For Ratan Tata, doing the right thing was always most important – Harish Bhat

Ratan Tata is no more. A visionary leader who steered the Tata Group brilliantly for over two decades, and was the patriarch of the group until the last day of his life. A man whom all of us in the Tata Group were greatly inspired by, and looked up to with admiration and love.

Ratan Tata’s legacy will undoubtedly be defined by multiple accomplishments, including the rapid growth and globalization of the Tata Group under his charge, and his consistent contributions to Indian society, including through the Tata Trusts. However, I think the most important thing that guided him throughout his life and career was always doing the right thing, safeguarding and strengthening the all-important tenet of integrity that the Tata Group has always been known for.

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Way back in September 2003, in his epilogue to R.M. Lala’s classic book on Tata history, The Creation of Wealth, Ratan Tata wrote these words about what his colleagues and he would like the Tata Group to be: “The predominant business house in India, which, amidst fast eroding values, will continue to stand out as being a well-integrated, growth-oriented group with market leadership, operating with a high level of integrity, a great value system and uncompromising in its goal to achieve results without partaking in corruption, bribery and/or political influence."

He went on to say, “If this is what the group looks like in the future, I would believe that I would have achieved the task I undertook. …. I hope the future generations in Tatas will recognize these traditions as being critical to the fabric and the fundamentals on which our group was built and grew so successfully for over a century."

Indeed, he was uncompromising on integrity and on doing what he believed to be right. Three instances demonstrate this simple but powerful urge that guided all his actions. Way back in 2001, when Tata Finance, a publicly listed company, suffered serious financial losses running into hundreds of crores of rupees because of improper actions by the management of the company, Ratan Tata unhesitatingly announced that the Tata Group would stand behind every depositor, however big or small. Nobody needed to fear losing his or her savings. R. Gopalakrishnan, who was then an executive director at Tata Sons, says, “He instinctively acted on the principle that when there is a crisis, you just have to do what your sense of duty or conscience dictates."

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In addition, Ratan Tata instructed his team dealing with the Tata Finance crisis that “there is to be no cover up, and the guilty must be punished," no matter how senior they were. And this was indeed done. In fact, many leaders who have worked with him during difficult moments say that he never hesitates to take the path that is more difficult, if he believes that it is morally the correct route.

A second story concerns the public issue of Tata Consultancy Services, as remembered by Ishaat Hussain, who was for many years an executive director and chief financial officer at Tata Sons. This public issue was announced in 2004, received a massive response and was significantly oversubscribed. Yet when it came to finally fixing the price of the shares that would be allotted, Ratan Tata turned to Hussain and told him that it would only be right to leave something on the table for the investors, rather than go with a price at the top end of the range. He said this because he believed it was the right thing to do for all stakeholders.

A third and very different sort of example is Ratan Tata’s well-known statement that “a promise is a promise" and must always be kept. The late Dr. J.J. Irani, who was managing director of Tata Steel for many years, recalls that he has seen Ratan Tata travel the world even when he was in physical distress, just to ensure that a commitment he had made was met, or where he felt that his physical presence would make a difference to the future of the group.

Speaking about his decision-making process that enabled him to always move towards doing what was right, Ratan Tata has said, “What has to go through your mind at the time of every decision, or most decisions, is – does this stand the test of public scrutiny? As you think the decision through, you have to automatically feel that this is wrong, incorrect or unfair. You have to think of the advantages and disadvantages to the segments involved, be it employees or other stakeholders."

This absolute commitment to integrity and ethical conduct of business is one of the key reasons why Ratan Tata is not just a hugely successful industrialist but also a role model for so many of us. For him, what was important was, in his own words, that “I can go to bed at night knowing that I did not succumb".

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Today, as we bid a fond farewell to an icon and a legend, here is a wonderful principle for each of us to take from Ratan Tata’s life—never succumb. We will miss you so much, Sir, but we will try our very best to live by the ideals that you have espoused.

Harish Bhat is an advisor and director at the Tata group. He was previously Brand Custodian at Tata Sons.