Nadir Godrej launches Dheeraj Gupta’s book ‘Loved By A Billion’.

Kaushal Sampat, Dheeraj Gupta, Nadir Godrej, Laura Ries, Neeha Gupta launch Loved By A Billion

New Delhi [India], August 22: Nadir Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej Industries, presided over the book launch of ‘Loved by a Billion: How Singular Focus Builds Iconic Brands,’ a book co-authored by Indian businessman Dheeraj Gupta, Founder of Jumboking and Laura Ries, daughter of legendary marketer Al Ries.

The launch was at the Granth Bookstore at Taj SantaCruz. During a vibrant book discussion moderated by Kaushal Sampath, President of Vayana, the engaged crowd tuned into the principles of focus, as applied to Indian brands. Dheeraj Gupta’s practical execution of Ries’s theories to help scale Jumboking into a nationwide chain was the focus of the discussion.

A revered titan of Indian industry and a renowned patron of literature, Nadir Godrej regaled the audience with his customary poetry and commended the authors for translating global brand-positioning methodologies into actionable insights tailored for India.

“Godrej too started as a focussed company, 120 years ago. We were into oils and soap and for a long time, resisted expanding into multiple businesses. The growth of the company was possible because of trust and innovation, which are our core values,” Nadir Godrej said, speaking about ‘Focus’.

Dheeraj Gupta, who has often cited Al Ries, the author of the bestsellers Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It and Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind as his mentor, said, “When all the players in a category are unfocused, then it seems like it’s a one-legged race and someone with one leg will win! Focus is when someone with two legs joins the race.”

“Brand extensions fail because people fall in love with their own names,” Laura Ries added. “I’m a big fan of globalization. But you shouldn’t carry everything to the world, just one thing! That’s when you succeed.”

Nadir Godrej also cited an HBR study about how conglomerates tend to navigate uncertain economic and political climates better. Co-author Neeha Gupta too shared her brand journey.