Aditya Puri is one of India’s best known bankers-hugely respected for setting up HDFC Bank.
He has written a piece in ET today where he makes some ridiculous suggestions for reducing CAD.Some of his suggestions include:
1.Ban import of gold (Mumbai underworld will start recruiting straightaway)
2.Hike import duty rates (haven’t we seen this story before?)
3.Allow agricultural exports (try explaining why higher veggies prices are necessary to reduce CAD to your wife)
4.Boost exports to China (er…How?)
The political tone deaf and impracticality of the suggestions makes it is clear that he is suffering from a disease called the “Shoe Button Complex.”
This phrase comes from my guru Charlie Munger. Munger’s grandfather had managed to corner the market on shoe buttons back around 1900. The grandfather exercised a virtual monopoly over their production and sale. Emboldened by his business acumen, the old man grew to believe that he not only knew more than anyone about shoe buttons but that he knew more than anyone about anything—and he preached and proclaimed at length on such. Munger and Buffett named the syndrome the Shoe Button Complex, and they encountered it frequently in their dealings with successful business practitioners.
Maybe Aditya Puri should stick to his knitting, and if he has more time on his hands, he can start reading Munger !