Leadership Simplified

Ravi Kant has been the CEO and MD of Tata Motors, on the board of Philips India and in various other senior positions in India's corporate life.

- KRISHNAN SRINIVASAN

Ravi Kant has been the CEO and MD of Tata Motors, on the board of Philips India and in various other senior positions in India's corporate life. Therefore, what he has to say about leadership is worthy of attention and to be carefully noted.

The jacket cover describes Ravi Kant's leadership model as "easy to use" to produce "amazing results". And if this has been Kant's doctrine in his field, it has indeed "an amazing track record of proven success".

Among those who have endorsed Kant's views are the late Ratan Tata, Dominique Turpin (professor of marketing, China Europe Business School Shanghai) and Baroness Julia King (former vice-chancellor Aston University). Tata describes the method as calling "for patience and a softer touch," Turpin as "pragmatic advice and great wisdom," and King reminds us that "people work better for people they like."

Ravi Kant starts by stating that the traditional style of corporate leadership from the front has been made obsolete by enterprises becoming large and complex organisms, with hard-to-predict events that cause disruption, and the need to use ever-changing technology — all which require something other than being the traditional all-knowing charismatic leader.