Adi Godrej's success mantra: Keep family interests separate from that of business

Running a family business sometimes demands a tightrope act that balances the family’s needs with that of the business. And Adi Godrej is clear about what takes top priority. "It is important to separate the interests of the family from the interests of the business. To my mind, the interests of the business must come much ahead of that of the family," he said at a recent event in Mumbai.


Nisaba Godrej.

Godrej’s family has certain rules laid down to that effect. "Only family members who are at least as qualified as the management trainees we take into our company can join the business. The others can remain shareholders," he said. Godrej also revealed how the company approached joint ventures. "We had several JVs that helped us improve our business practices," he said. "We still have one JV with Tyson Foods in our chicken business. Tyson is the largest manufacturer of meat in the world. We have JVs but we don’t stick to them for a long period of time. When we have learnt what we wanted to, we like to restructure."


Pirojsha Godrej. (Pic: Bharat Chanda)