Naveed Shaikh, the
young and dynamic partner at ACS Lead Tech, fondly recalls his childhood
conversations with elder brother Assad and says, “All we discussed was dad’s
chemical business and how both of us would grow it together. In fact, while we
were still at middle school, we had jointly decided that we would become
engineers!” Assad went on to qualify as
a mechanical engineer while Naveed graduated as an electronics engineer. Looking
back, Naveed feels that the most defining influence on him has been the easy
camaraderie and trust the brothers repose in each other. “Assad always wants
the very best for me and I feel the same for him. In fact, we are always
fighting so that the other gets it a little easy or a little better, be it a
car or a holiday.” It is this willingness to sacrifice and this readiness to
put the other before oneself which has ensured that the business controlled by
their strict father, has grown and diversified ever since the two brothers
joined the business.
ACS Lead Tech was
established by Shakir Razak Shaikh in 1983-84 and is currently recognized as a
leading manufacturer, supplier and exporter of environmentally sound
technologies for battery recycling, litharge red lead furnaces, red lead furnaces,
lead oxide ball mills and pollution control equipment. A first generation
entrepreneur, Shakir Razak Sheikh, started his career as a chemical engineer
and spent eight years as an expert in lead oxide and allied products, working
for various organisations. It was during his stint in Germany, while working
for Napro industries, when he first decided to take up full time consultancy.
Soon he found the mismatch between his precise advice and the actual
implementation by his clients. He asked himself the question, “Why tell others
how to make and see them create the mess? Why not make and give a perfect
product to the clients?” This was the turning point in the trajectory of the
Shaikh family. Shakir Razak Shaikh soon set up the one man company and took on
the different roles ranging from soliciting quotations to acquiring raw
material to manufacturing parts to arranging transport and labour for
commissioning plants. He had re-invented himself from a consultant to a manufacturer.
As the business grew, so did his responsibilities and he became almost an
absentee father in the Shaikh household. Naveed, here recognizes the stellar
role played by his mother in ensuring that both Naveed and Assad appreciated
the hard work of their father and aspired to join him soon. Assad joined the
family business immediately on his graduation while Naveed decided to accept
the campus placement offer from Siemens.
Looking back, Naveed
feels that his decision of not going to the USA to get a master degree was the
most profound decision he had taken. Citing the examples of his cousins and
friends, he says that none of them came back to India and gave up on their
entrepreneurial dreams. He feels that the Family Managed Business course both
he and Assad did at SP Jain, has had a defining influence on them as it set
their expectations right. They understood the value of sustaining their family
managed business and also understood the critical role their emotional maturity
and relationship handling would play. So when Naveed decided to resign from his
job and join his father and brother in the business, he knew well that he would
need to create a role for himself. He knew that since ACS Lead Tech is in the
core business of manufacturing machines for the chemical industry, his father
and brother would always a pivotal role on account of their domain expertise in
chemical and mechanical engineering. Accordingly, Naveed added a new wing to
their business and started trading in chemicals and metals. He took on the role
of market expansion and diversification and strengthened the core team of his
father and brother by pitching in as an expert in business management.
Asked to explain the key
component of a successful family managed business, Naveed is forthright in
talking about the importance of communication. “It is not that we do not have
disagreements, but we never push them under the carpet. We discuss everything
out and always take the solution oriented approach. This helps to balance
subjectivity with objectivity”, he said. As an explanation of this open
communication channel, Naveed spoke of the support of their father on all
issues, be it starting a new business vertical, or to invest
in additional space for the growing family..
Even between the brothers, the discussions are always marked with candor.
“All our finances are controlled by dad. He pays for all household expenses
ranging from groceries to school fee. He ensures we never feel short of money
but the control remains with him. Sometimes, it gets overwhelming but then
Assad and I hear each other out and counsel each other. We understand, it is in
the best interest of our business and the case rests there. For me Assad has
been a father figure. He is my anchor who keeps me grounded and ensures that we
always have a positive work environment”, he said. Coming to his own family,
Naveed takes pride in his wife’s technical aptitude and hopes that she would
soon set up her own business of technical writing. When asked about the
possibility of her joining him in their family business, Naveed feels that the
core team of his father, brother and himself are best suited to run ACS Lead
Tech. “This is an objective decision and we intend to keep it that way”, he
says signing off.
Dr Minu Mehta in collaboration with Naveed Shaikh
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