How to become Prime Minister of India

Happy New Year!

Gorick here. Each week, I share a case study featuring a big name you may know—and the unspoken rule you can apply to your own career.

In edition #86, you’ll learn:

• How Manmohan Singh, the late Prime Minister of India, rose to prominence

• The career strategy of becoming someone’s #2

• “How do I be a good manager?” (subscriber question)

PS: Got feedback? My newsletter is a labor of love each week. It’d mean a lot to hear from you. Let me know what I should change and/or the biggest career question you’d like me to answer!

STORY
How Manmohan Singh, the late Prime Minister of India, rose to prominence

In 1991, economics professor Manhoman Singh got a call in the middle of the night from someone named P.C. Alexander. 

Alexander was a close aide to the Prime Minister of India, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and he had a request: “The PM would like you to become the Minister of Finance.”

The call was so unexpected that Singh “didn't take [the request] seriously.” 

Why? Because Singh knew that, while he had an impressive resume, there were other, better-suited candidates.

He was right. At the request of Prime Minister Rao, Alexander had first asked I.G. Patel, an economist with “international reputation and credibility,” to be his Minister of Finance. But, citing personal health reasons, Patel said no.

So, Singh was next in line.

Why was Singh the Prime Minister’s second pick and not his first? 

Singh was 58 years old. Patel was 66.

Patel had nearly a decade more life and professional experience than Singh. When Singh stood next to Patel, Singh was almost like Patel’s protege.

Singh, the son of dried fruit traders, had gone to school for economics—just like Patel. 

Singh had become a lecturer at Panjab University—just like Patel who taught at the University of Bombay. 

Singh had worked in the Ministry of Finance—just like Patel.

Singh even joined the Reserve Bank of India— just like Patel.

So, when Patel said “no”, it was Singh’s time to shine.

1 month after that call, Singh was sworn into office. 

7 years after that call, Singh became leader of the opposition party, Rajya Sabha.

13 years after that call, Singh became Prime Minister of India.

Over his 10 year tenure as Prime Minister, Singh led India to its highest GDP growth rate (10.03% in 2010-11), lowered poverty rates from 37.2% to 21.9% over the span of 8 years, and introduced legislation like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which improved the lives of millions of Indians.

Leaders around the world have commended Singh for his work, from former U.S. President Barack Obama to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. He was one of "India's most distinguished leaders", said Modi, when news broke that Singh had passed away on December 26, 2024. Singh was 92.

STRATEGY
How to ride someone else’s coattails

I once spoke with a fellow speaker—a professor at a renowned business school—who admitted: “[So and so bigger name in my field] gets all the big speaking engagements. I’m okay with that because that means I get to pick at her leftovers.”

This professor’s perspective changed my perspective towards career success.

At first, I thought, “Wow, how lazy! Why aren’t you aspiring to be #1?”

And then, I realized: “Wow, how smart! This bigger name is 18 years older than the professor I met. Of course this bigger name would get the better opportunities!”

Bigger names get bigger opportunities, yes, but they also get more opportunities. 

Since all of us have the same number of hours in the day, those big names have no choice but to also turn down more opportunities—and the number of opportunities they turn down in a day may even end up outnumbering the number of opportunities any one of us gets in a year.

If you want to be #1, start by being #2.

How?

First, surround yourself with people who are #1. All you have to do is introduce yourself, as we learned from U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance (read his story here).

Then, build a relationship with them, as we learned from memoirist and poet Maya Angelou (read her story here).

Then, once you’ve built enough of a relationship, express interest in their “leftovers” by saying something like:

“I’d love to [get more experience in / build my portfolio in / get more exposure to _______], especially since _______. If you have any opportunities cross your path, might you be able to keep me in mind?”

Not everyone will actually keep you in mind, especially if this person already has a #2 and you happen to be #3 (or beyond). But you really never know when you might be next—especially if you continue building relationships. Luck will strike soon enough.

Consider this: I started my career off in investment banking at Credit Suisse, followed by management consulting at BCG. But no one has to know that I was actually waitlisted for both jobs. So it literally took someone else declining both jobs for me to start my career.

Keep striving!

ASK GORICK
”What are the most important things I should keep in mind as a new manager?”

Every week, I answer a career question from a newsletter subscriber. You can submit your own question (anonymously) here.

Q: “I’m a new manager and am terrified, especially when it comes to managing Gen Z. What are the most important things I should keep in mind as a new manager?”

—O

Gorick:

Hi O!

In my book The Unspoken Rules, I introduce a framework that I call the Three C’s of career success. These Three C’s stand for Competence, Commitment, and Compatibility. The idea is that our managers, coworkers, partners, and clients are always sizing us up and asking themselves 3 questions:

1. Can you do this job well? (Are you competent?)

2. Are you excited to be here? (Are you committed?)

3. Do we get along? (Are we compatible?)

Your job—and frankly all of our jobs (even if you’re the CEO of the company or head of state of the country)—is to convince everyone around you that, yes, you do, in fact, possess all Three C’s.

The fact that you’re now a manager means that someone higher up believes that you’re competent, committed, and compatible enough to rise to the next level. Congratulations!

Being a manager can be hugely rewarding. However, the scope of your job just doubled. No longer do you have just 3 C’s to demonstrate. You now have 6.

You now have to demonstrate the Three C’s of competence, commitment compatibility (when managing up) and the Three C’s of clarity, consistency, and care (when managing down).

Why?

Because the people below you are now evaluating you as much as the people above you.

Specifically, the people you manage will be asking themselves:

1. Do you communicate in a way that I can understand? (Are you clear?)

2. Do you treat people fairly and walk your own talk? (Are you consistent?)

3. Do you support and empower people? (Do you care?)

Want to be the best manager? Be clear, be consistent, and be caring.

Ever have a terrible micromanager? Chances are, they were unclear, you misinterpreted them, you did the wrong work, they got frustrated—and decided to watch you more closely. The root cause? A lack of clarity.

Ever experience a toxic workplace? Chances are, there’s a “do as I say, not as I do” culture where those in charge expect everybody else to behave a certain way when they themselves don’t walk their own talk. The root cause? A lack of consistency.

Ever heard of the “great resignation” or “quiet quitting”? Many employees stopped caring because they didn’t feel like their own leaders cared about them. After dealing with the BS for long enough, employees threw their hands up and said, “This just isn’t worth it.” The root cause? A lack of care.

I won’t bore you with the details because I have an entire manager training keynote on this that I present at organizations big and small (hit me up if your firm is looking for speakers!). In the meantime, as you go about your day, ask yourself:

1. Am I clear?

2. Am I consistent?

3. Am I showing care?

Here are 3 quick tips:

(1) Clarity: When delegating a task, make sure you clarify:

a. Why you’re making this request (“The broader objective is _______”), 

b. What you want to get done (“The deliverable is _______”), 

c. How you want it done (“Please do _______ and then _______”),

d. By when you want it done (“Would it work for us to check in [at _______ / after you’ve done _______]?”), and

e. In what order you want the work done (“Please start with _______”).

(2) Consistency: Before you do anything, remind and ask yourself: “Me doing this gives permission to everybody else to do this too. Is this the precedent I want to set?”

(3) Care: The next time you bring on a new hire, ask them: “What do you hope to get out of this experience—and what can I do to help you achieve your goals?”

Hope this helps!

—Gorick

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