"Respect does not flow from market capitalisation."
"Rankings such as billionaire lists are titillated illusions..."

He may be high up on the list of billionaires, but for Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, it isn't a reason to rejoice. Addressing the gathering at the seventh India Today Conclave in New Delhi, Ambani cautioned business leaders against the "titilating illusion" that these lists create.

Speaking during the session "What Does It Take To Be A Global Business Leader?", Ambani clearly said there is a lot more to Reliance and him because the larger goal of business is not to simply create wealth but to play a transformative role in society, such that the lives of people improve.

Heading a company that was born out of a need to clothe middle-class Indians in affordable fabrics, it's evident that the chairman of RIL would never for a moment leave behind the aspirations of a large number of Indians who clamour for world-class goods and services, albeit at affordable prices.

Catering to the bottom of the pyramid may be a management principle that C.K. Prahalad may have coined, but for Mukesh Ambani it has become a way of life because the coming century is going to be dominated by the emerging economies.

The larger purpose of business is to improve lives, says Ambani

Drawing from India's ancient scriptures, Ambani classified the four pursuits of life and business - arth, karm, dharm and moksh. The pursuit of work and wealth outside the parameters of morality is meaningless.

Coming back to his opening remarks against stock market frenzy and short-term financial agendas, he said it's critical that Indian businesses provide moral leadership to a weary world. "Respect does not flow from market capitalisation," he said. 

Calling poverty the parent of world turmoil and chaos, Ambani stated that Indian businesses have the capability to battle against this by creating sustainable value for stakeholders. The combined income of the world's richest 500 today exceeds that of 416 million poorest. With shifting development paradigms, the centre of power is also shifting to emerging economies.

India is best placed to develop simple innovations because low-cost can also be profitable as has been proved by Ratan Tata's vision to launch a $2,500 Nano. The vision of global leadership has to be complemented with values of new humanism.

For a man who not only had the audacity to dream of enabling Indians to talk at cheaper rates than a postcard, Ambani believes thoughts without execution is pointless, so his company is moving in the direction to transform the lives of over 500 million people who live in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture incomes and the vagaries associated with it.

While the retail business seeks to transform this, a pilot is currently on in Gujarat which seeks to deliver goods and services to the rural consumers at affordable prices. The pilot seeks to create income at rural level and integrate the consumer seamlessly into the system.

MDA, as he's known to his colleagues and business associates, may be an entrepreneur by birth, but by the end of his speech there was little doubt that he is a thought leader by choice.