Establishing the 'Eureka' factor

is how the quest for success can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise.

The book""a compilation of lectures given by some of India's most brilliant minds""deals with practical, proven strategies for overcoming bureaucracy, dealing with feasibility problems, allocating resources, and creating markets.

Though some of the lectures could have been edited for avoiding their repetitive points, the book is a riveting read. For, it gives an idea of what it takes to create an amazing, "I should have thought of that!" sort of product. To get a feel of what it means, read on.

In the early 1990s, when Dhirubhai Ambani told a close circle of friends that he intended to set up an integrated petroleum, petrochemical and power complex at an investment of Rs 25,000 crore, the feedback he received was that it was too daring a move and not quite worth the risk.

His friends and international experts told him that a refinery under a historical free market environment would generate very low returns""only 6 to 8 per cent in dollar terms while the international cost of capital was 12 per cent.

In an administered regime, the refinery was likely to earn marginal returns of 10 to 12 per cent, and thus could never be an economically viable proposition.

Dhirubhai listened to all of them carefully and decided to swim against the tide. The project, which started in December 1996, was completed at a cost that was 30 to 50 per cent lower than similar refineries in other parts of the world.

It was commissioned in 60 to 90 days against the normal six to 18 months, thus redefining programme management, project execution et al.

Since the project involved simultaneous engineering efforts in London, Chicago, Houston, Mumbai, Delhi, and Jamnagar, an information technology infrastructure was put in place through satellite networks providing voice, data and video connectivity.

This fascinating story, narrated by Mukesh Ambani, of how India's largest grassroots refinery was conceptualised and implemented is part of Ideas that Have Worked""a lecture series conceived by Arun Shourie when he was minister for administrative reforms.

The lectures give an idea of how to recognise a truly innovative product, and then how to nurture the team and bring that product to market.

Consider the sheer range of topics covered and the wonderful real-life success stories. For example, President A P J Abdul Kalam describes India's space programme and identifies five projects that could make India a developed nation, even as Alok Sharma talks of the two years that it took to organise the Kumbh Mela.

Vilasarao Salunkhe describes the evolution of the Pani Panchayat, an experiment in water conservation in drought-hit villages of Maharashtra, and N R Narayana Murthy recounts how he and his team built Infosys Technologies into a world-class company.

Read the story behind the Tata Indica launch in December 1998 in the words of Ratan Tata himself.

The story began, says Tata, in 1993, when, speaking at the annual convention of the Automotive Component Manufacturers' Association (ACMA), he suggested the idea of an Asian car to be produced as a collaborative effort by the Indian automobile industry.

The industry's response was a mix of scepticism and cynicism. Tata Engineering then decided it would attempt to produce the car on its own.

Compared to the $400 million that Tata Engineering spent on creating the Indica, Tata says, the creation of a new car in the West typically entails an investment of well over $1.5 billion to $2 billion in the production facilities, with development and tooling costing $800 million more.

One reason why Tata Engineering could achieve this was that it picked up an unwanted Nissan plant for a bargain basement price of Rs 103 crore.

Though unused, the plant was in prime condition, since Nissan took care to run it for 15 minutes every day. Buying the plant was, however, the easy part.

The difficult part was transporting and reinstalling it: something Tata Engineering decided to do itself. The task involved moving 4,800 tonnes in 582 containers in 16 shipments over six months.

The common theme in Ideas that have worked is that people who have dared to be different have succeeded despite stiff opposition either from industry peers, or bureaucrats, or politicians. The delightful anecdotes that bring out the kind of opposition that such "ideas" faced are thus a huge plus.

Consider this gem from Dr Verghese Kurien, who recounts how Lal Bahadur Shastri, as Prime Minister, visited Anand alone and stayed at a local farmer's house to get a feel of the kind of "revolution" brought about by the co-operative movement.

So impressed was Shastri with Kurien's efforts that he offered to set up a National Dairy Development Board with Kurien as chairman. Kurien agreed, provided the board was based in Anand.

The Prime Minister agreed, gave Kurien a blank cheque, and said, "Go to Delhi and ask for whatever funds you want. Your job is to replicate Anand throughout India."

But the cheque bounced. Kurien says the bureaucrats in the agriculture ministry refused to give him a single penny as they thought the PM was insulting them by putting an unknown man at the helm of an important organisation without consulting them.

Kurien was undeterred as he was inspired by Shastri's idea and told him: "Sir, I don't need money to create Anand." The PM gave him the go-ahead. The result: today, there are 170 "Anands" in India.

Ideas that have worked

Essays by Chandrababu Naidu,
Azim Premji,
R A Mashelkar et al.
Penguin
Price: Rs 495;
Pages: 294