The Harsh Mariwala way of doing business

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Editor's note: “Some of my business-leader friends would ask me why I was wasting time and money on culture building and training. My reasoning was that the purpose of business organizations was not only about making goods and money. It was also about doing it joyously and ethically.” There’s something striking about these lines, particularly the last one, from “Harsh Realities: The Making of Marico”, in which Harsh Mariwala, founder and chairman of packaged consumer goods company Marico, writes about his entrepreneurial journey. Let me explain.  A few years ago, I was talking to an entrepreneur from a prominent Delhi-based business family when the conversation turned to the issue of ethics. The businessman was standing next to his Rolls-Royce, parked on the sprawling lawns of his bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi. Blowing out smoke after taking a drag on his cigar and with a smirk on his face, he said, “Ethics”, in a tone that made it amply clear that he cared little about it.  In recent times too, corporate India has made headlines of the sort that reiterate the views of the …