Creative Leadership - What is Excellence?

Adam Ali Khan had a dream. Now 53 years old he had a sense of accomplishment. He had sent his three sons and two daughters to the Hyderabad’s most prestigious English Medium school. His elder son after completing his management degree has joined the family business. Adam Ali Khan is very happy. Now his management educated son would help him in making the business prosper. He could hardly manage to go beyond the local madrassa.  His father was strict and told him to concentrate on their family business --- “Bidri work”. Bidri work comprises of decorative brass wares artifacts.

The narrow bye lanes of the Charminar in the old city of Hyderabad are dotted with Bidri manufacturing units. Adam Ali Khan has his old ancestral house at “Ghacci Bowli” and has lived for five generations. He used to hate when a communal tension would ruin him of precious working days. The Bidri works were very popular and he would send his consignment of goods to all the major cities in India and even exported to European and Middle East countries.  Behind the breathtaking beauty of   Bidri lies hours of painstaking effort by the artisan. The original technique involved the inlaying of gold or silver on a steel or copper base. This method had its origins in Persia. However, the metal used for the base today is an alloy of zinc and copper because zinc gives the alloy a deep black color. It is engraved or overlaid with silver or brass. After casting and molding, the surface is filed smooth till it acquires the typical Bidri sheen. It is then temporarily blackened with copper sulphate solution and etched into a traditional design by using a sharp tool.

The designs are traced by hand, by the craftsmen with the help of chisels. Next, pure silver wire or sheet (gold in rare cases) is hammered into the grooves of the design and the surface smoothened with the help of a buffing machine. In the ultimate interesting stage, the articles are heated gently and treated with a solution of sal-ammoniac and earth taken from old fort buildings which has the effect of making the entire surface turn jet black providing a distinct contrast to the shining silver inlay. Typical Bidri items include plates, bowls, vases, ashtrays, trinket boxes, huqqa bases, jewellery etc. Glass and studded bangles of Bidri are a favorite with women.

There were twelve craftsmen who worked in his “cow shed factory”. The factory was an extension of Adam Ali Khan’s house. The front portion was converted into a factory. It was a mere three hundred square foot area occupied by thirteen people. The workers worked in the hot surroundings. Sanitation was poor and unhygienic but the work they produced was sheer magic. The skills they acquired through generations had reflected in their product--- captivating.

Adam Ali Khan’s elder son wanted to move the factory to an industrial area where with the help of the government he would built a better factory with more facilities. Adam Ali Khan did not like the proposal but his son was adamant. He wanted to improve the things a little bit. The factory was built by a renowned architect keeping in mind of the different hygienic conditions of the workers. His son introduced TQM, Value Engineering, educated the workers and implemented ISO system.

One year passed. Adam Ali Khan is in a dilemma. What has happened to his family business? Sales plummeted. Eight of his trusted workers have joined another Bidri factory in the same locality. The exporters do not call up him often as they used to do. Then what had happened? The products the factory produced were still exquisitely crafted and exotic.  

Question: What went wrong?

Notes:

1. My brother Sitendu wrote this story.