16th August 2020 marks the anniversary of my professional career that began 42 years ago at TATA Motors(then known as Telco), Pimpri plant as a graduate engineer trainee graduated from VJTI, Mumbai. Although I retired in 2014 as Head of Application Engineering Group and Tender Response Cell, I have been working as an independent consultant and strategic advisor to many organizations.

I recollect some key learnings from Tata Motors that I see as success ingredients for any business or for that matter any working professional. These success ingredients form an integral part of my professional practice till this date and will continue so. I share this with you all today along with some anecdotes from my days with TATA Motors:

Humility is key to building relationships

As I joined Tata Motors at their pimpri plant, I learnt my first lesson in humility. The values of equality and dignity reflected through various practices at the TATA Factory where from the junior most worker to the plant head were catered with the same food and only one common canteen for all. Food, Plates, Seating Arrangements etc. were equal for everyone to the extent that even the food subsidy provided to all was the same across all the grades. This strengthened the value of Humility for me and I made it a point that whenever I visited a vendor to TATA motors on application development, I would interact with the workers and have a cup of tea with them during their work breaks which bonded us. I feel that when you can connect with the lowest level of team members, give them respect and share your expectations they reciprocate with their whole heart and perform to the best of their abilities.

Collaborations Make Things Happen

During those days TATA and Daimler Benz had equity partnership. This partnership laid the manufacturing foundation for TATA Motors since 1954. TATA Motors Plants were designed by German and Indian teams together at Jamshedpur. Subsequently all the plants were designed similar to Daimler Benz plants in Germany. Incidentally I was the only person at TATA to market Daimler Benz CV products across India. I was fortunate to have worked closely on some of the most successful collaborations at TATA such as those with HYVA, Marcopolo, TATA DLT and Schwing Stettar. Some of these companies were very small when they began but post these collaborations they became world leaders and it was a win for TATA as well.

Pioneering

Many of our products and applications were first time in India for example Front End Tipping, Fully Built Vehicles and TATA Ace Platform – First Mini Truck in India, amongst many others. This gave us a first mover advantage in many sectors. It is important to have vision and work ahead of time with a small team that understands customer requirements and trends of the market. I was happy to be part of this team and many pioneering applications.

World is the Market

It is important to build with the mindset of having the world as your market. Once the product is stabilized in the Indian market, we can be ready for export. TATA Motors international business was a pioneer in many countries to have their product against competition from world leaders. Once you start supplying in international markets the customers as well play a role in driving the specs and quality of the product. Thus, also benefiting the domestic market with upgrades. Our collaborations with HYVA and Schwing Stettar helped us to cater to international markets for TATA Chassis where they were already present. Thus international customers got complete solutions at most reasonable prices. TATA was a flag bearer of ‘Made In India’ trucks in many countries since those days.

Trust always paves the way forward

33 years ago, during my first visit to Germany at Daimler plants and their application developers, I collected VHS tapes that had videos of the company and products. I also collected some of the sample vehicle number plates made of plastic which had reflective tapes. On my return journey to India, I was travelling via Dubai to meet TATA representatives and visit the TATA dealerships. The customs officer at Dubai Airport requested me to open my bags and found these video tapes and number plates. I was unaware that there are a lot of restrictions on carrying video tapes and some days prior to my arrival there were some tensions in the country. I was asked why I was carrying all these things and it was difficult for me to explain as the officer could not speak English. However the senior customs officer arrived and he asked me where I worked and whom I was supposed to meet at Dubai. Once I told them that I was working with TATA Motors and these items were for me to help with my work and upgrade products in India, he immediately told his  junior officer “He works for TATA and let him go”. That is how much the TATA’s were trusted then and even now it’s the strongest of it’s values.

All of the above added with a strong network can create miracles!