Thank God For The TATA's - By L. N. Mittal

Subject: Thank God For The TATA's - By L. N. Mittal ......
a wonderful article
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Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 23:18:10 -0700
A TRIBUTE - Thank God For The TATA’s.

By Lakshmi Mittal

As Lakshmi Mittal says ......... we have more to be proud off than
what the Infosys and Wipro's of India provide ...........

I visited Jamshedpur over the weekend to see for myself an India that
is fast disappearing despite all the wolf-cries of people like
Narayanamurthy and his ilk.

It is one thing to talk and quite another to do and I am delighted to
tell you that Ratan Tata has kept alive the legacy of perhaps India's
finest industrialist J.N. Tata.

Something that some people doubted when Ratan took over the House of
the Tata's but in hindsight, the best thing to have happened to the
Tata's is unquestionably Ratan.

I was amazed to see the extent of corporate philanthropy and this is
no exaggeration.

For the breed that talks about corporate social responsibility and
talks about the role of corporate India, a visit to Jamshedpur is a
must.

Go there and see the amount of money they pump into keeping the town
going; see the smiling faces of workers in a region known for
industrial unrest; see the standard of living in a city that is almost
isolated from the mess in the rest of the country. This is not meant
to be a puff piece. I have nothing to do with Tata
Steel, but I strongly believe the message of hope and the message of
goodness that they are spreading is worth sharing. The fact that you
do have companies in India which look at workers as human beings and
who do not blow their software trumpet of having changed lives. In
fact, I asked Mr. Muthurman, the managing director, as to why he was
so quiet about all they had done and all he could offer in return was
a smile wrapped in humility, which said it all.

They have done so much more since I last visited Jamshedpur, which was
in 1992. The town has obviously got busier but the values thankfully
haven't changed. The food is still as amazing as it always was and I
gorged, as I would normally do. I visited the plant and the last time
I did that was with Russi Mody. But the plant this time was gleaming
and far from what it used to be. Greener and cleaner and a tribute to
environment management.

You could have been in the mountains. Such was the quality of air I
inhaled! There was no belching smoke, no tired faces and so many more
women
workers, even on the shop floor. This is true gender equality and not
the kind that is often espoused at seminars organised by angry
activists. I met so many old friends. Most of them have aged but not
grown old. There was a spring in the air which came from a certain
calmness which has always been the hallmark of Jamshedpur and
something I savoured for a full two days in between receiving messages
of how boring and decrepit the lack luster Fashion Week was.
Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata had created an edifice that is today a
robust company and it is not about profits and about valuation. It is
not about who becomes a millionaire and who doesn't'. It is about
getting the job done with dignity and respect keeping the age-old
values intact and this is what I learnt.

I jokingly asked someone as to whether they ever thought of joining an
Infosys or a Wipro and pat came the reply: "We are not interested in
becoming crorepatis but in making others crorepatis." Which is exactly
what the Tata's have done for years in and around Jamshedpur. Very few
people know that Jamshedpur has been selected as a UN Global Compact
City, edging out the other nominee from India, Bangalore. Selected
because of the quality of life, because of the conditions of
sanitation and roads and welfare. If this is not a tribute to
industrial India, then what is?

Today, Indian needs several Jamshedpur’s but it also needs this
Jamshedpur to be given its fair due, its recognition. I am tired of
campus visits being publicises to the Infosys and the Wipro's of the
world. Modern India is being built in Jamshedpur as we speak. An India
built on the strength of core convictions and nothing was more
apparent about that than the experiment with truth and reality that
Tata Steel is conducting at Pipla.

Forty-eight tribal girls (yes, tribal girls who these corrupt and evil
politicians only talk about but do nothing for) are being educated
through a residential program over nine months. I went to visit them
and I spoke to them in a language that they have just learnt :
Bengali. Eight weeks ago, they could only speak in Sainthali, their
local dialect. But today, they are brimming with a confidence that
will bring tears to your eyes. It did to mine. One of them has just
been selected to represent Jharkand in the state archery competition.
They have their own women's football team and what's more they are now
fond of education. It is a passion and not a burden.

This was possible because I guess people like Ratan Tata and Muthurman
haven't sold their souls to some business management drivel, which
tells us that we must only do business and nothing else. The fact that
not one Tata executive has been touched by the Naxalites in that area
talks about the social respect that the Tata's have earned.



The Tata's do not need this piece to be praised and lauded. My intent
is to share the larger picture that we so often miss in the haze of
the slime and sleaze that politics imparts. My submissions to those
who use phrases such as "feel-good" and "India Shining" must first
visit Jamshedpur to understand what it all means.
See Tata Steel in action to know what companies can do if they wish
to. And what corporate India needs to do. Murli Manohar Joshi would be
better off seeing what Tata Steel has done by creating the Xavier
Institute of Tribal Education rather than by proffering excuses for
the imbroglio in the IIMs.

This is where the Advani's and Vajpayee’s need to pay homage. Not to
all the Sai Babas and the Hugging saints that they are so busy with.
India is changing inspite of them and they need to realise that. I
couldn't have spent a more humane and wonderful weekend. Jamshedpur is
an eye-opener and a role model, which should be made mandatory for
replication. I saw corporate India actually participate in basic
nation-building, for when these tribal girls go back to their
villages, they will return with knowledge that will truly be
life-altering.

Corporate India can do it but most of the time is willing to shy away.
For those corporate leaders who are happier winning awards and being
interviewed on their choice of clothes, my advice is visit Tata Steel,
spend some days at Jamshedpur and see a nation's transformation. That
is true service.

Tata Steel celebrated 100 years of existence in 2007. It won't be just
a milestone in this company's history. It will be a milestone, to my
mind of corporate transparency and generosity in this country. It is
indeed fitting that Ratan Tata today heads a group that has people who
are committed to nation building than just building influence and
power.

JRD must be smiling wherever he is. And so must Jamshedji Nusserwanji.
These people today have literally climbed every last blue mountain.
And continue to do so with vigour and passion.

Thank God For The Tatas!

Robin's 73 Best Business and Success Lessons

Robin Sharma is the bestselling author of "The Leader Who Had No Title:

# You can really Lead Without a Title.

# Knowing what to do and not doing it is the same as not knowing what to do.

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# The conversations you are most resisting are the conversations you most need to be having.

# Leadership is no longer about position - but passion. It's no longer about image but impact. This is Leadership 2.0.

# The bigger the dream, the more important to the team.

# Visionaries see the "impossible" as the inevitable.

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# The more messes you allow into your life, the more messes will become a normal (and acceptable) part of your life.

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# The best leaders lift people up versus tear people down.

# The most precious resource for businesspeople is not their time. It's their energy. Manage it well.

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# The most dangerous place is in your safety zone.

# The more you go to your limits, the more your limits will expand.

# Every moment in front of a customer is a gorgeous opportunity to live your values.

# Be so good at what you do that no one else in the world can do what you do.

# You'll never go wrong in doing what is right.

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# Never leave the site of a strong idea without doing something to execute around it.

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# Never miss a moment to encourage someone you work with.

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# Accept your teammates for what they are and inspire them to become all they can be.

# To triple the growth of your organization, triple the growth of your people.

# The best leaders are the most dedicated learners. Read great books daily. Investing in your self-development is the best investment you will ever make.

# Other people's opinions of you are none of your business.

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# Measure your success by your inner scorecard versus an outer one.

# Understand the acute difference between the cost of something and the value of something.

# Nothing fails like success. Because when you are at the top, it's so easy to stop doing the very things that brought you to the top.

# The best leaders blend courage with compassion.

# The less you are like others, the less others will like you.

# You'll never go wrong in doing what's right.

# Excellence in one area is the beginning of excellence in every area.

# The real reward for doing your best work is not the money you make but the leader you become.

# Passion + production = performance.

# The value of getting to your goals lives not in reaching the goal but what the talents/strengths/capabilities the journey reveals to you.

# Stand for something. Or else you'll fall for anything.

# Say "thank you" when you're grateful and "sorry" when you're wrong.

# Make the work you are doing today better than the work you did yesterday.

# Small daily - seemingly insignificant - improvements and innovations lead to staggering achievements over time.

# Peak performers replace depletion with inspiration on a daily basis.

# Take care of your relationships and the sales/money will take care of itself.

# You can't be great if you don't feel great. Make exceptional health your #1 priority.

# Doing the difficult things that you've never done awakens the talents you never knew you had.

# As we each express our natural genius, we all elevate our world.

# Your daily schedule reflects your deepest values.

# People do business with people who make them feel special.

# All things being equal, the primary competitive advantage of your business will be your ability to grow Leaders Without Titles faster than your industry peers.

# Treat people well on your way up and they'll treat you well on your way down.

# Success lies in a masterful consistency around a few fundamentals. It really is simple. Not easy. But simple.

# The business (and person) who tries to be everything to everyone ends up being nothing to anyone.

# One of the primary tactics for enduring winning is daily learning.

# To have everything you want, help as many people as you can possibly find get everything they want.

# Understand that a problem is only a problem if you choose to view it as a problem (vs. an opportunity).

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# The best in business spend far more time on learning than in leisure.

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# The best Leaders Without a Title use their heads and listen to their hearts.

# The things that are hardest to do are often the things that are the best to do.

# Every single person in the world could be a genius at something, if they practiced it daily for at least ten years (as confirmed by the research of Anders Ericsson and others).

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# Education is the beginning of transformation. Dedicate yourself to daily learning via books/audios/seminars and coaching.

# The quickest way to grow the sales of your business is to grow your people.