Triumph of entrepreneurship..RATAN TATA
Ratan Tata is leaving a legacy which
is comparable to that left behind by some of his predecessors. That is
precisely what is expected of him, and he can hang up his boots, satisfied with
his performance. It is not always that we find corporate leaders like Tata who
have weathered storms while continuing to contribute immensely to the
challenges of institution-building over two decades. They become legends. Tata
has transformed a relatively smaller group that he had inherited, quietly but
with determination into a much larger and respectable empire in the world.
He took charge of a
family-controlled but professionally-managed group under difficult
circumstances. In fact, he was not groomed to step into the larger-than-life
size shoes of his predecessor JRD Tata. The process of building a legacy began
then. He had the challenge of evolving a new growth vision while fighting
disruptive forces. In fact, his success at consolidating his position
organisationally must be viewed as the cradle where he learnt the art of
building an empire.
The
circumstances under which Tata took charge of the reins of the group were
hostile. While he inherited the empire, the kingdoms were under the control of
rebellious kings who not did not approve of him but, in fact, went to the extent
of trying to dethrone him. This is where his faith in trusteeship and
determination to win the cause comes out clearly. As a trustee of the wealth of
the Tatas, he had to take charge and lead from the ront. He did that
successfully, and made the institution stronger.
A leader’s ability to inspire comes
not only from the techno-managerial capabilities that he exhibits, but also the
sincerity with which he undertakes the challenges and leads. Tata has proven
time and again that he believes in the fundamental strengths of the Tata Group.
The group has always believed in values such as compassion for all
stakeholders. He continued to practice the values of the organisation that he
was destined to lead. Even at the time of finding a successor, he did not go ahead
and announce a hand-picked successor. He wanted to ensure that the person who
was stepping into the chair that he was going to vacate had the capabilities to
take the organisation to newer heights. The future had to be in safe hands.
He continued to adhere to the human
values such as caring and collaboration across the group. Employees were often
paid salary increments even when the concerned group company made financial
losses. The logic being: The factory workers did not do anything wrong for the
less than adequate performance of the organisation. This was especially so at
the worker level. The group did not start cutting staff even in the
newly-acquired Corus in UK.
The
beginning of economic liberalisation in 1991 coincided with the arrival of Tata
as the future leader of the group. That was the water shed, make or break
moment for India. The country badly needed entrepreneurial organisations to
emerge out of existing groups to steer the growth graph. Given that a
substantial majority of Indian businesses are family controlled and managed,
the onus was on leaders like Tata to become entrepreneurial in terms of
thinking and action. His passion for technology, innovation and enthusiasm to
prove to the world the inherent potential of the country to be a manufacturing
destination was proven with the design, development and manufacture of the
cheapest but technologically-advanced car of the century, the Nano. While there
may be a number of reasons for the less than expected market performance of
Nano, it gave thumbs-up to India’s capabilities beyond IT.
Even in IT, the growth of TCS is a
demonstration of his ability to trust and delegate operations and strategy to
capable executives. He allowed his team to be entrepreneurial. The group’s
growth beyond its traditional boundaries is an evidence of the capabilities of
the team that Tata built over a period. The group believed in what is now
called portfolio entrepreneurship and grew exponentially.
The group has grown multifold over
the past two decades, and has become force to reckon with globally. This is
precisely what all long-lasting family-controlled businesses have done across
the world in their pursuit to build and perpetuate successfully.
Tata will
only be retiring from his responsibilities as the executive head of the group.
He will continue to be active in several other capacities, including that of
leading some of the large Tata trusts. As chairman of some of them, he will
continue to influence the vision and strategies of the group. He is only redefining
his role and is passing over the baton of leadership to a younger person in
whom he and the group have faith. It is obvious that a person of his commitment
and capability will only be delighted to see the institution that he has
nurtured for two decades continues to grow. That alone will make eternal his
legacy.
Kavil Ramachandran is a management
expert
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/triumph-of-entrepreneurship/1051078/4
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