Ratan Tata was neither top of the pops when it came to the Forbes list of billionaires nor a socialite seen at all happening events. Yet this 86-year-old, known to those who know him by his acronym RNT, drew adulation from chieftains of corporate India and the youth alike, for his affable nature and amiable personality. Unlike many promoters of Indian business who carry an aura of aloofness and detachment from us ordinary folks, RNT was disarmingly human with little airs.
Whether it was his willingness to interact with journalists without being necessarily fixated on their designations or his personalised notes that he used to send this journalist for new year or if he was unable to keep his promise for an interview, here was a man who didn't rely on his secretaries to send an official email but took the time to review and sign a letter that bore his insignia and send it to mid-level journalists.
It's his small actions such as his childlike playfulness with stray dogs that were provided shelter and food in the foyer of the Tata Group headquarters in Mumbai, which touched everyone's heart and made him endearingly human.
Perhaps its something in the Tata family values and culture because whether its Simone Naval Tata who married RNT's late father or his half brother Noel Naval Tata, they all share a desire to stay away from the spotlight and yet on a personal and professional level come across as extremely decent, cultured and humble individuals.
Everytime I met RNT, he greeted me with a smile and a warm handshake that exemplified the human touch. It's perhaps this warmth of the chairperson of India's most storied business house that endeared him to leaders such as David Cameron who went on to become PM of Britain.
One of the biggest achievements that RNT will be remembered for is his ability to inspire millions that you can achieve success in business without compromising on ethics.
At a time when scams of all kinds were tumbling out of closets everywhere, the Tata group's success across sectors without taking any shortcuts, inspired hope in Indians and entrepreneurs that you can succeed in business even while staying on the straight and the narrow.
The second thing that RNT will be remembered for was inspiring Indian business that they were second to none and that they could take on foreign companies on their own turf. Whether it was his daring takeover of Jaguar Land Rover which has been a bittersweet deal for Tata Motors or the acquisition of Corus, one of Europe’s largest steel players by Tata Steel; RNT showed that a minnow could very well take on a giant and gobble them up. In that sense RNT was a pioneer leading the way for India Inc to globalise their businesses and build recognition for India on the global stage.
The third thing that RNT was known for was his people skills and relationships. He had a knack for identifying talent and future leaders and would work very closely with them in a supremely empowered set-up to generate a whole crop of leaders who went on to lead several Tata enterprises and sectors. In fact, several of those who were privileged to work with RNT as General Managers in the Chairman's office quickly developed the smarts that in a couple of years allowed them to be seconded to key operating companies or start-up ventures and lead them to success.
So, if the Tata Administrative Service (TAS) was the Tata group's equivalent of the IAS creating a cadre of capable managers across the salt to steel group then, RNT was like a CEO factory churning out leaders.
There was also his famously infectious enthusiasm and passion for businesses such as automobiles and aviation.
In a way some of his people predilections and his emphasis on putting personal relationships above all else were also responsible for some of the challenges that the group faced during the time of his stewardship. By putting too much of blind faith in key lieutenants and their overconfidence, the group ended up with an acquisition such as Corus whose cost of acquisition per tonne of steel capacity kept increasing over time, as the group was faced to take high impairment costs and shutter capacity in UK and elsewhere that was simply uneconomical to operate.
Similarly, the hubris of some of the empowered lieutenants also led to a series of costly mistakes in acquiring hotels overseas at prices which bled the Indian Hotels Company balance sheet pretty seriously. The failed acquisition of the Orient Express Hotel chain was the result of completely misreading the target entity's governance and ethics and willingness to partner or be acquired by an Indian firm.
The emphasis of “Jaan jaaye par zaban na jaye’ or commitment to one’s promise also cost Tata Sons a pocket load of cash when they were forced to find ways to pay Docomo for its stake in the failed mobile telephony venture Tata Docomo. RNT's commitment to protecting his word given to friends also led to friction with Cyrus Mistry erstwhile group chairman and eventually the unceremonious spat and ouster of the former.
Similarly, like JRD Tata, RNT's love for the aviation business led the Tatas to make costly bets on Air Asia and Vistara both of which were unable to snag Indigo's market leadership nor turn a substantial profit
Seen holistically, RNT wasn't a god to idolize but a man who held certain values dear and tried his best to live by them. Like all of us he had his faults and foibles, but these only made him more human. In his death, it's not just the Parsi community that has lost one of its leading lights but the nation that has lost an inspirational icon.
(Yassir Pitalwalla has been a career business journalist for over 25 years who extensively covered and reported on the Tata group across multiple stints with international business magazines and Indian financial newspapers.)