There are books that talk and there are few books that
make you sit up and listen. “Doing what
is right: The Crisil Story” falls in the latter category. It is a great
story of a remarkable organization that has played a significant role in development
of financial market in India.
The
book deftly takes the reader through the journey that Crisil undertook to
become an awe inspiring and respected organization from scratch. It started
with a leap of faith when there was hardly a financial market worth mentioning
in India. The foundation of Crisil was based on the vision and potential of
India. Long before “India Story” became fashionable, few visionaries like N
Vaghul and Pradip Shah perhaps saw it 10 years in advance and had the courage
and conviction to create a world class organization in India which played a
critical role in post liberalized India to develop a robust financial market
and environment that fueled the growth story of India.
The
book has efficiently documented various stages of Crisil’s development and its
rise to glory. This story will definitely find a place in the business history of
India. However, the book does something much more significant than documenting the
story of Crisil. It teaches the basic ingredients of building a world class
organization that’s known as much for its work as for its upright corporate character
and integrity.
After
reading the book, the process of building a remarkable organization becomes
crystal clear. The starting point is always a vision and a right leader. The
right leader gets the right people on board. The leader and the chosen few
people build a culture of excellence where facts and logic reign supreme even
to hierarchy. The obsession for excellence builds the character of the organization.
The business model is developed in such a way that the integrity of the
organization never gets compromised while making sure that the organization
keeps growing far and wide. A robust leadership pipeline is created to ensure
that the organization never becomes a shadow of an individual. And lastly, the
organization keeps evolving itself relative to the changing environment to
identify new opportunities to grow. It is as simple as this!
For
anyone interested in business, management, or business history of India, this
book is a must read. While on one hand it lucidly tells the story of one of
India’s best known homegrown business organization, on the other hand it
teaches some good lessons in management to a discerning reader.
Overall,
the book is highly readable, fast paced, and a page turner. You can finish it
during a 2 hour flight and then wonder - “It is so amazing. I want more of it!”
