The man who saw tomorrow

For doubters that business can be a primary source of good, they just need to reflect on Ratan Tata.

- R GOPALAKRISHNAN

He symbolised precisely this. He was obsessed with the long-term value of Brand Tata and the group's stakeholder orientation rather than mere shareholder benefit. Enterprise and business in the West - and increasingly in India - have morphed into exercises of navel gazing into valuations, net present value of cash flows, and market capitalisation. This western capitalist system is either already broke, or surely heading to be broke soon. In the Shanti Parva of our Mahabharata, Bhishma advises Yudhishtira about adopting governance through Sarve Sama Hitam (welfare for all). Perhaps this concept inspired Gandhiji to preach and adopt Sarvodaya.

Having just authored the book, Jamsetji Tata - Powerful Learnings for Corporate Success, my mind is rather full of the legacy of Tata as an institution. As Ratan Tata has passed on, we mark that here stood a man who embodied the legacy of whatever Brand Tata stood for, embellished it, and departed into the long night, leaving the brand legacy for others to further enrich.