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Rudy Gopalakrishnan
This week's "Poke Me", invites your comments on 'Why Nandan Nilekani should become the CM of Karnataka'. The feature will be reproduced on the edit page of the Saturday edition of the newspaper with a pick of readers' best comments.
So be poked and fire in your comments to us right away. Comments reproduced in the paper will be the ones that support or oppose the views expressed here intelligently. Feel free to add reference links etc., in support of your comments.
Do successful businessmen make good politicians? The facts do not seem to suggest so. Since the year 1900, the United States has had twenty presidents. Of them, only five had business backgrounds prior to entering politics although none of them had much impact as President. Conversely, none of the great Presidents – Roosevelt, Truman or Wilson – had backgrounds in business.
Historians suggest that while politicians with business backgrounds had the ability to conjure grand intellectual plans, they were poorer at execution. We’ve seen a similar trend in India where the chasm between “doers” and “thinkers” has widened. What can Indian business leaders looking to enter politics learn from this?
There are no meaningful examples of Indian businessmen who have successfully reached the upper echelons of politics.
The United States, however, provides an interesting example by way of Michael Bloomberg, who arguably is the most successful American businessmen-turned-politician. Bloomberg understood, for example, that becoming a successful politician demanded a far broader skill set and hence took on the challenging task of serving as Mayor of New York for 12 years.
He achieved many goals that were important to New Yorkers during his tenure including reforms in health, education, and infrastructure, and even the wiping out of the city’s budget deficit.
There are two lessons Indian businessmen looking to enter politics can learn from Bloomberg.
First, if you wish to create impact, you need to start by cutting your teeth by focusing on a city or a state. Clearly, it’s not just in a few states in India where this formula works. Most businessmen, however, are not keen to invest the time to prove themselves the hard way given the obvious risks involved. Taking the easier path, however, is probably even a bigger risk.
To illustrate why, think of the current cabinet of ministers as an executive committee of a business conglomerate. If the entire committee were filled with people from the legal and strategy divisions - as is the case today - rather by people who’ve actually managed businesses before - would you expect great things from them? Why should politics be that different?
Second, strong political support is required to get into positions of responsibility. In the case of Bloomberg, he was endorsed by Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, which tilted the balance in winning him the election. How many Indian businessmen can hope to receive such support?
Seen through this prism, the business leader best positioned to have an impact on Indian politics is Nandan Nilekani. He has endeared himself to the Congress given his adept handling of the national identification project. He has demonstrated that he can take criticism in his stride and that he can navigate seamlessly around political webs. Having decided to take the plunge into politics, he now needs to answer a more fundamental question: how will he build his political career.
Accepting the position of a cabinet minister will be a cardinal mistake. Remember, ministers in today’s cabinet have the sharpest thinkers in their midst and the most number of ministers from Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. Despite this, these individuals have punched well below their weight because they appear much more comfortable dealing with people like them – but appear vastly out of their depths in dealing with people unlike them - which has prevented them from converting ideas into action.
For those who blame such an outcome on a militant opposition, consider how a business leader with an operational background would have dealt with a belligerent trade union. Would he have blamed his adversaries for inaction or carried them along?
Viewed against this backdrop, Nilekani’s first decision should be his hardest one: he should aspire to become the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Working in the trenches will enhance his skill set and will prepare him for future duels. Understandably, the responsibilities of a Chief Minister may not be something that Nilekani may wish to be given.
However, given his remarkable temperament - both in business and in the national identification project - there is every reason to believe he will succeed.
In conclusion, one of the many contributions made by Nilekani has been his excellent book that sought to imagine the future of India. Every Indian should expect more. We must hope that the legacy he leaves behind is one of a man who prioritized process over outcome in terms of how he built his political career, which enabled him to convert his imagination of what India should be - into a reality it so thoroughly deserves.
The writer works for a large FII. Views are personal.
This week's "Poke Me", invites your comments on 'Why Nandan Nilekani should become the CM of Karnataka'. The feature will be reproduced on the edit page of the Saturday edition of the newspaper with a pick of readers' best comments.
So be poked and fire in your comments to us right away. Comments reproduced in the paper will be the ones that support or oppose the views expressed here intelligently. Feel free to add reference links etc., in support of your comments.
Do successful businessmen make good politicians? The facts do not seem to suggest so. Since the year 1900, the United States has had twenty presidents. Of them, only five had business backgrounds prior to entering politics although none of them had much impact as President. Conversely, none of the great Presidents – Roosevelt, Truman or Wilson – had backgrounds in business.
Historians suggest that while politicians with business backgrounds had the ability to conjure grand intellectual plans, they were poorer at execution. We’ve seen a similar trend in India where the chasm between “doers” and “thinkers” has widened. What can Indian business leaders looking to enter politics learn from this?
There are no meaningful examples of Indian businessmen who have successfully reached the upper echelons of politics.
The United States, however, provides an interesting example by way of Michael Bloomberg, who arguably is the most successful American businessmen-turned-politician. Bloomberg understood, for example, that becoming a successful politician demanded a far broader skill set and hence took on the challenging task of serving as Mayor of New York for 12 years.
He achieved many goals that were important to New Yorkers during his tenure including reforms in health, education, and infrastructure, and even the wiping out of the city’s budget deficit.
There are two lessons Indian businessmen looking to enter politics can learn from Bloomberg.
First, if you wish to create impact, you need to start by cutting your teeth by focusing on a city or a state. Clearly, it’s not just in a few states in India where this formula works. Most businessmen, however, are not keen to invest the time to prove themselves the hard way given the obvious risks involved. Taking the easier path, however, is probably even a bigger risk.
To illustrate why, think of the current cabinet of ministers as an executive committee of a business conglomerate. If the entire committee were filled with people from the legal and strategy divisions - as is the case today - rather by people who’ve actually managed businesses before - would you expect great things from them? Why should politics be that different?
Second, strong political support is required to get into positions of responsibility. In the case of Bloomberg, he was endorsed by Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, which tilted the balance in winning him the election. How many Indian businessmen can hope to receive such support?
Seen through this prism, the business leader best positioned to have an impact on Indian politics is Nandan Nilekani. He has endeared himself to the Congress given his adept handling of the national identification project. He has demonstrated that he can take criticism in his stride and that he can navigate seamlessly around political webs. Having decided to take the plunge into politics, he now needs to answer a more fundamental question: how will he build his political career.
Accepting the position of a cabinet minister will be a cardinal mistake. Remember, ministers in today’s cabinet have the sharpest thinkers in their midst and the most number of ministers from Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. Despite this, these individuals have punched well below their weight because they appear much more comfortable dealing with people like them – but appear vastly out of their depths in dealing with people unlike them - which has prevented them from converting ideas into action.
For those who blame such an outcome on a militant opposition, consider how a business leader with an operational background would have dealt with a belligerent trade union. Would he have blamed his adversaries for inaction or carried them along?
Viewed against this backdrop, Nilekani’s first decision should be his hardest one: he should aspire to become the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Working in the trenches will enhance his skill set and will prepare him for future duels. Understandably, the responsibilities of a Chief Minister may not be something that Nilekani may wish to be given.
However, given his remarkable temperament - both in business and in the national identification project - there is every reason to believe he will succeed.
In conclusion, one of the many contributions made by Nilekani has been his excellent book that sought to imagine the future of India. Every Indian should expect more. We must hope that the legacy he leaves behind is one of a man who prioritized process over outcome in terms of how he built his political career, which enabled him to convert his imagination of what India should be - into a reality it so thoroughly deserves.
The writer works for a large FII. Views are personal.
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Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.