Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Group, notes that he had teachers in school whom he was fond of and got along with but when it came to one who truly had an outstanding impact on his life in a deeper sense, it was Dr Vijay K. Jolly, a management professor at IMD Lausanne, in Switzerland.
Jolly had run into Goenka in Kolkata and in the course of a conversation led him to consider attending school at IMD, which in due course, Goenka did. "That was the first impact he had which was taking a step and making a change," Goenka says.
The second takeaway for him was watching how the professor engaged his students, not just in the classroom but also socially and by sharing notes on a variety of topics. He ended up instructing Goenka on concepts that were starting to pick up momentum in the business world at large and were not even being talked about in markets such as India in the 1980s. "There were several North Stars I was exposed to and those included, for example, corporate social governance and how it goes on to actually create value in the long term, something that is now being discussed with even greater intensity as ESG nowadays," he said.
The third lasting lesson of impact that Jolly imparted to Goenka and which he has endeavoured to imbibe across his companies was on principles of human resources or HR. "Back then, HR was seen as akin to IR or industrial relations but Jolly sharpened my outlook on how HR processes when correctly streamlined influenced human behaviour, organizational structures and the functioning of a corporation at large," Goenka says, adding that he as a result became deeply passionate about those facets of companies.
One mental shift that happened as a result of his interactions with Jolly was learning that there was no black and white when it came to case studies and problem solving, in the context of management. That was entirely different from learning methods in India where one was taught that there is one answer to a question.
The point Jolly was making was that there was not one answer but one way of thinking logically on how to approach finding an answer. "As simple as that may sound, it was a difficult concept to grasp at first and I would have deep discussions with him on how to apply that in an idiosyncratic and imperfect market such as India but once it made sense, then it changed the way I approached matters."
Finally, Goenka says that a lasting lesson was to always be well-prepared for whatever was undertaken because when it came down to the finish line, that was what made the difference at that particular point in time - "not just logic or talent or past track record but being prepared for which there was no substitute."
Zia Mody, Managing Partner, AZB & Partners
Mody said that one of the stronger influences in her academic life came not from professors at Harvard University or Cambridge, where she undertook advanced courses and her law degrees, but at high school in Mumbai. The one truly memorable teacher for Mody was Ms Braganza, who taught her both English and literature in her last year at Mumbai's JP Petit School. In particular it was how she taught William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The takeaway through her teachings included not just absorbing the written word but to read deeper in terms of gauging the subtext of what was being said, the underlying emotions that were being represented behind the ones on the surface and what the sum total of that represented in terms of interpretation.
"The lesson was that there may have been one point that was being made, but what was the point being avoided, what was the point being partly referenced to and what was the background and history behind it all which was also of extreme importance," she said.
It's a manner of reading that Mody said became a part of not just how she read Shakespeare but also other literary authors and artists, and later in life, even played its role in how she interpreted contracts, legal matters and case studies in the corporate world.
"Ultimately, while legal matters and issues are a compendium of facts and figures and rules and regulations as defined by the letter of the law as may be the case, the underlying triggers are almost always determined by human instincts and emotions. Learning how to pay attention to those seemingly minor but vital cues, and not ignore the human drivers has been a lifelong lesson, both in terms of being instructive as well as in learning how to master it as a skill," Mody said.
Fashion entrepreneur Anita Dongre
Dongre, who runs the House of Anita Dongre, says that the one professor whom she recalls having a deep and lasting impact on her life was Hemant Trivedi. He taught her fashion design and coordination when she was pursuing advanced courses at the Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women's University in Mumbai before launching her own labels and getting into business.
Dongre says that he inspired confidence in her and taught her the importance of believing in herself when she was unsure and still finding her feet. “For me, it was a very serious, do or die effort in becoming a designer, and he recognised the hunger and drive in me. While many teachers may recognise the instinct in their students, he also went the extra mile to see that I got all the tutelage needed at the time.”
Dongre recalls how a lot of design students at the time were engaged in heavy ornate temples and sketches and she held on to her own simple and clean concepts and patterns, and how at times she did feel a sliver of doubt as to whether she ought to follow the herd. Trivedi guided her to go with her own instincts and above all to have self-belief and faith in what she was doing. “That was a lesson that I have carried with me through the years,” she added.
He did more than be professorial for Dongre, by even going out on a limb to keep her from getting expelled when she got into a spot of trouble with the college authorities. Dongre says that she threw a party for her batch on the terrace by 'hiring a panipuri and bhelpuri wala' and hosting snacks for everyone. Harmless as it was, it wasn’t allowed under the school rules and when the authorities sent for her, he actually spoke to senior faculty and negotiated her pardon. “I didn't know about the rules and it didn't cross my mind to ask for permission,” she added, noting that Trivedi even went so far as to tell the college faculty that if they were going to expel her then he would leave too.
“He did everything that a teacher can do for you and more, and the good thing was that he was that way with everyone although I probably got the best instructions because I took everything at that institute so seriously, which he caught on to," she says, adding that she is still in touch with her former professor.
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