Beyond Limits: A Memoir of Vision, Values and Transformation

Tracing the journey from an underdog in Indian technology to a global niche leader, ‘Designed to Win: The TATA ELXSI Story’ by S Devarajan is also a deeply personal account of memories, mentors and moments of transformation, writes Biju Varghese.

The book’s title, so fitting to the memoir, is in celebration of human potential and the refusal to accept limits. One is reminded of race driver Ayrton Senna’s famous quote, which became the then-underlying philosophy for the Swiss-made luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer: “I’m not designed to come second or third, I’m designed to win.”

This book, mostly set in the Y2K decade, has a fair mention of the lived experiences of the biographer before the 90s that certainly were preparatory to what evolved at TATA ELXSI. The author and narrator, S. Devarajan, who publishes this story two decades after his tenure with the organisation, leaves no stone unturned in capturing TATA ELXSI’s journey till 2024, even covering the period since his departure in 2001. And this, for me as a reader, came across as an act only a consummate biographer would undertake, caring to update his readers on the story of the present as well. He returns one day to the now-CEO’s office, wearing the hat of a chronicler, to unfold the happenings of a future for which he had sown the early seeds during the years 1993 to 2001.

Devarajan’s candour stands out through the pages, making the story trustworthy to relate to, especially for anyone who has lived through those periods in the Indian corporate space and also for the later generation of leaders. It’s a great peek into how most of the large corporations then survived or thrived amidst challenges around ‘constrained’ technological know-how, policies, skill sets, funding, etc. Bold in his own way and approach, two lines from para 1 on page 216 in the book struck my attention. To quote, “My team was my first priority. My customers came next”, unquote. Bold indeed! For one knows not how a ‘customer’ could interpret this, especially during times when the clarion call is for businesses to pledge for customers-coming-first. To me, though, as a practitioner in the corporate space and a proponent of the aforesaid philosophy, this came across as a formal vindication of the true spirit of ensuring sustainable customer delight.

Any debutant author’s apprehension, and Devarajan’s confession, as mentioned in the ‘Author’s Note’ on page xvi, of how daunting it would be for him to write the TATA ELXSI story, stands truly unproclaimed when one traverses through the pages of this artfully articulated memoir, offering a personal account braided well into the success story of a company that’s today a true gem in a niche technology domain. From getting to meet a young schoolboy who had a tryst with Mother Teresa; to an engineering student who played host/escort in person to an Indian PM; a sales executive who crosses the Tungabhadra in a coracle to make a sale; a music enthusiast who gets to personally interact with the legendary composer RD Burman; a facilitator for the creation of a product (Maya) that had Steve Jobs smitten by its capabilities, which then goes on to win an Oscar in 2003; and to a CEO who could recall the names of ‘all’ his employees, here’s a book in testament to the visionary thinking of a tech pioneer who steered a high-technology company, an underdog, from turbulent times to great heights in the global technology space.

Testament to the early strategic, structural and organisational manoeuvres that could have fuelled the turnaround is, for one, the returns to shareholders in terms of dividends – the year 2024 witnessed a recommended dividend of 700 per cent!

Requiring special mention is a chapter dedicated to an industry stalwart commonly known by the initials FCK, by way of a short story emotionally tucked into the wider pages of this book. A very captivating narration of a mentor-mentee relationship shared between two industry leaders got me gripping enough that, for a repeat read of the book prior to penning this review, I started with that chapter. FCK, to any TATA employee then (and even now), remains a revered name, and I have no words of gratitude to express the special efforts taken by the author in calling this out loudly. For the yet-to-read readers of this book, Chapter 12 would stand in well to decode these initials – ‘FCK’: “A Legend and a Gentleman”, in the author’s own words.

While Devarajan makes Bangalore his home, TATA ELXSI, which had its corporate office always in Bangalore, today has eighteen offices in India as also multiple facilities across the globe. A passionate and award-winning photographer, now running a strategy consulting firm, had been associated with HCL, ICIM and OCM as part of his early career. At Cisco, post his years at TATA ELXSI, Devarajan played a significant role in building out and heading its Development Centre.

Started as the first computer company built by Indians in the USA, it is to be noted that TATA ELXSI today, with its tentacles spread across transportation, healthcare, media & telecom, has also made its entry into our individual homes through set-top boxes and OTT experiences, which most may not be aware of. Devarajan, in his book, takes us on an exploratory tour of this remarkable evolution witnessed by the company. And if I were to extend on Arjun Malhotra’s endorsement from the book’s dust jacket, “A compelling read for business leaders, aspiring entrepreneurs and anyone intrigued by the art of transformation”, it is a must-read for all TATA employees, past or present.

Having journeyed close to a decade with the group, including my formative years soon after B-School, this book is, in its own way, a cherishing tribute to the ethos and values I personally was introduced to and trained on at the TATAs. This tale of TATA ELXSI is a loud celebration of those values, beyond that of just a corporate success story, stirring a sense of nostalgia in me for my once-employer.

“Success is never a straight line – it is often messy, painful and full of setbacks” – S. Devarajan.

A line I would always hold close to my chest!