Heed Tata’s sage advice
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata’s New Year message to his employees has universal truths that can be used to advantage by every business outfit in India. In a nutshell, his advice is to seize adversity and difficulties as opportunities, and to not let our tomorrows be limited by today’s fears. He acknowledges the situation is bad, both in the economic and political spheres at home and worldwide. In India we have been through scams, anti-corruption movements and disruptions in Parliament, which have put growth on a leash. Globally, too, the United States expects a slow recovery and Britain an even slower one, which could impact India negatively. But these can be overcome, indeed they have to be.
There are opportunities everywhere else in Asia and in parts of Africa. The Tatas themselves are more a global multinational today than an Indian one: a major part of their revenue come from overseas businesses. Many Indian companies and entrepreneurs have of late seized opportunities to set up businesses abroad because of the twin domestic evils of red tape and corruption. Mr Tata has advised his group companies to revise projections for growth in keeping with ground realities, and combat high raw material prices by cutting manufacturing and processing costs. These are simple truths that many have forgotten while pursuing fanciful targets and trying to keep up with the Jones’. We welcome Mr Tata’s uplifting call to seize opportunities to make 2012 a year of great achievement rather than a year of great adversity.
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