Amdavadi among world's top 30 management gurus

Gujarat Inc may not have taught exemplary management lessons to the world, but an Amdavadi has grabbed a place in the list of world's top 30 management gurus for 2011 released by a UK-based agency.

Shailesh Thaker, Chairman and Managing Director of city-based Knowledge Inc is the first Gujarati to find a place in this list that also features three other Asians besides world-renowned experts like Jack Welch, Tom Peters, Michael Porter and Jim Collins.

The list is compiled by Global Gurus International, a UK-based agency that independently rates trainers and speakers from Asia, the Americas, Australia and Europe. The 30 top management gurus were selected on the basis of originality of ideas, practicality of ideas, presentation style, international outlook, impact of ideas, quality of publications and writings, dispersion of publications and writings and public opinion.

"It is a great honour for me as an Indian and a Gujarati," Thaker told TOI.

In 2010, he was included in the list of world's 100 best management gurus by UK-based Black Pearl UK Ltd. "I had given Global Gurus International a presentation on management lessons that everybody can learn from the lives of Lord Krishna and Bhagwat Gita and leadership and management lessons we can learn from potters, Mumbai's dabbawallahs and even from our own mother.

Dabbawallahs teach us project management whereas our mother can teach us error-free management," he said. Talking about Gujarat Inc., Thaker said, "Our of the five Ps - profit, people, product, principles and planet-that are important for any corporate firm, Gujarat companies excel when it comes to profit and product.

But, they need to dramatically improve in valuing their people and adopting proper principles at workplace. By planet, I mean, it is important for all CEOs to find out ways to make our planet a better place to live." Thaker, who has conducted 1,400 workshops on management and leadership, across 62 countries so far. , also plans to start an institute for learning with Gujarat Technical University. "We intend to start PhD programmes in Indian wisdom, culture and values."