Housing.com CEO Rahul Yadav, all of 26, has got adulation and ridicule in equal measure for his recent public comments. While many have found his outbursts immature, Mr Yadav has got his vocal band of admirers as well. They see in him the streaks of a genius rebel - an outspoken maverick, the Salman Khan of e-commerce. The man is irreverent yet indispensable (in spite of his indiscretions, Mr Yadav still has his job) and doesn't mind the publicity that gimmickry begets. What has also happened is that his verbal volleys have fetched Mr Yadav top-of-the-mind recall.
If you analyse all the comments Mr Yadav has made so far, you will find that five sets of people have drawn his ire: investors (private equity funds), board members, poachers, peers and rivals. Actually, if you come to think of it, these are precisely the people that businessmen grumble about all the time - except board members, who they treat as rubber stamps and retainers. However, unlike Mr Yadav, they do so in private conversations. They know how to camouflage their vitriol in niceties.
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Mr Yadav's resignation letter accused his investors of being intellectually incapable of holding a sensible discussion. Fund managers are unlikely to agree with this assessment of their intellect, but the world has seen their herd mentality before, and frankly, that inspires little confidence in them. One often hears of high-profile exits made by funds, in which they book massive profits, but no less short is the list of investments that have gone sour. The memory of the first dotcom bubble is too fresh in everybody's mind to put fund managers above all suspicion.
So far as Mr Yadav badmouthing his peers and rivals is concerned, let me tell you that many businessmen, including some venerated names, are guilty of worse crimes. In the pre-liberalisation days, a business house's core competence was to not only get industrial licences but also to block others from getting one. Many lesser businessmen would find their applications rejected for no rhyme or reason. After liberalisation, that behind-the-scenes fixing may have come down, but there is no let-up in plotting against each other. Any beat journalist will tell you that most of the muck that comes out on any company is invariably provided by rivals.
Not just between rivals, we have seen mudslinging within families, too: brother against brother, sister against brother, nephew against uncle and even son against father. And it can get personal and nasty. Mr Yadav's transgressions are nothing in comparison to what is said and done during these family feuds.
So far as board members are concerned, seldom will you come across a promoter challenging their intellectual integrity - something that Mr Yadav did in his resignation letter. But you will find no dearth of instances where their approval is taken for granted. And when they act like silent spectators, you can imagine what the promoter thinks of them. The biggest example of this was Satyam Computers, where the board, though it was packed with high-profile people, not only failed to detect the misdemeanors of B Ramalinga Raju but also acquiesced in his bizarre proposal to merge the company into Maytas Infrastructure.
There was a time, till about 20 years ago, when many Indian businessmen would speak candidly like Mr Yadav. Manu Chhabria's ways were entertaining, to put it mildly. People like Lalit Mohan Thapar and Raunaq Singh seldom minced words. No visit to them would go unrewarded. They had a bagful of stories to regale you every time, and, more important, didn't mind if you reproduced some of them, consequences be damned. Their remarks would often land one in trouble, but that was part of the fun. The advent of image managers, coupled with the strict regulation of stock-sensitive information, robbed journalists of these colourful conversations. The only exception these days is Rajiv Bajaj, who always speaks his mind.
So far as sophistication is concerned, wait till the businessman drops his mask of civility. I remember, during the initial phase of the first dotcom boom, I had met a Delhi businessman who wanted to become an angel investor to get some business ideas. After hearing me out, he suggested, in all seriousness, that there was good money to be made in the flesh trade. He then described for well over an hour and in graphic detail the business model and what he thought was the global gold standard. He was ready to fund the venture. The ball was in my court. That I am still writing proves that I didn't take his advice.
Mr Yadav's candid ways have jarred our sensibilities because they are radical and unconventional. Not for him the bland diplomatic style of the corporate world. On Tuesday, at a social networking site, he said: "I see professional diplomacy and frank conversations merging together. That's the future of conversation: quick and efficient." Be prepared for more controversy - and more entertainment.
India is seeing an unprecedented burst of entrepreneurship. It is unavoidable that the churn will throw up mavericks like Mr Yadav. Instead of asking him to shut up, it would be better if we learn to deal with mavericks. They can be disruptive, and even unpleasant, but that doesn't take away from them the capability to deliver.
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
