Singleness of purpose is one of the chief essentials to succeed in life, no matter what may be one's final ambition. Nobody understands this better than Venu Srinivasan who has moved on a single lane for quite sometime - to carve out a niche in the world of scooter production, a vision he has already achieved. Venu Srinivasan has been driving the TVS in the top gear and he doesn't seem to be in a mood to stop. In fact, he is off to a smooth drive. He has been taking the group on the path of growth for decades. Persistence can pay off in business and with ordinary talents and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable in life.

That's a lesson to be learnt from the life of Venu Srinivasan, 50, Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Motor Company in India. For more than a decade, Srinivasan had worked hard to revive his company, which manufactured motorcycles and scooters in a joint venture with Suzuki Motor Co. By 2001, TVS had become strong enough to split with Suzuki on favourable terms - and start manufacturing on its own. A year later, the company won the Deming Prize, a coveted international award for quality management. What makes Srinivasan's Midas-like makeover more spectacular is the speed with which he turned his company around after a strike nearly bankrupted it.

A workaholic, Srinivasan learned the power of persistence early in life. Despite being a member of a well-known Brahmin South Indian business family, he didn't hesitate to work during summer holidays of schools. While doing his MA in business management at Purdue University, he spent a summer by selling Bibles in North Carolina. He remembers "slogging 80 hours a week, facing rejection when people slam doors on your face and set the dog on you." Yet, he didn't feel dejected.

That's what it takes to be a top Bible salesman - and a respected manager. Today he is in the driver's seat and the TVS is going great guns! Srinivasan's TVS Motor is now India's hottest producer of motorcycles. They're manufactured at a factory in Hosur, near Bangalore, which boasts the most advanced technology to ensure high productivity and quality control. TVS's newest motorcycle, the small but peppy Victor is one of the country's most popular ones - a way ahead of local competitor Bajaj Auto Ltd.'s Pulsar. Indeed, TVS is a showpiece for India's R&D skills and resulting products.

Yet, there's nothing flamboyant about Srinivasan. Quiet and unassuming, he is generally considered to be one of the finest manufacturing minds in India and a master of turnaround who not only brought his company back from the brink but also took on the might of Japanese MNC Suzuki to swing a real sweetheart buyout deal for TVS. Srinivasan's contribution has been on the shop floor where his quality drive pushed both Sundram Clayton and TVS right to the top of the global heap. There is no doubt that the TVS will be treading the path of splendid profit till Srinivasan zooms it off.