Business Leadership: Learning from the Great

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” ..... John F. Kennedy Leaders are movers of people, mobilizers of opinion. Emperors rule, but leaders motivate. As Disraeli said, “We govern men by words.” When one does not have strength within, one cannot earn respect and respect is absolutely essential for lasting leadership. Hence, leaders never stop learning. Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty”. Leadership is a journey of discovery. There are strategies to be gleaned; Mantras to be internalized and inspiration to be borrowed. Business leaders are pillars of economy of any country. Their journey towards top is always challenging and inspiring. It is rightly stated that one learns from the experiences of others. Years ago, David Rockefeller, reflecting on the challenges confronted by any business leader, in a speech to the American Bar in 1972, had said: “A typical executive may be picketed on Monday by a group denouncing big business for trying to run the country. On Tuesday he may be urged by minority group leaders to take over and operate the public school system. On Wednesday a delegation of enviornmentalists may seek to close one of his major plants. On Thursday community representatives may arrive to press for the creation of more jobs and training in the plant’s area. By Friday he may speak in understandable desperation to his company’s lawyers for help in dealing with Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.” In history, there are several business leaders whom approach towards success is always learning for others. Beyond question among them, Jamsetji Tata was the most important pioneer entrepreneur of India. Jamsetji Tata, also known as “One-Man Planning Commission”, as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru called him, laid the foundation for India’s industrial growth, not only by establishing enterprises which needed long periods of gestation and involved considerable risk but by establishing scholarships and technological institutions which would educate scientists, engineers and other technocrats for generations to come. Talking about his leadership, JRD once explained: “Jamsetji was a man of great intelligence, a man of extraordinary vision. There are some very intelligent people but they have no sense at all of the future. Jamsetji had that sense. His vision of the future gave him a sense of what needed to be done for the country. And then he had integrity. Not only money-related integrity. Jamsetji had integrity of thought and mind. The final attribute was his great humanity- the way he thought about workers nobody in India or abroad thought at that time.” JRD Tata himself was one of the great business leaders which India has ever seen. Alfred Sloan once said, “What is good for General Motors is good for America.” JRD thinks the other way round. “What is good for India is good for Tatas”. As a result of a lack of a university education, JRD had to rely on self-education. He said, “If I have any merit, it is getting on with individuals according to their ways and characteristics. In fifty years I have dealt with a hundred top directors and I got on with all of them. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary….To be a leader you have to lead human being with affection.” Once while responding to a Calcutta educationist, JRD Tata summarized guiding principles which have kindled his path and career as follows:- - That nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought and hard work; - That one must think for oneself and never accept at their face value slogans and catch phrases to which, unfortunately, our people are too easily susceptible; - That one must forever strive for excellence, or even perfection, in any task however small, and never be satisfied with the second best; - That no success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people and is achieved by fair and honest means; - That good human relations not only bring great personal rewards but are essential to the success of any enterprise. Dr. J J Irani, former Director, Tata Sons Ltd. & former Managing Director of Tata Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. once outline five basic tenets of business leadership that he have believed in and tried to live by: Firstly, the primary aim of industry should not be to make money. The aim should be to serve customers and other stakeholders-the result would be make money. And pursuing excellence would enable it to create even more wealth. Secondly, the wealth thus created should be made available for the benefit of the community and the Nation. Thirdly, In the creation of wealth, care must be taken to not only protect the environment but enhance it so that this world, which, as they say, we have borrowed from our children, is left in better shape for them. Fourthly, Leadership in business is living by these ideals and leading by example. Fifthly, in today’s world the only constant is Change. Leaders must, therefore, anticipate Change, drive it, make it acceptable to all stakeholders, and turn threats into opportunities through their Vision and their Action. The man who made Telco was Sumant Moolgaokar. In the country where the attitude of many is to tolerate slipshod work saying chalta hai (it passes), he expected and obtained standards of excellence and precision and passed it down the line to managers, supervisors and workers. To Sumant Moolgaokar perfection was a goal, never quite reached but always sought after. He had an eye for the scarcest resource of all- talent; and he could bring out the best in his team. No one worked under him: everyone worked with him. He could motivate the workforce to the pitch where they became emotionally involved in the company they served. He could galvanize them into action and make the job exciting for each one of them. This was the secret of his spectacular success in Telco. With him as the head of the organization, every worker was made to feel that he was not merely a cog in a big machine; he was not attending to a forge or a furnace but was helping to build and advance a great industrial enterprise, to erect a national monument. “There is a belief in our country,’ he said, ‘that our culture and our character cannot allow our people to attain consistently high standards and shoddiness and carelessness is our God-given ways of life. But if with faith in them, you ask our men for their best, they rise to a belief in their work and create a momentum towards improvement. Often I have seen men who were considered ordinary, rise to extraordinary heights. Do not accept second rate work; accept the best and ask for it; pursue it relentlessly and you will get it.” Narayan Murthy, the co- founder of Infosys came from lower middle family of teachers where tremendous focus was given of education. He candidly admits that back in 1960’s, the odds of his being in front of world would have been zero. Yet here he stands before the world! With every successive step, the odds kept changing in his favor, and it is these life lessons that made all the difference to become successful business leader: firstly, it is less important, I believe, where you start. It is more important how and what you learn. If the quality of the learning is high, the development gradient is steep, and, given time, you can find yourself in a previously unattainable place…Secondly, learning from the experiences, however, can be complicated. It can be much more difficult to learn from success than from failure. If we fail, we think carefully about the precise cause. Success can indiscriminately reinforce all our prior actions. Thirdly, as I think across a wide variety of settings in my life, I am struck by the incredible role played by the interplay of chance events with intentional choices. While the turning points themselves are indeed often fortuitous, how we respond to them is anything but so. It is this very quality of how we respond systematically to chance events that is crucial. Fourthly, the mindset one works with is also quite crucial. A fixed mindset creates a tendency to avoid challenges, to ignore useful negative feedback and leads such people to plateau early and not achieve their full potential. The latter view, a growth mindset, leads to a tendency to embrace challenges, to learn from criticism and such people reach ever higher levels of achievement. Fifthly, I believe highest form of knowledge is self knowledge. Hence, this greater awareness and knowledge of oneself is what ultimately helps develop a more grounded belief in oneself, courage, determination, and above all, humility, all qualities which enable one to wear one’s success with dignity and grace. Sixthly, when, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that, in the ultimate analysis, we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate. Defining her mantra for success in business, Sudha Murthy, Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation once stated: “Compassion plays a bigger role than position. It is the compassion that a person shows towards others that makes him different….One upmanship helps a person to grow fast, but not necessarily successful. It is the compassion that makes you successful.” She accepted that there is nothing wrong to be ambitious and make money. “It is important to be ambitious and creation of wealth- legally or ethically- is important too. But a part of the wealth should go back to society.” Tarla Dalal rise to ‘recipe queen” began in 1974 with a book- not hers. At the time, she was conducting cooking classes in Pune. One fine day, one of her students published a book that sold like hotcakes. “I was just a housewife and I could barely speak English. But I was a good cook,” recalls Dalal, who started with teachings six women. “I did not know what dhana jeru (coriander and cumin seed powder) was called in English. And when I saw a book by someone else with my recipes, my husband convinced me to write my own. He took dictation from me and we constantly debated over the English names to the ingredients.” She released her first cookbook, The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking, in 1975- it took her 18 months to compile- and her classes became increasingly popular. Narrating her secret behind success, she once stated, “Ironically, I found the strength not in work but in taking time off.” She further stated, “Cooking is a science. A good dish is about right proportions and not who has made it.” Stating his lessons as business leader, Azim Premji once stated: The First thing I have learnt is what we must always begin with our strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses; The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far more value than five found. In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning, our rewards. The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every time. Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy winning. And if you do encounter failure along the way, treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humility. This brings me to the value of gratitude. It is important to first acknowledge what we have received. Nothing in life is permanent. The fifth lesson I have learnt is that we must always strive for excellence. One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than ourselves. The sixth lesson I have learnt is never give up in the face of adversity. It comes on you suddenly without warning. Always keep in mind that it only the test of fire that makes fine steel. The seventh lesson I have learnt is while you must be open to change, do not compromise on your values. “Remember, those who win are those who believe they can” P.R.S Oberoi inherited the hotel business from his father M.S.Oberoi and expanded the group in strategic locations across globe. Talking about his lessons, he once stated: “During the course of my life I learnt many valuable lessons from my father, but the one lesson that helped me channelize my career and the way I work was his saying, “Donot always think about wealth. Wealth will come, do the right things.” And I have tried to follow that “I donot think of personal wealth, and if you do the right things then everything will turn out alright,” expressed Oberoi. “People have often asked me “what is your real strength in the company?” and I say “people-they are our real asset.” The one motto that every hotelier, aspiring student or hospitality professional should work and live by is ‘Be the best in whatever you do’ success will soon follow.” When Jack Welch, assumed leadership of GE in 1981, it had a ninety-year history, the company stock traded at $4 per share, and the company was worth about $12 billion, eleventh best on the stock market. It was a huge, diverse, company that included 350 strategic businesses. But Welch believed the company could become better. Within a few months of taking over the company, he began what he called the hardware revolution. It changed the entire profile and focus of the company. Welch said, “To the hundreds of businesses and product lines that made up the company we applied a single criterion: can they be number 1 or number 2 at whatever they do in the world marketplace? Of the 348 businesses or product lines that could not, we closed some and divested others. Their sale brought in almost $10 billion. We invested $18 billion in the ones that remained and further strengthened them with $17 billion worth of acquisitions. What remained (in 1989), aside from a few relatively small supporting operations, are 14 world-class businesses…all well positioned for the ‘90s….each one either first or second in the world market in which it participates.’ In his book called “Winning”, he also emphasized “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” Welch’s strong leadership and ability to focus have paid incredible dividends making GE as one of the world’s most valuable and admired company. Roberto Goizueta, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Coca-Cola Company is always regarded as one of the finest business leaders in the world. Making Coca-Cola the best company in the world was his lifelong quest. In a speech delivered a few months before he died, he said: “A billion hours ago, human life appeared on Earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles performed on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’. A billion Coca-Colas ago…was yesterday morning. And the question we are asking ourselves now is, ‘What must we do to make a billion Coca-Colas ago this morning?” With this leadership motto, the legacy left by is incredible. When he took over Coca-Cola in 1981, the company’s value was $4 billion. Under his leadership, it rose to $150 billion. That’s an increase in value of more than 3,500 percent! Coca-Cola became the second most valuable corporation in America, ahead of the car makers, the oil companies, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and all the rest. Upon his death, former President Jimmy Carter observed “Perhaps no other corporate leader in modern times has so beautifully exemplified the American dream. He believed that in America, all things are possible. He lived that dream. And because of his extraordinary leadership skills, he helped thousands of others realize their dreams as well.” In the book ‘Developing the Leader Within You’, John C. Maxwell states that a leader’s history of successes and failures makes a big difference in his credibility. Steve Jobs once stated: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” The old-fashioned business virtues like hard work still continue to be the sine qua non of business leadership. As a wit said, luck is infatuated with effort. In Autobiography of Charles Forte- the Italian immigrant who set up his first milk bar in Regent Street, London, in May 1930, and then went on to create one of the biggest catering companies in the world advice to his son, Rocco, who accused him of being too old-fashioned is worth recalling: ‘Remember this’ he told his son angrily ‘five thousand years ago, what I am saying was right. In five thousand years’ time, what I am saying now will still be right- cleanliness, honesty, decency, respect for other people, politeness, good manners, integrity- they will never be old-fashioned.’ As leadership is all about Anticipation, Communication, Motivation and Action, hence more than ever before, business leaders have to be ahead of the curve in anticipating threats and opportunities. Winston Churchill once stated “There is nothing wrong with change, it is in the right direction”. Dr. J. J. Irani rightly observed that we have to go global in every respect: in your ambitions, in our commitment to business ethics, in our corporate governance, in our benchmarks for value creation, in our communication practices-in everything. The unforgettable lessons from business leaders who made their imprints on the sand of time will always inspire future leaders to achieve glorious heights. Longfellow once stated: “Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime, And departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time.”