Do you want to be successful?  Who does not?

However defining success is another matter. To some, success might lie in the eyes of the world like Rahul Dravid scoring a double century, to someone else it could be personal success, a person who at the end of his life feels that it has been a happy, fulfilled and an enjoyed life.  Success is something that each one of us needs to define for ourselves. It might be difficult to define but we all have an idea of what success means. We can recognise success in its many forms. That the world is obsessed with success can be gauged by a casual visit to a bookstore and a look at the multitude of books written on this subject. After reading several of these books, with the idea of finding out what the formula for success is, I tend to find that though the emphasis of various authors may be very different, ranging from positive attitude to the right business strategy, from thinking big to having faith and others, at the very core there is a commonality. There is a formula for success.

In terms of style, personality and background of a person, there seems to be no winning combination for success. Dhirubhai Ambani rose from a petrol pump attendent to dominate the petrochemical industry. Aditya Vikram Birla who also dominated his industry was born to a business family. He believed in increasing capacity in safe increments and became the largest viscose staple fibre producer in the world. Dhirubhai Ambani went about setting world-class plants in one go.  Different approaches, different backgrounds, different personalities yet the same result, dominant success in industry. So what makes for success?

I believe that the formula for success could concisely be put into the acronym B.O.S, which stands for Big dreams, Obsession and Style & task fit.  Let me elaborate.

Big dreams: A few days back I met a teacher Sita, who had this big dream, she wanted to help Rahul a struggling student to be among the first 10 in class. A big dream may not be world scale as that of a Dhirubhai, it is just the inherent desire to make a difference. It is the ability to visualise a better reality and getting wedded to the idea of making it happen. It is the ability to set goals and stay focused. Both a doctor's desire to see substantial improvement in his patient and  Muthuramn's desire to make Tata Steel EVA positive are big dreams. One would make a successful doctor the other a successful managing director. Obsession: Successful people are obsessed.  Edward de Bono says that successful people are "a little mad,... they are single minded and are determined". Gita Piramal the author of the book The Business Maharajas says that the common thread among people profiled in her book is that they are "stubborn". It stems from the confidence that these people have and the dare to take risks on the opportunities they have spotted. It also stands for the courage to defend their visions and their point of view.   These people are enslaved by an idea. The person wants to see the idea work, wants to make it happen. Power, riches and fame have nothing to do with it. It is this obsession, which helps these people determined to see things through, to finish that job. Style and Job Fit: The basic nature, style and aptitude of the person should match the chosen task, profession or career.  To really understand this, let me give the narration from the book First Break all the Rules by Markus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. This is a tale of a scorpion and a frog.

The scorpion wanted to cross the pond and spotting the frog pleads to the frog to carry him across. The frog afraid that the scorpion would sting, it refuses. The scorpion uses persuasive logic and tells the frog, that it is not in the scorpion's interest to sting the frog because if the frog dies then it will drown along with the frog. Thus convinced by the scorpion the frog starts off across the pond with the scorpion on its back. Half way across the frog feels a terrible pain as the scorpion stings. In its dying breath the frog asks the scorpion "Why?" and the Scorpion says, "It is not in my interest to sting you but it is my nature to sting."

It is this inborn nature and basic fundamental and unique characteristic of each one that I refer to as an individual's style. The chosen profession or task should be in sync with the person's natural style. For instance a successful doctor's innate style or characteristic of empathy would make him a natural success with his patients. Perhaps the paramount style requirement for a sales person is the ability to build relationships, and gain trust. People with "empathy" might be the best suited for the complaints department. The ability to articulate and communicate effectively would be an innate talent requirement for success as a trainer. What this framework basically implies is that success is there for any one to take. Especially if one defines success or achievement as the distance travelled from where one started and where one is, success does not depend on birth, education or circumstance. The starting point is that one has the desire to make a difference, and then being dogmatic about the chosen goal. It is important to be aware of ones own natural strengths, preferences and mental make up. If these individual characteristics fit in well with the chosen profession or job then there is a very good chance of success. The awareness of ones style also helps entrepreneurs identify people with abilities and characteristics, which complement their own styles and fill the gaps that their own natural abilities might have. Big Dreams, Obsession and Style & Task fit (B.O.S) That's the formula for success in a nutshell. 

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