GURCHARAN DAS
“My wife says you must be crazy, spending so much time writing instead of doing things other people do at your age,” says Gurcharan Das, who at 70 remains one of India’s most prolific columnists and authors. Das is a pioneer of sorts, retiring as the head of P&G India at age 50 to become a full-time writer and speaker. “I was lucky I found a voice with my first non-fiction book, India Unbound, and that has carried through in my books and columns since then,” he says. “That’s important because it allows you to be authentic and grounded.” Though he has had an illustrious corporate career, to which he attributes his discipline as a writer, Das tends to dip more into his training in philosophy and history. “At the senior levels, managers have to deal with a great deal of ambiguity and make judgements on the human nature and condition. Literature helps you cope better than an MBA,” says Das. Over the years, he’s emerged as someone you can turn to for a sensible take on what’s happening in the country, whether on the political or corporate front. Das was an early evangelist for liberalisation, which has been at the heart his work. “I was among the first to predict the economic rise of India and as it started happening, people started taking notice. Some companies are interested in my background as a CEO and call me to give them advice, but a large portion has to do with how the country is evolving,” he says.
CDET 140131
No comments:
Post a Comment