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Think like a Tata
Updated On: 28 July, 2024 08:06 AM IST | Mumbai | Sucheta Chakraborty
A new book by two long-time Tata employees presents lessons gleaned from the work and life of Jamsetji Tata—a man historian Ramachandra Guha calls “the greatest Indian of the 19 century” —and his successors as guiding principles for leaders of today
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JRD Tata was to fly down one of the two Puss Moth aircrafts he purchased in England, but fell ill. He brought the craft back by ship as part of his personal baggage. Above, his bust in Bombay House; (right) Inspired by Japan’s science-based silk industry, Jamsetji Tata set up a silk farm in Bangalore. Pictured above, his statue in Nagpur
We were both karma yogis in the sense that we had joined and worked in the operations of companies and wanted to write a book that was experiential rather than pedagogical. Perhaps this is the first book about the philosophy of the Tatas which is not written by academicians, historians, journalists or biographers, but by two guys with no such claims but who were pilgrims on the path of the company’s journeys,” R Gopalakrishnan, once an executive director of Tata Sons Ltd tells us. Gopalakrishnan also served on the boards of Tata Technologies and Tata Chemicals.
The new book, Jamsetji Tata: Powerful Learnings for Corporate Success (Penguin Random House), is co-authored by Harish Bhat who has held several roles in the group over 35 years, including managing director of Tata Global Beverages and chief operating officer of Titan Company Ltd. It combines essays and stories drawn from the group’s early, middle and contemporary periods arranged into chapters with overarching themes such Pioneering, People and Persistence. Presented below is a selection of five stories with the authors’ takeaways.
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