The book launch by Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting of “Mantras for Success: India’s Greatest CEOs Tell You How To Win” by Suhel Seth with Sunny Sen, witnessed the guest of honour being the focus of attention of all. It was due to his replies to noted journalist Shereen Bhan’s questions about economic policies and the performance of his Government which were interspersed with wit and humour.
Published by Rupa’s business imprint Maven, the book features Indian business icons, including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Adi Godrej, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sanjiv Goenka, Deepak Parekh and Analjit Singh among others who reveal the ways of driving an organization to extraordinary heights.
On the much-talked about corporate CEOs’ accountability, the author said, “I generally believe that the accountability of CEOs in India to shareholders is far less than it is in other developed economies.” He agreed with the Union Minister’s remark that when the industry needs the Government it clings to it and referred to the cracking of the whip by the authorities on “illegal, unethical behaviour as good signs”. He was categorical that a mistake which is wilful and intentional needs to be punished either through removal from the role one occupies or in a more punitive manner, either economically or being sent to jail.
Describing politicians as a class accountable to the Parliament and the voters among others, Jaitley said the same was true about corporate India because if they fail they exit the market. “The least accountable institutions are first the media, and a very close second are the judges,” he quipped.
On shying away from holding corporate India responsible for strategic misadventures, Seth pointed out that here the stigmatization which is associated with failure endures, it lingers. He pointed out that Indian society is very unforgiving qua failure.
Nearing the end of the discussion when asked if given a chance to be either a lawyer or a politician or an entrepreneur, what the Finance Minister will choose, he said, “To be a Suhel Seth” and pointed out that the only chapter missing in his book is the mantra of Seth success.
The function ended with the formal unveiling of the book with the Minister wishing Seth the best and hoping that he will continue to write. The author took the opportunity to thank all those present and remarked: “A book is not easy to write but after completion there is a sense of satisfaction.”