He was born in London, the oldest of four brothers. He was educated at Highgate School. He did a range of sports at the school and became the team captain of whatever team he was part of. In 1937 he went to India with Metalbox. At Metalbox he became the Calcutta Branch-manager, Commercial Director, Managing Director and finally Chairman and Managing Director. His intellect, tenaciousness and charm involved him in many associations, many of which he subsequently led. He had a particular concern for developing Indian managers and made sure he was succeeded by highly successful Indian managers.
He was knighted because of his effective efforts at resolving a potentially difficult conflict between India and Britain in 1965. During the India Pakistan war around 1964, a senior British cabinet member had spoken about the war and indicated that India had started the war. This is not how India saw that, and the comments caused headlines in the Indian press and threatened to damage relationships between Britain and India in general and the prospect of British business in India in particular. Over a two-month period, Sir James made weekly trips to London to solve this issue. Because of his success in doing so, he was knighted the next year.
In 1969 he decided to leave his post, ensuring an Indian executive would succeed him. He joined the board of Metalbox in London, and got involved quite quickly in the Henley Administrative Staff college, to which he became seconded by Metalbox for the next 10 years. He taught, with Peggy, an international management development programme for managers from around the planet with great success.
At the time of his retirement from Henley he met the Institute of Cultural Affairs, with whom he organized and then became the Convener of the International Exposition of Rural Development (IERD). He took this project on in full partnership with Peggy. The IERD was held in New Delhi in 1984, bringing together some 750 rural development practitioners and experts from 50 countries. The Convener role took him to most of those 50 countries and all over India to promote the initiative, seek sponsorship and facilitate fundraising. From 1982-1989 he was President of the Institute of Cultural Affairs International. In the early 1990s he taught international management at the University of Buckinghamshire. From 1994 to 1998 he was president of Kanbay UK.
A number of people described the characteristics they most admired in him:
He was committed to development, to the local, to diversity. Cyprian D’Souza: He made sure he was the last British president of the Association of Chambers of Commerce in India (Assocham). He also ensured all clubs in Calcutta allowed non-British members. He invested a lot in management education to ensure managers in India have the capability and the skills to lead companies, which previously depended on British managers. He was the last British MD and Chairman of Metal Box in India. He groomed leadership which successfully led the company. Stuart Hampton: I remember being on a visit with him in Hyderabad with an old stalwart captain of Indian industry. They reminisced on their time as executives in both British India, and the newly independent India. On leaving, the Indian host made a comment that as many of their former colleagues had died, Jim and he were like small islands of shared experience, all that was left of what once was a vast “continent”. And that was in 1983! Geoff Nixon: It always amazed me to see the kind of respect Sir James commanded in the Indian business community. Of all the years I spent in Development, never before or after did I have such an easy time setting top level appointments than when Jim helped raise money for the IERD. Through his empowerment and development of an indigenous executive cadre, starting at Metal Box, he used the business sector as a practical bridge that helped transform India from being the colonial crown jewel of the then British Empire into being one of the world’s largest industrial powerhouses. While this is a great feat for history, I personally enjoyed clipping the coupons in the Board rooms and corner offices for our human development efforts.
He was clever and articulate, not afraid to tackle the difficult issues. Peggy Lindsay: He was knighted because of his effective efforts at resolving a potentially difficult conflict between India and Britain in 1965. During the India Pakistan war around 1964, a senior British cabinet member had spoken about the war and indicated that India had started the war. This is not how India saw that, and the comments caused headlines in the Indian press and threatened to damage relationships between Britain and India in general and the prospect of British business in India in particular. Over a two-month period, Sir James made weekly trips to London to solve this issue. Because of his success in doing so, he was knighted the next year. John Patterson: During 1985 he was involved in helping the ICA gain consultative status with the UN. There were many difficult meetings where we were quizzed by senior diplomats from around the world. Jim would always know how to answer their questions, without going into complexities. He made it easy for people to understand what we were doing. It was the French delegate who turned the tide with a great speech supporting our work in France and around the world.
He was tenacious and with endless energy. Nancy Lanphear: After Jim’s trips to Bombay, on the way to the airport, I would have a stack of 20 or 30 thank-you letters for him to sign. After he would sign one, adding a personal comment, I would yank that one away and he would sign another. We didn’t give him much of a break in the work!!! Mary D’Souza: He took on some major foundations on behalf of the ICA when that required courage and tenacity.
He was comfortable wherever he was. Nancy Lanphear: I’ll never forget the waiter at a club in Bombay, who saw Sir James and said “The usual, Sir?” after he had been living in England for many years. Cyprian D’Sousa: I remember him doing dishes at our summer programs in Chicago. He was equally at ease in palaces. He was familiar with Indian art and classical music. He had travelled all across the country even to the most remote areas.
He had a simplicity of thought and action: a man of service: Cyprian D’Souza: He put the recognition given to him for his work, his status and achievements in business and industry aside and decided to bat for the cause of development. He was putting everything he had on the line for a bunch of nobodies. Doris Hahn: The first concerns of one of our summer programs in Chicago, Sir James was working with some group (I don’t know what), and as I was walking through the printshop, he was doing a big stack of copying on our huge IBM copier. I was simply amazed, because he was moving faster than I imaged he could, copying pages back and front — copying, flipping, shoving; copying, flipping shoving, etc. Nancy Lanphear: My home town was blessed with the presence of George Washington Carver for a couple of years just before he went to college, and this saying attributed to him comes to mind, in memory of Sir James: “It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success.”
He was unflappable. Doris Hahn: He had arranged an appointment with someone to talk about the IERD, and had rushed off to the meeting. This was during Holi when throwing colored paint powder is part of the celebration. A few minutes after Sir James left our place, he came rushing back in to wash and change clothes, as he had been the target of a handful of paint. Most people would have been upset, but he had a long history in India, knew all the customs, and took it all in stride. After cleaning up, with a minimum of confusion, he left again to make his appointment. Stuart Hampton: My story is about the famous Jim Lindsay speaking tour leading up to the IERD. He literally went to scores if not hundreds of sites across India, giving a thirty minute speech to development groups and academics about the need to revitalize rural life, and highlight “methods that worked” as a way to stop the steady flight of rural people into the slums of India’s big cities. (That was the whole rationale for the IERD — to showcase methods that work in the rural areas). Jim was not the most outwardly organized man, and quite often his lecture papers would fall into disrepair. On this particular occasion he was making a presentation at a university in the southern India city of Mysore. The day was hot, and the room was stuffy. His chief aide, Indian colleague Cyprian D’Souza, had fallen into a slumber, while Jim battled the heat and the torpor in the room. Suddenly Jim came to a complete halt in his presentation — the requisite next page was missing. Only a second went by before Cyrprian, eyes still closed, fed Jim his next line “and the young men of the villages find themselves with nothing to do between planting and harvesting season”, or something of the like. And Jim picked it up and finished the speech without missing a beat. Two insights – 1) Cyprian had heard that speech so many times, he knew it in his sleep; and 2) Sir James was unflappable.
He had, was an endlessly positive spirit. Cyprian: A positive frame of mind at all times. I never saw him unhappy and grumbling. I have seen him go full blast on IERD story even when the person we were meeting with fell asleep. This was in Brazil. Only the translator was listening. Jim was unfazed and continued to tell the story. When done the man woke up and was given a brief summary of what was said. We walked out of there with sponsorship and funding.
His decision to use his influence to good effect. Alan Beresford: I remember trying to raise funds to support our rural development efforts from companies in New Delhi, and trying to get support from key government agencies. It was really hard work and a protracted process over many weeks. Yet when Sir James and Lady Peggy were visiting in connection with the IERD, I was able to ring many of the same or more senior people and gain appointments with them at short notice. They wanted to meet Sir James. Many of them remembered him well and were honored that he wanted to see them. His reputation and good name were immense. The energy and enthusiasm of both Jim and Peggy in meeting so many people in such short visits was extraordinary. It was an honor to work with both of them. Paul Schrijnen: During his last day, speaking was difficult for him, and yet, every other word he said was one of gratitude, thank you, thank you. Or the single raised finger to indicate: fine, ok. Did he need anything? ‘I am fine’, ‘I have everything’.
He was quite a character. Paul: Playing the piano with gusto, not perfectly, but tackling the most difficult pieces, with the tape playing the orchestra. Even when his eye sight was hampering him, he had organized a contraption, allowing him to read the smallest notes with enormous magnifiers. Cyprian: He always travelled with his special mix of Muesli, Economist magazines and his numerous address books (with lots of additions and corrections made with white out). He enjoyed sun bathing. In Delhi he would sun bathe on park benches between meetings and calls.
He impacted so many people. Raymond Spencer: So many people mention his wit, his sparkle and wicked sense of humor. Geoff Nixon: Sir James and I were in Pune raising money for the IERD and we were staying at the Kirloskar guest house. At afternoon tea time the house boy drops the tea tray off in a seating area outside our bedrooms and taps on our doors. We sit down and proceed to start the standard ritual of pouring and then adding cream and sugar into the tea. Jim, out of nowhere, produced a bottle of scotch and was pouring it into his tea. When I looked over with a look of surprise, he simply said, in a completely matter of fact fashion, that it actually tastes quite good and would I like to try it. I did and we enjoyed a lovely cup of spiked afternoon tea. I’ve never done it since; but I’ll certainly never forget doing it once. John Patterson: Jim went to see the most senior of Japanese businessmen in Tokyo with Don Clark and Jim Patterson. The meeting went very well, and during it, Jim went into a deep sleep. Not even a sturdy kick underneath the table could wake him up. The executive was friendly and helpful and provided the support that was asked.
He provided personal support and encouragement to many, he was kind. Paul: Supporting me at the time of the ending of the order and tackling new challenges in the world by being a study supervisor. He participated in a meeting of former order members in the early 1990s and was there simply to support, praise and encourage.
~~ Compiled by Paul Shrijnen, submitted by John Patterson
Many of you will remember how Sir James threw himself with gusto at the IERD challenge. Without him, it would have been a very different thing, if indeed we could have done it without him at all. I remember John Patterson’s words, when he honoured Jim, probably in the summer of 1984. ‘All of us are no-bodies’ he said. ‘Not Jim. Jim has accomplished things in the world.’ He was knighted for playing a role in the connection between the Indian and British governments after the Independence. He played key roles in various industry bodies and was managing director of Metal Box in India. He taught international management and leadership at Henley and many other places. I remember him talking about a talk he was supposed to do in China. He had expected an audience of 20 or 30, but he found himself addressing an auditorium with several thousand people.
Many of us had a chance to work and travel with him, as he toured the planet tirelessly, gracefully to get support for the IERD, to support our development efforts, to encourage us and many other development initiatives. During the last 10 years, his spirit was fine, unbroken. His words were always encouraging, words of gratitude, never a complaint. He was fine yesterday. A gracious death.
~~ Paul Schrijnen
Eulogy at the Funeral
Dear Peggy, dear family, dear friends of Jim,
I stand here representing the thousands of people on whom Sir James Lindsay had an impact. I stand here in gratitude for his life and all he was and did. I want to give thanks for
his contributions to India and its development. He worked for 30 years for MetalBox in India, where he trained hundreds of managers, making sure that he was succeeded by Indian managers. He was instrumental in developing the relationship between Britain and India in the mid 1960s when a British government official endangered that relationship with unhelpful comments about the role of India in the India-Pakistan. He engaged in a shuttle diplomacy that resolved that issue and he was knighted a year later for that. His commitment to developing managers in India was reflected in his involvement in a myriad of management development organizations, for which he is still being honored. And lastly his commitment to India was reflected in his involved in a Rural Development initiative, which he promoted in the furthest and widest corners of India and the world. He engaged in this initiative, as in many others, in full partnership with Peggy. Thank you Jim for your commitment to India.
the way he saw his life as service. When he came across the development organization in which I worked he was a man of immense status and importance, in particular in India. He put all that recognition and status to work for this organisation, this group of nobodies, and helped them in their desire to deal with rural poverty. And this sense of service was noted as no task was too menial for him. In that development organization he was noted for the speed at which he could take on the IBM printer, we used to have. He was moving faster than anyone, copying pages back to front, copying, flipping, shoving, stacking. He was a man who got involved with India Britain relationships, affairs of the world and helping out with the details in getting all the copies ready for the next meeting if that was required. Thank you Jim for your life of service.
his positive frame of mind at all times. I travelled with Jim through half a dozen African countries, and we travelled on a penny, not business class, not 5-star hotels. It wasn’t easy. But I have ever seen him unhappy or grumbling. He was unfazed by difficulties or hurdles. At one time he was addressing a senior development official in Brazil, who actually fe ll asleep during the meeting. Jim was unfazed. He continued with his story. When done, the man woke up,given a brief summary of what was said, and Jim walked out with the sponsorship and funding that he had been after. Even last Sunday, during his last day, when speaking was difficult for him, yet every other word he said was one of gratitude, thank you, thank you. Or the single raised finger to indicate: fine, ok. Did he need anything? ‘I am fine’, ‘I have everything’. Thank you, Jim, for your endlessly positive spirit.
