Ratan Tata's learnings and love for startups | Storied with Shradha Sharma | Episode 01
Summary
TLDRIn this inspiring dialogue, the host expresses admiration for Mr. Ratan Tata, a legendary figure in the entrepreneurial world. The conversation delves into Mr. Tata's transition from architecture to industry, his experiences with loneliness in leadership, and his views on succession planning. Mr. Tata also shares insights on supporting startups, emphasizing the importance of innovation and meritocracy in the digital age, and reflects on his own learning journey as he invests in and mentors young entrepreneurs.
Takeaways
- 📚 The speaker has a deep respect for Mr. Ratan Tata, considering him a legend, icon, leader, inspiration, and role model.
- 🏗️ Mr. Tata's career transitioned from being a trained architect to working in the shop floor of Tata Steel, adapting to a completely different environment.
- 🔥 The experience at Tata Steel was physically tough and filled with awe-inspiring surroundings, but also marked by uncertainty about his career path.
- 💭 The speaker acknowledges the loneliness that comes with leadership, especially when making tough decisions without full agreement from colleagues.
- 🤔 Mr. Tata emphasizes the importance of making decisions based on what one believes is right, even if it means going against the advice of others.
- 👶 The script touches on the difficulty of creating separation as companies grow, especially when dealing with long-standing figures within an organization.
- 🛠️ Mr. Tata implemented a retirement scheme to refresh the board of directors, which eventually also applied to his own departure, emphasizing the importance of succession.
- 💼 The speaker admires Mr. Tata's ability to manage a smooth succession in leadership, which is a critical aspect of organizational health.
- 💡 Mr. Tata's investments in startups reflect his belief in the innovativeness and imagination of young entrepreneurs, which he finds inspiring.
- 🌐 He acknowledges the new digital world's impact on business, noting the shift from traditional 'brick and mortar' to a more technology-driven and merit-based approach.
- 📈 Mr. Tata sees the support of new India's entrepreneurial spirit as essential and is actively learning from the young entrepreneurs he encounters.
Q & A
What was Mr. Ratan Tata's initial career path before joining Tata Steel?
-Mr. Ratan Tata was initially a trained architect working in Los Angeles before he transitioned to Tata Steel.
How did Mr. Tata describe his experience of shifting from architecture to working in Tata Steel?
-He described it as a significant change, moving from a safe and happy environment as an architect to the challenging and dangerous shop floor of Tata Steel, which was both exciting and tough physically.
What was the most important lesson Mr. Tata learned during his early days at Tata Steel?
-The most important lesson was the need to accelerate his learning in a completely new setup, which was physically tough and different from his architectural background.
Did Mr. Tata ever feel lonely in his leadership roles, and if so, how did he cope with it?
-Yes, he experienced loneliness, especially when making tough decisions. He coped by seeking mentoring and counseling, and by making decisions that he believed were right, even if it meant going against his colleagues.
How did Mr. Tata manage the transition of leadership and succession in the Tata Group?
-He managed succession by devising a retirement scheme that eventually led to a smooth transition, including his own retirement, ensuring that the company was not held back by long-standing fixtures.
What advice does Mr. Tata have for young entrepreneurs seeking to accelerate their companies' growth?
-He encourages young entrepreneurs to embrace the innovativeness and imagination that the digital world offers, as it represents a new and exciting area of business that is merit-based and has a global reach.
How does Mr. Tata view the role of mentorship in the entrepreneurial journey?
-He sees mentorship as crucial, especially when making tough decisions, as it provides the right type of guidance and counseling that can help leaders navigate through challenges.
What was the significance of Mr. Tata's investment in startups, according to the script?
-His investments in startups are significant as they reflect his support for new and innovative ideas, contributing to the growth of a new, digitally-driven India.
How does Mr. Tata perceive the role of technology in modern entrepreneurship?
-He views technology as a key driver in modern entrepreneurship, enabling new business models and providing a platform for ideas that were once considered unworkable or unsuccessful.
What does Mr. Tata believe is the most refreshing aspect of the new India in terms of entrepreneurship?
-He finds the merit-based nature of new entrepreneurship in India refreshing, where success is not determined by connections but by the quality and innovation of the ideas.
How does Mr. Tata describe his own learning process when interacting with young entrepreneurs?
-He describes it as a continuous learning exercise, where he is inspired by the vigor and new ideas brought forth by young entrepreneurs, showing a willingness to adapt and learn from the new generation.
Outlines
🌟 Launching Stories with a Renowned Icon
The speaker introduces a new segment dedicated to sharing stories with a special guest, Mr. Ratan Tata, who is highly respected and admired in the entrepreneurial and professional world. The speaker expresses their pleasure in launching this segment and highlights Mr. Tata's legendary status as an icon, leader, and inspiration. The intention is to ask Mr. Tata questions that are relevant to entrepreneurs, professionals, and people in general, providing a unique opportunity to gain insights from his vast experience.
🛠 Transitioning from Architecture to Industry and Leadership
The speaker delves into Mr. Tata's background, discussing his initial career as a trained architect and his subsequent move to Tata Steel. The transition from working in an architectural office in Los Angeles to the shop floor at Tata Steel is described as a significant and challenging shift. Mr. Tata reflects on the physical demands and the excitement of working in close proximity to danger, as well as the uncertainty of his career path at the time. The speaker also touches on the loneliness that can accompany leadership positions, especially when making tough decisions that may not align with the opinions of colleagues. Mr. Tata emphasizes the importance of believing in one's decisions and the need for mentorship and counseling during such challenging times.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Storytelling
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Leadership
💡Architect
💡Tata Steel
💡Loneliness
💡Succession
💡Innovation
💡Digital World
💡Mentoring
💡Investment
Highlights
Launching a story with an extraordinary man, Mr. Ratan Tata, who is admired and respected globally.
Mr. Tata's legendary status as an icon, leader, inspiration, and role model in the entrepreneurial world.
Mr. Tata's background as a trained architect before transitioning to Tata Steel.
The significant career shift and the challenges Mr. Tata faced in adapting to a new environment at Tata Steel.
The importance of mentorship and counseling in making tough decisions as a leader.
Mr. Tata's experience of loneliness in leadership and the necessity of making solitary decisions.
The dilemma of balancing between consulting with colleagues and making independent decisions.
The challenge of managing succession in a company and Mr. Tata's approach to creating a retirement scheme.
Mr. Tata's philosophy on setting an example for succession by retiring at the same age as others in the company.
Mr. Tata's active involvement in investing in startups and his influence in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The innovative and imaginative approaches of young entrepreneurs that inspire Mr. Tata.
The importance of embracing new technology and the digital world in modern business.
Mr. Tata's perspective on the merit-based nature of the new entrepreneurial landscape in India.
The refreshing aspect of supporting new ventures and Mr. Tata's ongoing learning journey.
The need for young entrepreneurs to focus on innovation and adapt to the rapidly changing business environment.
Mr. Tata's advice to young entrepreneurs on the importance of believing in their ideas and persevering.
Transcripts
stories live stories inspire stories
teach provoke and stay forever and guess
every story matters after eight years of
telling stories it gives me great
pleasure to launch story with an
extraordinary man I love this man
admire respect look up to and so do you
mmm sure so does everyone in this
country and across the world and
especially in the last two three years I
am sure everyone in the startup if you
ask any startup and entrepreneur who do
they want as a partner as an investor
then everyone would say one name and
that is mr. Ratan Tata he's a legend
he's an icon he's a leader he's an
inspiration he's a role model everything
combined in one and today I will ask mr.
Tata questions which all of us as
entrepreneurs all of us as people and
all of us as professionals would love to
know we don't get this opportunity but
today we have and I will ask mr. Tata
those questions so join me as I talk to
mr. Tata very few people know that you
were a trained architect and then you
moved from being an architect you moved
to Jamshed / - Tata Steel so so you knew
what it is to be at a certain place and
then completely shift and start from
scratch how did you deal with it and
what was the most important learning in
a new set up to accelerate your own
learning it was gone completely
different I was working in Los Angeles
in in an architect's office very happily
located and the changes to being on the
shop floor in Tata Steel was who is a
change which on the one hand quite
interesting because you were dealing in
in awe-inspiring surroundings hot metal
big furnaces and in close proximity to
danger is if to a young person quite
exciting with
but totally different and so those two
years were on the one hand very tough
physically but very different and the
only thing is you didn't know where you
were going in terms of a career you just
didn't understand what was being planned
for you yeah so you got up in the
morning you did whatever you had to do
and there that is that was it
founders realized as they grow that it's
very lonely and things change
relationship circumstances everything
changes
did you ever experience loneliness oh
yes and how did you deal with it
there I think when you when you're a
founder or you're the chairman or the
leader of a company every tough decision
is a lonely decision and you're very
lucky if you are surrounded by people
who can provide you with the right type
of mentoring and the right type of
counseling that take you through that
decision most of the time it's
disagreement on what should be done and
to that extent it's it's a lonely
decision because you have to decide to
go against your colleagues and do what
you believe is right or or fall in line
with what they say which which is often
a difficult thing because you should be
doing what you believe is right and
conventional wisdom also says that you
should be consulting and deliberating
something before you do it so it is a
lonely decision what I encourage you at
those moments what I just said
you'd you think a great deal about doing
what you believe is
the right thing you spend a lot of time
because usually those decisions hurt
somebody and they maybe help some hurt
one group in and help another so there's
always a downside that you deal with one
question which is very common in our
Indian context is when kids and babies
grow it's very difficult to separate and
Founder soon realize when companies grow
and they start getting professionals
that you have to create that separation
and also even in large corporates you
have figures who become fixtures and but
you in your career in an g no
outstanding brilliant sparkling career
created thank you you know were able to
manage that succession it was a smooth
succession how did that happen well i
inherited when mr. Jarrett at a step
down low and he was almost 90 years old
and he had a string of colleagues all
very notable people who are in their 80s
some of them had to be helped up out of
the car of the stairs of Bombay house I
still remember one of them the doors of
the boardroom would still swing open and
he'd be helped by two people who brought
him to a seat who sat him down and he
would fall asleep and so I had this
board of directors that would come in
fall asleep snore and they would only
seem to wake up whenever you wanted some
change to be done you needed the support
they would give you their opposition so
I devised a retirement scheme
which finally is got all of them out but
eventually got me out also so so that
that day came along and it would have
been wrong for me to say that it applied
to everybody else but not to me so I
decided that the right thing to do is to
call it a day and conform to what we
develop sir you've invested in 25
startups
you're making news every day and
everyone in this country is aspiring to
have you support their venture you know
you've met so many companies what do you
think young entrepreneurs today need and
you think that you know if they work on
this they would accelerate their own
companies faster you know it's
interesting you ask that because I've
been saying to some of the young people
we have been meeting that I'm the one
who's going through the learning
exercise because many many concepts such
as being talked about five years ago if
you ask me I would say I doubt that they
would be workable or successful but they
are and so the innovativeness and the
imagination of some of the young people
is is truly inspiring to me because it
it shows a new kind of vigor there's new
technology in which the digital world
brings two to the table and the reach is
very different from the brick and mortar
and so it's a totally new exciting area
it's it's merit-based it's not whom you
knowin who has got you started so to me
it's a very refreshing part of a new
India which needs to be supported and
I'm learning thank you so much thanks a
lot
you
浏览更多相关视频
Dado Banatao at the APEC SME Summit
Everything I Learned From 48 Hours With MrBeast (The +$1B Mindset) (#539)
Ratan Tata Success Story - How Ratan Tata Rebuilt Tata Group? | Trade Brains
“My Condo Downgrade to HDB Was Tough! But It Was Worth it!” Interview with Chris Tan (Part 4 of 4)
ALL ABOUT HANDWRITING AND ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO WRITE!
The Entrepreneurial Journey of Mr. Rajesh Mhaske Sir | Tech Talk Friday | #ttf
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)