I came across an article waxing eloquent on the manner in which a team has been constituted to find a successor to Mr Tata. The writer moaned the lack of such independence in other business houses and was saddened at what he (she?) felt was nepotism and cronysim taking precedence above merit.
Really!!? The illustrious JRD did not have to compete for his leadership of the Tata Empire when the time came for a change of guard. Mr Ratan Tata too was handpicked by JRD. Has Mr Ratan Tata risen above both the great Jamshetji and JRD?
Or are we missing the internal politics within the clan ? Mr Ratan Tata is a bachelor and the only other male Tata close to the throne is a cousin who never got the opportunity that Ratan got under JRD. The gentleman that Mr Noel Tata is , he never seemed to have knocked on the doors of hallowed Tata House. Is all the "noise" of professionalism and search to keep him away ...or a charade to officially annoint him after the "search"?
Whatever, passing the baton to Family members in a natural , accepted phenomenon for many reasons, not the least of them being that genes do matter. Anil and Mukesh may quarrel , but both bring to bear the aggressiveness and fighting spirit that the grand old Father had. There is no guarantee that an outsider would have done any better.
Would anyone want to wager that when the search is over , Mr Ratan Tata may be unanimously endorsed by the Committee to stay on for a few more years?
Well said, Sridhar. There is the reality that prevails in such matters and equally, there is a need to create the perception of consultation and fairness. Not sure though which way the weightage swings in this case.
ReplyDeleteShekar