LESSONS FROM

WINGS OF FIRE
GROUP 2
Topics Covered

Background

Personality Traits

Leadership Principles

People’s President

At the helm of DRDL

Review of Kalam & Presidency
About the Legend
• Full name :Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam
• Born Oct 1931,at in Rameswaram District, Tamil Nadu
• Father:Jainulabdeen Marakayar,a boat owner
• Mother:Ashiamma
• Has three siblings
• Died on : 27Th July 2015
People who Inspired
• Apart from his Parents, Teachers like Iyadurai Solomon,
Guidance of Rev.Father Sequeria, Vikram Sarabhai
• Two people influenced right from childhood
Jallaluddin – Brother in Law
Samsuddin – First Cousin – Helped Abdul Kalam to earn his
first income

4
 Education
• Primary education was from Rameshwaram elementary
school.
• Later he settled in schwartz, Ramanathapuram where he was
highly inspired by his teacher IYADURAI SOLOMON,who
told to master three forces desire,belief and expectation.
• In 1950 he joined St Joseph college at Tiruchirapalli to do B.Sc
• He joined DMIT in Aeronautical Engineering at
MIT,Madas(1954-1957)
• In 1958,after passing as a graduate,aeronautical engineer,he
joined Hindustan Aeronautical Limited(HAL),Bangalore as a
trainee.
 As an Aerospace Engineer-Major Contributions
• Job at the Directorate of Technical Development & Production(DTD
&P).
• Project Director- development of India's first indigenous Satelite
Launch Vehicle(SLV-III).
• Director of DRDO- Kalam was entrusted with the Integrated Guided
Missile Development Programme(IGMDP), India's most successful
military research task to date. The programme constituted of 5 major
projects which was scheduled to be completed in 10 years
(1) Nag - an anti-tank guided missile
(2) Prithvi - a surface-to-surface battlefield missile
(3) Akash - a swift, medium-range surface-to-air missile
(4) Trishul - a quick-reaction surface-to-air missile with a shorter range
(5) Agni - an intermediate range ballistic missile, the mightiest
• Chief Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister and Secretary, Department
of Defense Research & Development from July 1992 to December
1999. Pokhran – II nuclear tests were conducted during this period.
• As Chairman, Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment
Council (TIFAC), he generated the Technology Vision 2020 documents.
President
• On 25th July 2002 – He became the 11th President. He met
1000’s of children during his presidency. He was known as
the People’s President.
• He is the first scientist and a bachelor to chair the position of a
president holding the largest Democracy.
• Retired- 25th July 2007
 AWARDS WON

Bharat Ratna Award on Republic Day 1997

•Padma Bhusan –
1981
•Padma Vibhushan –
1990
• First Asian to be
honored with
“Hoover Medal”
2009.
•Honorary doctorates
from about 30
universities globally.
Personality Traits
1. Integrity
2. Highly spiritual
3. Hardworking
4. Determined
5. Perseverance
6. Passion for the work
7. Positve Thinker

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Integrity
Work is God
Served as the 11th President of India from 2002-2007 and is till
now considered one of the best politician/leader in the country.
He brought dignity to every work he did.
Highly spiritual
Strong Value System
He had immense trust in God and his parents.He believed that
prayer act as a stimulus to creative ideas.He believed that there
exist a divine power that can lift one from confusion, misery,
melancholy and failure, and guide one to one’s true place.He
begins his day by reading the Bhagavat Gita.Being an Islam he
had confessed that he was a ‘Ram Bhakt’.
Hardworking
Dedication to Work
He took leave from work just twice, when his parents died.He
always worked for about 18 hrs a day. He always used to set
short term and long term goals.
 Determined
Chase for scholarship
When Prof. Srinivasan, Director MIT, reviewed his project and
said it was disappointing, eventhough he asked for a delay of one
month but was given a hard deadline of 3 days
Drive to follow collective dream
When the SLV-3 Apogee rocket was scheduled to be flight tested
in France, he receive the news that his mother had passed away.
Even if he was physically exhausted and emotionally shattered,
he was determined to fulfil an ambition of flying an Indian rocket
motor on foreign soil
Perseverance
Rags to Riches
He believed that “With faith, you can change your destiny”, a lesson
from his teacher Iyadurai Soloman
Not the end, just a bend
The premature death of the hovercraft Nandi, the abandoning of the
RATO, the abortion of the SLV-Diamont fourth stage,failure of the
first experimental flight trial of SLV-3 were lessons to prepare for a
greater success.
Passion for the work
Love what you do and do what you love
During his schooling days itself he had developed a great
interest in English literature and Physics.He believed that those
who cannot work with their hearts achieve,but a hollow half-
hearted success that breeds biterness all around

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Positve Thinker
Lessons from childhood
The first lessons on positive thinking was from Jallaluddin, who
said– “Strive to control your thoughts and your mind and through
these influence your destiny”.
Letting things happen
When his long cherished dream to fly was shattered as he was not
selected in the Indian Air Force, he went with his destiny to join as a
Senior Scientific Assistant at DTD&P (Air)
“All birds find shelter during a rain. But eagle avoids rain by flying above the
clouds. Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference!”
 A comparison with Big Five Traits
BIG FIVE TRAITS TRAITS EXHIBITED BY KALAM
Emotional Stability • Positive Thinking
• Better Decision Making
Extraversion • Great Interpersonal Skills
Openness • Quest For Learning
• Innovative/Creative
• Flexible And Autonomous
Agreeableness • Individual Recognition To
Team Members (Better Liked)
Conscientiousness • Hardworking & Determined
Discipled
• Organized & Planned
OUTCOME
Inspiring Leader promoted
To Dream Big & Achieve
Great Goals
Infectious Personality &
The Humble President Of
India
“Missile Man” Of India
Or Father Of Indian Missile
Technology
Great Colleague
Single minded devotion to
work
 Prof Vikram Sarabhai
• He was Dr. Abdul Kalam’s mentor and played an important role in
shaping his leadership capabilities
• Prof. Sarabhai was ever-willing to try out novel approaches and liked
to draw in young people.
• He was an ideal experimenter and innovator
• A bunch of young, inexperienced, but nevertheless energetic and
enthusiastic persons were given the task of fleshing out the spirit of
self- reliance in the field of science and technology in general, and of
space research in particular. It was a great example of leadership by
trust.

20
 Contd..
• He considered the collective understanding of the problem the main
attribute of effective leadership.
• He brought into use each person’s knowledge and skills. He made
every man feel directly involved in problem solving.
• Prof. Sarabhai never tried to hide his disappointment. He used to talk
with us in an honest and objective manner.
• He used to challenge everyone in a subtle way to stretch their
capabilities by bringing in someone better from the developed world
into the technical team
Leadership Principles
• An optimist: Everything is possible
At ADE(Aeronautical Development Establishment) Bangalore APJ led
a team of four scientists to design an indigenous hovercraft. They
were given 3 years to launch the model. There was limited
information and resources available and yet they continuously put in
efforts consistently for 1 year and successfully designed the model. It
did not happen immediately, but it happened nevertheless.
Contd..
• Participative Decision Making
Defence R&D at that time was heavily dependent on imported
equipment. Virtually nothing indigenous was available and there
was a need to come up with an alternative. APJ involved one of his
young colleague who had a positive attitude to chalk out a plan and
come up with suggestions. He came up with a sound proposition and
highlighted the importance of business acumen in developmental
work with high stakes.
Relationship oriented vs Task oriented
• Total commitment in the creation of SLV
“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded
devotion to your goal. Total commitment is a crucial quality
for those who want to reach the very top of their profession.
The desire to work at optimum capacity leaves hardly any
room for anything else. “
• He had immense confidence in his team; a team that would
stand like a rock in success and failure.
Contd..
• Another interesting concept that Dr Kalam brings in, called `flow`,
which is a by-product of work with full and hearty involvement.
• The failure of SLV did not dampen his spirits. He took the
responsibility for the failure of the launch of SLV. He took one step
at a time to resolve issues and made sure he motivated his team
members to not give up. All his consistent efforts led to India’s first
Satellite Launch Vehicle, SLV-3 lifted off from Sriharikota (SHAR)
Rocket Launch Station.

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Leadership lessons from Dr.APJ.Abdul
Kalam,
• Leaders Ignite the minds of Others
Dr Kalam was a destiny’s child. A man with nothing except
curiosity and passion for flying, with wings of fire, flew as high
as he could in the sky. And, like a special satellite that orbits the
Universe, he went about his mission, igniting millions of young
minds and many nations
Contd..
• Leaders care, share and maintain transparency
Dr.Kalam boasted nothing but learnt as much as he can till his last
breath. He kept nothing to himself but shared with transparency and
sincerity to each and every one, everything he learnt, who crossed his
life till his last breath at IIM,Shillon
“By showing that it was possible to think big and look far, he did
what the best leaders always do: recalibrate what people think
is possible.”
-Manish Sabharwal
Contd..
• Leaders humble themselves
Such was his leadership style that Dr.Abdul Kalam's accession to
power and position was just occasions to further humble
himself as much possible as he can, so that the people who met
him can feel stronger and taller in their heart and life.
Contd..
• Leaders Inspire others and make them dream rather than
making them believe in their own dreams
Dr.Kalam inspired millions of young hearts to dream; And,made
them to believe in their dreams. He wanted people to dream, to
transform their dreams into thoughts that can result into actions.
Dr.Kalam envisioned a developed India that is very much a
reality through strong vision
Contd..
• Leaders are truly Visionary
Dr. Kalam strongly believed that future India’s success rest over
PURA(Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas). And, that is
the way forward, to create a developed India. He is truly a
visionary.
Contd..
• Leaders look for solutions to problems with Innovative
mindset
What can a missile scientist do with his learning's to alleviate
India’s problems? He cross-pollinated the idea of using the high-
grade steel used in missiles that can kill people and designed and
developed, what is famously known as Kalam-Raju Stent-that
now saves people...at fraction of the cost compared to those
expensive ones, making it more affordable
People’s President
• Indians tend to see Kalam as a father figure, but not as one in
authority.
• He was not just a father figure. An outsider in politics and free
of political affiliations, he redefined and demystified Indian
presidency.
• From India’s Missile Man, he became the People’s President
Contd..
• He emphasized that leaders should have a vision and not be
afraid to go down unfamiliar paths. Most importantly, Kalam
said, they should know how to manage failure
“He pushed the country to reach new heights and to aspire to lead
the way in its global rise, rather than aim to merely catch-up with
the developed nations.”–Saikat Chaudhuri

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At the helm of DRDL
In 1982, after a brief tussle between ISRO and DRDO for the
services of Dr Kalam, he was finally appointed the head of DRDL
division. The morale was at its ebb following the failure of
Project Valiant and Project Devil. The atmosphere was gloomy.
Contd..
• Opportunities
“Do not make anything which you can’t sell later and do not spend
your life on making one thing only”
• Interactive
“I not only described and explained our goals, but also made them an
interplay between our work and ourselves”
He invited people from IISc, IITs, TIFR for their expertise. This shocked
the senior scientists.
Contd..
• Open door approach to critical decisions-
Formation of Missile Technology Committee within DRDL
(management by participation)
• Reorganisation of IGMDP dept.
Chose five project leaders who in turn trained another
twenty five future project leaders
Contd..
• Avoided close contact
“Through loyalty to a friend one can be easily led into doing
something that is not in the best interests of the organisation”
• Learning from another leader
Smt. Indira Gandhi visited the facility on July 1984. On being
told that the Prithvi missile test flight be possible as early as
1987, she responded what else is needed by the facility to accelerate
the work.

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Contd..
• Combine experience with young blood-
“A big shot is a little shot who keeps on shooting, so keeps on
trying”
Four basic factors for success:
a. Goal-setting
b. Positive Thinking
c. Visualizing
d. Believing
Dedication and sacrifice:
Agni team- VR Nagaraj, leader of the electrical integration team. His
brother-in-law passed away while he was at ITR, his family kept this
news from him so that there would be no interruption in his work
towards the launching of Agni
Agni-I was first tested in 1989, Prithvi-I in 1988 and Pokharan-II Tests
were held in 1997 under the supervision of Dr Kalam
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was awarded Padma Vibhushan in 1990
recognising his pioneering work in development of Prithvi and Agni
missiles.
WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT KALAM
Truly humble, polite, and above all, patriotic and idealistic
- Dr M. Vidya Sagar (Sub ordinate)

“A man of integrity”
- Satish Dhawan ( Mentor)
Never once did I see him lose his temper. You could
tell he was not happy with you by a strange
expression he used to employ: 'You are a funny guy,
I say’
- Dr P K Menon (colleague)

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PRESIDENCY
As a President, he continued to do what he was already doing -
inspiring people

He was affectionately known as the People's President

Issues Handled During Presidency Time
Office of Profit bill
An office of profit is a term used in a number of national
constitutions to refer to executive appointments. A number of
countries forbid members of the legislature from accepting an
office of profit under the executive as a means to secure the
independence of the legislature and preserve the separation of
powers
Sharad Pawar Issue
BCCI is registered as a charitable organization , and having a
post there is exempt under the Office of Profit exclusions. Kalam
was powerless to do anything against it
Mercy petitions
He left 20 odd mercy petitions open, and Pratiba Patil gave
clemency to half of them. They were criminals of the worst kind.
 “Let me define a leader. He
must have vision and passion
and not be afraid of any
problem. Instead, he should
know how to defeat it. Most
importantly,he must work with
integrity”

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam