676. "Before we start"

"You have chosen this small place in another state to set up the factory, for the reason that the raw material source is near this place. It is more than a month since we both arrived at this godforsaken place. You have been going out, now and then. Sometimes, you bring some people here and discuss with them for a long time. But, till now, you have not even got a building plan for the factory prepared. I don't understand what you have been doing" Chandran told his friend Ganesan. 

"Before setting up a factory, there is a lot of preparatory work to be done" said Ganesan. 

"Why did you bring me with you, then? You could have asked me to come here, after doing the preparatory work!"

Ganesan threw a reproachful look at his friend and said, "My dear friend! I want you to be my partner, in this project. A partner should be on the scene, from the very beginning!"

"But, I have not yet consented to be a partner. I know nothing about this business. I am willing to invest money, based on your faith in the project. But I have to get the money to invest from my father. I can't answer the questions he will be posing to me. I asked you to talk to my father about the project and convince him. But, you didn't do so. Instead, you have brought me here. Of course, you have been spending money for my travel and stay. But, I am sitting idle, which is tiresome" said Chandran. 

"Don't worry. Hereafter, you will also have work to do. Till now, I was engaged in technical aspects of the project. Since I didn't know to what extent you will understand the technical aspects of the project, I didn't involve you" clarified Ganesan. 

"You would have studied the technical aspects of the project, before deciding to set up the factory!"

"Yes, of course. I did a detailed study, consulted experts, prepared a project report, got it vetted by the bank and got a loan sanctioned for the project too. I have selected the site for the factory and initiated steps for procuring the land."

"So, what are the factors you have been studying now?"

"Before we start implementing the project, we should decide things like how we are going to implement the project, what part can be done by us directly and what part can be got done through contractors, whether there will be any resistance from the local people for the factory coming up here, strategies for carrying out various tasks ranging from digging a well, to laying electric cables over a distance, identifying different ways of doing things, the benefits and the problems each way of doing would throw up etc" explained Ganesan.  

"Are these things not considered even before preparing the project report? Should we do this exercise once again, before we start the work?"

"If this project were being implemented by a large organization, it would have made a thorough study of all these factors. But, this is a small firm having you and I as partners. We didn't prepare the project report, by engaging experienced consultants, which would have involved huge expenditure. So, it is better to have a thorough check of all the factors, before we set out to buy the land and construct the factory building. Have we not witnessed some projects launched by big companies running into problems during implementation?" 

"In case we find that there are some insurmountable problems in implementing the project, what should we do?"

"In such a scenario, we have to treat the money spent till now as a loss and abandon the project!" said Ganesan, laughing.

"Oh! That was the reason..."

"...I didn't speak to your father about the investment. I wanted you to bring in your capital, only after I got confirmation that the project could be implemented successfully. If the project were to be abandoned, I would bear the loss of the money spent till now" said Ganesh and added, "Fortunately, my study indicates that such a scenario is not likely to develop."

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 68
The Method of Executing An Action

Verse 676 (in Tamil):
mudivum idaiyURum muRRi Angu eydhum
padu payanum pArththuch cheyal.

Meaning:  

An act is to be performed after considering the means to be adopted, the obstacles to be encountered, and the gain expected on completion of the act.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thozhilaith thuvangip pAr' by the same author.) 

Verse 677
Verse 675