Punctuality(Circa 1962)

Shastriji was a punctual person and taught us also to be on

time too. Once he was going out of station on a special plane

and checked with me the previous evening if I would be

interested in coming along. I happily agreed since the

following day was a school holiday. He said he would leave the

house at 8 o'clock in the morning as the take-off was

scheduled at 8.30. Since I could not get ready on time, I tried

getting to the airport in another car. By the time I reached, it

was 8.35 am. The doors of the plane were closed and the

engines were running. Although I was just 5 minutes late,

Shastriji did not wait for me

and took off and I was left

behind. I felt very

embarrassed and

wept profusely at

the airport itself.

In the evening

when Shastriji

came back, my

mother

Lalita Shastri was annoyed with him and said that he could

have waited for just 5 minutes instead of leaving me behind.

All he said was, “If I didn't do that, how would Anil ever learn

to be punctual.”

This was a big lesson for me and to date, I do my best to be

punctual at all times.

Wisdom Window

This anecdote is very vital for understanding the

importance of punctuality in management. Through one

master stroke, Lal Bahadur Shastri not only taught his

son the importance of punctuality but also demonstrated

to everybody around him – his colleagues, driver, airport

staff, etc and left them with a useful lesson to pass on to

their colleagues, friends and family.

33 Lal Bahadur Shastri - Lessons in Leadership