Hero group: Hero cylces, Hero Honda and so on has had a lasting impression on me – not least because I grew up partly in Ludhiana, the home of Hero group, but also I had the opportunity to meet some of the members of the Munjal family while there – the days that perhaps formed my mind to get into Management. I was still a school student then.

I was reminded of those days when I read this article in Rediff.com about Brij Mohanlall Munjal the head of the Hero family. He certainly deserves credit for developing Hero into what it is today. Not just as a great company, with great products that customers actually buy, but also managing it so well within the family. What is also amazing for me is that Honda is still maintaining their relationship with Hero despite the rather easy possibility for them to start out on their on.

My dad, who was a banker used to say that Hero group was a great company to bank with, even when things were going not so well – they had a well balanced approach.

Hero Group chairman Brij Mohanlall Munjal is the epitome of the Punjabi patriarch: the wise karta holding together a burgeoning family through strong Hindu values. He is also the ultimate 21st century manager: keeping happy customers, employees, investors, vendors and dealers, all his stakeholders in fact.

His earthy style sits comfortably with Honda’s Japanese culture. How does this smart leader manage the contradictions so successfully, even effortlessly?