13.1.2019
Unique Qualities of Shri N Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman
& MD, India Cements
V.
Balasubramanian
Mr. N.
Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, India Cements and an
excellent sports administrator is
blessed with so many unique qualities that are reflected in his multi-faceted roles
and positions. He has a blend of soft and strong qualities for overcoming any
situation.
I would like
to share his unique qualities compiled by me for the benefit of employees of
India Cements, his admirers and well-wishers.
Qualities as
an Individual:
Soft
qualities
He is a frank
and open person, a Man of few words, soft spoken, calm, very humble, sincere, very
kind hearted and a true human being. Hardly
is he seen tense, losing his cool. Always known for the passion for the job he is doing.
Religious
person, God fearing. Whenever he finds time, he visits temples, places of worship,
Sringeri Acharya Guru
Strong
qualities
Very bold,
courageous, fighter, determined to pursue and achieve his goals, He used to say,
“if we do not commit any mistake, we get that courage. If you are clean, you can
stand up and face any problem”.
He never
likes to speculate and likes to live in the present. “Life teaches you a lesson
every day”, he used to say philosophically.
He is not a
typical South Indian, who is perceived as sober, risk averse, conservative,
less aggressive person. Mr. Srinivasan is simple and humble but at the same time
very bold, aggressive. In 2014, TOI Sunday Times carried an article on the
transformation of Madras to Chennai in 375 years. The writer, Anwar Alikhan asks
If Chennai was to be a brand with whom he will identify it. After throwing some
names, he selects Mr. Srinivasan and slightly modifies the quote of US
president T Roosevelt,” talk softly, carry a big stick, you will go far”. What the writer implies in my opinion is to
show Srinivasan’s tactics of caution, no aggression but able to hit back if
required.
National
interest tops his mind
He is a nationalist
in his outlook, be it industry, business or sports. National interest tops his
mind and gets priority. Examples: 1.
Ensuring industrial peace in cement industry since 1992 by helping the
Companies and the industry body, CMA to amicably reach a negotiated wage
settlement with unions through collective bargaining. 2. Batting for the
interest of cement industry at the State and national level, educating them on
the importance of fair price for cement (he used to say cement costs less per kg
than brinjal). 3. How he fought with the mighty ICC in getting a fair deal for
India via structural changes 4. How he
distributed the BCCI money ( lying idle in banks) as pension and other benefits
for cricketers and for the welfare of former cricketers.
As an
industrialist, business leader, Corporate CEO
He is a
natural leader. Rich knowledge (50 years) on cement industry, technically strong,
Known for his business acumen, sharp business sense, friendly but competitive.
keen listener, he is ahead of time, very
pragmatic, positive in approach, hands on person, motivates by example, leads
from the front. He is not for taking views or what is said at face value. He
would like to apply his mind and find out the other views.
Examples: When
the cement market faced a long slump, he decided to meet dealers, stockists to understand
the actual situation and tell dealers about their long association with India
Cements, strength of Company brands like Sankar, Coromandel and Raasi,
importance of fair price in the interest of dealers and their business etc. The
meetings have given an opportunity for top company officials to
travel with him to the markets and see the love and affection poured on him by
them.
Again when
everyone predicted the worst for cement market and real estate sector due to
demonetisation in November 2016, he decided to visit the traders, met over 100
dealers, stockists, listened to them and gave them tips to cope with the
situation. This served a big motivation for Company marketing team and stockists. He also met investors and FIIs and explained
the company’s focus on cost control.
Perhaps, he
is the only CEO to have visited over 100 stock points to assess the situation
of note ban at the ground level. He termed this as an example of out of box
thinking, to be a game changer at the business conclave organised by Shriram
College of Commerce, Delhi on Feb 7, 2017.
A father figure for India Cements, employees
He is a father figure for the organisation and employees. The level of trust and
faith he is having on employees is something unique which one has to experience
to believe that. Again, he is not known for doing micro management. According
to him, “essence of management is management. It is the art of delegation. One
must realise that he cannot do the job of someone below him. Delegate, give
support and apply your mind on these lines. You will not have difficulty in
managing any situation”, he used to emphasis.
He told students of Shriram college, “ If I have learnt anything in the last
40- 50 years of my experience in
business ( I am an engineer, studied management and used to read lot of
management books) , it is that ultimately there are two ingredients to success.
One is that you must have focus on what you are doing, keep an eye on the ball, know what you are doing, be it job or
sport. Second, there is no substitute to hardwork, nothing comes easy in this
world, there is no free lunch”.
Mr.
Srinivasan will advise everyone to give time for their health and for their
family. it is always his pleasure to visit plants and meet our people and their
families. When long serving employees retire, he will personally see the
settlement benefits and revise them much to the pleasant surprise of employees.
He will ask them with concern if they have adequate income for their
livelihood.
As a
journalist of Economic Times, I wrote in the early nineties, when India Cements
had to reduce its excess workforce, Mr. Srinivasan worked out a novel VRS
scheme by which the money will be deposited in a bank account so that it is not
spent immediately by them and instead their family secured a regular income. It
was widely appreciated. Later, in a rare, unique gesture, he introduced a health
benefit scheme for retired employees by which every year their medical bills
are reimbursed by the Company up to certain limit.
Favours
professional management of family run businesses
He strongly
believes in professional management. He used to say when a person from the
family runs the business; he will think business 24x7. His view is that family
run professionally managed business is always a winning combination.
Believes in
doing CSR activities quietly
Mr.
Srinivasan is very generous and a great philanthropist. India Cements has been
supporting CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities for a long time
now, even before it was made mandatory by law. The Company has touched lives of
people through schools, college, polytechnic, sports facilities, temple
renovations, free cataract surgeries, spectacles, free meals, old age homes and
sponsoring visit to pilgrim centres by aged couples.
His view on
CSR is “Do as much as possible, but do not talk about it”.
Managing Challenges, tough situations
He faced the
tough times in business life and as sports administrator.
Perhaps, his outstanding human qualities and as an excellent sportsperson (since
his young age as tennis champion) helped him to face the challenges, the tough situations
and he used them as opportunities to succeed in his endeavours.
When asked what
keeps you going, he has said, “I am a sportsperson. First thing we were taught
is victory and defeat are part of your game. When you have to survive, you will
find a way to survive”, pointing out that victory and defeat are two sides of
the same coin.
Examples: he
his lost father in 1968 and had to return from his
higher studies in the USA to take up a prime position in India Cements at the young age of 23. Srinivasan used the opportunity to work for
the company in the difficult period when there were price and capacity controls,
licensing raj etc. Again, he had to be away from the Company for ten years from 1979
to 1989 when there was a dispute between the promoters and institutions were
managing the affairs of India Cements.
When he returned to lead the company again in
1989, it coincided with full de- control of cement and reform age in 1991. He used the opportunity
for the rapid expansion of capacity through a series of M & As and capacity
addition.
In 2001-06,
when he was politically targeted by the rulers (AIADMK) through double taxation on cement, price controls, he remained cool. That
time, he has said in an interview to ET, “When I faced the worst political
ambush (during the Aiadmk regime in 2001-06) I had accepted it as part of my
life. No B school will teach you on political management. You have to deal with
it”.
Again, when
company incurred loss, debts mounted, there were pressures from fund bodies, and
he worked a way out through CDR and scripted the turnaround of company.
Boldly faced the trial by
media in IPL time
When he
faced the trial by media and courts, he was in headlines for more than days,
national channels targeted him, he remained cool, did not budge, did not yield
to their pressure, faced them boldly. Told them, “ I have not committed any mistake, my
conscience is clear”. He used the time to concentrate more on the company
business.
This helped
a lot Company and senior management team in coping with the situation. When he
was proved right by the verdict from Courts, people admired him for his
boldness and straightforwardness. He was delightfully greeted by people, known
and unknown, whenever he visited temples, airports, railway stations and while
going for walk as his daily routine. It
was awesome to see those taking selfies with him.
Relevant quotes for reflecting his unique qualities
I would like
to give below some highly relevant quotes which reflect the unique qualities of
Mr. Srinivasan.
“Strong persons
are those, who in spite of repeated obstacles persist in their endeavour until
successful completion”. ( Bhartrihari’s Neeti Shaktakam).
“With
courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate and
the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity”. (Author,
Keshavan Nair)
Full of
Faith
"He who has
faith has an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness and
assuring trust that all will come out well- even though to rest of the world it
may appear to come out most badly". (BC Forbes)
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