JRD Tata quotes
?Money is like manure. It stinks when you pile it; it grows when you spread it.?
?Never start with diffidence, Always start with confidence.?
?To be a leader, you?ve got to lead human beings with affection.?
?I never had any interest in making money. None of my decisions were influenced by whether it would bring me money or wealth.?
?Uncommon thinkers reuse what common thinkers refuse.?
?When you work, work as if everything depends on you. When you pray, pray as if everything depends on God.?
Cleanliness is the Hallmark of perfect standards and the best quality inspector is the conscience.
?Quality is first engineered; only then it is inspected.?
?Making steel may be compared to making a chappati (tortilla). To make a good chappati, even a golden pin will not work unless the dough is good.?
Common people have an appetite for food; uncommon people have an appetite for service.
5-guiding Principles of JRD:
1. Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought and hard work;
2. One must think for oneself and never accept at their face value slogans and catch phrases to which, unfortunately, our people are too easily susceptible;
3. One must forever strive for excellence, or even perfection, in any task however small, and never be satisfied with the second best;
4. No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people and is achieved by fair and honest means;
5. Good human relations not only bring great personal rewards but also are essential to the success of any enterprise.
Most of our troubles are due to poor implementation.....
Wrong priorities and unattainable targets. ~ JRD Tata
- While I usually came back from meeting Gandhiji elated and inspired but always a bit sceptical, and from talks with Jawaharlal, fired with emotional zeal but often confused and unconvinced, meetings with Vallabhbhai were a joy from which I returned with renewed confidence in the future of our country. I have often thought that if fate had decreed that he, instead of Jawaharlal, would be the younger of the two, India would have followed a very different path and would be in better economic shape that it is today.
- I wish, I were big enough, like Einstein, to do what he did on one occasion. A hundred-dollar-a-plate dinner was organised for him to speak, and leaders of America in all fields, particularly in the field of science, were invited to hear the great man. When his turn came, he rose and said:'I've nothing to say,' and sat down. You can imagine the consternation, quite apart from the wasted cost of the dinner! Realising the frightful effect his remarks had on the audience, Einstein got up again and said: 'When I've something to say, I'll let you know.' (Address to the Lions Club of Jamshedpur, August 22, 1963.)
- The essence of air transport is speed, and speed is unfortunately one of the most expensive commodities in the world, principally because of the disproportionate amount of the power required to achieve high speed and to lift loads thousands of feet into the air. This is strikingly illustrated by the fact that while an average cargo ship, freight train and transport aeroplane are each equipped with engines totalling about 2,500 H.P., the ship can carry a load of about 7,000 tons, the train 800 tons and the plane only two and a half tons. ('On November 2, 1943, J.R.D. Tata spoke to the Bombay Rotary Club.)
- There is today hardly any country in the world outside the communist bloc which does not have a mixed economy. In fact, even countries which call themselves socialist would object to theirs not being described as a mixed economy, for it would imply that it was a totalitarian one, while countries like Germany or Japan, usually thought of as having typically free enterprise economies, would do the same; for, otherwise, it would imply that theirs was a nineteenth century laissez-faire economy. (Address on 'Why a Mixed Economy?' to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, New Delhi, April 4, 1975.)
- The Psychology of Delay. Some of the causes of delay in coming to economic decisions in our country seem to lie in the psychological realm. There is such a thing as the psychology of power which motivates people: power of control and patronage, power to delay an application, power to hold up a file, power to keep people waiting in an ante-room, all of which are consciously or subconsciously treated as symbols of prestige and hallmarks of importance. (To The Central Advisory Council of Industries, New Delhi, January 3, 1969.)
- At the Crossroads.The effective execution of a Plan is what counts and not mere planning on paper; it is not what we put on our plate or even what we eat that provides nourishment and growth, but what we digest. (The Central Advisory Council of Industries, New Delhi, August 13, 1965)
- Road to Social Justice. The first and perhaps the most important of the factors which have contributed to our failure to make real impact on poverty expressed in terms of total number who live below the poverty line has clearly been the uncontrolled growth of our population...First, we must, at all costs, make a much more earnest effort at controlling the growth of our population. As it is, we are running out of time and there is no longer any possibility of preventing it from exceeding 1,000 million souls by the end of the century. (At The International Seminar of Economic Journalists, New Delhi, December 5, 1972.)
J.R.D Tata while receiving the news of Bharat Ratna " Oh! God, why me?
