A story of an Incredible Man of Indian Business world-Ratan Tata

"Success is not a Long jump nor a High jump, it’s a Marathon of Steps"- Mr.Ratan Tata

Nobody disputes that, during his lifetime, JRD Tata was the most respected — and probably the most admired — businessman in India. One feels even more proud when someone sees Mr.Ratan Tata- his great grandson and is struck by a sudden thought: Mr.Ratan Tata has inherited JRD's title. He is clearly the most respected and admired businessman in India today. 

When the Tatas struggled to reinvent themselves in the post-JRD era, One thinks of how Mr.Ratan Tata was perceived then: awkward, untalented, unworthy of the job, out of his depth and full of vindictive anger against many of the satraps of the JRD regime. It was a time of change. New groups were springing up out of nowhere. The certainties of the old protectionist economy and the license-permit- quota had collapsed. Reliance had made the transition from being seen as a ‘Parvenu’ to being regarded as an ‘Industrial Behemoth’. The Infosys legend, personified by Narayan Murthy's personal simplicity and marked by the world-class skills of his high-tech partners, had just begun. 

At Tata headquarters, however, the crises mounted: record losses at Tata Motors, the much-derided plan to launch the Indica, criminal charges over Tata Tea's alleged links with Assam militants, allegations of foolishness in the sale of Tata Oil Mills' assets, a plan to launch a domestic airline with Singapore Airlines that was scuttled and more. And many of us wondered if we were watching India’s greatest industrial group diminish before our very eyes. 

The house that JRD had built was crumbling. Poor, shy, inept Mr.Ratan Tata seemed unable to cope. 

And yet, a mere decade later, here was the same Mr. Ratan Tata being feted by the world's media as the man who reinvented, if not the wheel, then certainly the motorcar. A man who did what no global car-maker believed was possible: to build a car that looked this good and drove so well for so low a price. And here was a new Mr.Ratan Tata, his legendary shyness temporarily in remission, as he joked about calling the car the 'Pachauri' (after the environmentalist who chose to attack the Nano as a pollution threat, a charge that the Nano has easily beaten). 

The following day, the Nano managed the impossible: there was not one negative review of note and the raves kept coming. To the chagrin of his rivals, Mr.Ratan Tata even kept to the price commitment. Though input costs had gone up, he said, the Tata's would still price the basic Nano at Rs.One  lakh because "a promise is a promise". And even as Mr.Ratan Tata was unveiling the world's cheapest car, the Tatas were on the verge of clinching the purchase of Jaguar, one of the world's great luxury cars. 

 He recognized that the old feudal, paternalistic structure that had worked so well in the JRD era. He professionalized the Tatas, democratized the management, abandoned the feudalism and made the group adopt a low-key, matter-of-fact, get-things-done style that had no room for satraps and stars. 

He saw the wisdom of embracing the future. Hence, the focus on TCS. And hence the determination to go global: we talk about Corus, the Pierre, Tetley etc, but the big successes are only the tip of the iceberg. Mr.Ratan Tata told that he was determined to use Indian managerial ability and Tata capital to globalize the group. In 2000, this seemed overly ambitious and grandiose. But he has grabbed the opportunities for globalization like no other Indian industrialist has. 

At the same time, he put his faith in young India. The team behind the Nano is young — the top guy is 35 — and overwhelmingly Indian. So it was with the Indica, a truly Indian car. One of the dichotomies of Mr.Ratan Tata's personality is that while he can be shy and reticent in social situations, he is warm, outgoing and able to motivate teams at work. 

It was his heart that told him to build the Nano. He would see families of four on a single scooter. The father would keep his son in front and the mother would hold on to her baby. He wondered why it was not possible to give such families a car where they could be safe and comfortable for the same price. Plus, they would keep their dignity. There are many reasons for building a car. But this, I think, is the best one of all. And finally, I think, India caught up with the Tatas. Over the last decade the middle class came of age, tired of the crony capitalism of the old Baniya class, was inspired by engineering success stories like Infosys and began to wonder why it wasn't possible for everyone to do business honestly. 

The Tatas had gone through good times and bad times. But they had always given nearly all of their profits to charity. They had consistently refused to break the law and encourage corruption. Older generations of businessmen thought they were silly and shortsighted to do so considering that everybody else played the game. 

But now India has changed. We finally have a strong and vocal middle class that prizes honesty above all else and that has contempt for the sleazy politicians and the crony capitalists of old. Businessmen should learn what is Corporate Social Responsibility from the Tatas.

When we see Mr.Ratan Tata refusing to pay bribes and refusing to bend the rules — and still taking the Tatas from strength to strength, still buying the world's best companies, and still reinventing the rules of the car industry — well then, we know that there is a better way. 

It's possible to be honest and principled. And still beat the rest of the world. 

That's the strength of the new India.