Emails (Others): RE: THIS MIGHT INTEREST YOU

After sending my bog ( Minding the Tree ? ) to all directors of Mindtree , 3 days ago , yesterday , I sent following blog / email to them :

Monday, 25 March 2019

Contours of the Independence

Today’s newspapers carry following reports regarding the L&T / Mindtree situation :

“ L&T should define Independence : Natarajan “

Extract :

“ I don’t know what the contours of the INDEPENDENCE are. It is difficult to make a ( judgement ) based on a press statement “, Natarajan told ET …”

“ All of us will get back to biz in 7-8 weeks “

Extract :

“ We have proven that companies can built on the platform of HIGH INTEGRITY and high level of CORPORATE GOVERNANCE and still deliver HIGH PERFORMANCE “ ( Shri Krisnakumar Natarajan , Chairman, Mindtree )

===================================================

I cannot agree more with Shri Natarajan

Independence / High Integrity / Corporate Governance , are the very foundation of a company’s CULTURE

As far as the foundation of Mindtree is concerned, no one knows it better than an insider like Shri Natarajan

It would be very difficult for me – being an outsider

But, when it comes to the Value Foundation of L&T is concerned, I was an insider for over 30 years, rising from a position of a Supervisor to the position of General Manager ( Powai ) > General Manager ( Strategic Planning )

Allow me to narrate a few “ personal examples “ :

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INDEPENDENCE

[ A ]

Around 1977, L&T decided to get out of its manufacture of drilling equipment business, which employed some 300 + employees at its factory at Madh Island

At that time, as GM ( Powai ) , I was responsible for Industrial Relations and sole negotiator with Shiv Sena labour union ( Bharatiya Kamgar Sena – BKS )

Union leaders Naik and Nakhate came and argued that , it is L&T’s moral responsibility to absorb these surplus employees into other units of L&T . “ How can a company employing 7,000 people not be able to absorb 300 persons ? “

I said :

“ I will ensure that no one is retrenched if you undertake that these employees will accept whatever other jobs are offered to them , in whichever unit “

Union agreed

When I conveyed my understanding with the Union to my boss, Mr S R Subramaniam (SRS ) , he was furious

He said :

“ Parekh, I just asked our lawyers ( Gagrat ) to apply to Govt for factory closure and retrenchment. What now ?”

In the end , - and much against his own decision- SRS backed up my decision !

[ B ]

During long-term “ Wages Agreement “ negotiations with the labour union, I reached a stalemate and the union representatives walked out of the meeting , declaring they will not negotiate with me anymore and will only negotiate with my boss SRS

When they approached SRS directly , he said :

“ Parekh represents the L&T Management and is empowered to commit on its behalf . He is the final authority in this matter . Go back , request him for a meeting . He is a reasonable guy “

Union leaders returned to the negotiating table after 3 weeks of boycott

[ C ]

When Union demanded that L&T head office in Ballard Estate should work for 5 days-a-week , in place of five and half days, Chairman Shri N M Desai ( NMD ) , asked me to present union justification and my response, to a group of L&T directors

During the meeting, NMD had to leave the meeting for a few minutes – at which time , all other directors present told me that they are in favor of a 5 day week

When NMD returned , he said :

“ So , Parekh , what do you recommend ? “

I said : We must reject Union demand and continue to work as now

NMD :

“ If that is what Parekh thinks is best for the

Company, that is what he will tell the Union “

=======================================================================

INTEGRITY

[ A ]

During 1980, we were going through a very bad patch as far as labour agitation / militancy / go-slow / strikes etc was concerned

On the subject of “ Industrial Relations Climate at Powai “ , I was making a slide-show presentation to the Directors and other General Managers of L&T

When I reached the last slide, before showing it, I looked up to Chairman Shri Desai and said :

“ Sir , after I show you this last slide, I am not sure whether I would be able to keep my job “

NMD just smiled at me and said :

“ Parekh, go ahead and show the slide and we will soon find out “

That last slide read :

“ A MANAGEMENT GETS THE UNION IT DESERVES “

I managed to keep my job !

[ B ]

I had hoped to conclude “ Bonus Negotiations “ with Union in 1984, by end April , but it went on for weeks, without reaching any agreement

I called Union leaders ( Naik and Nakhate ) in my cabin and said :

“ From 10^th to 20th May , I am supposed to take my family for holidays and all train and hotel bookings have been done many weeks in advance. If I don’t go , I have to cancel all reservations and lose money .

But it would be misunderstood by you and the 7000 workers, if I leave the bonus negotiations half way at this stage “

N&N said :

“ Sir, upon return from holiday, do you promise to settle and disburse bonus by end May ? If yes, then go ahead “

I said :

I promise . But you too must promise that there will be no go-slow / agitation during my absence from Powai

Union leaders kept their promise and I kept my promise

Reason ?

I had the habit of not releasing a circular unless I got the assurance of the Union leaders in advance that its requirements will be implemented by the workers

[ C ]

Mr Holck Larsen ( HHL ) once recommended appointment of a young girl as an unskilled worker in Madh Bit Plant

She came from a very poor family and her father was jobless

She was interviewed and appointed , on condition that she submit her SSC pass certificate in 1 week

When, despite several reminders, she would not , an inquiry with her school revealed that she had not even appeared for her SSC exam

I asked the Personnel Manager to terminate her services and phoned HHL to convey my decision

His response ?

“ Let her go . We cannot change our norms “

And , on one Sunday , HHL ( as was his habit ) , turned up at the gate of Madh factory and was stopped at the gate by a security guard ( of a contract agency ), who did not recognize him.

Guard said :

“ Andar jaana manna hai “

HHL tried to convince him that he belongs to L&T , but the guard would not listen !

HHL did not bother to call for the Shop Supervsor on duty – and turned back !

Next day HHL phone me to compliment me for hiring a proficient security agency

[ D ]

Vallabhan ( a shop foreman in Madh ) came to me and requested for a loan of Rs 2,000 from his Provident Fund

His father wanted to buy a plot of land in his native village

I explained to him that our PF Trust rules did not allow loans for purchase of land . He was in tears and asked me to speak with Shri Desai ( Chairman ), to intervene

When I explained the situation to Shri Desai, he said:

“ Parekh, we as trustees of PF , cannot break the rules and create a bad precedent .

But if you think we need to help this man , I can loan him from my personal bank account “

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

[ A ]

Around 1959, S K Toubro’s engineer son wanted to join L&T as a junior engineer

HHL and SKT discussed among themselves and decided :

To avoid nepotism in the company, no children of managers ( above designation of Dy General Managers and above ) can be appointed in the company

I believe, this rule still holds

Once when I was heading Central Personnel Department , one fresh engineer got interviewed and was sent an Appointment letter – everything strictly on merits of the boy

In his standard / printed green Application Form, he had clearly stated that his father was a Director of L&T ( appointed by LIC ). No one reads that last para declaration in fine prints !

This would have required passing a Special Resolution in AGM, which was no problem at all

But LIC nominated director did not want such a resolution in the AGM agenda . So , he resigned !

[ B ]

In early 60s , there were 2 / 3 years when L&T was going through very bad times , business wise

And there was also a talk that L&T managers were influencing colleagues to recruit/appoint , known persons, overlooking the merit criteria

It was then that HHL called a meeting of the senior officers and handed a circular which explained the bad situation we were going through

The last line of that circular read :

“ Blood may be thicker than water but remember, Red Ink is even thicker than blood “

The message was loud and clear !

[ C ]

After very successful turn-around on the productivity front, NMD asked me to conduct seminars at many factories / offices of L&T all over India , to share the experience / methodology that I used at Powai to obtain a whole-hearted “ worker participation in management “

In these seminars, I used to stress that :

# L&T belongs to the Nation

# We , the employees, are just one of the Stake-holders

# Even shareholders do not OWN the company

# L&T Directors, certainly do not OWN the company

I used to show this slide to L&T employees participating at each location

In Bangalore meeting , Shri Desai ( Chairman ) dropped in , since he happened to be in Bangalore office on that day

When I showed that slide , he concurred with my views through some comments of his own !

[ D ]

Even after HHL became Non Executive Chairman , as per earlier practice , his car was getting “ maintained “ at the Powai Service Station department of L&T

I was GM ( Powai ) at that time and the Transport Department reported to me

After one year, SRS ( my boss ) told me that , as per rules , Company cannot maintain the car of a non-executive director , ( something which I was not aware and certainly not HHL ) , and asked me :

“ How much money have you spent in past one year on maintenance of HHL’s car ? “

After inquiry , I said : About Rs 70,000 / -

I offered to destroy old records and create new internal records ( job tickets / purchase vouchers etc ) – in the name of any current Executive Director . A simple matter of few hours

When someone informed HHL about this lapse , next day he sent a cheque for Rs 70,000 / -from his personal bank account, drawn in favour of “ Larsen & Toubro Limited “

When he received famous Magsaysay Award , he attributed that to the achievements of L&T , not himself !

=====================================================================

I can keep writing for hours !

=================================================================

25 March 2019

Rsvp : hcp@RecruitGuru.com

From: Hemen Parekh [mailto:hcp@recruitguru.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2019 1:48 PM
To: 'inder@gmail.com'
Cc: 'wjn_danait'; 'cmsrivastava5'; 'Vivek Mehta'; 'krsanghavi@vsnl.net'; 'Suniti Desai'; 'GLADYS VAZ'; 'cynthia'; 'A M DESHMUKH 9821014352'; 'raomvn@ymail.com'; 'VKM Vijay K Mahajan Mo•'; 'Sanjay Karnik'; 'L&T G K Apte'; 'Mohan Madiman'; 'Santosh Tiwari'; 'Haridas Shenoy'; 'Gurudatt Kundapurkar'; 'Pradeep Talpade'; 'Vh Iyer'; 'V H Iyer'
Subject: THIS MIGHT INTEREST YOU

Minding the Tree ?

For past 3 days, newspapers are full of reports / articles / debates and interviews re the planned takeover of Mindtree by L&T

In one report, founders / promoters have expressed fears about the possible mismatch between the cultures of Mindtree and L&T

I have no clue about the culture of Mindtree, but having worked in L&T for over 30 years ( 1959-1990 ), I have a fair idea of L&T culture

Question :

How can one delve deep into the “ Minds “ of the employees ( Trees ? ) of L&T, in order to unravel the nature of that culture ?

Answer :

Search for hidden clues in what they might have written about L&T .

One such source ( although somewhat superficial ) could be :

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Reviews/Larsen-and-Toubro-Reviews-E41782.htm

But those keen for a deeper understanding would want to go through :

http://hcplntstory.blogspot.com/2016/03/ramesh-d-grover.html

These are 51 essays ( ? ) written by ex-L&T employees , - each narrating an “ incidence “ that happened around them , while working for L&T

Through use of certain words / phrases , each of these “ real life incidence “ tells a story about L&T Culture

In the following tabulation, I have summarized a few of those narratives , listing the words used by those ex-employee writers and the corresponding “ L&T Culture “

I urge Mindtree founders / promoters and employees , to take out a few minutes to read all the 51 articles , to allay their fears of any perceived “ mismatch “ of the two cultures

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Narrative Title	Contributing Employee	Words found	L&T Culture described
Ramesh D Grover	H R Shenoy	please , giving birth to an organization and nourishing it , smile, freshness, gem of human beings, solving problems, helping,	Helping colleagues, Collaboration , Friendliness
Office Stationary & Reimbursement	KN	controls and restrictions, art of bypassing control	Love for details, Cost Consciousness, Tendency to control small expenses
Meeting Larsen and Toubro, in person	M Subramanian	he fired me for washing my hands well before the shift time, “You also look out for this person before leaving the bus.” a car was arranged to drop me at Kurla Station, all the machines in working condition, if I am somebody it is due my employment with L&T / proud of	Easy accessibility to Top Management , Loyalty, Pride of Association, Concern for personal problems of Employees Recognition of an employee's contribution to Company's growth Shop-floor Discipline
Forward	A Y Divekar	suggesting corrections, not wanting to apply a brake his career development, That earned him deserved respect,	Suggest - express freely to bosses Concern for development of subordinates Acknowledging contribution of a colleague or a subordinate
Then & Now	Arvind Rao	uniform clad , following road rules, write all important communications using duplicate or triplicate books and carbon paper, no job was ever complete till the paperwork was done own up to mistakes, burning midnight oil, always answered on first ring, time for others, knew our colleagues littlest pains, shared the jubilations of everyone’s achievements, met socially and formally and generally got a lot more done in less time, one big happy family with healthy rivalry, ethics and values dearly upheld, people who could do the work of four –	Hard working High ethics and values Family feeling Performance pressure Sharing triumphs and tribulations High level of Efficiency Prompt response Long working hours Admission of mistakes Emphasis on last mile - no loose ends Respect for rules
A Soft Landing in L&T	K Narsaiah	We were offered lunch in the canteen, He told me to hop in, That happened to be my best innings	Concern for candidates
The English Teacher	Nattu Aravindakshan Jairam	he never liked big gathering and wasting time. but there was one spelling mitake, perfection, purity and rigour, gracious, complimented me and acknowledged my evolving skills.	Perfection Love for details Grace Acknowledging Merits in others Complimenting on achievements
Never Ending Learning	A M Rao	not a dot out off place would be tolerated, crisply worded, grammatically correct English, tucking away every paper subject-wise, date-wise, we used to practice cataloguing and filing in neat chronological, alphabetical and physical order ! remembering spelling, grammar and basic courtesies,	Courteous Communication Love for details Systematic System Orientation Methodical Emphasis on correctness Intolerance for sloppyness
Collect, Store and Recall	Kodam Narsaiah	efficient and successful , neatly dressed	To be always presentable and smart-looking Premium on Efficiency Penchant to succeed
L&T Works , OK	R K Seth	visionary leadership, where only L&T-ites' children were allowed to get admission. company-wide launch TQM, giving me opportunity, TQM initiatives	Vision for future " Forever learning " attitude Willingness to experiment Emphasis on continuous training Providing opportunities to Employees Concern for children of Employees
Leadership Qualities	Rishikesh Joshi	HHL set it as tradition, going through shop floors, The tradition still continues, Great leaders set great traditions which become part of culture...	Leadership qualities Setting traditions Mixing with employees