This refers to Mathew Jacob?s article (?Above all, it?s an art?, Nov 7). Top performing CEOs everywhere in the world claim that management is an art as much if not more than a science, and many of them have been greeted with some degree of scepticism because this is another way of proclaiming their indispensability. However, having gained some experience myself, I am now better disposed towards this argument. I now think it takes not just an aerial view of the scenario that is unique to a leader?s vantage point, it takes a special passion, even a sort of sublime irrationality, to dare achieve success when the odds are stacked steep. Operationally, identifying a gap is easy, addressing it to everyone?s satisfaction requires an artist?s rhythm. Going by the text is good, but one has to go beyond it.
?Rishabh Kamal
Pay up, gentlemen
Your editorial on black money (?Direct tax bounty?, Nov 7) was startling. Are the rich discovering that to obtain a quality of life akin to what the rich abroad have, they need world class roads, airports and other infrastructure? These, like national security, can only be provided by the government. So, even if there are leakages in state spending, it is rational to make one?s own life better by contributing to the exchequer. This is an inflexion point for India, a $1 trillion economy, because Central Budgets are now big enough for collective spending to make a discernible difference. Everyone should pay up.
?Ranjan Chatterjee, Kolkata
