He may possibly be described as one of the best advocates of public sector in India. True, he knows both, strengths and weaknesses of public sector, which he believes is one of the best growth engines India an boast of. In pursuit of that idea, Mr. S.M. Ramanathan, Executive Director of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Bhopal, has spent his lifetime, in the process becoming a vibrant face of the public sector giant that posted great results this fiscal, 42% growth in profit. Such a performance did not come all by itself. A sound technical manpower, robust management methods and a well-led technical and non-technical workforce of thousands made that result possible. Sitting at the helm, Mr. Ramanathan has every reason to boast. But boast he does not simply because he knows the core principle of leadership and management, together “we stand”. Leadership is that pursuit of achieving higher grades of togetherness, Mr. Ramanathan insists. Sharing his ideas in the leisure of breakfast table, he says simply, motivating a huge manpower particularly in public sector has its own challenges. And more importantly, it is all the more challenging in a highly competitive marketplace where private sector giants also are in field, trying to score over the slow-moving public sector by quick pricing decisions and ‘adjustments’. “Yet, BHEL is making the difference. We have evolved ways and means to stand tall and strong in the market through our pursuit of excellence. As a public sector enterprise, we have limitations. We cannot buy things from open market. We cannot get supplies at will. And most importantly, we cannot bluff about our excellence; we have to keep proving it all the time,” Mr. Ramanathan states matter-of-factly.

 

Yet the BHEL Bhopal in particular and other units in the ecosystem are doing increasingly better because of the operational and strategic philosophies adopted by the leadership. Discussing that philosophical core with Mr. Ramanathan is sheer bliss. He narrates in his unique style how philosophy of management evolved in BHEL over time. Motivating people to their best is not giving speeches and slogans, he seems to say. What is needed is not just technical excellence but also the soft skill of handling the complex human component. Each BHEL top-notch learns that through experience, through making mistakes, through on-job correction in both, attitude and aptitude. “This is a fluid, constant process,” Mr. Ramanathan asserts. In just a few minutes of conversation, one realises that Mr. Ramanathan has a big story to tell, about BHEL and public sector as well of his own personal one. Both stories are equally mesmerising, so to say. And when the raconteur is Mr. Ramanathan, the story assumes literally persona, through fine words, poetic sentences, each detail loaded with anecdotes that embellish the substance like nothing else.

 

For Mr. Ramanathan, the story begins in BHEL where he spent his childhood when his father worked there as a senior executive, handling tough challenges. A quick and keen leaner, the boy understood silently principles of leadership and problem-solving from the father (who is now 90 years old and lives with the son in his sprawling bungalow with fine garden and well-manicured lawn). He earned good enough scores to start studying Mechanical engineering at the famed IIT Madras from where he passed in 1987, and started his career at BHEL (through a competitive testing) as an engineer. And from that moment, he never looked back. He did work in high positions in BHEL’s facilities at Trichy or Ranipet, for example, but gravitated back to Bhopal. “This place, this colony, these factories, are my home. I know every inch of the landscape,” he says with a chuckle. But then, as all of us know, life never moves in straight lines. So, in young Ramanathan’s life, there came a twist when he was just seventeen and studying in early years at IIT Madras. He took seriously ill, yet continued doggedly living in the hostel and pursuing studies.

 

Later, however, deeper into illness, he moved out of the hostel in favour of a rented house outside the campus, where his mother took care of the boy, away from the family, and building the boy’s confidence in himself. That was a tough time. Yet the young fellow endured all that and graduated out of IIT with a Gold Medal. But the story of Mr. Ramanthan’s problematic health continued. He went through several surgeries, long hospital stays, and disciplined life-style so as to manage a delicate health. When did he decide that his health would not impede his progress?, one asks. “Oh, I was quite young then, and my mother gave me the strength. She said, in effect, that I had a great life ahead and that indifferent health could not stop me from doing well in life,” he says. His phone rings. His son is calling from Hyderabad where he works at design agency. That leads to a natural question: Did his indifferent health impede his marriage? Mr. Ramanthan has a beautiful story to recount, around which a novel could be woven. His wife, Sangeetha, was a young typist at BHEL. His friends often pushed the two into situations where they were together. One day, they felt close enough to each other to think of marriage. “I explained my condition to her. Also took her hoe where my parents, too, told her everything. Yet, she had only one refrain: ‘I will marry only him’. The rest is history,” Mr. Ramanathan says with a broad smile expanding his face into an ear-to-ear banana grin.