An extremely refreshing and inspiring book. We cannot say a ‘little’ book, for it is definitely not little. At 518 pages, this books packs a heavy punch in more ways than one. Every one of these pages has something enjoyable and educative to read.
This is the author’s (Cyrus M Gonda) eleventh book, and he tells us that it has been seven years in the making. In an era where we have an excess of material goods, but great leaders are in short supply, this book can definitely develop a new generation of leaders.
This book is based on a trademarked leadership model which Cyrus has conceptualized and developed. He calls it ‘The 4V Model of Leadership™’ and the four Vs are Vision, Values, Valour, and Victory. Cyrus’s research demonstrates that to evaluate the effectiveness of any leader in any domain (military, political, corporate, sport, or any other sphere), the leader needs to be evaluated on these 4 Vs.
Cyrus has taken India’s most loved and respected corporate leader of all time – Padma Shri J.R.D. Tata and has selected 53 incidents/anecdotes from his professional career and personal life. Why 53? Because J.R.D. was Chairman of the Tata Group for 53 years. He has then slotted these 53 ‘leadership learnings’ into four sections, each representing one of the ‘Vs.’ Thus there are several of these learnings in each of the four sections. Various aspects of J.R.D.’s corporate vision, his value-based functioning, the moral, spiritual, and even physical valour he displayed on various occasions, and the victories or results he achieved on various fronts, each forming a separate chapter or learning, form the basis for this book.
Not only does each of these 53 chapters have highly interesting and instructive anecdotes from J.R.D.’s life, but also similar anecdotes and incidents from the lives of other popular leaders from across the world and from every era of history and all fields of endeavour. These are added to the chapters to cement the learnings.
Many of these anecdotes about J.R.D. are in print for the first time ever, as Cyrus has done his homework well, having spoken to many people who had the good fortune to interact with J.R.D., and these individuals have shared their experiences with Cyrus. As just one such example, Mr. Mahesh Shah mentions how in 1992, he was waiting outside Churchgate railway station for a taxi to take him to his destination, the Bombay Stock Exchange. It was pouring with rain, Mahesh was drenched, and not a single cab halted for him as the cabbies felt he would have drenched their seat. Suddenly, a Mercedes stopped and someone from inside waved for Mahesh to come in. Mahesh didn’t know who it was, but he gladly dashed into the car. Then he saw it was none other than J.R.D. Tata on the rear seat. J.R.D. made Mahesh comfortable, asked his destination, and said: “If you don’t mind, I will just get down at my office (Bombay House, Tata headquarters) first, then my driver will leave you at the Stock Exchange.”
Mahesh shared this anecdote with Cyrus when he was an audience member at a talk on leadership which Cyrus gave to the Gowalese Industrialist’s Association.
Another anecdote is shared by a Parsi caterer, Mr. Adil Bhesadia, wherein he mentions how he was once seated in the lobby of the Taj Mahal hotel, and J.R.D. was seated nearby. Adil, not knowing J.R.D., wanted to speak to the great man, though his wife was hesitant. But Adil walked up and introduced himself and his wife as the proprietors of a small hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. J.R.D. courteously stood up, shook hands with the couple, made polite small talk, and then motivated Adil by telling him, “Mr. Bhesadia, never consider yourself small. You will grow big from wherever you have started. Work hard and work honestly, and you will grow in whatever business you are in. All the very best.” Adil and his wife Yasmin were touched and their spirits rose at J.R.D.’s honest and genuine efforts at motivating them, a couple whom he had never met before.
Like this, there are many other such personal anecdotes revealed by other individuals in this book, making each chapter worth reading over and over again. At the end of each chapter are ‘Takeaway Tips’ for readers to improve their leadership effectiveness. This makes the book a complete handbook on leadership for existing and aspiring leaders alike.
Each chapter is innovatively titled and gives a clear idea about the particular leadership attribute of J.R.D. being explained in it. Just a few examples – (‘Always Be Well Organised’ from the Vision Section, ‘Focus On Quality, Not On Quality’ from the Values Section, ‘Take Physical Discomfort In Your Stride’ from the Valour Section, ‘Enable Competitors And Industry To Grow’ from the Victory Section.) Within each chapter it has been explained why that particular chapter focusing on that particular leadership attribute falls under that section.
The rationale of this book being, whenever any organisation wants to select a person for a leadership role or promote a person into a leadership position, or any young person or even an experienced individual aspires to grow into a leadership person, or an existing leader wants to become even more effective at his job, this 4V Model Of Leadership becomes the tool against which the organisation or person can evaluate himself/herself. J.R.D.’s many anecdotes have been used to shape the fulcrum of this book and this model, as no leader in Corporate India has till date surpassed his success, both financially, as well as a leader of men.
This 4V Model Of Leadership has been validated and been given the seal of approval by none other than Lt. General I.S. Singha, who has graciously written the Introduction to the Model, as it appears in this book. General Singha, among his other stellar global achievements, has been the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission at Golan Heights in Syria and Israel from 2012 to 2015, in the course of which he has successfully negotiated with Al Qaida and Al Nusra terrorists. General Singha writes: ‘Though this book has been centred around the tremendously uplifting leadership style and achievements of Mr. JRD Tata, The 4V Model is universally applicable, and I believe that future-oriented organisations must take this model into cognizance while selecting individuals to occupy leadership roles and positions…..I am a firm believer that we Indians can hold our place with the best in the world in any sphere, including being thought-leaders in the crucial fields of leadership and management, and I am proud and delighted that it is an Indian, Cyrus, who through The 4V Model Of Leadership, has made this valuable contribution to the vital discipline of leadership development.’
The book has been attractively laid out by Mr. Nauzad D. Irani.
The cover has been pencil-sketched by Mr. Zainulabedin Firoz Merchant.
The Foreword has been provided by Mr. Farrokh K. Kavarana of the Tata Group, who has spent substantial time with J.R.D. during his tenure as a Senior Director of many Tata companies. In the Foreword, he shares interesting insights about the professionalism and humility that J.R.D. always exhibited as the chairman of the Group.
The book is available on Amazon, among other online sites, and also in leading bookstores such as Kitab Khana and Granth.
Truly the title is apt – J.R.D. Tata – The Magic Of Leadership.
