How easily do most Indians end up believing that Reliance is the real forerunner of the Indian Industry and the real source of inspiration to the next generation Entrepreneurs of our country!
To me the Reliance is a very good company when it comes to vision, but far from a benchmark that I would like to follow if ever I were to own a company! I have hated the manipulatory designs they have used to influence the government. I also think that there are issues related to corporate governance in the Group.
But this is not the time to blast Reliance.. It is a time to celebrate Ratan Tata's story. The Nano is just a stepping stone to what lies ahead! I wont write much about the Nano cos its all too much there in the press these days; I would only say that I am pretty confident that this will be the car of the decade.
I remember having seen an interview of Ratan Tata saying that he wanted all the Tata Group companies to be in the top 3 companies of their respective segments. To this endeavour, the Tatas sold off what some would say, their "top" companies. ACC, Tomco, Lakme, Goodlass Nerolac, Merind, Tata Yellow Pages to name just a few!
I guess most people would only dream to own such businesses! But then the empire had become too large and was unable to stand its own weight. It was the vision and far sightedness of Mr Ratan Tata that made him dare selling these.
The Tata group companies were bleeding bad... Tata motors the Indian Giant bled to the tune of 5 billion rupees!!! Tata Steel was in blood-bath. Perhaps, only TCS was doing well. It was the determination of Mr Tata, that these companies are today one of the largest companies by Market Cap in India. TCS and Tata Steel are Global giants. TCS is the largest Indian Software Company. Tata Motors probably at its point of inflection today. I would not be surprised if it could be the largest seller of cars in India 5 years from now!
Take social causes for instance. Not one Indian corporate house has given back to the society what they have.
When Tata Tea acquired Tetley, about 7-8 yrs back, It was by far the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian Company. There are a lot of Indian companies which have a so called global foot-print but to be true not many are really global in true terms! The only Indian company to be truly global, I think is Tata Steel. It has its manufacturing facilities and clients around the globe and that is the true test of being global. A lot of eyebrows were raised when some years back, the Tatas donated a good sum to the Oxford university over our IIT's or IIM's, but I guess the Tatas were only fulfilling their global responsibilities.
Ratan Tata has successfully done what very few can dream.. To transform a lazy, lethargic giant that was dying of its own weight of internal conflicts and egos to a vibrant war horse that most would defy size and strength. Kudos.
2 comments:
So true... India has seen many exemplary businessmen from the Tata family. And to think, Ratan Tata is close to retiring... Already there is a talk of who will he choose to head the Tata empire after him. I have not read about too many such corporate heads, but others that come to my mind are Adi Godrej and the Kumarmangalam Birla. These corporates are an answer to the notion against family run businesses that are looked at with contempt. One example is how Orient-Express Hotels turned down Tata's offer to increase their stake in it, stating, “We believe any association of our luxury brands and properties with your brands and properties would result in a reduction in the value of our brands and of our business and would likely lead to erosion in the RevPar premiums currently achieved by our properties.”
This is outright racism, but i am sure Ratan Tata will have the last laugh when Indian Hotels becomes a global force in the hospitality industry. A piece that was published in The Times of India, later said that the Tata Group was one of the most trusted brands in the world, Orient-Express did not even figure on it. All due to the Tatas' vision and commitment to its customers and shareholders. Hats off to Ratan Tata and the Nano.
some one was gonna blog daily :P
atleast blog monthly :D
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