Importance Of Legacy

By Sonali Banerjee

Every man on this earth aspires to be remembered, even after his death. Being remembered after death lends immortality to a person. Leaving behind a legacy can be viewed as way to achieve such immortality. First and foremost, we need to understand the fundamental aspects of leaving a legacy. According to management guru Browney Ritchie, the fundamental areas concerning leaving a legacy are: a life well lived, principles to live by, importance of a spiritual legacy and an impact legacy, and lastly financial legacy. Great leaders like, Abraham Lincoln who freed the slaves, FDR who saw everyone through the great depression, Martin Luther king Jr. who left us a legacy to pursue the dream of racial equality, they all are remembered and revered even today, after decades of their demise, because of the golden legacy they left behind.

Recently the news dominating newspapers and business magazines everywhere is that of Tatas looking for a new successor to the maverick Mr. Ratan Tata. Also Infosys is looking for its new CEO. Consider the case of Tata’s and we can trace a rich and powerful legacy behind.

At the helm of the Tata’s has always been a Tata except once. This leads us to question as to whether when it comes carrying forward a great name, should lineage be a deciding factor or capability. Sticking to the example of Tata’s, it is a great responsibility of the retiring leader to ensure that he leaves behind a successor who is both capable of handling the tough job and also realizes the importance of everything. Looking for just capability might end up with a non-Tata as the next head and finding someone who realizes the importance of the Tata name and sees himself as a part of it might result in a Tata heading the company even though he may not be that capable. In such a situation it is important to note that etching a place in people’s minds and maintaining it goes much beyond just the name factor.
Infosys founder Narayan Murthy retired when the time came and Nandan Nilekani was appointed CEO. The decision was made purely from the point of view of what was important for the company. Building something from scratch and then leaving it to someone else it hard, but leaving a capable person only adds to the moral and respectful fabric of the legacy of the person. Dhirubhai Ambani left his company to his sons but there’s no doubt regarding the capability of Mukesh Ambani or Anil Ambani. They have successfully carried forward the legacy of their father and thereby ensured that they leave behind one of their own.

Today we see that after enhancing the position of the 150 year old multinational conglomerate for about 20 years, Ratan Tata who is considered as India’s shining jewel is ready to find his legal heir. But be it the Tatas or the Ambanis or Birlas, one thing common amongst them is the rich legacy which everyone left behind, be it in terms of unprecedented success, inspirational life history, super companies or charismatic leaders. Even in the business and the corporate world, leaving behind a legacy has an immense value attached to it, not just in terms of billions of dollars worth of companies but also goodwill and a surname which everyone recognizes and believes in.


Leaving behind a legacy is important as it is because of the legacy that a person is remembered by the later generations. We remember Gandhi and Nehru even though we weren’t even born at the time when they fought for our country and brought us independence. It is because of the legacy they left behind in the form of a free India, independent and courageous Indians and also enigmatic leaders like Indira Gandhi that they are remembered. Hence it won’t be wrong to say that a person is remembered as much by the work he does as he is by the legacy he leaves behind. In the corporate context, building a company and ensuring that only capable and deserving people lead it in the future ensures an illustrious legacy.