Jamsetji Tata: Limited edition

As the authors make it clear upfront, this book is not a biography of Jamsetji Tata, founder of the Tata group. It is about his business philosophy and tenets that are embedded in the Tata group even now after so many generations.

- PROSENJIT DATTA

Apart from documenting his business and management philosophy, the authors seek to answer another question: Why has the Tata group largely managed to adhere to Jamsetji's broad principles even as many other companies that were started by enlightened entrepreneurs have discarded the founder's philosophy within a generation or two?

The co-authors probably know the Tata group as well as anyone can claim. R Gopalakrishnan had a storied career in Hindustan Lever (now Hindustan Unilever), rising to its vice-chairman before he joined the Tata group as executive director of Tata Sons, the holding company of the conglomerate, and was also on the board of several major Tata companies. Harish Bhat joined the Tata group in 1987 as an officer of the famed Tata Administrative Service (TAS) and rose rapidly. An avid marketer, he was, at different points, the brand custodian of the Tatas, chief operating officer of Titan, and managing director of Tata Global Beverages, apart from serving as a director on many group company boards.