Message From MD November – 2022

Dear friends,

October was the month of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. I hope all who celebrated Diwali had a joyous holiday, comfort and peace.
For more than 2000 years, Diwali, has united celebrants across the globe. The festival has diverse significance for different ethnicities , but the triumph of good over evil and the hope for a prosperous future are universal themes of the festival that we all may honor. As our financial year continues, let us take the results of Diwali month with us. It was too good on all fronts. May we all take good efforts, looking to the light, learning from our history, and striving to build a prosperous future for everyone.

19 November 2022. Asset Homes is completing another successful year. I love and thank all of you for your hard work, good deeds, sincere efforts, camaraderie and positive attitude. The last fifteen years remind us of the golden moments we shared with our customers and team members, and may this anniversary bring us more joy, happiness, success and love.

We are launching our 100th project this Anniversary month. Let’s plan a celebration till the handover of the 100th project. The time required to convert the 100th promise to the 100th delivery is three years. I hope there will be many more milestones and celebrations during this period of 36 months. Let’s call this extended celebration period – MISSION CENTENNIAL.

THE MISSION CENTENNIAL (19 Nov 2022 – 19 Nov 2025) shall be the golden era of Asset Homes, where every promise turns out to be a reality.

Celebrating the 100th project launch as a builder is a big event. But, of course, with the continuous change and dynamic market conditions that most organisations face, any milestone is worth celebrating, whether it’s ten years in business, the 25th handing over or the launch of the 50th project. Yet the 100th launch is such a rare achievement, and the 100th delivery is even more special.

So we are about to hit the magic number – 100. There’s a lot of work to do to maximise this opportunity. Before planning the activities, let’s try and understand the character of this celebration- Mission Centennial. Follow these, and we will be comfortably on our way to the next set of 100 projects.

1. The mission centennial provides an opportunity to tell our story, demonstrate growth and evolution, and set the stage for the future. Every organisation has followed its trajectory and has a unique story derived from its actions and people over time. Unlike a 10th or 20th project launch, the 100th launch must be an opportunity to convey the birth, childhood and growth of the organisation.

2. This centennial period is an excellent opportunity to draw upon the company’s founding ethos and uncover, revitalise, and reinterpret founding thoughts and words to propel the company forward.
3. As companies age and scale, they stray from the agility, speed, and adaptability that made them insurgents in their markets. To stay ahead, we need to embody the ethos and beliefs of the founder and early pioneers at the company. Mission centennial provides an opportunity to remind employees and other stakeholders what the organisation stands for.

4. There is a possibility that we may end up with objectives related to 100 and then work out our activities. That’s precisely the opposite of the spirit of this mission. We failed to resist the temptation to brainstorm a slate of ideas related to the number during the last SMT, such as 100 customer testimonials, 100 social media posts, 100 hours of charity work, 100 days of training, and so on. Anything parcelled into “100” becomes a tactic. But we can do better. Avoid the cliche to help Asset Homes stand apart from others and reinforce what makes us unique. The number is not the message; the number is an opportunity to communicate the message.

5. It is the right time to take care of our historical assets. These activities tend to reveal to companies the sorry state of their historical assets, including old images, videos, papers, artefacts, and more. It helps to have easy access to historical articles and insights. Consider building an archive.

6. We must always focus on the future. It may sound strange to recommend that for a 100th promise-delivery mission, an organisation should focus on its future, but it’s true. The most successful celebrations are those in which the past is seamlessly connected to where the company is headed tomorrow. It’s a delicate balancing act. If we are too focused on the past, the message becomes myopic; if we are too focused on the future, then messaging becomes moot. So use this mission to demonstrate how far we have come and where we are headed—balance past and future in everything we execute.

7. CSR initiatives for many organisations are now commonplace. But when a campaign doesn’t connect to the organisation’s purpose, it risks superficiality or inauthenticity. Centennial’s mission provides a unique platform to either restate or redirect organisational philanthropy and set out a platform to benefit future generations.

8. To launch 100 projects in 16 years means the organisation is resilient. It has overcome the retirement of sleeping partners with substantial financial loss, the Great Depression, demonetisation, the worst flood of 2018, the global pandemic and many more. We have witnessed new competitors entering the scene and older competitors seeking an edge. Yet, throughout it all, we were always resilient. That message must come through loud and clear at the mission centennial, even if it’s implicit throughout.

9. We kick-started many innovations in the industry, Koodumattom to the jackpot, digital apartments to selfie apartments, and customer service to customer delight. Over these years, innovation has played a critical role in our organisation’s development. New products and services have opened new markets. New processes and technologies have dramatically changed how we do business. Highlighting past innovations is an excellent means to reinforce a culture of innovation, setting the course for a bright future.

10. Our expansion has been 100% Kerala focussed in the last decade. It’s time to move out of homesickness and mark our brand in every possible state of India and the Middle East. This will make the company begin its new journey on a solid global footing.

Friends, let’s try to make it numerical. Let’s plan to do a business of a minimum INR 2000 cr in the Mission Centennial period. As Michael Angelo rightly said, Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the sculptor’s task to discover it. You are the sculptors to create this outstanding achievement. The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand. Let’s try and work as a team to win the race successfully.

Warm regards
Sunil kumar V
Founder & Managing Director
Asset Homes