chain that he had convinced the brothers
to quit their jobs and join him as executive
directors.
In an interesting break from tradition
the brother even invited his two married
sisters to also join him as he argued that
he had noted that Indian businesses
were effectively run by families primarily
because they could trust each other to
achieve a common goal for the benefit of
all.
Then one morning, while the now
chairman of the group was on his way to
preside over a launch of a new branch in
a town that was doing particularly well
was involved in an accident caused by a
sand lorry that was trying to overtake on
a blind corner.
The chairman was declared dead on
arrival and the shockwaves of the loss
were felt across the chain as the stunned
workers were informed of the chairman’s
demise. In an unprecedented move the
chain was closed the following day as the
chain came to terms with the news.
Then the erstwhile smoothly oiled
operation began to crumble at the seams
as it became apparent that the remaining
brothers were unable or unwilling to
agree on who would head the operation
after their illustrious brother had passed
on.
Disinterested Off-Springs
His wife had just returned from a US visa
interview where she was surprised that
she had requested a month to visit the US
on a personal matter and they had given
her a five year visa. Isn’t it strange that
when one is not really excited in making a
trip, the Americans lay out the red carpet?
The reason that she needed to go to the
States was to locate their daughter who
had, as usual, given them a blackout and
to try and convince her son that it was
time to come back home and take over
the reins of the successful company that
their father had laboriously built.
The girl habitually went underground
for long periods of time only to resurface
when she needed funds sent to her. No
one seemed to know what she was actually
doing in the States and she had refused
to come back home claiming there were
better opportunities for her out there.
Even her brother had given up on her
52 MAL34/20 ISSUE
and categorically stated that he was not
his sister’s keeper and had refused to go
out looking for her even after his parent’s
pleas. She was the older sibling and had
actually preceded him in the States.
The boy on the other hand had found his
niche after graduating in a prosperous
and progressive tech company, married a
school colleague from Bahamas, applied
and got his citizenship papers and had
no intention of relocating back to a third
world country.
The frustrated father had lost all zest in
life as it became clearer by the day that
what he had assumed as a natural transfer
of the company from father to son was
not going to happen as his children had
turned their backs on their motherland.
The Connected Founder
This was the second time that the judge of
the family court had adjourned the case
in front of him with the same plea to the
family members to try and resolve the
case out of court as it was apparent to him
that the case was tearing the family apart.
One of the girls had hauled her siblings
to court on two counts, one claiming that
the estate of their late father was being
mismanaged by her older siblings and
secondly that she had not received her fair
share of the estate especially a particular
property that she claimed to have been
reserved for her.
Their father had been a well to do senior
public servant and by dint of his proximity
to powers that be he had amassed a tidy
fortune and had invested heavily in real
estate and various other businesses that
were being run by her siblings.
Since the death of their father the various
businesses have struggled mainly due to
the fact that he was no longer around to
channel his influence to direct business to
his enterprises. His children did not have
his clout or savvy to keep business afloat at
previous levels.
With a downturn in business activity the
natural recourse was to start disposing of
the many real estate interests to upkeep
their usual high standards of living and
hence the vicious infighting that had
erupted culminating in court cases.
The Infallible Founder
This was yet another tense board meeting
where some board members met to voice
their frustrations regarding the direction
the company was taking while the others
mainly gathered to be cheerleaders for
their founder and CEO.
To the cheerleaders the CEO was the
company’s vision carrier and accorded
him a near worship status although half of
the time they did not know what he was
talking about. The level headed directors
were more concerned about the company
performance which indicated it was
headed for ruin.
It all began twelve years ago when a
conservative dressed young professional
noticed a niche in the market that he