‘History, gadgets fascinate me equally’

BANGALORE, INDIA: It's not everyday one comes across a top technocrat who is fascinated by history as much as he is with gadgets, and idolizes a king and not any innovator par excellence.

Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, president and managing director of Dell India, stands out from the top league. Raja Raja Chola I, who ruled the southern parts of India about 1,200 years ago, is a big builder and social reformer, whom he looks up to as a great role model. Like the great Chola king, Lakshminarayanan, too has big vision, big dreams and is a phenomenal administrator.

"He turned the (Brihadeeswara) temple he built into a bank to help farmers to get loans and return it after harvest. It was all well-documented. He thought big, set the vision, mobilized resources, gave due credits to his team down to even his accountant, which are great signs of a leader that others can learn from," he added.

Ask Lakshminarayanan why he chose the company, and he stuns you with a simple, yet effective reply. "I really liked Dell because they were making computers."

That he had to be based out of Austin didn’t hurt either. "It is a nice place," he beamed, as he took the chair of our Guest Editor on Thursday.

The gregarious outlook of Lakshminarayanan set the tone for the day, as he discussed in detail his interests, passion, work and personal life, among other things.

He narrated how he started out as a Grade 1 employee with Dell as a youngster and got promoted three levels up in just two years. "I joined the right place at the right time. The consumer segment and small businesses were growing a lot back then. Dell is an open culture company. As long as you put up a plan and go deliver it, one will grow well here."

But, Lakshminarayanan wouldn't call himself a corporate leader, despite achieving stupendous growth over just 12 years. He said, "At Dell, we still would like to have a small company mentality. Michael (Dell) stresses on the freedom to risk and fail."

He is absolutely enamored by Indian history. "When I was in school, I would always read the history book first and finish it in a week. I also used to read history-based novels, especially in Tamil. There is a long history of literature in Tamil." Among his favorite writers, poets are Tamil poet Bharathiyar, writers T. Janakiraman and Sujatha.

"Among business writers, I like Ram Charan, a fascinating professor, whose work Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, is a great book for all."

Probably, as a natural progression, the Dell India MD would like to teach history in a school as well as  write about it after retirement. "History," he said, "has a lot to teach us. Over the last 200 years, our society has evolved so much and you can also understand how much our country has been influenced by those who ruled us."

While he is well aware of the power of Social Media, he prefers them strictly for specific purposes. "I am on Facebook, but try and keep it to close friends and family. I log in to it once or twice a week and share things related to history and Tamil literature," he said.

As far as Twitter is concerned, Lakshminarayanan is there to follow other industry veterans to know what they are keeping a tab on. "It should be to tell something informative. We have an 'internal Twitter', which I use frequently, to recognize people's talents."

He is also a gadget freak, but mostly ''small gadgets." He possesses about 15 different bluetooth headsets for various purposes.

On the current political situation, he steered clear of discussing personalities and issues, but was forthcoming about our democracy. It is, according to him, showing encouraging signs in about 60 years. "Even US was no different in the first 50 years. It also faced similar challenges. There is nothing else better than a democratic system."

Lakshminarayanan wishes politicians understood that people were beginning to reward those who talk development and not indulge in divisive politics.

Being with a technology company, how can he stay away from innovation? He thinks Internet and Social Media have changed the way people learnt, but regrets he couldn't enjoy it in his younger days.

With more than a passing interest in anthropology, he said how an expert took him to old Jain caves in Tamil Nadu, which turned out to be a revelation in finding out how Jainism was a prominent sect in the south 2,000 years ago. "Ï am from a certain section of Brahmins, who trace their way back to Karnataka, and had migrated to Tamil Nadu generations ago," he remarked.

In his free time, he plays badminton, spends time with his six-year-old daughter and watches romantic comedies or sitcoms. "Big Bang Theory is my favorite; there is a lot of intelligent stuff in it."

On Thursday, it was time for him to try his hands at a totally different domain. Well, he pulled it of with panache.