On a visit to Mauritius in 2002, I met the scion of one of the largest business houses in the country. It was the house of Currimjee, who deal in a wide range of products, from computers to cars. They have been in Mauritius for nearly a century, and I was curious to know how grandpa Currimjee came to Mauritius, 100 years ago, right across the ocean from faraway Kutch. The grandson told me that when his grandfather was on his way to East Africa, the ship he was travelling on developed some engine trouble. They pulled into Port Louis in Mauritius to have the problem fixed. The young 18-year-old Currimjee (who had walked out of the house after an argument with his father to seek his own fortune) liked what he saw. He felt that there could be tremendous potential for trading in Mauritius. He set up shop and began as a small trader. He built this into a large empire, which his sons and grandsons have expanded on further. This was an accident that proved to be a turning point.
In the 1950s, Dr Krishna Swamy was a medical representative with headquarters in a town in South India. He was an effective medical representative, although why, as a doctor, he became a medical representative, is something I could never discover.
In his mid-40s, Dr Krishna Swamy developed blindness. He could not move around anymore, as he did before. The company gave him a desk job at the Madras office. He started as a sales administration assistant, and moved up over time to become the branch sales promotion manager. He seemed to blossom in this new assignment. With the loss of his eyesight, his other senses became more sensitive. He could recognise a person by the fall of a footstep. He would address you by name when you knocked at the door and entered.
When I once went to see him, he requested me to sit till he finished dictating a few letters. He dictated five replies and then wound up to attend to me. Later, I discovered that Dr K—as he was fondly called—had his secretary read out to him 30 letters at a time; and then he would dictate the replies in a sequence; then the next 30 letters would be taken up. For Dr Krishna Swamy, his blindness was a turning point in his career—and he came on top of the situation.
Roy was one of the finest elevator servicemen that the company had. He had worked for the company for 26 years in Mumbai. He was so good that the company transferred his services to a country in the Middle East. One day, when he and his colleague Abdul were attending to a problem, he saw Abdul lose his grip and plummet many floors, to the basement. Abdul lay there in a pool of blood—dead! Roy could not forget this sight ever. From that day on, he just could not get up there to attend to the elevator. He quit his job and went to Canada (where a sister had settled), but he found it difficult to get a placement, because elevator repairs was the only job he knew, and he did not want to do it anymore! He now works as a postman in a suburb of Montréal—and he is happy.
He knows all the members of the community. They look forward to his call; many even invite him to have a cup of coffee. He had become a friend, philosopher and guide, especially to the elderly and the lonely in his designated territory. He has gone beyond the job of a postman. A colleague’s fall—and a turning point in his career.
At the age of 12, Kunal was given a camera by his uncle. This became his most valued possession. Kunal now never went anywhere without his camera, and his father did not grudge him the film and developing expenses. In the course of time, Kunal‘s photography improved, and he also set up his own developing facilities. When he finished school, Kunal decided to opt for photography as a career. He diversified into colour processing and then into high-quality printing. His enterprise in Mumbai was a huge success. All because of a turning point—the gift of a camera from his uncle.
The busy doctor, JC Patel, was sometimes called out at night. He would then have to drive the car himself, since the driver would have gone home for the day. Dr Patel accepted this as a part of the life of a cardiologist. One day, when he got a call from a critical patient at 1am, he had a quick wash, dressed and rushed down.
He got into his car, and as he did a quick reverse to get it out of the parking position, he heard a scream, and then, utter silence. There was an old man who had slept very close to the rear wheels. The poor vagabond was severely injured. Dr Patel had missed noticing the fragile figure bunched under the car. The rest of the night was spent dealing with this problem—the hospital, emergency ward, blood transfusion, et al…
That night changed the course of Dr Patel‘s life. He reduced his practice. He called for a taxi for night calls. The memory of the crouched figure, over which he rolled, will not be erased from his memory. It was a turning point in his life.
Carl was a good general surgeon and was building up a good practice in Bombay in the 1950s. It was a busy and successful life, when a personal tragedy occurred. His newborn daughter had a cleft lip. At first, Carl and his wife did not know how to take it. But when the initial reaction died down, Carl decided he would go back to the UK and study the new specialisation of plastic surgery. He came back after two years to operate on his own daughter and became one of the pioneers in this branch of surgery in the country. The birth of his daughter was a turning point in what would have otherwise been a successful but uneventful career.
The birth of Malini, a spastic child, spurred Mithu Alur to start the Spastic Society of India, which has become one of India’s most professionally run and largest institutions with schools spread across the country, a research centre and training workshop; another turning point - but for which Mithu might have been a housewife rather than a flagbearer!
Accidents and strange incidents can launch careers, change careers and end careers. It happens to every one of us. The important thing is to remain on top of the situation and come out a winner!
You may also want to read other articles written by the author. Here is the link
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India - FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years, capping his career as Head of marketing for a Pharma multinational, for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka- and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of consultants in 45 countries, in 1997. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist, international conference speaker and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 40 years. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for Consulting in 2005, and for Marketing in 2009. He now spends much of his time in NGO work - Consumer Education and Research Centre, IDOBRO, and some others.)
