Many thoughts come to my mind as I pass on the baton at the Tata Management Training Centre. During my time here, I have often said to people that I thoroughly enjoy what I do and do not consider it to be ‘work’. In my mind, that is what defines the transformative nature of TMTC, the first corporate university in the country and the second oldest in the world. For JRD Tata to envision a leadership development centre in 1947 when there were no management institutes in the country was, I think, pathbreaking. I trust you and your loved ones are doing well. Dear Colleague, The intellectual architecture of TMTC is equally supplemented by the cultural architecture, which the team at embodies through building trust, providing stewardship and impeccable execution. It was therefore a privilege to be part of this team and to lead them. I am genuinely grateful to each one of my team for their support and trust in me in these six years. The transition from physical to digital this past year was almost like changing the course of the river overnight. Team TMTC rose to the occasion and did admirably over the lockdown to demonstrate that learning is key to many things in the pandemic. I believe it is essential for a person’s values to be so imbued that they’re able to stand for what is right for the institution. Two incidents come to my mind in this regard. In the first situation, a guest occupied a room on the premises beyond the completion of the programme they attended. Since the guest wasn’t on the premises but their luggage lay in the room, I had given an executive order to remove their suitcase and leave it with the administration. Gautam, a now retired butler, went against this order and persuaded his manager as well, saying that they would manage the situation to see that work and the stay of future participants didn’t suffer. In the second incident, Sham, who is another butler, was helping a faculty member arrange the furniture in a classroom late at night to prepare for his session the next day. In the process, the faculty member injured his toe. Sham swiftly took action by offering first aid till he could reach out to his seniors. I marvel at this sense of ownership, stewardship and extreme customer orientation. I MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR Contents Message from the Director New Books in the TMTC Library The Learning Post Quiz Highlights from April - July Leader Speak Upcoming Programs Insights & Perspectives April - July 2021 BY TMTC
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Many thoughts come to my mind as I pass on the baton at the Tata
Management Training Centre. During my time here, I have often said
to people that I thoroughly enjoy what I do and do not consider it to be
‘work’. In my mind, that is what defines the transformative nature of
TMTC, the first corporate university in the country and the second
oldest in the world. For JRD Tata to envision a leadership development
centre in 1947 when there were no management institutes in the
country was, I think, pathbreaking.
I trust you and your loved ones are doing well.
Dear Colleague,
The intellectual architecture of TMTC is equally supplemented by the
cultural architecture, which the team at embodies through building
trust, providing stewardship and impeccable execution. It was
therefore a privilege to be part of this team and to lead them. I am
genuinely grateful to each one of my team for their support and trust
in me in these six years. The transition from physical to digital this past
year was almost like changing the course of the river overnight. Team
TMTC rose to the occasion and did admirably over the lockdown to
demonstrate that learning is key to many things in the pandemic.
I believe it is essential for a person’s values to be so imbued that they’re
able to stand for what is right for the institution. Two incidents come to
my mind in this regard. In the first situation, a guest occupied a room
on the premises beyond the completion of the programme they
attended. Since the guest wasn’t on the premises but their luggage lay
in the room, I had given an executive order to remove their suitcase
and leave it with the administration. Gautam, a now retired butler, went
against this order and persuaded his manager as well, saying that they
would manage the situation to see that work and the stay of future
participants didn’t suffer. In the second incident, Sham, who is another
butler, was helping a faculty member arrange the furniture in a
classroom late at night to prepare for his session the next day. In the
process, the faculty member injured his toe. Sham swiftly took action
by offering first aid till he could reach out to his seniors. I marvel at this
sense of ownership, stewardship and extreme customer orientation. I
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
ContentsMessage from the Director
New Books in the TMTC Library
The Learning Post Quiz
Highlights from April - July
Leader Speak
Upcoming Programs
Insights & Perspectives
April - July 2021 BY TMTC
This journey has also enabled me to experiment and take risks. One
such initiative is called ‘Unconventional Learning’ where participants
and members of Team TMTC go to unfamiliar contexts to observe,
assimilate, learn and apply these learnings to their own context. We
once went to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and listened to the
officers talk about the work they do. Also present was the project
leader who had launched GSLV Mark 3 D2. One participant asked the
officers a question which seems very innocuous and familiar to us in
our day jobs: 'How do you set individual key result areas?’. There was
silence. No one responded. The person repeated the question. One
of the officers said, ‘I don’t really understand your question’. Several
participants immediately chimed in with a chorus of ‘Tell us, how do
believe a team is extremely good when someone who hasn’t
completed school education or taken a course on customer service
can think differently and have the self-assurance to execute a plan.
More recently, as we were all coming to terms with the ‘new normal’,
a lady programme co-ordinator faced challenges in the form of
several medical emergencies, one after the other. Her parents were
injured and needed care and her grandmother was hospitalized, and
she had to step in as a caregiver. This programme co-ordinator
continued on her post to see that the programme went on smoothly
during this particularly trying time for herself. I also noticed all her
colleagues stepping in to support her so that the reputation and
work of TMTC could be upheld. This attitude of service and
dedication to the institution is commendable.
The impact of our team’s dedication is palpable too. A few years ago,
a batch of IAS officers attended a programme at TMTC, wherein we
included feedback with a psychometric instrument. In a one-on-one
with one of the officers, I discussed his blind spots and watch-outs.
He listened to me attentively and took my feedback. Two years later,
he gave me a call inviting me to an event with a few days’ notice. He
said that he was launching a nation-wide initiative and that he
wanted me to be present at that launch. Additionally, he wanted me
to address the audience! What touched me was he publicly
acknowledged the role of what he learnt at TMTC in helping him
launch a project of national importance. The event was attended by
several ministers, international partners as well as the NITI Aayog
members. In my mind this defines the amazing platform TMTC is
and the transformative power of the classroom.
I will retire at the end of July 2021. Looking back, I think the changes I
have seen can be expressed in these words: previously when you
came to TMTC, it was a facility, but now TMTC comes to you, it is a
solution for you, your department and your company.
I am delighted Anand Shankar succeeds me in this learning mission. I
am glad that he brings both his experience and insights from
different worlds to TMTC. I want to thank you, for all your support
and partnering during my tenure at TMTC, for the last six years.
Along with colleagues at group HR and the team TMTC, we have
collaborated wonderfully. It has been a rewarding journey and truly
we have all achieve a lot together, including awards at international
forums for the business impact our programs create and our
innovations in learning. We have also learned a lot and raised the
bar. In closing, I recall a chat I once had with Prof. Das Narayandas of
Harvard Business School. Talking about the character and quality of
the staff at TMTC, I said that nothing has ever been lost at TMTC,
because the staff have impeccable honesty. Prof. Das remarked,
‘Emmanuel, you are right that nothing has been lost, but a lot has
been found’.
That is my wish for each one of you, that when you seek learning, you
find a lot.
you set individual key result areas?’. One of the senior members of
the space centre then responded thus: ‘You know, it takes all of us in
this room 7-10 years to design and develop a rocket and about 10
weeks to assemble it all together from different places. After those
years of preparation, it takes us only the first 20 seconds of the
launch to tell whether our outcome is a success or a failure. So you
see, there’s nothing individual about it. We are all in mission mode.’
This taught me that whatever work we do, we should look at it as a
mission rather than a ‘job’ or ‘career’.
With warm regards,
Director, TMTC
Group Human Resources
Emmanuel David
Highlights from April– JULY 2021
The continued focus of our companies on their capability building
initiatives, despite the challenges of recent times, has helped keep
TMTC’s virtual corridors buzzing with thought and activity! While our
program directors cogitated about the design of new learning
solutions, our daily team calls were animated by the planning for the
launch and delivery of over 30 interventions in the past 4 months!
Some of the highlights for us since April include the delivery of as
many as six batches of the TCS Emerging Leaders Seminar (a mini-
MBA style program for mid-management high potentials); several
batches of a virtual selling skills program, also for TCS; a program for
Tata Capital Housing Finance Ltd. to help enhance strategic
orientation across leadership levels; two open programs on Data
Analytics; a senior leadership development program for TACO; and a
unique workshop on mindfulness-based leadership. We also
launched “Blue Mint”, a learning journey for early-career talent that is
designed and delivered in partnership with London Business School.
We also began a much-awaited coaching certification journey for senior leaders from group companies. Designed in collaboration with a Master Coach, this journey will help the participants work towards their ACC certification from the ICF.
Our weekly “Learning Latitudes” webinars have continued to be well-
attended, with more than 7000 participants joining the 22 webinars of this period. Some of the popular sessions included a reverse mentoring conversation, the launch of “#Tata Stories – 40 Timeless tales to Inspire You”, the latest book by Mr. Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons Ltd. and a discussion on Innovation and Design Thinking by leading industry experts.
Our team also curated and hosted the #Tata Expressathon – a special TTU Roadshow series through May and June which featured a range of sessions on different facets of public speaking and communication. The sessions were delivered by an eclectic mix of expert speakers drawn from diverse fields including playback theatre, films and podcasting.
The series ended with a rousing finale – an Oxford-style debate that featured senior Tata leaders as speakers, and was moderated by Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons Ltd. In case you missed this, do look for the recording on TTU; as much as the subject was extremely topical and saw some very animated and passionate arguments – among the panelists, as well as in the form of audience participation! - this was a Masterclass on communication.
#Disover Your Tata, the July Roadshow on TTU which ended with a first-ever virtual tour of the Tata Central Archives, also got excellent participation going from our colleagues across group companies!
[If you would like to view a recording of Learning Latitudes or TTU Roadshow sessions, please log on to https://www.tmtctata.com ]
Upstream
by Dan Heath (2021)
The Power of Geography:
Ten Maps That Reveal the Future of Our World
by Tim Marshall (2021)
The Ministry of Common Sense
by Martin Lindstrom
Code Breaker
by Walter Isaacson
HBR: Guide to Beating Burnout
by Harvard Business Review
The Conscientious Manager
by Phani Medicharla
New Books in the
TMTC Library(Please for a short description of these books)click here
Mahatma Gandhi’s room Gandhi Ashram, Sabarmati Ahmedabad, India
An “Unconventional Learning” session took TCSeLS participants on avirtual tour of the Gandhi Ashram