Lalu didnt disappoint them! Speaking to a visiting group of MBA students, which included 35 students from McCombs School of Business, University of Texas (Austin) and 22 students from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, he traced the turnaround story and gave his management mantras: From bankruptcy to profitability, Indian Railways is an amazing turnaround story. This year, we will make a cash surplus of Rs 20,000 crore. I have three mantras that made this transformation possible: Vision, Honesty and Determination, he said.
Lalu Prasads lecture, held in Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi today, lasted for about 30 minutes and was followed by a Q&A session.
Outlining his vision for the Railways, the minister further said, I want Indian Railways to be a world class organization. From here, there is only one way to go up! In his speech, liberally peppered with everyday anecdotes, Lalu Yadav highlighted some facts: the internal generation of cash at Railways has moved up from USD 0.53 billion in 2000-01 to USD 5.30 billion in 2007-08 (expected); commensurately, the budgetary support has gone down. The fulcrum of strategy was increasing operational efficiencies at one end and increasing revenues on the other. He explained that the Railways has been able to cut down the turnaround time of wagons from an average of seven days to five days.
When asked how this miracle happened with a large legacy organization like the Railways (that employs a whopping 14 lakh people), Lalu Prasad said it was teamwork: When I came on board, there was a fear of privatization. But I gave Railways a vision, and to the credit of 14 lakh workers, they all marched along with me. The credit goes to all of us.
At times, Lalu played politician too! Giving credit to democracy, he said: I am not an economist but a son of a village shepherd. I used to work in the fields and looked after the cows. Thanks to democracy, I am here.
Soon after the speech was over, students were ready with their questions. The questions were focused on issues like leadership and vision, strategy for transformation and the roadmap for the future. Lalu, with the help of his translators, answered each question in his own usual no-holds-barred manner: When asked by a Darden student what he expected of the MBA community, pat came the reply, Join me! Join the railways.
When MBAUniverse.com asked a McCombs student on what he learnt from the lecture, he said: Lalu ji is a charismatic leader. He knows how to get the best from smart people. One need not graduate from Harvard to manage large companies.
Lalu Prasads yatra will soon touch US shores, where hes slated to speak at Harvard Business School and MITs Sloan School of Management.
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Lalu didnt disappoint them! Speaking to a visiting group of MBA students, which included 35 students from McCombs School of Business, University of Texas (Austin) and 22 students from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, he traced the turnaround story and gave his management mantras: From bankruptcy to profitability, Indian Railways is an amazing turnaround story. This year, we will make a cash surplus of Rs 20,000 crore. I have three mantras that made this transformation possible: Vision, Honesty and Determination, he said.
Lalu Prasads lecture, held in Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi today, lasted for about 30 minutes and was followed by a Q&A session.
Outlining his vision for the Railways, the minister further said, I want Indian Railways to be a world class organization. From here, there is only one way to go up! In his speech, liberally peppered with everyday anecdotes, Lalu Yadav highlighted some facts: the internal generation of cash at Railways has moved up from USD 0.53 billion in 2000-01 to USD 5.30 billion in 2007-08 (expected); commensurately, the budgetary support has gone down. The fulcrum of strategy was increasing operational efficiencies at one end and increasing revenues on the other. He explained that the Railways has been able to cut down the turnaround time of wagons from an average of seven days to five days.
When asked how this miracle happened with a large legacy organization like the Railways (that employs a whopping 14 lakh people), Lalu Prasad said it was teamwork: When I came on board, there was a fear of privatization. But I gave Railways a vision, and to the credit of 14 lakh workers, they all marched along with me. The credit goes to all of us.
At times, Lalu played politician too! Giving credit to democracy, he said: I am not an economist but a son of a village shepherd. I used to work in the fields and looked after the cows. Thanks to democracy, I am here.
Soon after the speech was over, students were ready with their questions. The questions were focused on issues like leadership and vision, strategy for transformation and the roadmap for the future. Lalu, with the help of his translators, answered each question in his own usual no-holds-barred manner: When asked by a Darden student what he expected of the MBA community, pat came the reply, Join me! Join the railways.
When MBAUniverse.com asked a McCombs student on what he learnt from the lecture, he said: Lalu ji is a charismatic leader. He knows how to get the best from smart people. One need not graduate from Harvard to manage large companies.
Lalu Prasads yatra will soon touch US shores, where hes slated to speak at Harvard Business School and MITs Sloan School of Management.
| Check Top MBA Colleges in India by Cities | | |
| Also Read Important Articles on MBA Admission | ||
| Top MBA Colleges in India | MBA Admission | MBA Entrance Exam |
| MBA Placements | MBA Ranking In India | GD Topics |
For inquisitive management minds from the US of A, keen on understanding the turnaround of Indian Railways, an interaction with railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was something they were all looking forward to.