Yesterday, Mr. Ratan Tata passed away at the age of 86… The day before when news of his being in a critical condition was heard, I felt he would not survive the night. It was just a premonition that came true :(.
Krishnan and I never knew Ratan Tata but the whole of yesterday, we felt sad as though someone known to us has left. That’s his greatness. I had the chance to work with a franchise centre of TULEC (Tata Unisys Education Centre) for a short stint of three months in Bandra, Mumbai way back in 1997 and that was my only brush with a Tata company. Ofcourse, we have stayed at several Taj properties and loved every one of them.
Those fortunate enough to have known Mr. Ratan Tata, have shared many stories about him and their interactions with him. A few things are common in all their stories –
- Mr. Ratan Tata was a gentleman (in the old sense of the word), compassionate and a wonderful human being.
- He was painfully shy and didnt like being in the limelight.
- A brilliant mind and a man of integrity.
Tata Steel Layoffs
As an outsider, two stories touched my heart. One, the Tata Steel layoffs that happened between 1990 to 2000 – from a workforce of 80000, it was brought down to 40000. The humane way in which it was done is still talked about across the world !!!
Do read – When Crisis led to Employee Wellbeing: The Story of Tata Steel.
Here is an excerpt from the article above ๐
Mumbai Terror Attack – Taj Mahal Palace Hotel
The second story is how the Taj terror attack was handled… It was written up as a case study that we all discussed during our Pgpmax (Exec MBA) program at ISB. But here is a glimpse about how Mr. Ratan Tata dealt with it. He never left the Taj Mahal Palace hotel for three days, ensured that the loved ones of every employee who lost his/her life in the terror attack was paid their full salary for their lifetime and he also supported the armed forces soldiers who had been injured while rescuing the hostages !!
There are a few people who have reservations about Mr. Ratan Tata and his contributions. Politically, he may have been a left leaning person, and that was his right !! Did he sell India out or speak badly about India in any forum? Nope. Did his 100+ companies pay 600,000+ employees salaries every month? Yes.
When Ratan Tata took over the Tata group, its turnover was $5.7 billion. When he stepped down it was $101 billion.
Who benefitted from that growth? Indians. Mr. Tata lived in a condo with his dogs !!! He didnt build a 27 floor mansion for himself. He is not on the Forbes richest list because 66% of Tata group’s equity is held by the Tata Trusts.
“66%ย of Tata Sons’ equity is held by the Tata Trusts and dividends flow directly to support the philanthropic work of the Trusts.”
Just look at the impact the Tata group has on our daily lives …. from the salt we add to our food, to the flight we take for work/leisure, we use a Tata product.
Farewell Mr. Tata, thank you for being an example of how to live a life of contribution and how to be a great leader๐๐ฟ. You were a true Titan and all of us miss you already. That’s your awesome legacy.