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His tactics were sometimes unorthodox, but effective. Who else but Dewang could
have thought of using the platform of a fashion show to talk about software? He
did such things not for the mindless pursuit of glamour, but to give that all-
important human face to technology. It helped to create a positive public perception
of an otherwise boring issue.
Dewang practically wrote the textbook on how to manage interpersonal relationships
with the famous, the influential and the powerful. It was his painstaking attention
to the little details that enabled him to reach through to people who were normally
difficult to access.
Remembering birthdays and anniversaries, getting to know assistants and
support staff, going out of his way to do small favors like attending a school
function, using his vast network to get that impossible appointment with a politician
or celebrity—nothing was too troublesome for him to do for those he wanted
to recruit for a cause.
Perhaps his early training as a Chartered Accountant gave him a knack for definitive
thinking. He could quote Section 9 B, Clause 2C verbatim to a bureaucrat, or
rattle off the exact text of H1 B Visa rules at an outsourcing seminar. CEOs and
other decision-makers appreciated this precise articulation that didn’t waste their
time. Dewang excelled at simple and to-the-point explanations in the context of
very specific information.
He backed this up with a transparent, non-partisan and non-personal approach
calculated to build trust. He was rarely known to ask anything for himself. He was a
master at networking, using every relationship as an opportunity to build more
contacts. And he leveraged the power that this networking gave him to add value
to every person in his network.
He gained direct access to decision-makers and got results much faster than would have
been otherwise possible. Industry stalwarts, political leaders and senior bureaucrats found
it advantageous to express unified opinions that kept them in synergy with the network.
This gave immense strength to his opinion building process.
He did this not just within India, but globally. Dewang created the same kind of
network to exert extraordinary influence on many powerful people abroad. He never
missed an opportunity to apply his immense lobbying skills to the advantage of
