I HAVE often wondered why none of the Pakistani businesses have become true multinationals. They have largely remained local and inward-looking. Just like the political parties, their control has remained largely within their families. Like political parties, they have progressed and prospered but look nothing like the big businesses across the border in India.

Why do the best students from IBA and LUMS not join a local company? And why do the top Indian students join the Tatas, Birlas, Mittals, Reliance, etc?

Preparing for my next lecture on ‘leadership’, I browsed through a book I read some 26 years ago and found certain insights which perhaps could apply to our local ‘seths’. Lee Iacocca, in his autobiography talks about his early days as president of Ford Motor Company and states the management philosophy of Henry Ford, the chairman of the company.

The philosophy goes like this: “If a guy works for you, don’t let him get too comfortable. Don’t let him get cosy or set in his ways. Always do the opposite of what he expects. Keep your people anxious and off balance.”

Iacocca then answers this inherent insecurity as “Henry Ford never had to work for anything in his life. Maybe that’s the bane of rich kids who inherit their money. They go through life tripping through the tulips, wondering what they would have become without daddy. Poor people complain that nobody gave them a break, but the rich guy never knows if he’s accomplished anything on his own. Nobody ever tells him the truth. They only tell him what he wants to hear.” (p. 104, Bantam books). I invite your readers to throw light on this major issue.

SALMAN MUNIR    Karachi