Standing tall, with a simple elegant dress, an unforgettably graceful smile and his presence well felt by millions at various moments, is a sheer contrast to the business outlook of Shri Ratan Tata. It wouldn’t be wrong if I call him an able successor to the “Father of Indian Industries” who left us with a big void yet a life full of lessons that are testimonials for the current and coming generations. For all those who followed him, were inspired and influenced by him, who are now feeling hopeless, not knowing the way forward; we must understand that Shri Ratan Tata continues to live a life of ethics and philosophies in our lives that’s etched in our memories for time immemorial. From the morning tea you sip, the car you move around with, the steel bars and railings you hold, the schools your children go to, the insurance that you pay bills, and the coffee meeting you hold, there are moments in every step that you take that reminds you that Tata is a legacy to thank and beyond. While his established group of companies and organizations follow the “Tata Culture” to the core, the newer ones are far from emulating the same approach. The man behind the largest industrial set-up in India, a bigger international deal maker and a humble man next door has been easily approachable and accessible to not just the Business community but also young innovative minds.
Tata Culture- imbibes core values in terms of “Building Trust & Relationship” to the extent that the term ‘Tata’ is synonymous to “trust”, only if the lexicographers wish to add this term today to the dictionary. Humanity, Employee benefits & safety, transparency in business, Ethical Leadership, Empathy towards the poor and the animals alike etc., have been well established across various verticals in the Tata world. Tata Trusts- better exhibits these value systems by contributing to education, healthcare, and technology startups. The trusts (2014) - perhaps a method to enable contributions to various sectors whilst continuing his business successes. Knowing his philanthropical DNA, this also may have been his rendezvous to connect with the needy community in the country.
The stories and memes gushing through the internet since his absence from the quintessential Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan to a humble professor at IISc who was spearheading the faculty entrepreneurship while Mr. Ratan Tata was the President of the Court of IISc; are substantial proof of this visionary entrepreneur as an innovative adventurer and a go-to friend when in need. One can only wonder about the reasons behind his industrious life goals, Beautiful Mind, thoughtful leadership, humble life and sincerity in every word and commitment in every walk. He’s established it very well that life is not a bed of roses but with thorns, and one must be courageous to handle the ordeal even if it means contradicting the world’s best; recollecting the launch of Tata Indica, was or is it a failure to recon even today? Let’s take Nano Car for example- a project that no one could believe was a possibility, the Ford that once refused to shake hands with Mr. Tata but as the name goes Endeavour belongs here with the Tata as remarkable a conquest as Everest, followed by Starbucks who never felt the need for its presence in India is now the landmark FNB joint across the country. There are many such ventures which Mr. Tata risked himself to go beyond boundaries and expressed the audacity of how a simple thought can manifest into larger achievement- Jaguar Land Rover, Corus Steel, Tata Tea- Tetley etc are a few names in this category. It could be sheer patriotism, resilience, or business astute who looks at the world as a large playground to be the heroic player.
While he has bagged the best of awards for his exemplary achievements in the past, he never stopped there; instead, he continued to keep an open mind to engage with the young minds, their innovations, and their creativity and opened doors for newer ideas to evolve- his investments in tech start-ups like Ola & Paytm were historic in the investor’s domain. How can one forget the MotoPaws Story- when Shantanu Naidu devised an idea to save dogs from being hit by speeding vehicles at night? He made reflective collars and invested his money to start the initiative. A video of dogs wearing reflective collars in Pune went viral on the internet. When Ratan Tata, who is a passionate dog lover, came across this initiative through a video and he immediately arranged a meeting with Shantanu. The rest is history.
There could be volumes of information that’s today accessible by everyone and there are a few chapters that speak about his intimate relations with old and new colleagues alike, this marks the humility and learner’s mind beyond a businessman title that he has adorned for decades. His life is as a child, adult, entrepreneur, leading businessman, negotiator, a deal maker etc., each is a story in itself with lots of ideologies, philosophies, knowledge and business studies too to name a few. Mr. Ratan Tata continues to live like an Ocean, and every drop from this Ocean is a day you wish to steal.
Mr. Ratan Tata is an embodiment of Ethics, Integrity, Culture, Patriotism, Humanity, Righteousness, thoughtful human, leadership and Virtue which seems to have evolved into an Aura that touched all our lives in one way or the other. His words of wisdom shall continue to float on the internet and his legacy shall remain unscathed forever in our hearts. Hence, no TATA for Ratan Tata!
Every time he climbed the ladder of success, he gave away something to society in return for nurturing the lower community and helping them in education, health, and labour just as generously. I wonder if that was one of the mantras for a successful entrepreneur or if it was a strategy to plan newer projects to make historic entries in the book of innovative business and successful leadership, remember the Nano Car story!
Comments (0)