Public criticism of predecessors: Rare, but India is not immune to it

Outside clubs, cooperative societies, and politics, public criticism of companies is rare - but India is not immune to it

Leadership is complex. Trainers draw lessons from other leaders’ experiences and convert them into memorable rules — but they are mere mantras. For every rule articulated, there is an exception. For example, Steve Jobs of Apple fame was a Stanford dropout, wore turtlenecks, and was rude to colleagues. Aspiring entrepreneurs should not emulate these. Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos tried but is now languishing in federal prison.

 

Despite this there are best practices.

 

Every leader learns about how and what to speak publicly about predecessors and present colleagues. In one social-media post recently, I read a view (I thoroughly disagree) that