In 1979, I secured admission to XLRI, Jamshedpur, a prestigious management institute founded in 1949 by the Jesuits. Father Enright was the Founder-Director.
Today, the institute boasts a range of courses attracting students from around the world. However, during my time, it offered only two courses: the Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management and the Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations and Welfare. Each class comprised approximately 40 students, creating a tight-knit community of around 80 individuals, fostering lasting bonds that endure to this day.
My experiences at XLRI were diverse and memorable. The student body was a melting pot, representing various regions of the country, with some students leaving home for the first time; others like myself, having previously stayed in hostels.
Jamshedpur, essentially ‘owned’ by the Tata Group, particularly Tata Steel, was an integral part of our daily lives. Mr. Russi Mody, the charismatic Managing Director of Tata Steel, left a lasting impression on me. I vividly remember his personal touch, driving a non-airconditioned Fiat Car when he visited our hostel around 4 PM, sharing tea and stories with students, each anecdote carrying valuable life lessons particularly when it came to managing people.
One such lesson he shared, a few months before our course concluded, was about developing subordinates into competent managers. According to Mr. Mody, allowing people to make mistakes is crucial for their learning and growth. Reflecting on my corporate journey, I realize the profound truth in his advice. Encouraging subordinates to learn through mistakes fosters growth and aids in creating a competent second line, making delegation more effective. I would not have grown professionally if my own superiors had not allowed me to make mistakes.
On another occasion, Mr. Mody recounted how he handled a strike by 14 overhead crane operators during his tenure as the Chief Personnel Manager of the plant.
Giving employment to children of employees who superannuated was a policy at Tata Steel. And more often than not, the new employees was allotted the same house to stay from where his father had retired. And in most cases, the father continued to live with the son.
Mr Mody found out that all the 14 crane operators had got their jobs because of their father. He visited each such home that evening and found that 11 such crane operators were living with their superannuated father. He spoke to each of the older employees.
Next morning, all these 11 older employees brought the striking crane operators to the shop floor and berated them in full view of the shop floor. The delinquents came back to work without as much as a whimper!!
Mr. Mody however added that this technique could be used in Jamshedpur because respect for elders was ingrained very strongly in the culture at Bihar. Jamshedpur was in the state of Bihar then. He cautioned us that in many other states in other parts of the country this ‘method’ will just not work!! He did mention one such state…...
I really wonder how many business icons would find the time to hobnob with the student community in a hostel without being formally invited. And how may would share anecdotes and practical knowledge from their own lives so that the next generation had a chance to transform the world around them.
Great story. I too worked at a Tata and they are one of the best employers. I wonder which was that one state Mr Mody mentioned. 😃