Letter to BS: Tata group's triumph is visible on multiple fronts

There is a cliched saying that a good manager is one whose company runs well even in his absence

With reference to “TCS propels Tata group into Rs 10-million club” (April 21), the heart-warming front page lead should make all Indians proud. It is not merely the venerable group achieving a 14-figure market cap, or their entry into the world’s top 50 most valuable conglomerates or even TCS alone knocking at the doors of the enviable league of top 100 companies. This milestone has a much deeper and subtle message — that of the sustainability and professionalism of arguably India’s oldest industrial enterprise. The message speaks about the vision of the group’s founding fathers and the amazing work done by successive managements.
 

There is a clichéd saying that a good manager is one whose company runs well even in his absence. A good manager is supposed to build people who can make him or her redundant. This is exactly what N Chandrasekaran (pictured), the former CEO of TCS, has achieved. He has nurtured successors like Rajesh Gopinathan who is not only keeping the legacy alive but turning in even better performance. If we just forget the brief interlude of the Cyrus Mistry era, one has to admire the vision of Ratan Tata for bringing in highly competent and dedicated professionals, showing them a direction and then empowering them to achieve ever higher goals. That the Tata group has done this with impeccable ethics and without any significant blemish is another great feature that deserves admiration and applause.

Krishan Kalra  

Gurugram