Good people deserve an obituary. Great people receive unending obituaries. Ratan Tata (or RNT, as he is popularly called) was clearly one in the latter category. For someone like me who was fortunate enough to work with him, observe him in meetings, and interact with him, it was a masterclass in humble leadership. This is exactly what separates him from so many other successful tycoons.
Tata Motors was one company that he reviewed every month, because of his passion for automobiles. I moved from being the Global CHRO of Dr Reddy’s to Bombay House as the Tata Motors HR Chief in August 2010. Soon after, I had to create a Long Term Incentive Programme, and that finally went to RNT for approval. He was so prompt that I have preserved his first signature to this day.
I would sit four seats away from him, observing him put two teaspoons of sugar in his cup of tea and stirring it gently with his left hand. He enjoyed the salty Monaco biscuits while listening attentively the whole time. Not once did I see him monopolise a review. Not once did he raise his voice or thump the table.
In fact, I observed him almost seeking permission when asking sharp questions or offering suggestions. In a particular review, a senior colleague received some contradictory feedback. Immediately, he responded that they will change as per his feedback. Pat came RNT’s soft response. “No, no that is just how I see it. Please discuss and do whatever you guys feel right.” How many chief executives honestly do it? How many managers show that grace? The message was delivered with grace and sensitivity. This is leadership in action; that was how RNT was.
There was always that care and sense of fairness that I observed so consistently. There had been an unfortunate employee relations situation in another major car company near Delhi. There was a board meeting in my company, and RNT asked for me to join. He asked me about the differentials in employment between regular and contractual blue-collar employees. I shared with him my perspective. He kept listening attentively and nodding. Finally, he asked me, “Prabir, how much will it take to equate them?” While I pointed out that something statutorily could not be applied to the contract workforce, most of it could, and I gave him an off-the-cuff ballpark number. He did not ask me to do all the calculations and validate.
He just said, “Prabir, please go ahead with your proposal”. And we did. Again, this was something ahead of its time that only a Tata company would do. But the immediacy of his decision, along with articulating it as mine and giving me credit, is something I have not seen too often in my long career across companies. That was the magnanimity of leadership, a trait one does not see in so many leaders.
There were several group events I had the opportunity to be at where RNT was the “big guy”. It could be an annual group leadership session where he would lay out the aspirations of the group and yet re-emphasise that we must do it the right way. Or it could be an annual general meeting of the shareholders of the company. I have been the CHRO of so many leading companies in India, but I never saw a chairman ceaselessly stand up and answer every question that any shareholder asked. Who does it? Only RNT. Profound or trivial, he would respond to every question, mentioning the name of the person who had asked, even if that person was not present at that moment. Sitting behind him in a row on the stage, as part of the management team and scribbling some inputs for his response, I observed the same behaviour every year.
If your chairman can do it, so can you. That was a big leadership reinforcement for me. No one had to lecture you; you just saw world-class leadership behaviour in action.
I also heard the unending stories of how the Nano was visualised. Unfortunately the tag of “cheap” not inexpensive stuck as a recall of what was envisioned by RNT as an affordable and safe conveyance option for millions of Indian families. The story of his not budging on the cost of the “One Lakh car” got our engineers and supply chain teams to think extremely out of the box. But to think the impossible is not something most of us can claim to do. And one of my favourite RNT lines since has been this: a promise is a promise.
It’s brilliant. It’s exemplary. It’s so uplifting for me even today. In times when there are more alibis and excuses for various stakeholders and by multiple levels of leadership all across, this has been for me a guiding light.
And before I close, I have to share that his sensitivity was not limited only to humans. I must confess I was quite shocked to see stray dogs sleeping on the stairs as I would walk up to my office in Bombay House! This was an iconic place to work from, but there were strays all around. And then you heard the stories. And then you told these stories. The passion and commitment, beyond pretensions, is what makes RNT near immortal.
The decision to shift the Nano plant from West Bengal to Gujarat, bolt by bolt, was sheer grit. To fully back the team in creating a turbocharged Tata Motors as it turned around Jaguar Landrover, through all its political and business volatility, needed self-belief. It needed him to believe in his people. It needed him to stick his neck out, always and every time, for what was right.
RNT may no longer be with us. But his folklore as a legendary leader, not just a businessman, will never die. It was not just about the market cap and financial success of the Tata Group under his watch. It was about the principles of leadership he talked and practised for everyone to see. And for lesser mortals like me, it is not just in reading about the man. It was about experiencing him. An experience that makes me feel privileged, proud and so very fortunate. I aim to live a life inspired by RNT—of belief and integrity.