Vikram Cotah

The lady is Tong Wenhong. She joined Alibaba 16 years ago as a receptionist.
When Jack Ma was allocating company shares, he gave Tong 0.2% shares right saying it will worth 100 million when Alibaba goes public into the market later. He asked her to just stay in the company, don’t change to other companies and she will get 100 million when Alibaba goes public.
She waited years but Alibaba never went public. She asked Jack when will Alibaba go public in 2004 and Jack said soon. She asked again in 2006 and JackMa said soon, again.
However, she never saw it happen and never got 100 million. When Alibaba finally went public in the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014, it was worth 245.7 billion. Tong, the former senior receptionist, current Vice President of Alibaba, became a millionaire from a receptionist with 320 million worth.
Entrepreneurship is the 16 character word where the 6th letter P stands for Patience. Most startups end on this 6th stage because of lack of patience.
Whenever I am going to give up my dreams I read this story when a receptionist have this much patience then how can I give up.

“I… pawned my cycle.”

The words slipped out of Karthik’s mouth, almost in shame.
And the entire kitchen froze.

Pots stopped clanging. Voices fell silent. The only sound left was the hiss of steam and the soft crackle of the tandoor.

You could hear a pin drop.

Karthik was the youngest in our stewarding team—a quiet busboy who washed vessels with devotion, never complained, and always smiled through the steam and the scolding.

But that day, he was late.
Very late.

The Chef was upset. “We all pooled our tips to buy you that cycle so you wouldn’t have to walk for miles. Why didn’t you use it?!”

And then—came that trembling confession.
“I… pawned my cycle.”

I stepped into the kitchen.

The Chef turned to me, still fuming. Karthik looked away, eyes glossy with tears, shoulders stiff with shame.

“Tell me what happened,” I asked him, softly.

His voice cracked.
“My sister’s wedding… it got fixed. Her name is Valli. We don’t have parents, sir. It’s just the two of us. They asked for an advance for the community hall. I didn’t want to ask anyone for help… so I gave them the only thing I had.”

He broke down.
Right there—amid steel vessels, ladles, and leftover sambhar—he crumbled.

I took him into the Chef’s office. Sat him down. And hugged him.
Because sometimes, leadership isn’t giving answers.
It’s giving someone your presence when their world is quietly falling apart.

The next morning, we didn’t talk about what to do.
We just did it.

We pooled money from every corner of the hotel.

We bought Valli her wedding saree, her thali (mangalsutra), and organized a full elaisapadu feast for 50 wedding guests and 30 of us were from the hotel.😁

Banana leaves. Biryani , ennai katrika , Thayir Pachadi. Sweet Payasam. Memories wrapped in love.

And then—we showed up.

All of us.
Chefs, stewards, bellboys, housekeeping staff.
Some still in uniform. Others in their finest. But all with one purpose—

To become his uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and friends.

We danced. We served food. We cheered. We became his family.

That day, a hotel didn’t just host a wedding.
It healed a heart.❤️

Years later, I saw Karthik again.

He was standing beside a gleaming Royal Enfield, pride written all over his face.

“I bought it myself, sir,” he grinned.

“And Valli?” I asked.

He smiled.
“She has a baby boy now. We named him… Vikram.”

I looked away for a second. My throat tightened.
I patted his back and said, “Next time, I want to see you with a car.”

Leadership is not a title. It’s a tenderness.
Hospitality is not a service. It’s a second chance.

Sometimes, a boy washing vessels teaches you more about life than a boardroom ever could.

Because sometimes…
A kitchen becomes a home.
And a team becomes your forever family.

#GRTHotels #HospitalityLeadership #CompassionCulture #HumanFirst #GreatKathas #ThePromiseOfMore #ServantLeadership #EmotionalLeadership