Integrity on wheels

After finishing a two days workshop, I was on my way home in a TAB cab,  a private cab services company.  The Cab driver, a middle-aged courteous quiet guy smiled and welcomed us. I was tired and ready to doze off, Until the Driver started sharing his story.

The Driver, Satish Rawale’s  story has two parts. One a personal story of perseverance  and Integrity. The other a successful homegrown business model..based on human goodness and ingenuity.

On a personal note, Satish who ran a successful business in his village had to leave his family , wife and two young kids, Khushi and Piyush, “who always slept on my arms, he said with a heavy voice,  and come to Mumbai to earn money. He had not studied beyond class 3. So he started working as a peon earning Rs.3500. He had a driving license but was too scared to drive on the crazy Mumbai roads, he mentioned unabashed.

Soon he realized that this 3500 was not going to suffice his and his family's needs and that he will have to move beyond his fears. So he started driving. Satish spoke in a voice that was matter of fact.

Moving ahead one step at time,  he moved to a tours company,  to a call center and then eventually to TAB cabs.. He mentioned how,  he once helped a young newly joined accountant, who used to be bullied by his lady manager, He “Guided” that young man till the truth saved him. I told the lady manager, he said, “ that Education was not everything.. being Kind was”

I was touched at just how much empathy this person was capable of, given his own dire situation, he was able to rise above that and stand up for another human being.And that the hardships and the tough city life had not dislodged his Kindness or hardened his heart. 

Satish’  other story, is where around 2000 cab drivers, in the city of Mumbai, have come together and have created a “System” on Whatsapp – where there are about 20 “groups” based on the different locality. And when  anyone gets a “request” for a cab, and in case he is not able to service it, he leaves a “voice Message” on that particular group and whoever is willing has to send an “OK”. The admin of the group then decides who has sent the first OK and the ride is assigned to him. The Admins decision is final.  

They have some rules as well: You can Only say yes, if you can reach in 15 min or less, so it'  Once you have said OK – You HAVE to service that request. If you don’t that you are barred from the what’s app  group for 8 days. “Bad service” creates a Bad name for everyone- he said”.  And then, If you have received a request from someone, you cannot “directly” contact this Customer in the future, it is NOT ethical, and after all money is not everything , says Satish, relationships are.

so important that you estimate the time properly. He told me of an incident, when one of the referred client turned out to be someone from his village, and needed a regular pickup and drop, so so 'naturally' he said  he would rather Satish was his driver instead of the other person who send him to Satish. Without a pause Satish said, "I told him clearly that, he would like to stay in touch with someone from his village, But not to contact him directly in the future for his Cab requirements, as that was not the 'right' thing to do. Again, we have a code of Integrity and strong relationships among the 2000 of us he said, matter of factly.

So, the curious me, asked, in my old way of thinking, how much “commission” does one get for referring a client., Satish told me after an awkward pause, that the commission is the faith that the others would also do the same for him in the future. No one makes money by referring, they just build a transparent good service based model that benefits everyone.

Collaboration and not Competition as  a business model that is working.  Holocracy in action - 

Self-managing , self-governed system. On the Pillars of Integrity and Trust in Basic Human goodness.. in the economic Capital of India.. Working seamlessly.

And a bunch of Happy people because they are also “Helping” others. .and in fact THAT is the basis of the model and it’s  success.

There is Hope. and certainly some lesson in lived integrity as a competitive advantage. 

A Ride to remember !! for Sure.

Rhea