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Mr. V.Balaraman, former Managing Director, POND'S India Ltd., had the good fortune of working under the indomitable Mr.V.Narayanan. People remember Mr.Narayanan as a wise, goodnatured gentleman of the old school in a tough corporate world. Here, Mr.V.Balaraman reminiscences on his working with Mr.V.Narayanan during an interview with Ms. Anu Oza, HR Director, IMG Talent Management, Ford Motor Pvt Ltd. Not to lose out on this opportunity, Business Mandate too chipped in with a few questions to Mr.Balaraman.
Mr Narayanan held positions of strong authority.
to make them feel confident that because he has
But authority and leadership are different. Can
chosen them they are indeed the right people for the
you tell us how he exercised leadership?
job; and because he trusted them, they could never
From your question I infer that by authority you mean
fail him, never fail his confidence; and he showed
formal authority. Anyone who has to depend on such
perceptible expectations that they will indeed
formal authority alone to accomplish something
succeed.
useful, it seems to me is not a leader. He is what his
Have you not heard of the Pygmalion Effect? In
designation describes him to be—A CEO or, an MD
other words, “the theory of expectancy”—the very act
of whatever. What is a Managing Director managing
of expecting something, contributing to make it
or directing if he is not “leading”? Who or what is a
happen? He not only chose you, trusted you, expected
Chief Executive Officer “executing”? Stupid
you to win—he did not tell you how to do it; nor did
designations!!!
he set a budget or time frame or team size or team
Mr Narayanan was a natural leader; he had the
constitution . You had the total real freedom to choose
“inherent” authority of such a leader in whatever he
all that. And not just that—the FREEDOM TO FAIL.
attempted to do; he did not need formal authority
It was your choice. You can say, “Sorry,
though he had it in some situations. Being a natural
Mr.Narayanan. I made a mistake; I lost a few lakhs.”
leader he had clarity of purpose and vision [which is
He would say, “How else would you like to try?” No
a larger, longer term purpose—both organisational
recrimination about your mistakes or loss of
and societal].
opportunity, time or money. His view was that if you
He had clarity on why such a larger purpose is most important to achieve; he had the ability/skill to choose a person or a team to work for this purpose; and to explain to them, inspire them, to trust them; 2
JUN 2021
made a mistake—so can I, so can any of the others I could have chosen. That, to my mind, is true empowerment; genuine, authentic—and trust at its very best. So, Mr Narayanan's trust became a great
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honour. To be trusted by him was a huge reward in
job was important—but so were people (as long as
itself. And one would work very, very hard to deserve
they are ethical!). Mr Narayanan had impressive
that trust. Never fail; never lose it.
sharpness and clarity even as he aged; he always put
Mr Narayanan understood that if you trust people
your needs first—always included you in the solution.
and genuinely back them, then nothing is impossible.
He also used to discuss with me time and again, the
What was his commitment to coaching and grooming
very fundamental importance of authentic, shared
the leaders of tomorrow? How did he do it ?
high value systems. We understood that the top rankers we hired from the IIMs would join us, be inspired and work for us ONLY if our value systems are something they can respect, be inspired by, shared and be proud of. So, our motto, which he coined, was “character, culture and competence.”
By inspiration and by example. It was important to everyone that he valued you, respected you; and you knew that he will see everything, know everything, and that one cannot “play act.” He would see anything nongenuine instantly; you would go down in his esteem—nothing could be worse. I think it came from
There was clarity that competence without
his days as a sales manager.
character and culture was something we looked down upon. All these were natural to Mr Narayanan and his team; something we believed in, lived, and valued above everything else.
Was his role all consuming? All inspiring—all motivating would be the correct description. Good leaders only lead—they do not “direct.” So, it is all delegated. The teams did it. The leader of course is there—in every one's mind; though not physically; he is in your purpose in your value systems, and in your thoughts. You know that you can do anything that is lawful,
You know that you can do anything that is lawful, moral and human to get to the company's goal. You just need to use your judgement and that of your team’s. You never let the team down or the company by your strong personal choices and prefer‐ ences.
moral and human to get to the company's goal. You just need to use your judgement and that of your team’s. You never let the team down or the company
Can you explain the deep felt loyalty by people at
by your strong personal choices and preferences.
all levels towards him ? Everybody is just reciprocating his constant deep loyalty to their own personal cause. He was the
What do you think were his three strongest traits ?
genuine article. He believed in the human being, and
Clarity, consistency, and humanitarian values. Pond's
it was based on a deep understanding. He knew, for
chose a human orientation. To be task oriented, the BUSINESS MANDATE
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instance, that as a CEO he owed it to everyone
Indian operations with Hindustan lever, Brooke Bond
associated with the company to take care of their
India and Lipton India and Tea Estates of India Ltd.
interests. Often we used to keep evaluating if we are
Different product groups of Unilever were handled
taking care of shareholders, employees, vendors,
by different companies. Pond's products were what
consumers, society, government, and other partners.
Unilever termed "personal products,” and Hindustan
We made it a formal process as well. He was the
Lever too had a big division catering to personal
darling of all our public shareholders. Pond's kept
products.
issuing bonus shares in his days of leadership—as our
Fundamental questions of which company
share value kept increasing; many shareholders used
should handle all of Unilever's personal products
to keep telling us how they built a house or got a
would arise; further, remuneration packages,
daughter married based on the appreciation of their
designations, organisation structure all would need
investment in Pond's shares.
harmonisation at some stage. Pond's could no longer continue to be an independent company it was in making its own choices and decisions. The autonomy it enjoyed in strategy, brands, marketing, selling,
Smoking his favourite Bensen & Hedges helped him concentrate. He did this on the news of Chesebrough Pond's Inc. merging with Unilever. He became clear on the positives and negatives of the issue; he knew that there were definite advantages in the situation...
distribution, manufacturing, sourcing all would vanish overnight. Mr Narayanan's response would tell us all something about the person he is; we discussed the news and its different implications amongst ourselves for a few days. He then took off to the hills; Kodai hills were his favorite as also Ooty [he did his school ing at Lovedale]. He liked to be alone; walk miles around the lake and come back to the room, and then start writing—first all the questions, then his thoughts, then his answers. This process would take
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Can you tell us a bit about Mr Narayanan's
like a week to 10 days, by which time usually he would
handling of the news of worldwide merger of
be clear—what the questions are, what the answers
Chesebrough Pond's Inc. with Unilever? And later
are, and what his position is. Mr Narayanan always
of the idea of Pond's India merging with
sought clarity in any situation; he liked to work on it
Hindustan Lever?
himself. There are times, instead of going to the hills,
In the year 1987, it was of course totally unexpected
he would take a long distance train, to say New Delhi
that Chesebrough Pond's Inc.—the parent company
from Chennai. Over the two nights and a day in his
of Pond's India Ltd would merge totally with
air conditioned compartment he would follow the
Unilever. But it happened! It was a shock!! For, unlike
same process of deep, reflective thinking, and coming
Chesebrough Pond's Inc., Unilever had existing
up with answers and solutions.
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Smoking his favourite Bensen & Hedges helped him concentrate. He did this on the news of Chesebrough Pond's Inc. merging with Unilever. He became clear on the positives and negatives of the issue; he knew that there were definite advantages in the situation to the company's products, employees, distributors, and partners of higher scale. Thereafter, he was detached—and supported the process of harmonisation of pay structures, product lines etc. On the actual question of merging the operations of Pond's India Ltd., with Hindustan Lever Ltd., he
Mr Narayanan converted some serious challenges in to opportunities for everyone. To comply with government policy, he persuaded [with great skill and persistence ] Chesebrough Pond's Inc., to reduce their shareholding in Pond's India Ltd., to 40 percent from 100 percent...
took a clear and unchanging stance that he would not do it himself and that this decision should be taken by his successor, namely, me.
the Indian government, adding to Indian
He would not give me an idea of what was in his mind or what would be his advice to me.
employment. Because of the high growth, the company's
He said that it should depend upon the future
underlying share value kept on increasing—and the
interests of Pond's India, that he cannot make a
market price of its shares grew to high levels. It
decision on it, and that it is best done by his successor
became necessary to keep the market price of the
who would have a clearer view of what the future held
share affordable for the small shareholders in the
for the company.
market. The company under Mr Narayanan's chairmanship kept splitting its shares through issue of bonus shares. Over a decade, this hugely increased
Can you explain how Pond's spread so much
the value of the original small quantity of shares in
prosperity to so many ?
which small shareholders invested at the time the
Mr Narayanan converted some serious challenges in
company took on Indian capital. It made
to opportunities for everyone. To comply with
Mr Narayanan very popular with the company's
government policy, he persuaded [with great skill and
Indian shareholders too.
persistence] Chesebrough Pond's Inc., to reduce their shareholding in Pond's India Ltd., to 40 percent from 100 percent; but made them work to get us export
Great companies think differently. How did Pond’s
orders for high premium European prestige brands
—under Mr Narayanan’s leadership—implement
in the Russian market, thus gaining additional sales
a different operating logic to meet the needs of
and profits for the Indian company, higher dividends
people and society?
for the parent, and forex earnings and tax revenue for
Narayanan's logic was thus: a society of high ethics
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attracts similar people. This increases selfrespect
Pond's was a company driven by values. How did
and pride, and builds brand value for the group and
Mr Narayanan create a value‐driven company in
company. Being humane builds better relationships,
India, where corruption, nepotism and profite‐
and trust creates the obligation to “live the trust” and
ering were a way of life?
not let down those who trust. The Pygmalion effect
There are many companies in India driven by values.
also kicks in:
Pond's was one of them. Of course, occasionally the
1.
A society of high ethics attracts people who
company had to take penal action on errant individual
like to belong there.
employees to ensure adherence to its value systems.
2. Being highly ethical increases one's self respect and make them proud of belonging
3.
to that community; increases the brand
Managers often say that leaders don't walk the
value of the company/community.
talk when it comes to values. How did leaders
Being humane—makes people comfortable;
under Mr Narayanan avoid this trap?
relate better, builds bonding. 4. 5.
Trust—creates an obligation to "live the
Mr Narayanan led by example. There was a highly
trust"; not to let down the trusting.
visible event: a very high value shipment for exports
When one perceives that they are being
was stopped at customs quoting a minor irrelevant
highly valued and knows that "expectations
problem in labeling. There was subtle pressure for
of performance" are high, then one will work
irregular gratification. If the shipment was returned
hard to live up to those expectations [this operates with those who opt to speak as a Pond's veteran].
to the factory, there would be a huge loss to the company. The Management under Mr Narayanan stood their ground on principle. Finally, the shipment was cleared for export accepting the company's stance. Leaders who stand for ethics will be tested by followers quite often. So, how a leader responds under such pressure will decide the sustainability of the
Mr Narayanan led by example. There was a highly visible event: a very high value shipment for exports was stopped at customs quoting a minor irrelevant problem in labeling... The Management under Mr Narayanan stood their ground on principle.
values preached. Active and sustained practice of preached values by leaders is what sustains these values in the organization.
What
can
today's
entrepreneurs
learn
corporate from
Mr
leaders
and
Narayanan's
leadership? What are the real leadership lessons of Mr Narayanan that are relevant today? To trust people; to believe in the motivational power of a near impossible challenge, given all freedoms— including the freedom to fail (in the knowledge that
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if the employee makes a mistake, so can the boss!);
levels. He is generous to a fault—he went out of the
the magical power of expectation backed by open
way to ensure that most employees were provided
confidence and trust, often called the Pygmalion
housing loans at very low rates of interest; the huge
effect; and, the underappreciated value of ethics and
profits that the company continued to make over the
value systems.
years with expanding sales, both in the domestic and export markets, were shared as remuneration to employees
I believe Mr Narayanan was a strong believer in
and
dividends/bonus
shares
to
shareholders for which he is fondly remembered. Yes,
face‐to‐face meetings. How did this help him as a
he ensured that the company prospered and shared
leader?
that prosperity with every one as is legally possible.
I have not asked him this question; nor has he ever
He faced large and varying challenges—starting with
explained it to me. But Mr Narayanan strongly
an high excise tax on cosmetics at 120 percent, to the
believed in whatever he did. He also believed in the
parent company being forced to dilute stake, to export
power of persuasion; he was a marketer and a
obligations being forced on the company, and to
salesperson at heart. I guess facetoface meetings
Unilever buying Chesebrough Ponds out in the USA.
helped him understand a person very well so that he can then reach a shared understanding of the action to be taken. Mr Narayanan believed in getting things done by trusting people, doing good to them; in other words, task orientation through human orientation.
He managed by being flexible, adapting, and changing but always focusing on growth, shared prosperity, ethical management being human ever and ensuring that he did best for his motherland. He was a deeply principled man, and was also a canny negotiator. He was thoughtful and reserved,
Do you have any final remarks?
yet deeply engaged and caring. He spread prosperity,
Mr Narayanan by any count is a remarkable
yet lived simply while enjoying the occasional
individual. One who had a natural charisma—he was
indulgence. He was quick and decisive yet
far more popular amongst his employees than most
embracingly inclusive. He was able to withstand
professional Chairmen and MDs one comes across.
business ups and downs with an unforgettable
Normally a reserved individual, but when he is with
fortitude, grace and clarity. He gave so much of
another person, he warms up and engages with warm
himself to what he did that he is already deeply
genuine care, dignity and respect regardless of social
missed.
Leaders who stand for ethics will be tested by followers quite often. So, how a leader responds under such pressure will decide the sustainability of the values preached. BUSINESS MANDATE
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