No job is immune to stress, and some maybe more stressful than others. Of those, the job of the Indian Cricket Team captain occupies the top ranks. So what can entrepreneurs learn from an Indian team captain who handles so much stress and adulation, highs and lows, criticism, success and failures? Quite a few lessons for sure.
While the movie on M.S. Dhoni has just released, I thought of exploring the topic on how the life and trails of Dhoni can be good entrepreneurship lessons.

Plan the work, work the plan

Dhoni has a mind for strategy. He plans for competition and playing conditions and plays to the strengths of the team. But he doesn’t just stop at planning. He executes plans perfectly and keeps a 20 percent contingency flexibility for on-field tactics – in other words, last minute changes in strategy.
Similarly, an entrepreneur needs to plan well, have effective strategies in place and go with full force in executing those strategies.

Don’t give up

Dhoni’s life is an excellent underdog story. He is someone who worked hard to succeed against all odds – odds of coming from a small town, odds of education, odds of being weighed down by family pressure and odds of performance. He could’ve given up at any point, but instead he held on and blew away all the odds that weighed against him through sheer hard work and perseverance.

Create your own brand identity

“Dhoni koi Tendulkar nahi hai, Dhoni, Dhoni hai.” The famous lines in the movie describe Dhoni’s ascent in the cricket world where he worked hard in creating a niche for himself and established his own brand. He didn’t try to be Sachin, he showed the world who Dhoni is.
As an entrepreneur, there is no point trying to be a Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg or a Sachin Bansal. Go create your own identity which will be unique only to you.

Get your priorities right 

When playing in South Africa, Dhoni’s girlfriend passed away in a tragic accident, and when Dhoni was playing the 2015 world cup at Australia his wife gave birth to his first baby. During neither time did he abandon his job and leave. He silently stayed back and performed his duty as a team member and leader. This shows Dhoni’s capability to lead from the front and also his clarity of thought in living for the moment and setting his priorities right.

Share the success 

In all the post-win celebrations involving Dhoni in the team, one aspect stands the same — he gives the credit to his team and lets the team take the limelight. How Dhoni shares his success is a huge lesson for entrepreneurs leading teams. Take the brickbats but share the bouquets with your team.