The news channels talk of the end of an era …. As you retire from your role as the chairman of Tata Sons. You don’t know me, but like me, there are several professionals for whom you are a role model and an inspiration. In a world that is ready to take every shortcut in the book and innovate a new shortcut to make a quick buck, you stood for values and never taking a shortcut. The truly rich are those that give freely – and that is why you and the Tata group are truly the richest. Your forefathers have touched every facet of life for an Indian – and you are leaving a global footprint. If Jamshedji Tata gave India the first 5 star hotel and had to import steel for the dome, his son setup India’s first steel plant and your predecessor, the great JRD made Jamshedpur a TATA city and you acquired CORUS in the biggest acquisition till date to move Tata Steel to the 12th largest producer of steel in the world !! The legacy that you inherited was HUGE… And everyone wondered if you can better it. 10000 crores when you took over and 21 years later its a $100 billion conglomerate !!! Wonder if there is a bigger corporate success story than that …. And all above board transactions, a brand name synonymous with values. Stupendous !
There are many things that will be written about your style of working and your vision etc etc but the enduring legacy of the Tata group is – you always looked at what you could contribute to the community. If only all the corporate honchos and the corporate gurus can understand this simple truth.. The Tata group truly lived upto the credo of why companies were first formed – developing the community. Your value increases manifold when you give freely – think of what you can contribute to developing the community, build an organization that has the community in the centre and builds itself around it. There is a lot of money to be made – the right way. For more than 100 years this group’s existence is proof that ethical, community centric way of doing business is the right way.
Thank you Ratan – you lived upto your name, exceeded your mentor JRD’s expectations and perpetuated the enduring Tata legacy. A bigger Thank you for proving again and again and again that doing business ethically is not just possible, but the only way to do business. Can’t wait to see what you do to philanthropy !!
A new era begins ….