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Penny Wise , Pound Foolish

I write this blog as a shareholder of many listed companies owned by Tata Sons. Leaving the technicalities and legality of the meeting that fired Mistry , here are 3 reasons why I have been disappointed with Mistry as a Chairman ...

1) Lack of Imagination - What is the one new idea that the Tata group came up with in the last 4 years under Mistry ?  I could not think of any. For the most trusted and global Indian brand operating in the fastest growing economy in the world , this is disappointing to say the least. With major economic and social transformations underway - MakeInIndia, Digital India, Swach Bharat etc, Tata's point of view on these transformations is not even known.

2) Managing Balance Sheets - Last 4 years has been about managing balance sheets to look pretty. It looked like a bunch of glorified accountants had take over. Every move seemed to be based on some excel sheet modelling than what customers wanted.

3) Staying true to Tata's purpose - Tata businesses were never only about finances. They did business in so as to uplift society and take our nation forward. Tata Nano was a project that made the world believe that Indian engineers could design a product which was never even attempted before. While Mistry may rue about finances but the Tata Nano project skilled many Indians and a cluster of local car part manufacturers were born. Under Mistry , Tata lost its sense of purpose which made it a #1 Indian brand.

The board has made the right call, there is no point in a brand losing its soul just for a pretty balance sheet.


Comments

  1. VikasOctober 27, 2016 at 8:31 AM

    Agree with you but he should be given feedback on time to time basis by his mentors - RT and exit should be more respectable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. L R BhatOctober 27, 2016 at 7:40 PM

    I wholeheartedly agree on the "nation building" part. If Legendary founder Jamshetji Tata had immediate returns on mind he would have not set up the First Steel manufacturing company against British wishes. Original seed for make in India.

    ReplyDelete
  3. L R BhatOctober 27, 2016 at 7:40 PM

    I wholeheartedly agree on the "nation building" part. If Legendary founder Jamshetji Tata had immediate returns on mind he would have not set up the First Steel manufacturing company against British wishes. Original seed for make in India.

    ReplyDelete

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