Lessons from Gopi `s success story

Pullela Gopichand (Gopi), the famed badminton coach, has established India`s credentials as a major world badminton power-house. His stable has produced world beaters who have taken the game by storm- P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Cidambi- to name a few. Thanks to the accomplishments attained by these players, the popularity of badminton has risen so fast in India, that in the days to come it can give a good fight to cricket as well.

Gopi `s successful venture is nothing short of a successful start-up like an Uber, Snap chat or a Tencent. His academy`s achievements in building up so many champion players in the past few years proves that his model is not a flash in the pan but has been scaled up to a successful business model – something which every firm looks for in all new avenues of investment. 

What are the lessons that can be learnt from Gopi`s triumphs? There will be a number of lessons but a few can be seen clearly, as below, by many sports loving- management professionals:

A successful anchor helps increase the probability of success

Gopi was a star player having won the All England championship during his playing days and hence had the star power to attract and convince people about his ideas. Successful people, apart from the experience also know how to man oeuvre the maze at a higher level, to achieve the desired results.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers” says that success comes not only by sheer work and effort but also by successful associations and influences. A good example is that of Mahendra Singh Phogat- father of the famed Phogat wrester sisters- who created a transformation by taking up women`s wrestling in his village in traditional Haryana because he himself was a national level wrestler.

In corporates too, for a complete transformation and change, a proven and accomplished leader increases the chances of success. Nandan Nilekani could successfully build up the Aadhar network in India given his background as one of the founder CEOs of the famous Indian IT firm - Infosys. Lee Iacocca could turn around the car company -Chrysler, as he was a well-known personality from Ford Motors.

Basic ground rules are same for all

Gopi `s academy had a strict rule that all trainees should eat meat to build strength and endurance. No waivers for anybody! Similarly, Mahendra Phogat had the same rules of training for his daughters as well as for other trainees. No emotions and no special favors!

Create your own path 

Gopi tried for government aid to launch his academy but didn’t get much support. He thus decided to start off with his own funding and in fact mortgaged his own house to fund his project. To create a transformation, you have to create your own path as well-trodden paths cannot necessarily lead you to a victory in a totally new venture. 

Don’t count on one blockbuster product

Saina Nehwal needed special attention and decided to move to train with another coach. Rather than regret, Gopi stuck to his vision of expanding his academy and created other stars such as Sindhu and Srikanth to name a few. He ensured that his academy moved on and not rue the loss of a star product. Successful firms hence need to have strong plan B and Plan C`s, in case plan A fails.

World is flat, business model matters

Gopi setup his academy in Hyderabad - a Tier-2 Indian city- and not in any of the metro cities. He however could sell his value proposition to his trainees and succeeded in attracting players to Hyderabad where he could build up his academy at probably at a lower cost.  Secondly, Hyderabad has most of the facilities of a metro city and hence the players could concentrate on their training without any distractions of a metro city like high commuting time and higher living expenses.

In any corporate firm, location is always taken as one of the major factors in setting up a new business. The success of Gopi`s venture proves that as long as the business model and ecosystem is good enough and companies have free access to their markets and suppliers, the business model should work and be free from location constraints.

Pullela Gopichand`s success should be an encouraging sight for many successful sportspersons to take up coaching across the country and create a successful pool of world beaters. India needs an effective ecosystem to create numerous global sports players and Gopi has shown the way with his vision and dedication. It’s time for others – corporates, players, people - to learn and move ahead to make India a global sports force to reckon with.