10 lessons to learn from Gabbar Singh

Gabbar Singh, loosely translated from hindi means the proud lion. He was true to his name and starred in the movie Sholay that truly immortalised him. Sholay was and still is one of the most successful movies of bollywood. Amjad Khan who brought Gabbar Singh to life on the silverscreen, did complete justice to the beautifully written script. It was not just the powerful dialogues but the actor's persona and his rendition of the character that has etched Gabbar's memory in our minds forever.

Indeed, Gabbar Singh is the most quoted bollywood villian of all times. Not just this, with some seriously good script writing by Salim - Javed, there's timeless wisdom in Gabbar Singh's character. Gabbar was
more than just a ruthless dacoit he was also a management and marketing genius. Just have a look at all that we can learn from his enterprising character:

1. Jo dar gaya samjho mar gaya

This is the most timeless lesson from Gabbar Singh. Courage and enterprise are the most important factors for laying the successful foundation of a growth oriented organization or a happy life.

2. Kitne aadmi thhey?

As part of business strategy Gabbar Singh made it a point to understand his competition in order to have a clear understanding of his SWOT position and to accordingly chalk out the next line of action.

3. Suar ke bachchon!

Honest and timely appraisal of employees goes a long way in keeping motivation levels up.

4. Arre o Samba, kitna inaam rakhe hai sarkar ham par

Gabbar knew the importance of promoting one's own brand. He put it very nicely. When mothers put their kids to sleep saying "so jao nahi toh Gabbar aa jayega" , you know that brand value is built by shamelessly promoting your business.

5. chhe goli aur admi teen.. bohot naa insaafi hai!

Gabbar Singh had a sense of justice and fairness. This is an important attribute in business and employee  retention. Going by the carrot or stick approach, he thought that 6 bullets for 3 people would be unfair. So, to be fair, he removed three bullets from the revolver.

6. Le, ab goli kha!

Sometimes in the interest of the organization the management has to take some hard decisions. He always put the interest of his establishment before himself. So sometimes he had to 'fire' some employees.

7. Bahut yarana lagta hai!

Gabbar was good at recognizing emotions and how to milk them for his own good. Through close observation, he found out that Basanti and Veeru were madly in love with each other. So, he motivated her to shake a leg by threatening her that 'jab tak tere pair chalenge iski saanse chalengi'. He had a good sense of timing while applying the 'carrot and stick approach'.

He was also a lover of music and dance. Mehbooba Mehbooba was his favorite bonfire song.

8. Going to the root of the issue

Gabbar never took superficial decisions. Thakur put him behind the bars. He made a promise to himself that 'Bohot pachtaogey thakur', and returned back from prison to obliterate Thakur's family and chop off those very limbs that put him behind prison walls. Even in this act he was polite enough to first ask for Thakur's arms. It also shows his resoluteness. Very important factor for success.

9. Tera kya hoga Kaaliya?

Employee feedback was important to Gabbar. He always asked for their feedback before taking a decision on them.

10. Tu kya ladega mujhse Thakur!

Final lesson. Never underestimate your competition. Gabbar had robbed Thakur of his arms but not of his willpower and intelligence. He finally brings Gabbar to his feet and ends his reign.

Long live Gabbar and his isms! Amen.