The Accidental Philosopher: My Reflections on My Career
By Madan Mohanka, PGP 67
Caption: Mr Madan Mohanka (left) with Dr Dara P Antia (centre), Founder Chairman, Tega Industries and Mr Assar Svensson (right), Chairman Skega Ab at Tega Industries, Kalyani in 1976.
This article summarizes a few milestones of my six-decade-long business career and the influences and inspirations that shaped my life and actions. As a young entrepreneur, I was too busy with the day-to-day running of my business to have time to read any scriptures, religious or spiritual texts that shape and define Indian philosophies of life. Today, I realize that it was only by accident while preparing to speak before a learned audience at one of the G20 events in West Bengal that I read the writings of some great Indian philosophers and the tenets of the Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, and the Upanishads and realized I had inadvertently absorbed some important Indian values and principles from my family and surroundings, which had influenced and coloured both my business and personal life. From stories heard as a child to family values, practices, folklore, and the rich cultural traditions and rituals that make up the “Indian way of life.”
Facing Difficult Challenges and Building Confidence
Caption: Mr Madan Mohanka in his younger days
When I joined IIMA, I was given three case studies, one of which, on accounting, was 157 pages long. Since I had not studied accounting, I sought guidance from my professor, the Dean, Dr V.L. Mote. His response was terrifying and perhaps shaped the rest of my life at the Institute: “We don’t ask whether you know swimming or not; we throw you into the sea – you either drown or learn to swim; the choice is yours.” His harsh response caused me great pain, and I considered quitting the course I had signed up for, but something within me pushed me to take up the challenge to prove to myself that I was worthy of being there. After I conquered my fears and put in ten days of unrelenting toil, my assignment was judged to be amongst the top 10 of my batch.
Two years later, when I graduated from the college, Dr V.L. Mote explained why he had been so harsh: “A true leader monitors and gets the best out of potential leaders by subjecting them to difficult situations, all the while keeping an eye on them to ensure that they come to no harm. This sort of tough love is necessary to push people to do their best, conquer their fears, and boost their self-confidence.” This experience at IIMA bolstered my self-confidence to a point that I felt I could take on seemingly impossible challenges that would have stopped me on my tracks before. In the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Lord Krishna says “Leaders should embrace rather than avoid formidable challenges because they bring out the leaders’ greatest strengths.”
I also learned the importance of exercising tough love on my team. If I was overly strict and exacting (though compassionate on the inside), it was to convey the message that there is no substitute for hard work. While pushing others to do their best, one must remember, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; wish for others what you wish for yourself.” In Chapter 3 (Verses 22-24), Lord Krishna says that leaders must act as role models. Leaders set examples for others. Their choices must be driven by a desire to guide others rather than by wishes of self-glory or material gains. Tough love does not win a leader popularity, but when it results in success, it fosters respect for the leader and prosperity and happiness for his team.
Dealing with a Dilemma: Going Abroad versus Working in India
After gaining my degree in business management, I wanted to go abroad and build a career there. Graduates in India at that time earned just about 10k annually, and I wanted to do better than that. Dr V.L. Mote dissuaded me from this path by saying, “I did not train you to work in the USA. If people like you do not create jobs in India, who will?”
The scriptures are very clear about the “importance of helping those less fortunate.” The less fortunate are not those who have less wealth but those who have digressed from the path of spirituality. Compassion is a true characteristic of spiritual people. They know the source of existence of all and see the interconnectedness leading them toward compassion for all living entities.
I chose the tougher option of building an enterprise in India, creating jobs for the underprivileged. My company strives to look after all its stakeholders: workers, employees, the government, and shareholders. After five years of persuasion and legwork we got the government to allow the required foreign collaboration to manufacture a technically high-end product in a backward area that lacked basic infrastructure. Today it is a successful multinational company employing hundreds of Indian labourers and staff.
Caption: Tega factory in South Africa
Leadership in Dealing with Crisis Situations & Learning from Mistakes
After setting up the company, when everything was in place for operations to begin, we discovered a grave mistake. Though extensive market surveys had been conducted by my team along with our foreign collaborator, we had failed to assess the buying behaviour of public sector customers and hence made a gross error in calculating the convertible market. Potential buyers disappeared, we ran out of funds, and reached a point where I could not even pay the salaries of my loyal team. Despite the backbreaking work done by everyone in my team, we seemed to be heading toward disaster. My dreams had shattered into a thousand pieces as the insurmountable crisis looked me in the face, and I was consumed by self-doubt, fear, and an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I was ready to take my life as penance for my overconfidence and pride as I hung my head in shame.
Today, as I study the scriptures and legends in the Bhagavad Gita, I can empathize with Arjuna’s Vishada Yoga as he bowed his head in grief and utter despondency. He found himself consumed with grief as war would lead to the loss of close relatives. The resultant pleasures of the palace and kingdom would be tainted with blood. He failed to see the larger picture of war leading to reforming the society that had degraded to an extent that it allowed Draupadi to be humiliated in the court in the presence of the elders.
Thankfully, I found a way out of my crisis, and with the unconditional support of my team and family, we found our way back to stability and ultimately success. Perhaps Dr V.L. Mote’s lesson on the choice between sinking and swimming paid off, or the various instances quoted in Indian philosophy about overcoming obstacles subconsciously showed me the light. According to the Gita, “Acting from ignorance or selfishness leads to suffering for oneself and others. Acting from wisdom and a love for the common good can lead to a sense of inner freedom even in difficult circumstances.” Giving up would have been the coward’s way out, leading to losses suffered by so many people.
Keeping the Team Together
The most important task for me was to bolster the morale of my team who had steadfastly stood by me. To address their growing insecurities, I had to assure them somehow that their salaries would be paid in full and on time. To be able to do so, I liquidated my LIC policies, sold my car, and liquidated all my personal assets along with my wife’s jewellery, which she very generously offered me. I am no Raja Harishchandra, but perhaps the stories of his decision to give up his wealth and kingdom to save his people had a subliminal effect on my decision. Legends and folklore heard in childhood have an underlying effect on one’s life, something one may not even be aware of.
Caption: Tega workers outside their factory in Samali
Spirit of Oneness and Equality
I believe in the equality of all human beings and seek to instil this belief in my company. My doors are always open, and everyone in the organization is welcome to eat alongside me and my senior staff in the canteen. With age and ill health, I can no longer indulge in the meals offered to others, so my food from home is laid alongside theirs as I join the staff at mealtimes in the plant. Beyond our roles at work, at a human level, we are all one and part of a larger family.
The core principle of Indian philosophy is ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ which means the whole world is one family. It is important for a leader to motivate his people not just by giving lectures and motivational speeches but to work alongside them as one. At times, I have joined my staff on the shop floor to sort out production or manufacturing issues alongside them. I believe in the wisdom of Verses 3.22-24 of the Bhagavad Gita that says leaders must be role models.
Understanding and Harnessing Potential
One must see the world as an interwoven tapestry of cause and effect and oneself, as part of that tapestry, and act accordingly. “Everything is dependent on something else. Even that thing upon which each is dependent is not independent,” according to Buddhist thinkers like Shantideva.
When we decided to expand overseas, to collaborate with foreign manufacturers and open branches and sales offices, we realised that though our people were technically proficient, their command over spoken English was lacking. Additionally, business practices abroad were vastly different, where instead of interpersonal relationships between clients and us, the market demanded high product performance and timely delivery.
We had two options: retrain our staff for fluency in English and modern business practices or hire a younger more adaptable team though they would lack experience. The existing staff objected, having stayed loyal to me through tough times, so we trained both teams, encouraging them to exchange ideas and knowledge, to work unitedly as one. It is important to treat everyone with impartiality to avoid envy and disharmony, or ‘samo’ham sarva bhutesu na me dvesyati na priyah,’ according to Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.
Employees Must Come First: The Provident Fund
In its sixth year, when the company began making sizeable profits after the initial era of financial setbacks, we were able to offer Provident Funds to our employees. I took a decision to pay double, to compensate for the first five years when they had stood by me, despite all odds and helped make Tega what it is today.
According to the Vedas, “Everyone’s life will spontaneously nourish everyone else’s life and society as a whole will be problem-free. The power of law will provide justice only if it upholds the birth right of everyone in freedom, affluence, and the ability to fulfil desires.” It is the responsibility of leaders or those with the power to dispense this “nourishment” in the form of wages to ensure that people get their due or what is owed to them in all fairness.
The Bhagavad Gita highlights three aspects of action one should focus on: Is the action right? Does it serve the welfare of the world? Is it motivated by love? Krishna’s message to Arjuna was that even in battle, one must be selfless and do one’s duty out of a sense of love and commitment for the common good.
Sometimes Rules Must Be Broken for the Good of Others
Sometimes it is necessary to adapt to special circumstances, and set aside the rule book. When a new recruit was diagnosed with the last stages of cancer, though we were not obliged to help him monetarily, the company took care of his treatment and provided financial help to educate his daughter and aided his wife to become economically self-reliant. Though some thought this was setting a dangerous precedent, I disagreed.
India is the land of many religions and philosophical ideals, all of which extol the value of serving humanity. To me, if the rules prove to be an obstacle to being humane, then they must be challenged and changed. If we fail to be ‘human’ we might just as well be heartless machines.
Learning from Mistakes
“To spiritually benefit from our mistakes, we need a different attitude toward them.” The Bhagavad Gita emphasizes Nishkam Karma and continuous learning. Gurudev once described mistakes as “Wonderful opportunities to learn…perhaps we lacked some important knowledge, and now that we have that knowledge, we can simply resolve to use it the next time around.”
When we turned our attention toward business overseas, we made quite a few errors that cost us significant losses in terms of goodwill and finance. At times, we hired the wrong person to lead a team; at others, we failed to create a bond with those we hired abroad, but learning from our mistakes, these issues were gradually smoothed over, and we began aggressively marketing our brand. Orders came flooding in. We recorded 40% CAGR between 2006 and 2011, which was an amazing feat. But this led to our inability to fulfill orders on time. We began operating at a loss, sometimes delivering products by air at a massive cost overrun just to keep our word.
Upon reflection, I realized that a strong review system should have been put in place. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 15, mentions, “yaṁ hi na vyathayanty ete puruṣaṁ puruṣarṣabha sama-duḥkha-sukhaṁ dhīraṁ so ’mṛtatvāya kalpate.” (One who is not distracted by happiness or distress can achieve perfection and even liberation). That is where we failed. We were overjoyed with our successes and failed to see our blind spots, thereby making grievous miscalculations. Just as we began to recover our losses, we faced yet another crisis in our branches in South America. In our hunger to expand, we got careless.
We were wrongly advised by Avendis to buy Acotec in Chile, and in 2020 we had to decide between selling Acotec or investing a further 125 crores in it. We had suffered huge losses in Acotec – over 250 crores. We were unfamiliar with the local culture and language and took a huge risk by setting up a branch in Chile, but the development of a new product – Tega Dyna Prime – gave us confidence and created a market for us. We thought it would boost our position to Number 1 in the Mill lining business
I was subject to varying opinions regarding Chile, primarily voiced by the more experienced and older staff of the company, wary of any further investment. We would have to send the whole amount from new banks in India. The Board of Directors advised me against it, as did my family, who were concerned about my health and advancing years.
Caption: Recent photo of the author
I took inspiration from Arjuna in this. When he entered the battlefield of Kurukshetra before the war started, he asked Krishna to take his chariot to the centre of the two armies. Being in the centre represents being neutral and objective to the situation around you. When we face such a situation of choosing between many rights, our inner voice will help us to do what is most aligned with the purpose we are committed to. There we can see our desires, attachments, and the different voices with objectivity. By cantering ourselves and soul-searching, we can find the most meaningful answer.
I could hear my inner voice say – be true to the company and the vision of being among the top 3 globally in the Mill Liners business. I decided to invest 125 crores in Acotec Chile. In 2021, our turnover touched 1000 crore. Life is a journey of ups and downs. We should live as if we have yet to arrive at our final destination and should therefore be prepared for all eventualities. Only when a person understands that happiness, distress, success, and failure are but different phases, and he must focus on doing his duty, can he or she be successful.
Madan Mohanka is Chairman and Founder of Tega Industries. He has published two books, ‘Professor Extraordinaire’ about his mentor Prof DVL Mote and ‘I Did What I Had To Do’, a biography by Anjana Duitt, tracing the history of Tega Industries. He lives in Kolkata and can be reached at madan.mohanka@tegaindustries.com
