Anil Dua, former marketing head of Hero MotoCorp, remembers the company’s founder and patriarch, Dr Brijmohan Lall Munjal as “a man who symbolizes all aspects of the leadership style I aspire for”
It was almost 10 years back that I first met him. It was the time when I was trying to make up my mind about joining Hero Honda. I was from an MNC background and had stereotypical views about Indian companies. A year earlier also, I had considered Hero but ended up joining elsewhere. This time around, I was looking at Hero more seriously but was still tempted by conventional MNC options. That’s when I met the Chairman, Shri Brijmohan Lall Munjal.
And I felt I had met a saint. Instead of meeting a high-brow, jetsetting, richie-rich industrialist, I met a person who was almost oblivious of his superhuman achievements, readily giving all credit to everyone else other than himself and exuding values which are almost forgotten. My choice was made.
The next eight years that I spent at Hero were blessed, thanks to his presence. Within three days of my joining, I had the opportunity of flying with him to Varanasi. The time we spent together gave me the first direct peep into the business leader he was. Proud of his people, past and present. Valuing everyone from factory workers and sales people to workshop mechanics and the office staff. Recalling glories of the past, only to inspire a loftier vision for the future. Aspiring always to keep moving higher, never to beat competition but to outdo oneself. Regarding the dealers, vendors, agencies and bankers not just as business partners but as family.
And the people responded likewise. Wherever he went, he evoked admiration and adulation. Everyone wanted to hear his words of encouragement, spend a few personal moments with him and get his blessings. He remembered everyone he met, by name and never missed to enquire about their family members, again often by name. This was the spirit of relationship and personal bonding that was at the very core of Hero which he had built, which has always made everyone stand together through thick and thin.
By and large, he had empowered the organization to take all decisions. But there were a few things he wanted to do himself. Finalizing a new dealer appointment, for example. After all, it was the start of a lifelong relationship. And so he had to have a personal meeting. What he wanted was rarely said. So, I always tried hearing between his words. I could see that he always felt that the brand names should be pleasant sounding - as is reflected in his choice of names like Splendor, Pleasure and Glamour.
Advertising should never belittle competition, but talk about ourselves. Principles like these have always stood Hero in good stead. I always felt that he truly practised what many others only preach. People always came first. It was a humbling experience to see how he loved and respected them all. In his own way, he had truly imbibed caring for the environment and being one with nature. All initiatives were, therefore, inclusive and started with invoking divine blessings. When I look back, advertising our then new plant in Haridwar as ‘Shrine of Technology’ or code-naming our re-branding exercise as ‘Project Yagya’ were clearly inspired by that thinking.
‘Chairman Sir’, as I always called him, stood tall and stood apart from everyone else. A few years ago, I was interviewed for a book on ‘Success Code of Achievers’. Having dwelt on various events of my life and all the several people who had inspired me, I was asked to pick one role model. My choice was easy and I repeat what I had said, “He is a man who has achieved beyond imagination of most, yet has retained his amazing humility. He is so grounded, close to the last person in the company. He symbolizes all aspects of the leadership style I aspire for.”
Back in 2010, when I lost my mother, I remember him visiting and comforting me. When I joined a few days later, he made it a point to call me and spend time with me. He cited his personal example of having lost his eldest son and how he had stoically submitted to the divine wish. I started feeling reconciled.
Today, we have lost him and we need the same strength to come to terms with the void this loss has created. His words ‘God also wants the company of people He loves’ ring again in my ears and sound so true!
(Anil Dua is currently MD, OTE Group, Oman)
