Fault lines

I have known Rajat Gupta as a colleague at McKinsey & Co. I, like many others, think of him as a great role model. So highly successful and yet so modest and unassuming, Rajat is a classic example of what one can accomplish through sheer hard work, character, courage and determination. Still unable to come to grips with how he has landed himself in the present circumstance, I am reminded of the pitfalls of Wall Street networks and relationships driven by the unending desire for success, defined predominantly by greed, corruption and power.  

Anita Raghavan’s book, The Billionaire’s Apprentice, presents a vivid commentary on how Gupta grew up and the people and influences that shaped his values. With his deep-rooted belief in the Indian value system, Gupta prepared himself to perform at the global stage in a highly competitive environment. Despite a tepid start and unconventional approach, he played to his people leadership capabilities to succeed at McKinsey. The ease with
which Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon made Gupta walk in to his trap and network, however, comes as a big surprise. 

Raghavan has vividly illustrated insider trading activities at Galleon Hedge Fund and how a network of contacts was exploited brazenly, disrespecting all norms of professional conduct. The modus operandi and the huge sums of money involved are simply bone-chilling and highlight the enormous challenge that regulators face in tracking this illegal activity. Big money drives big people into making big mistakes. The book presents numerous examples of how Galleon exploited the professional and personal insecurities of several people to secure confidential non-public information and use it to make illegal personal gains through a skilfully cultivated web of tipsters. That the Galleon Hedge Fund could survive for so long is amazing. At the same time, it is reflective of the uphill task that the law enforcement machinery has on its hands when dealing with cases of insider trading and fighting the mafia of the financial underworld.

The book makes for excellent reading with a perfect flow. With valuable perspectives developed through a large number of interviews, the author has very effectively presented the anatomy of successful leaders in a wide variety of situations and shown how some succumb to their fears and insecurities arising out of loss of power and position. She also narrates some very interesting and informative accounts of success stories of immigrants of Indian origin in the United States. Raghavan has also been able to successfully bring out the fallacy of the oft-mistaken belief “Too successful to sink” that many leaders could fall prey to. It makes one sit up and think about “What successful leaders should never do”.