THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
The Tata family has achieved extraordinary progress in industry in India. Their expansion is so vast that it is called the Tata Industrial Empire. This success did not come by chance. There are clear reasons for it. The most prominent are the moral qualities they have consistently shown for nearly 150 years.
1. The story of their industrial success begins with Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839–1904), a Parsi from Gujarat. In 1868, he started a trading company in Bombay with a capital of 21,000 rupees. After him, his elder son, Dorabji Tata, expanded the company further. He established “Tata Steel” and other ventures. This beginning grew into today’s industrial empire. Throughout, the Tata group continued its mission with perseverance and unity. Nothing could break their determination and solidarity.
2. After Dorabji Tata, J. R. D. Tata (1904-1993) gave tremendous growth to the business in 1938. He is rightly called a great visionary. One proof of his foresight is that he was the first in India to recognize the importance of aviation. He was the first Indian pilot, receiving his license in March 1929. In 1932, the first airline, “Tata Airways,” was established. After independence in 1947, the Indian government bought a major share in Tata Airways and took control of it, renaming it “Air India.”
3. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (J. R. D. Tata) was a man of extraordinary generosity. In 1930, the Aga Khan announced a prize for the person who could fly an aircraft between England and India in the shortest time. J. R. D. Tata flew his plane from Karachi, while another competitor flew from London. Both landed in Cairo for refueling. At that time, Tata learned that his rival needed a spare part and would have to wait at Cairo airport until it arrived from England. This was a golden opportunity for Tata to win easily. But, with generosity, he gave the spare part from his own plane to his rival. As a result, his rival won the competition. Yet Tata never expressed any regret.
4. J. R. D. Tata was extremely respectful of human dignity. Despite his authority, he never imposed his opinion on others. Instead, he always used persuasion. On one occasion, a director in his company put up a notice on an elevator stating that it could only be used by directors. When Tata heard about it, he quickly went to the spot and personally tore down the notice with his own hands (Hindustan Times, 3 February 1992).
The secret of success in this world can be summed up in one word: principle. A person who lives according to principles succeeds, while one who abandons them fails.
What is principle? Principle means living in accordance with reality. If reality demands perseverance, success cannot come with inconsistency. If reality favours foresight, acting against foresight cannot bring success. If reality requires respect for people’s nature, then opposing their nature will never result in success.
Moreover, principles must be followed above personal gain. If someone follows principles only where they seem profitable, but abandons them where no immediate benefit appears, such a person cannot be called principled.
A person who makes principles subservient to personal interests may achieve small successes in life. But true success is reserved for those who uphold principles for their own sake, who remain firm on them regardless of personal gain.
