in the corporate space in Ola and Uber.

Anand Narasimhan teaches us the importance of underestimating yourself, setting the bar higher and higher every day, striving to reach and never letting tough times give you an excuse not to reach your potential.

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