When one picks up the biography of any celebrity, be it a business person or one associated with showbiz, there is always some apprehension as they tend to be eulogising. This is a similar feeling one gets when picking up this book on Ratan Tata. But here the author, Harish Bhat, who has been associated with the company and also been marketing the brand, writes that Ratan Tata was not perfect and had his shortcomings. However, this book is about the person who headed the empire and expounds on what he stood for, which was remarkable.
The Tata brand today is the most trusted one in the country and this image has been built over years. Ratan Tata not just cemented this, he made it a household name. The book is titled quite appropriately, ‘Doing the right thing’, as this is what Ratan Tata stood for till his last day. All business decisions taken were based on what he thought was right even when it clashed with the ‘profit motivation’. This is something that is not easy.
So, what does doing the right thing mean? It starts with maintaining the Tata legacy so that the values that are the hallmark of the Group remain forever. Second is to put the nation before everything. Third is the ethical conduct of business. This is probably the most challenging thing to do as very often one may have to indulge in corruption or seek political influence to get things done. This is something which was a big ‘no’ for Ratan Tata.
Fourth is doing what is morally right even in case it is legal. Here he gives examples of business deals the Tatas stayed away from even though it had approval in another country because of potential ecological damage. Fifth is the importance placed on being fair to all stakeholders, which was a key to the decision-making process. Here Tata confided that before any decision was taken he would think of the advantages and disadvantages to various stakeholders which also included employees. Sixth was dealing with compassion with employees, and here he was accessible to all. The author narrates his own experience in this respect.
The seventh aspect of doing the right thing is something which should be taught to probably all CEOs, which is showing respect for people. Here Bhat furnishes several examples to show how Tata dealt with employees. Rarely does one come across a leader who has never raised his voice and shown anger even when utterly dissatisfied with the way business has been conducted. This was supposed to be his strong trait which can be a lesson for all leaders. Very often leaders tend to show their power and run down those who report to them. This is something that should be avoided, and this is what Ratan Tata followed all through his career.
Last is meeting every commitment made. Here all are familiar with the Rs 1-lakh car that he had promised. It was a rather bold statement made at that time which looked almost impossible to deliver. But the company did accomplish this task in the shape of the Nano, which made global headlines because of its remarkable costing.
Bhat takes the reader through various instances where these principles of doing the right thing were displayed by Ratan Tata, whose career was long and spanned various economic eras. Creating a Tata identity and brand was probably the highlight because all the companies were working independently when he took over as head of Tata Sons. While changing the logos and creating a single brand identity was a business decision, percolating the principles that he stood for down the line across these companies and administration was an achievement.
n this book, the author picks up these themes and illustrates with examples how Ratan Tata ensured that he went by this playbook. The author also states upfront that these eight qualities that Ratan Tata stood for were from his own perspective. He admits that every individual may have a different view on what doing the right thing is. But this exposition here is more about what Tata stood for, with the examples given by the author supporting the statements.
A view that one can have here is that if all companies draw up their charters on how to do business and follow them to the tee, the world would be a better place. Ironically all companies have a mission and vision statement and also talk a lot of corporate governance. But then these are very broad contours that never define what are the right things to do. Corporate governance is more of a statutory requirement which annual reports tick mark well. But it is when companies are studied over a longer period of time that their character is revealed.
In fact, even today almost all companies talk of what they have done in the context of corporate social responsibility, which is often just paying obeisance to a statutory requirement. The Tata story, told in detail by the author, was motivated long before mandatory CSR came into being.
Reading this book, one would definitely get a feeling that it would be a privilege to work with the Tata Group and, more importantly, to have interacted with Ratan Tata. And for CEOs this may be a good playbook on how to deal with employees and other stakeholders.
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