A lesson from Mr. Ambani
GRANULARITY. It was the first time I had heard this word. And that too from no less than Mr. Mukesh Ambani. In person. This was 2002, Reliance was still one, and the Sensex was touching new highs to reach the 3000 mark! Mr. Ambani was on the board of Pratham India Education Initiative (PIEI), an industry body that - among other things - sponsored professionals to work for Pratham. I happened to be one such professional, and soon after joining, found myself in the board room of Reliance in Mumbai where the AGM of PIEI was being held. Other than Mr. Ambani, Mr. N. Vaghul (the then chairperson of ICICI) and Mr. Ajay Piramal were in attendance. I was, obviously, in awe. My seniors at Pratham made their presentations to the board about the work the NGO had done over the past year. Future plans were presented. Large numbers were bandied. The need to spread Pratham's work in every corner of the country was expressed. While all this was going on, Mr. Ambani appeared preoccupied in run...