Adi Godrej Delivers Talk at Leadership Lecture Series of SJMSOM-IIT Mumbai

Adi Godrej Delivers Talk at Leadership Lecture Series of SJMSOM-IIT Mumbai

Mr. Adi Godrej is one of the very few industry stalwarts who have witnessed the growth of Indian industry from pre-liberalization to post-liberalization era. In an interactive session with the students of Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay, on January 19, 2007, he answered a lot of queries about the Indian industry and how an industry doyen, such as Mr. Godrej himself, viewed it all.

Mr. Godrej feels that this is the right time to build India. Indian economy has come of age, in support of which he stated some facts like India being the largest FDI approved nation, second largest manufacturer of cement, and Hero and Bajaj as the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers.

Mr. Godrej had some valuable hindsight to share with the students. Firstly, for any individual to graduate from a good educational institution is essential, the critical question being how many of them transform themselves into Passionate Leaders. Secondly, the leader, according to him, should be truthful. He should have clear vision and constant exposure to new ideas. He should neither lend his ears to somebody who is apprehensive of taking risks nor to that internal voice of fear which says that there are smarter, taller, luckier and more powerful people than him. Thirdly, the leader should play to win. Fourthly, he should learn to pick himself up after falling, make vocation his vacation, enjoy what he does and grab opportunities.

On being asked how he managed to stand tall in the changing times in India, he replied that effective utilization of one's core strength is the key. He also emphasized on how important it is for a leader to have good communication with his team.

According to Mr. Godrej, a very important ingredient in any team today is the need to be creative. Too much of discipline reduces creativity. Some degree of "madness" is essential to stir the company and expose it to revolutionary ideas.

He also said that brand is a very important factor in a company's success. Godrej, he said, has been a well-accepted brand since a long time in the Indian market. But because of the legacy of its brand, Godrej has faced a lot of problems in positioning itself as a company with new age policies. So, Godrej has tried to revamp its appraisal structure. It has come up with a policy that after every evaluation, the bottom 5% people in the company would leave. And the top 20% would be rewarded with faster career growth.

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Contributed by -
Rachit R. Mehrotra,
Batch of 2006-08,
Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay .

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