At The Helm: Memoirs of a Change Agent

by V. Krishnamurthy

‘Krishnamurthy’s leadership has shown that he can achieve stupendous tasks. If for any reason at all he fails, virtually the entire public sector will have to be written off for the next twenty years,’ noted the panel that chose V. Krishnamurthy as the ‘Business India Businessman of the Year’ in 1987.

Management of a business enterprise in India is a lot more difficult than in other countries. There are far more uncertainties that an Indian manager has to encounter while performing his tasks—even more so in state-owned companies, often synonymous with inefficiency, than in private ones. But Krishnamurthy, through his exemplary stewardship of three enterprises, that holds lessons for managers everywhere, emerged as the pride of India’s public sector in the 1970s and 1980s.

At Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, he saved the company from imminent disintegration and dispelled Indira Gandhi’s impression that Indian managers did not have the ability to manage large organizations. At Maruti, he was given the responsibility of not just manufacturing a car but of modernizing the automobile industry itself. Steel Authority of India Limited was almost a sunset company when he took over, but he shook up the organization from its very foundations and put it back in a leadership position.

At The Helm is the story of how a boy from the small village of Karuveli in Tamil Nadu starts out as a technician at airfields during the Second World War but goes on to script the biggest success stories of young India’s fledgling public sector over the next five decades.

Genres: India, Memoir

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2014

Reviews

[Anil Swarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is a master practitioner dishing out a masterpiece. His narration is as honest as his persona. He doesn't say anything new in terms of management but what he says makes a lot of sense as these are his personal experiences and many can relate to these experiences. He was responsible for turnaround of public sector units. He brought about a revolution in the auto sector. His principles may appear to be rooted in the socialist era but what he says is true for any era. Not only does his success speaks volumes about his perseverance, grit ad planning, his failures and "lows" have many more lessons to offer.Lee Iacoca's autobiography was a treatise on American management. Akio Morita is credited with bringing forth the Japanese management principles. Krishnamurthy falls in the same category as a doyen who is equally good at articulating his views and experiences outlining how to succeed in the Indian milieu that is much more complex.

[N Shekar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because VK was the Chairman of BHEL when I joined service in BHEL Tiruchy 1976 as an Engineer Trainee. Those days it was an awesome environment and a great public sector company to work for. As a batch of over 700 who joined 1976 we were brought in to make the company even better. The team of VK, SVS and others ran the public sector company with a unique management focus and made the big difference. I wanted to understand what was it like in Delhi during those times. It was very useful to learn what made VK the person he was and what was the path he traveled. He made huge differences to three organisations mainly - BHEL, Maruti and SAIL - all success stories for his legacy to be written about. He was a path breaker and man with courage to take on the mighty. He was lucky also to have his way in the political landscape he operated in - it was nice to understand the circumstances that gave him that authority and power to make those changes. He definitely deserves all the accolades he got and it was unfortunate he fell victim to political mud slinging that affected his later years.

The big had a very good flow to read and was easy to read for a bio - I am not sure how it will be for someone who had no connection to this man.

The only thing I could say would have it better, if as a leader, he had shared his glory with many others in his team who, I am sure, contributed significantly to his thought process, execution of ideas and thrust forward.

Enjoyed reading the book.

[Aravinthan ID · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the helm is one of the excellent books to know about the success stories of BHEL, Maruthi and SAIL and the man behind it. The author started his life as a technician in charge and reached the top post of secretary of Heavy Industries Ministry, Govt. of India. In this book, the author explains about how he transformed BHEL, Maruthi and SAIL as India's top PSU with the consistent profit earning company. This is a must read book for managers / CEO's and top management people especially for those working in Govt undertakings.

[abhay Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the Helm is a saga of entrepreneurship in the public sector, innovative thinking on management, human relations, marketing, quality improvement and of grit.

In India, where rarely do we associate entrepreneurship and building of large businesses with public sector managers, this book shows a different picture.

[Nitish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for management students

[Tatwi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book full of awesomeness. Period