I want India to be a happy country ... JRD Tata

JRD Tata (1904 - 1993)

JRD wished India to be a happy country before it becomes a great country and had conveyed his view to his friend and the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

JRD always believed that before one could excel in his chosen sphere, that person should be a good man. And a good man must have great credibility. He was always very sympathetic towards the needy, and there are umpteen anecdotes on how he helped families, particularly children. - JJ Irani

JRD's always aimed for excellence or even perfection. That drive was clearly reflected in his leadership of Air India. When JRD was its chairman, the carrier was recognized as one of the top three airlines in the world.

On the fire accident of March 3, 1989 that broke out during the Founder's Day programme inside Tata Steel plant, JRD was with Ratan Tata in Geneva but when he was informed about the unfortunate incident, he rushed back on March 5 (1989) and personally visited the victims undergoing medical treatment in TMH. JRD viewed the fire mishap as a personal loss and insisted on quality medical care to the victims regardless of the cost of the treatment.

On one occasion a senior executive of a Tata company tried to save on taxes. Before putting up that case, the chairman of the company took him to JRD. Mr. Vyas explained to JRD: "But sir, it is not illegal." JRD asked, softly: "Not illegal, yes. But is it right?" Mr. Vyas says that during his decades of professional work no one had ever asked him that question. Mr. Vyas later wrote in an article: "JRD would have been the most ardent supporter of the view expressed by Lord Denning: ``The avoidance of tax may be lawful, but it is not yet a virtue.'"

When JRD rang us in the office he would first ask: "Can you speak?" or "Do you have someone with you?" Except when he was agitated, he would never ask you: "Can you come up?" He was always polite.

Towards the end of his life he often said: "We don't smile enough." 

JRD said about his dealings with his colleagues: "With each man I have my own way. I am one who will make full allowance for a man's character and idiosyncrasies. You have to adapt yourself to their ways and deal accordingly and draw out the best in each man. At times it involves suppressing yourself. It is painful but necessary... To be a leader you have got to lead human beings with affection.''

In a speech in Madras in 1969 he called on the managements of industries located in rural or semi-urban areas to think of their less fortunate neighbours in the surrounding regions. "Let industry established in the countryside `adopt' the villages in its neighbourhood; let some of the time of its managers, its engineers, doctors and skilled specialists be spared to help and advise the people of the villages and to supervise new developments undertaken by cooperative effort between them and the company."

He never bent the system for his benefit. LK Jha recalled in 1986 that whenever JRD came to him when he was a Government Secretary, he came not on behalf of a company but the whole industry. He wanted no favours, only fairness.

He wrote in his Foreword in 1992: "I believe that the social responsibilities of our industrial enterprises should now extend, even beyond serving people, to the environment.''

When he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992, Tata employees arranged a function on the lawns of the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. A gentle breeze was blowing from the Arabian Sea. When JRD rose to speak, he said: "An American economist has predicted that in the next century India will be an economic superpower. I don't want India to be an economic superpower. I want India to be a happy country.''

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If I were to attribute any single reason to such success as I have achieved, 

I would say that success would not have been possible without a 

sustained belief that what I did or attempted to do would serve the needs and interests 

of our country and our people and that I was a trustee of such interests ... JRD Tata

The economy, which is a network of material relations, can always be revived, but the society, which is a network of human relations based on trust, may not be repaired so easily once damaged. The events of the past year can leave us without the slightest doubt that the sections who feel most threatened in India today are our Muslim and Christian compatriots. Historically, there have been other groups that have long felt marginalised.

Leaders and Managers

Managers and leaders are both important. People follow managers because they must. People follow leaders by choice. And, it’s ideal for one person to have both qualities. You can hit a professional jackpot by being great at both. 

QUALITIES OF A GREAT LEADER

1. Being humble 
   A leader is someone who usually shares the spotlight and credits followers for the work that they have done as a team. It takes more confidence to be humble than in basking in the glory of accomplishment. Clients and employees appreciate humility, and leaders who give credit where credit’s due!
2. Lead by example
   Leaders lead by example. They are not hypocrites. If a leader wants subordinates to be punctual, they themselves will establish the habit of being punctual first. Leaders need to set the tone and the followers will be inspired to follow, automatically.
3. Communicate effectively
   Leaders will be able to effectively communicate on and off the job. Along with being heard and understood, great leaders also know the importance of listening. Leaders understand that communication is a two-way street.
4. Know your limits
   Leaders set limits for themselves. Leaders know what and how much they can tolerate, saving the entire office loads of frustration. Keeping clear boundaries helps prevent any sort of confusion.
5. Keep meetings productive
   Time is money! They avoid tangential discussions and other sources of unproductivity during meetings. Leaders trust their team to do their job right, with no need for micromanagement.
6. Be emotionally aware
   They keep all kinds of emotions out of the office. Business is more about the relationships between people. And to build and nurture lasting relationships a good leader has to be emotionally intelligent.
7. Never stop improving
   Great leaders are constantly learning and updating their knowledge. They never stop. They continually work to improve themselves and be better. There is always a new skill to master or a new project to work on. Great leaders keep their mind open for new possibilities and fresh ideas.

QUALITIES OF A GREAT MANAGER

1. Expect excellence
   It is important for a manager to set high yet realistic standards, and expect employees to meet them. Ultimately, the best managers are not those who are the nicest or the toughest, but those who get things done and demonstrate tangible results. Once employees understand that a manager expects excellence—not only their own, but that of others—they will likely begin to up their game and perform better.
2. Communicate regularly by providing meaningful feedback in real time
   At first, communicating effectively may sound a bit trite, but it is fundamental to sound management. The best and strongest managers are those who are excellent communicators. The ability to provide both positive and negative feedback is a core skill and competency for managers.
3. Don’t avoid conflict, but deal with it directly and fairly
   Every professional knows that the workplace is a breeding ground for conflict. Issues like compensation, interpersonal problems, cost-cutting, recognition, management-employee relations, layoffs, and many other points of conflict are bound to arise. There is never a shortage of molehills to create mountains out of.
   Though it is tempting to turn a deaf ear, the best managers do not avoid conflict and instead address any issues that arise fairly. Employees observe takes responsibility and who doesn’t.
   They are likely to show more respect to those managers who resolve issues immediately than those who ignore the problem or don’t act quickly.
4. Be open to new ways of looking at things
   Adaptability, flexibility, and being attuned to their environment are some of the qualities of a good manager. They always look for new opportunities by listening to what others have to say. It is important to be a good listener, no matter your role. That said, it’s quite common for, the best process improvement ideas come from employees who are relatively low in the organizational hierarchy. A good manager is never afraid to shift from the usual “This is the way we’ve always done it here.”
5. Accept that you still have a lot to learn
   Once they have attained a management position, managers sometimes forget that they are in the process of learning, too. You may have expertise in their field with years of experience, but keeping your mind open to new ideas is important. Professional advancement is fueled by a constant learning process—and once a manager accepts this and sets continuous improvement as a standard, they become a better manager than before.
6. Set a good example
   If a manager has an insular mentality, they may struggle to understand subordinates and face difficulty in making them abide by the rules. The same professionalism, commitment, and dedication that the manager demands from his juniors need to be upheld by him, as well.
7. Be decisive
   It is important for a manager to make decisions and stick to them. Employees are generally not comfortable with someone who constantly changes their mind on issues. A confident manager is one who does not fear being wrong. The best managers use bad situations as learning curves and as examples of what not to do. Employees are generally repelled by those employers who are in denial of the repercussions of the decisions that have been made by them.
8. Be patient with yourself
   Being able to develop strong skills leading and managing takes time. Keep in mind all of the above tips. Talk to more people who have been in the role, and learn from them. This will improve your skills as a manager.

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To gain success, a person will need high EQ;

If you don't want to lose quickly, you will need a high IQ;

If you want to be respected, you will need high LQ (of love) ... Jack Ma, Founder, Alibaba

Excessive praise can be dangerous

Praise is wonderful with warm glow inside and feel great. The quickest way to get round someone is to flatter them. You may have slightly uncomfortable experience of being praised for something you thought was just doing your job or for doing something ordinary. That discomfort points to some interesting aspects of praise.

• No one likes to be criticised all the time, and only told what they don’t do well. 
• Constant criticism can feel like bullying, and if you never get any positive feedback you can fall into self doubt and despondency.
• Excessive and constant praise can actually be damaging to self esteem and personal effectiveness.
• Praise and positive encouragement is something you can’t have too much of. 
• Like food or medicine what’s good in small or measured doses can be bad if taken too much of it.
• Constant praising can make someone addicted to praise. Like any other addiction, praise can be destructive. It can make you incapable of doing anything effectively. Constant praise in some ways backfires in a decidedly destructive manner.
• Too much praise can be really bad for children, for clients, for patients and for everyone.
• When children are rewarded for simply doing their own thing like drawing, playing etc, but when the rewards are discontinued, the children tend to lose interest in the activity. Contingent reward reduces the appeal of intrinsic reward. 
• Lavishing children with praise can create a very high self-esteem which in turn can lead to bullying behaviour.  Children become narcissists when their parents overvalue them i.e. when parents treat their children as more deserving than others. Such excessive praise can create narcissistic traits and narcissists are often bullies who totally lack empathy.
• Narcissism is not be good for them or for society. Narcissism is higher in Western countries and steadily increasing among Western youth over the past few decades.
• Rewarding with money or praise, for doing things one really should be doing anyway, can diminish genuine motivation. Excessive praise might be well intentioned, but it can work against people’s genuine best interests.
• Excessively praising someone could actually make them less happy in the long term because it can diminish their capacity to find intrinsic reward in anything. 
• Praising children for normal activities is poor preparation for a life of real excellence, because we are turning ‘normal’ into ‘excellent’ and genuine excellence thus loses its value.
• Praise children only for working things out for themselves, for showing compassion towards another person, for being empathetic, for their achievement that came from their effort and for coming through a tough time.
• Making a huge deal out of anything someone achieves may just be encouraging ‘praise addiction’. And being a praise junkie is an impediment to real success. 
• Children who were praised for ‘being smart’ stopped making an effort much earlier than children praised for ‘working hard’.
• Empty praise can make looking smart more important than being smart.
• Don’t over-praise people; Focus on the normality of the desirable behaviour; Don’t expect praise for everything and don’t always praise others; Focus on what is actually within a person’s control.
• The right kind of praise at the right time and in the right quantity can develop the habit of excellence, but a diet of uncontrolled praise won’t do any favours.

I learnt a lot from my critics and nothing from my admirers - Mahatma Gandhi