Lallu teaches management @ IIM-A !!

I was really shocked to read this news !!

Lalu to teach management at IIM-A

Today it is not only IIM Ahmedabad that wants to fete Prasad for posting a fund balance of Rs 15,000 crore in 2005-06. Even premier international business schools like Harvard and HEC Management School, France, have shown interest in turning Prasad's experiment with the Indian Railways into case studies for aspiring business graduates.

Article -2 - New Kerala - Lalu to take IIM-A Classes

Article -3 - World News - Lalu to take IIM-A Classes

When ever i hear the name lalu, i remember the cartoon of him with 5 buffalos and a comment; Lalu - 4th from the left. The incident when both laloo and rabri devi, sitting in a function, when national anthem being played, potrayed the level of dis-respect the leaders show to the nation.

Any way, jokes apart, I discussed this railway with two of my friends Fred and Karthick. Here are some of the points of the discussion.

• His secret lies in the fact that he did not convert the ministry into a Bihar Bhawan but left the crucial decision to his bureaucrats. Looks like he has taken a leaf from some management book "For a CEO, it doesn't matter what he does, but what matters more is what he gets done through his executives"
• He is achieving his targets not by increasing fares or downsizing, but by increasing traffic (cow milking example)
• The introduction of mud tumblers for beverages
• Selling of Fresh Fruits/Vegetables by railways in stations, is very profitable move
• He made the railway ministry more visible, than the earlier ministers
• The IRCTC (Online booking / catering) is a super hit idea and its still stands the indian website most with the most revenues. Hail technology !!

But why are the Railways Financial Commissioner, and the other top engineers (mechanical, electrical) denied the share in the sucess story of indian railways. I beg to defer, that this is a one man show, that too by Laloo. This looks more like the stupid project manager getting the credit, for the work of the executives.

On the other hand, the news makes me really happy that the biggest employer in the world and the life line of india is running positive, against wrong popular belief. Also I think i have to change my opinion about Lallu, as he is able to milk a white elephant like railways also.

Vote for lallu !!!