In an industry where zero-defect is par for the course, TCS's chief explains, much like Billy Joel, that getting it right the next time is not the same thing. As a schoolboy he would often try to bunk classes without much success. These days, of course, he doesn't even have the option of taking the day off and is forced to shop for music at airports. But Subramanian Ramadorai doesn't really mind the workload and the long flights give him a chance to catch up on his sleep. For a man who has a fairly large number of Wall Street clients, he's sleeping well. The MD and CEO of India's biggest software firm, the Rs 18,633 crore Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), who's up at five every morning dashing off mails to colleagues and customers says if one is not charged up about what one is doing, it's simply not worth it, writes Shobhana Subramanian.
It's probably in the fitness of things that the company, often referred to as the jewel in the Tata crown, occupies the erstwhile Rallis House, now all done up in contemporary style and called TCS House. Ramadorai can't stop raving about the exquisite view of the Azad maidan from his corner room, so it's not surprising that he doesn't miss his office in the Air India building in Nariman Point where he worked for about 35 years starting in 1972. Has your productivity gone up or down since you moved here, I ask him, as we walk down from TCS House to Royal China, passing on our way the house that Ratan Tata grew up in. He laughs, "It's gone up, so from me personally, you can expect some great numbers this quarter."
Drinking the the first of our many cups of Chinese tea, in what must be one of Mumbai's noisiest restaurants, my guest recalls how, when TCS first started out in China with a fairly large team, the management was worried about whether the boys would settle down. The TCS head there happened to mention to the local authorities that it would be nice to have Indian food once in a while. "Within a month they had an Indian restaurant up and running. The speed at which they create conveniences is simply amazing," says Ramadorai, his admiration for the Chinese evident.
Like many of his peers, the TCS chief, who loves reading The New York Times everyday on the Internet and goes to the extent of downloading video clips onto his iPod or iPhone, is frustrated at the tardy pace at which infrastructure in India is being created, or rather not being created. He also wishes that the fascinating live video clips, like those on the website of The Economist, could be used to teach children. As we help ourselves to the starters "" some steamed dumplings, one lot with vegetables and coriander, the other with mushrooms "" he talks of how the migration of business to smaller towns is starting to happen and will gather pace. To keep up the momentum, TCS itself is toying with the idea of moving out to smaller towns, a Bhubaneswar or a Coimbatore, where there is some amount of infrastructure, real estate costs are more reasonable and there are enough people who can be trained.
I remark that TCS's ability to sustain such a high pace of growth on such a high base has surprised everybody. In fact, at one time not so long ago, there were those who believed Infosys might actually overtake the number one player. Ramadorai won't be drawn into comparisons: his response is that the approach to speed or agility can't change simply because a company has grown bigger, it has to be the same as it was when the firm was small. If TCS hasn't scaled up fast enough in the BPO space, it's because of the shift from voice to transactions, he says, adding that with a couple of acquisitions, there's better traction now.
The CEO, who says it's a must to keep up with the latest technical innovations, because otherwise it would be difficult to command the respect of colleagues, prides himself on his ability to spot talent, saying it's his biggest strength. "My judgement is almost always right, that's the way I built my team because we don't have an automatic promotion process in TCS," he asserts. What Ramadorai feels has also helped is TCS's policy of wasting little time in telling an employee that he may not be cut out for the job. The chief believes in giving colleagues his undivided attention; he rarely takes a call or checks his mail while he's with any of them.
How is it that TCS has managed to grow so quickly "" it will be a Rs 23,000 crore firm this year "" despite the reported bureaucracy in Bombay House? That's probably because the technology industry needs to move must faster than a manufacturing industry where the cycles are longer, my guest says, as we help ourselves to some really nice stick rice and vegetables wrapped in lotus leaves and another preparation of vegetables. But I'm not about to give up so easily; what about telecommunications, the Tatas are nowhere there, I point out. Ramadorai offers a diplomatic "No comments" this time.
Does he mind that TCS has always been pitted against Infosys and hasn't always come out the winner ? "We might have been perturbed in the past but today our brand is as visible and we're focussing on us," he says. Your company appears to be doing much more brand-building of late, I say. Ramadorai agrees, "That's probably correct, we didn't really pay much attention to brand-building before 2004 because we weren't listed and moreover, the media didn't want to write about us. Now we're investing more in the brand." Is the CEO also becoming a brand? In today's world, says Ramadorai, the company and the CEO are more or less one. I tell him that I detect a new-found sense of confidence and aggression in the company that wasn't there even a year back. He agrees again, "I think it's been a learning process for us. If you ask me, the honest answer is we are different from what we were in 2004. We have consciously worked at it because we felt we needed to change and we were not shy to learn."
Ramadorai, who has taken to photography in the last couple of years and is proud of the shots he got of the Himalayas from the plane on his last visit to Assam, is confident that there's plenty of action in the product IPR space. He believes now that there is enough money to fund entrepreneurs and start-ups, the results should be seen in about five years.The innovation, he feels, could come about particularly in consumer product-related areas such as mobile phones or the distribution of music.
Ramadorai's passion for Indian classical music, both Hindustani and Carnatic, is well-known: his iPod is loaded with the repertoire of his favourite artistes, among them, Chaurasia, Rashid Khan and Lalgudi Jayaraman. It's a passion he shares with his wife, Mala, an accomplished singer. Despite his hectic schedule, the couple try to make it to Chennai for a few days during the music season every winter, and whenever they can to Mumbai's NCPA to attend concerts.
My guest is a light eater and wants to skip dessert but I persuade him to indulge himself with a Tiramisu. He can afford to eat it because he never misses his morning walk on the Worli seaface and does yoga regularly to keep himself fit.
What has made him stay with the Tatas all these years ? They are professionals and they encourage professionals, he says. Is there a culture in other Tata firms where people who aren't performing are asked to make way for others? Of late, it's happening, says the TCS chief, adding that it has to be this way because given the competition, there's simply no room for error in recruiting. "It's just too costly," he says.
As we walk back to his office, he gives me some parting advice. "The online newspaper is the future. Whoever gets it right first, wins."
