Introduction

Ratan Tata is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts. He is the recipient of two of the highest civilian awards of India, the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000). He is well known for his business ethics and philanthropy. 

CHILDHOOD

MR. TATA came into the world on December 28, 1937 in the city of Surat, India. Ratan Tata’s father was MR. Naval Tata and mother was Mrs. Sonoo Tata. He has a younger brother named Jimmy and a step brother as well named Noel Tata One may think that the early days in the life of MR Tata were amazing and luxurious, due to the fact that he was born in a very rich family. But the reality is pretty different, as when he reached the age of 10, his parents got separated. Being divorced especially in India, is viewed from a negative perspective and social status in society is reduced as well. His younger brother was just seven years old at that time. Even after his parents being separated, both his father and mother made time to meet their children Ratan Tata and Jimmy, but never came together again, as a family. This had a deep negative impact on both the children. However, Ratan Tata was being looked after by his grandmother, Lady Navajbai Tata in Mumbai. Mr. Tata has also mentioned in his various interviews, that his grandmother had a great influence in his life because she taught him how to live a disciplined life, as she was a very strict lady herself. And most of the leadership skills which he has today, are present in him due to his upbringing. 

Education

The starting of his School days began at Campion School and eventually he ended up finishing his school education at Cathedral and John Connon School which are situated in Mumbai. Later he got his B.S. degree in architecture in structural engineering in the year 1962, from the renowned Cornell University in New York. Afterwards he got himself enrolled into a program called Advanced Management Program in 1975 from the Prestigious Harvard Business School. 

Career – Starting small and steady

Even though Ratan Tata was born in a very posh family of India he never took money and power for granted. He graduated from Riverdale Country from New York Ratan Tata began his career in the Tata Group, working on the shop floor of Tata Steel, shoveling limestone, and handling the blast furnace. After working for almost 10 years he was appointed as the Director-in-Charge of the National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (NELCO) in order to help its struggling finances. He worked towards building a better consumer electronics division but the economic recession and union strikes prevented him from achieving success and this success helped Tata to be appointed as the Chairman of the Tata Group of Companies. He started with a very basic job in his father's company and today he owns a billion-dollar company. As the Chairman of Tata Group, he was able to achieve international recognition and prestige for his company and spearheaded the company from a $1.5 billion market cap to a $100 billion market cap. The astounding financial success of the company brought the Tata Group to the New York Stock Exchange and under his supervision, the corporation became a global brand by acquiring many companies including Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Corus. 

Rewarding Failure

The energy and time that is needed to grow a company on an international level could be perfectly explained by Ratan Tata. His ideas for the company has not always been turned out as a successful venture. The recent such failure has been Nano Cars. In the years the Tata Motors was not doing good in terms of business as well as innovation. So Ratan Tata came up with an idea of rewarding and started an annual contest in the Tata Group that will reward the best-failed idea in the company. Rewarding failure and building a culture of try-frugally-and-fail-fast was the motto behind this contest. He wanted his employees to move out of the AC rooms and come closer to the reality of the different sections of society for innovation. 

The Jaguar Story

The tag of greatness does not come without making any sacrifices and this tag on Ratan Tata suits to it's best. 

Tata group launched its passenger car Tata Indica in the year 1998 but Tata Indica was a failure in its first year and the experiment seemed to be failing. Many people started advising Ratan Tata that he should sell the passenger car business. Ratan Tata also agreed to this and a proposal was given to Ford, they showed interest too. The three-hour meeting at Ford headquarters in Detroit, chairman of Ford (Bill Ford) said to Ratan Tata, “why did you enter in the passenger car business when you were not knowing of it. It will be a favor if we buy this business from you”. 

Ratan Tata decided to move back home. While traveling, he was very tense as the feeling of being insulted was on his mind. After earlier failures, Tata Motors did well with its business of passenger cars but in the same period, Ford did very bad. In 2008, when Ford was on its way of bankruptcy, Tata Group offered Ford to buy its luxury car brand, Jaguar-Land Rover. Ford arrived in Mumbai for the meeting. In the meeting, Bill Ford said to Ratan Tata, ” You are doing a big favor for us by buying Jaguar- Land Rover”. Jaguar- Land Rover is now owned by Tata Group and is currently making profits. 

The Philanthropist

Ratan Tata is not only a renowned businessman but he is also a philanthropist. More than 65% of his share is invested in charitable trusts. One of the primary goals of his life has been to raise the quality of life of Indians along with human development. In one of the events addressing the young entrepreneurs, Tata said that it does not matter what one does until it’s what they believe is right for them and advised that it did not matter how other people quantify the situation one is in. There are a plethora of ideas out in the world but only a few have the courage to go ahead and execute it. One should aim to deliver more than what is expected of him. It stands out to be a great practice to get noticed for the difference one is making, he added. 

10 Success lessons from Ratan Tata for entrepreneurs

1. Be a visionary

When Ratan Tata joined the group, it was barely doing any business outside India. Even though many opposed him, he maintained that the company had to go global. Today half of Tata’s revenues come from overseas. Under his leadership Tata acquired brands like Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Taj Boston. 

2. Be humble

He is known for his humility, and there are countless examples. He started out working as a blue collar employee for Tata Steel. He personally visited the families of the 80 employees who were affected because of the 26/11 attacks. He remembers almost everyone by their first names, and is not dismissive. 

3. Never give up on values

Values are something that define a company, both to its employees and its customers. Public Safety and welfare has always been one of the main core values of Tata. The Tata Group has always been known for upholding these values and when Ratan Tata took the reigns, he too reinstated these values into the company culture. As a result, Tata has become one of the most trusted brands the world over. 

4. Take Risks

Taking risks is the cardinal rule of business. As a leader, one needs to have the foresight and the capability to take risks that can take the company to new heights. Coming from business family, Ratan Tata was no stranger to taking risks and once also said, “I don’t believe in making right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right.” From acquiring the Jaguar and Land Rover businesses from Ford to taking over Corus, the second-largest steel maker in Europe, Ratan Tata made significantly big moves and has managed to make things work in his favour. 

5. Motivate others

Ratan Tata had the ability to inspire and motivate others which is very important for a leader. Being a great leader isn’t about checking all the right boxes but is about making sure you inspire, drive and spark your drive in others, so that they along with you, can bring about change, social innovation and progress. 

6. Have faith In yourself

When you are dealing with life’s hodgepodge, every minute you take a decision. Some decisions are right while there are some decisions that may cause situations to take an unpredicted turn. At such junctures, before people lose faith in your decision making skills, you must have staunch belief in yourself and must confidently come forward to make the situation in your favour. 

7. Be open to criticism

As per a famous quote by Ratan Tata, ‘Take the stones people throw at you and use them to build a monument.’ Whenever you endeavour to do something you like, you won’t always receive appreciation. There will be people who will try to pull you down and criticize to shatter your spirit. All you need to do is just ignore all the criticisms and focus on your work. 

8. Use creative tendencies

Be creative rather than being reactive. Being proactive and solving problems even before they come is one of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur. A person should not have a tendency to react only when the situation demands but the person should be able to be anticipate what will happen in future and be able to adjust himself to it in present. An entrepreneur who exercises such quality is always successful. 

9. Get out of the safe mode

To be successful in business you need to take risk. No risk no gain. Mr. Ratan Tata always believed in taking risk and the result is clear that the risk paid off. To be successful you need to take risk working in safe mode might make you feel comfortable but you will never be able to get best out of the system. He once said “I don’t believe in making right decisions. I take decisions and then make them right,” 

10. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Mr. Ratan Tata believed in investing in different companies so as his investment is always safe. He acquired a stake in the growing Chinese giant Xiaomi and leading e-commerce site snapdeal. Investing in different companies ensures that your investment is safe and grows no what the situation of a particular industry is. 

📜Conclusion:-

None can destroy iron, but its own rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person but his own mindset can.