Late Russi Mody, who joined as an office assistant in 1939, rose to become the Chairman and Managing Director of Tata Steel by the time he resigned 53 years later in 1993. His career graph was admirable. He was promoted to the position of Director of Personnel in 1953. He took up the position of Director of Raw Materials in 1965. In 1970, he was appointed Director of Operations and became Joint Managing Director in 1972. There after, he became the Chairman and Managing Director.
He was known for his gastronomic appetite, the trademark being the 16-egg omelette he enjoyed for a meal. An avid reader of biographies of statesmen, he was deeply influenced by Napoleon Bonaparte and hung a large portrait of this French Emperor in his study room, for inspiration. Perhaps it was the love for this warrior that made him call his workers, ‘troops’.
A tribute by Cyrus P Mistry, Chairman of Tata Sons, on Russi Mody’s demise aptly sums up the latter’s calibre as a stalwart corporate leader of India. Mistry has stated, in the press release, “Russi was a stalwart who steered Tata Steel to become India’s most trusted corporations. His vision was all encompassing, enduring commitment to society and focus on the dignity of the individual. On the one hand, Russi Mody steered a major modernisation programme for the company, and on the other, widened its development initiatives for local communities and to address larger needs. Entities like the Tata Steel Rural Development Society and the Tata Football Academy bear testimony to this. He could indeed say the Company made many things and it also made steel. In all this, Russi Mody embodied the Tata principles of building trustworthy and socially oriented organisations.”
He was known for his gastronomic appetite, the trademark being the 16-egg omelette he enjoyed, for a meal. An avid reader of biographies of statesmen, he was deeply influenced by Napoleon Bonaparte and hung a large portrait of this French Emperor in his study room, for inspiration. Perhaps it was the love for this warrior that made him call his workers, ‘troops’
Chanakya Chaudhary, Group Director has stated, “Apart from being a far-sighted corporate leader, Mr Mody was a fervent sports enthusiast, loved music and was fond of good food. He played the piano and had the distinction of once having played with Albert Einstein on the violin. His love for food stretched from the morning tea and samosa at the Company’s workers’ canteen, lassi and paneer pakora at the roadside stall on Parliament Street, humungous omelettes made by the man himself, to the best of national and international cuisines. He was as comfortable holidaying in the jungles of India as he was in the French Riviera.”
He was a manager par excellence. Mody’s style of management at Tata Steel was a reflection of his ability to connect with people and to nurture talent. His biggest contribution to Tata Steel is the depth of management and talent he left behind.
He believed that if you took care of the workers, they would take care of the company. But that did not mean he gave in to all their demands. He knew when and where to draw the line.’’
Mody wrote his biography, ‘The Man Who Also Made Steel’ which was published in 2008. Mody’s death at the age of 96 on May 16, 2014, was the end of an institution at Tata Steel. Padma Bhushan Russi Mody’s association with Tata Steel lasted for more than 50 years. Thus, his biography makes extremely interesting reading because of his phenomenal rise in that industrial house where he reigned as its uncrowned king for at least three decades, winning the love, affection and regard of all those he dealt with.
During his tenure as CMD, I was dreaming of inviting Mr Mody as the chief guest for our National HRD Meet, which we used to organise, in my capacity as Director, Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS). It was not the era of mobiles then. I tried to reach him in his office at Jamshedpur, which was not possible as his personal secretary said that he was out of the country and reluctantly, after much insistence from my side, gave me his contact number.
When I called him, he seemed to be asleep. It was midnight in London. He answered my call and his first question was, “Why are you troubling me at this unearthly hour of midnight? I am in London. What is the urgency?”
I answered, with a bit of trepidation, “Sorry Sir, I am calling from India. I am from a management institute.’’
He roared, “What the hell are you doing now? What connection do I have with your B-school?’’
I got a bit bolder and said, “Sir, you have every connection with it as you are the end user of our product.”
“Okay, I am very sleepy now. Tell me in one minute, what you want to say.”
I quickly said, “We are organising a National HR Meet and I want you to be the chief guest.”
“What date and time?’’ he asked me brusquely.
I told him.
He promptly replied, “Okay, I will come.”
I was very excited that he would see all my students in the formal uniform as per the dress code of the corporate world. I was the pioneer in introducing uniforms in management institutes in the country. It so happened that I had gone for a visit to TELCO, now Tata Motors, where I saw all employees following a dress code. Inspired by this sight, which gave status and dignity to the work environment, I introduced it at SIMS. It has now become a fashion trend for management colleges across the country, to have uniforms for their students.
Although Mr Mody had confirmed, we could not communicate further, as he was to fly from London to Mumbai and then straightaway drive to our campus in Pune. All the students were set to welcome him. We were all on tenterhooks as to whether he would keep up his word or not, but were delighted and overawed by his commitment when he arrived, dot on time, to the college. However, to my utter surprise, he landed in an informal, colourful floral-print shirt and bermudas (three-fourth-length casual pants). I had imagined he would be in formal attire – totally suited-booted. However, the reason became clear when he asked me, “What time is the function?’’
I told him, “9 am.”
“Oh, it is already 9 am so there is no time to change.” And thus, he was in those casual, flamboyant clothes and showed all of us how important punctuality was, over anything else. Of course, I did not show my astonishment and escorted him to the seminar hall, where he gave a very good speech. He shared the story of his work and life. His lecture was punctuated with lighter moments and his interaction with the students was intense and warm. He complimented me for reaching out to him and said that he was very impressed with the students and the institute.
After the event, I escorted him to Hotel Blue Diamond where he had been put up. He changed into his formal attire and had a discussion with me and my wife for over an hour. As usual, I spoke to him about campus placements to which he responded positively. Sure enough, after returning to Jamshedpur, he promptly sent his Director to the campus for an on-the-spotassessment.
His jovial disposition and humble demeanour had a deep impact on my mind and behaviour. We exchanged greetings for several years, even after he left TISCO. I continue to be indebted to him for keeping up his commitment despite his hectic schedule and despite not having met me ever before.
Reaching out to top corporate leaders has always been a challenge, but we have always succeeded and felt overwhelmed when stalwarts like Mr. Mody kept their promise and inspired the young generation, which is waiting in the wings to jump into the corporate world.
The case of getting in touch with Mr Ratan Tata was equally delightful. We tried our luck and managed to get his personal mobile phone number. Mr Tata politely enquired, listened to the request of my students and instantly regretted his inability to grace the function. My students though were not ready to accept this answer. They persisted by calling him again.
A frustrated Ratan Tata told them, “Arre baba, at the moment, I am sitting on the beach side, abroad. Don’t trouble me. But you can reach out to me when I come to India.”
The moment they came to know that Mr Tata was back at his Tata House office in Mumbai, three of my commando students reached Mumbai and began sending faxes to him, every hour. The message stated, “We are so and so, we have arrived and whenever you have two minutes time, please reach out to this number.’’ The faxes were going straight to his personal secretary’s office.
The chair remains the same; people who occupy it keep changing. However, the impact and influence which they leave behind, lives for decades. For a small person like me, the lesson is that the world is good, the people are good, people want to be good and people ought to be good. What more do I want in life? I had the opportunity to invite and interact with two legendary people who defined India’s industrial growth, which they pursued with a fiery mission
Finally, he called. “Where are you people?” he asked.
“We are waiting for you in front of your gate at Tata House,” they replied.
“Where is the fax machine there?” he asked curiously.
“We arranged it Sir,” said the students.
Mr Tata called the three students to his office. He flung his engagement diary at them and said, “I don’t go to these colleges as I am so busy. See for yourself if there is any free day.”
The students browsed through it and one of them spotted a blank day. “Here Sir,” he said, pointing to a date when he had no other appointments. Impressed by their passion and enterprise, we had the privilege of having Mr Ratan Tata over at our management institute.
Men may come and men may go. The chair remains the same; people who occupy it keep changing. However, the impact and influence which they leave behind, lives for decades. For a small person like me, the lesson is that the world is good, the people are good, people want to be good and people ought to be good.
What more do I want in life? I had the opportunity to invite and interact with two legendary people who defined India’s industrial growth, which they pursued with a fiery mission. I saw them at close quarters, making my lifetime’s mission complete.
Dr (Col.) A. BAlASUBRAMANIAN
editor-in-chief
