Agrawal, Truss and the profitability of short-lived tenures

Kolkata: Just as Liz Truss’s tenure was terminated in 45 days, Parag Agrawal’s leadership of Twitter was scuttled by Elon Musk in 11 months. The humiliation, in either case, would be satisfactorily muted by the former’s severance package of $42 million while the latter’s yearly allowance (for life) can extend up to $130,000.

A quick press of the rewind button will confirm the uncanny profitability of severely short-lived tenures, with on-job performance getting the benefit of the doubt. King EdwardVIII reigned for exactly 236 days, before abdicating to the wiles of Wallis Simpson, and enjoyed many nobility privileges as the Duke of Windsor, till 1972. Even the Lady’s funeral in 1986 was attended by the Queen, who reportedly shed a rare public tear at the moment.

Closer home, Mr Vajpayee’s first innings as PM lasted exactly thirteen days, in 1996, but that undoubtedly set the foundation for his prolific second knock from 1998 to 2004. There are numerous instances in Cricket as well, of folks attaining captaincy for remarkably short spells, as stop gaps usually but earning permanence in the record books. In the corporate world, shareholder pressures often compel the designated to step away, while Cyrus Mistry certainly cemented his brand image during his limited engagement with Tata Sons, embellished no doubt by a Stalinist purge-like exit orchestration.

Quite contrary to public perception, short-lived occupancies of position arrive with their underrated yet significant perquisites. Foremost, must be a negligible obligation to fulfil the proactive or entrusted mandates, as time proves to be an undeniable alibi. The miniature duration of public memory further ensures that the bad blood is suitably erased, replaced instead by a seat in posterity, large or small. Also, it can lead to much speculation about the outcome of subsequent events had the spell not been interrupted.

Perhaps the stated proximity between EdwardVIII and the Nazis could have prevented the catastrophic Second World War, with global equilibrium sooner and cheaper. Maybe, Twitter’s ambitions to become a supreme advertising platform would have been accelerated by the bean counter and not the dreamer orientation of the Indian CEO. While Sunak’s policies seem sound, one cannot rule out the comparatively painless roadmap of Truss, from a citizen perspective surely. If Sunil Gavaskar had continued as India's Coach after Wadekar’s illness (he took over as a stopgap), maybe our ascension on the world stage would have been even smoother.

While the romantic opportunity cost scores in favour of the short-run heroes, so do the money in the bank, as is increasingly apparent. Agrawal was apparently escorted out of the Twitter premises but with a golden briefcase that can make him a top-notch investor and business guru. Truss may soon have queues of publishers at her doorstep, as this is clearly the most differentiated story of the prime ministership in recent eras. Purely by attaining a certain decreed elevation, the candidates potentially open the floodgates to a future replete with opportunities that are both remunerative and softer.

Not that I am actually recommending that a short-lived tenure should be a career goal, but it must be said that it’s not always a very bad idea. Past accolades and an envisioned potential lead folks to mandates of formidable potency, while a combination of circumstances often leads to truncated matchplay. While there is no Duckworth -Lewis equivalent to assess the result, there is certainly the Peter Principle - you will continue to rise up the ladder until you reach the point where you can no longer perform well.

The stars of the T20  game have to do a lot less than the champions of Test match Cricket, and often their careers are way shorter as well. But yet, they enthral when on the field and do leave an anecdotal legacy that supersedes the brevity of popular memory. Not quite the finest analogy, but definitely one way to look at the profitability of short-lived tenures.