LESSONS

FROM
WINGS OF
Topics Covered

Background

Personality Traits

Leadership Principles

People’s President

At the helm of DRDL

Review of Kalam & Presidency
 About the
• Full name :Dr Avul Pakir
Legend
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
• Apart from his Parents, Teachers like
Inspired
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
 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 shorter
(5)surface-to-air missile range ballistic missile,
Agni - an intermediate range
(4)Trishul - a quick-reaction surface-to-
the mightiest
air missile
• Chief with a Adviser to Prime Minister and
Scientific
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

11
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’.
Hardwor
king
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.
 Determi
ned for scholarship
Chase
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
Persever
Rags to Riches
ance
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
Lovework
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

17
Positve
Lessons from childhood
Thinker
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
BIG FIVE TRAITS with BigOUTCOME
TRAITS EXHIBITED BY KALAM
Five Traits
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
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.
 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.

25
Leadership lessons from
K alam,
Dr.APJ.Abdul
• Ignite the
Lead
minds
ers 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.
Cont
•d..
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

33
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.
Cont
• Opportunities
d..
“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.
Cont
d
• 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.

37
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
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.
tell Younot
he was could
happy with you by a
strange expression he used to
employ: 'You are a funny guy, I say’
- Dr P K Menon
(colleague)

42
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