Ambani vs. Ambani - Part 2

Yes, I will cover these brothers every now and then as their battle intrigues me. Please watch the video by clicking on the picture - for more context. In my judgement this feud is a classic case of "powerful men" who are still immature men, boys in men's bodies. In my judgement - they have never dealt with their father wound. For those who don't know, their father - Dhirubhai Ambani, "was an Indian rags-to-riches business tycoon who founded Reliance Industries in Mumbai with his cousin. Many people consider Ambani's phenomenal rise to be an example of crony capitalism and the result of proximity to the ruling politicians because it was achieved through preferential treatment given to him in a highly repressive business environment. So go figure - what virtues do you imagine these Ambani brothers were raised with? Again, it's just my judgement that they were raised with hording - the belief that "I must have it, and you can't have it." My point in this coverage of the drama these brothers have created is really best illustrated by The Red/Black Game. WARNING: if you think you might want to play this game someday - don't read any further. I personally think even if you read this you will have the experience you were meant to have if you did play the game! Here's how it goes: This is an exercise to try on your students to demonstrate that not all situations are best done in a competetive way. Divide your class into three (or, possibly, more) teams. The purpose of the game is to score as many points as possible. On each turn, each group decides whether choose red or black and writes that on a sheet of paper. Scoring is as follows: If all choose black, each team scores 50. If exactly one team chooses red, that team scores 100 and all other teams score 0. If more than one team chooses red, all teams score 0. Play about 5 or 6 rounds. What you should usually find is that at least one group will start using red almost immediately and others will join in so that by the end of the game, NO team will have as many points as they would have if everyone had "cooperated" and chosen black at each turn. You can also point out that you said "score as many points as possible" NOT "your team should score as many points as possible" - again emphasizing that the larger score by the whole group was a positive gain. So how does this game relate to the brothers? Actually to all corporate competing - let's grow up and focus more on how to innovate, create and grow - rather than expand so much energy on how to win-loose. Yes win-win is aspired by many, and when push comes to shove - do you vote red or black? Grant someone you love a black vote today.