Why Founder’s day of the Tatas is both same and special

Kolkata: March 3, 2023, is the 183rd birth anniversary of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the founding parent of the eponymous group. What makes this year rather special is the homecoming of Air India, coincidentally born as Tata Airlines in 1932, the first year that Founder’s Day was celebrated in the TISCO steel works, Jamshedpur.

The Air India of 1932 and that of 2023 ably represent the two frontiers of the Tata empire, with obvious differences and uncanny similarities. An agenda to make a mark in global aviation is indeed common - then as a pioneer and now as a stalwart. As is the plan for serious business expansion - steel, science education, trading and a hotel then while a lot more today. Technology, in both centuries, represents the compelling game changer, and as the group gets deeper into eCommerce and electric vehicles, the possibilities are rather enormous.

What makes this day the same is the ritualistic reinforcement of the iconic Tata values, brought to life operationally and eloquently by multiple generations of stakeholders. As a professional outsider, I have worked closely with the management teams of Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Teleservices for over a decade - thus having adequate exposure to forge an impression of how this organisation effortlessly assumes the moniker of trust, a cultural continuity that needs to be explained in slight depth, to make reasonable sense.

Since its inception, the group integrated Indians into its engineering and managerial fold, as it was naturally an Indian company. More importantly, the anglophile Parsis, with a keen eye for economic development, created a level playing field for thought-leading Westerners and freshly-minted Indian brains. What helped, most obviously, was the quasi-integration of Parsis in European society - sophisticated, educated and ambitious folks who belonged effortlessly both there and here. Dadabhai Naoroji, known as the unofficial ambassador of India, was even elected as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons between 1892 and 1895.

This seamless corporate integration between the best of the West and the brightest of the East clearly did not happen in any other comparable pre-independence scenario that lingers to this day. Managing agencies, giants like ITC and ICI as well as the trading organisations were clearly British-owned and run, measuredly welcoming Indians but with strict hierarchies. While the Indian pioneers, Birlas and Mahindras, were rooted in a sternly local value system, often abhorring universal influences in the spirit of Swadeshi. Only the Civil Services and the Armed Forces are comparable to the Tatas in this dimension - the pioneering curation of an equitable operating environment but even there the distinction was apparent.

Also connected to the above was the visionary creation of labour equality, which much later entered our constitution. On the 5th of March, 1920, the Jamshedpur Labour Association was formed in the TISCO works and patronised by icons like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Bose, CF Andrews and others. Visitors, even today, are mesmerised by the acumen of housing and welfare initiatives from that era, once again an establishing principle for the associative imagery of 2023. The last time a strike occurred was in 1928 and the essence of this relationship permeates to the new-age entities of today.

Going forward, it is necessary to also note that most of the early industries were of the nation-building variety - a source of both employment and pride. Tata Chemicals was established in 1939, the Indian Institute of Science set shop in 1900, the Taj Mahal Hotel in 1903 and the list continues with Air India, Tata Steel and many more. This obviously meant that the group was under rigorous surveillance by society, administrators and lawmakers - a happy recipe for ethical conduct. Truthfully, the impetus for much of independent India’s forward leap arrived from early bird Tata endeavours - both as know-how as well as self-confidence to compete on global parameters.

No discussion on the sameness or the specialness is complete without mentioning the tata employees - who I broadly divide between the Old Tata and New Tata cadres, based on the legacy levels of the employer. Old Tata, steel for instance, stands sharply for sustainable living - a lifetime career which actively supports holistic existence beyond just work. New Tata, e-commerce surely, must operate at a frenetic pace but as reports suggest, without the cutthroat sensibilities of recent companies. In many new-age sectors performance pressures surpass the more structured roadmap of the traditional industries but a dash of humanness can be successfully infused, when sought sincerely. It would be fascinating to note how the group manifests itself in the metaverse, as a test of whether such thinking is age-proof.

Critics often claim that the sameness often comes in the way of specialness - perhaps the pace of growth could have been way more accelerated than often practised. Perhaps, the perfectionist engineering mindset comes in the way of spontaneous nimbleness and thus retaining the pioneer's mantle in a hyper-competitive arena - after all the group earned its early spurs when not too many were in the fray, due to acumen and access. Some eager-beaver imports from global leaders do complain that autonomy is often sacrificed for process and thus careers and business plans, in express lanes, have to encounter speed breakers.

My view, most simply, is that the difference between leadership and followership must be sincerely maintained, and there will be losses as per the chosen territory. Followership, or culture-less cloning, is damaging employee and balance sheet health in these turbulent times - we see successes turning into failures and people running away to safer shores and most worryingly, integrity taking a beating. The Tatas approach every business with an integrated leadership mindset, where preparation must precede pace to set up for success and if a few miss the bus, so be it. Ambitious youngsters may not see eye to eye with this timeless thought, but those who do will build more than just careers.

In 1932, when the world of TISCO in Jamshedpur was getting set for the first-ever Tata Founder’s Day festivities, Air India was getting ready to soar. In 2023, when the world of Tatas is getting set for Founder’s Day, Air India is once again set to soar. A matter of fact that wonderfully exemplifies the inspired blend of the same and special that this group truly is.