Case Study: Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as a Transformative Thought Leader

This report presents a detailed case study of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, examining his evolution as a thought leader. The analysis explores his early life, career as a scientist, and his tenure as the President of India, highlighting key leadership qualities such as vision, passion, and courage. The report discusses his influence on the nation's space and defense programs, his ability to inspire others, and his impact on broader society. It investigates his communication style, the platforms he used to share his ideas, and his ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds. The report also reflects on his philosophy of leadership, his emphasis on education and innovation, and his legacy as a role model for future generations, supported by various research and evidence based sources.

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Thought leadership

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Dr. APJ Abdul kalam as the thought leader....................................................................................3
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Thought leadership is content marketing which is made with the help of the experience, talent,
and passion. There is a specialized field in which the leader is recognized and rewarded for the
achievements. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is also a thought leader as he has gained experience and has
provided the same to others for their development. The discussion about his attainment and other
aspects will be made in detailed manner.
Dr. APJ Abdul kalam as the thought leader
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a scientist and also the 11th president of India. He was born on 15
October 1931 in Tamil Nadu. He was born in a Muslim family and was youngest among the five
siblings. He was an average student in school but was highly interested in mathematics and
worked hard in the same (Gupta, 2012). According to him, “knowledge without action is useless
and irrelevant and knowledge with actions converts adversity into prosperity”. He graduated in
physics and further studied aerospace engineering in madras institute of technology. He was a
hard-working student and this was proved when a project to design the low-level attack aircraft
was given to him with other students and he completed it in provided deadline.
He was given the title of missile man of India and was awarded various prestigious awards for
his achievements. This title was given to him because of the role played by him in the nation’s
civilian space program and also in the development of military missile. He started his career as a
scientist at the aeronautical development establishment of DRDO (Dwivedi, 2006). The
presidentship was given to him in 2002 but before that he assisted prime minister as the chief
scientific adviser.
The transfer has been given to him from DRDO to ISRO in 1969 which made him happy. He
directed the project there identified as SLV-III. It was used to deploy the Rohini satellite on July
1980. He started working in 1970 for the development of polar satellite launch vehicle by which
India will be able to launch its remote sensing satellite and it was launched in 1993. He used to
say that “Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you
sleep” and this vision helped him in making his dreams come true (Jeevaraj, 2012). He was

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invited by Raja Ramanna to witness the first nuclear test even though he has not participated in
the same.
He was asked to act as the leader in the integrated guided missile development program in 1980
and in 1983 became the chief executive of the IGMDP. By the help of this program, there were
four other projects which were developed by the hard work of Kalam (Pande and Jain, 2014). He
became successful in the IGMDP and produced the missiles identified to be Prithvi missile in
1988. After this Agni missile was also produced in 1989 and this gave him the title “missile man
of India.
The series of five nuclear bomb tests were conducted in 1998 and in that he played a major role
and got the identification as the national hero. A plan has been formulated by him according to
which the country will be developed until 2020. He became the president in 2002 and was the
first bachelor to be at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He used to say that a leader should have “Vision
for an organization, passion to work for achieving the goals, curiosity to travel an unexplored
path and courage to take a decision (Eragula, 2015). He used to work on this philosophy only
and became the best leader ever identified as people’s president. He was dedicated to his vision
during the period of five years and made India be the developed nation.
Once he left the position of president, academic field was chosen by him and worked as the
visiting professor in the Indian Institute of space science and technology in Thiruvananthapuram
and as a professor at aerospace engineering in Anna university. He taught engineering in many
universities and was successful in that too. A civil group criticized him in 2011 for the stand
taken by him in respect of Koodankulam Nuclear power plant. This was because of his support
for the nuclear power plant establishment.
He was one of the best leaders and worked in the favor of the nation and youth for which several
programs have been launched by him. He used to respect all and treat all with equality when was
in order and used to guide all in an effective manner (Aneja, 2014). He established various
examples and inspired all to dream big and work to make them come true. He was of belief that
you should work what you love and move in that direction to attain success.

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He liked to be different from all and always used to be the same, whether in his achievements,
looks or other aspects. He became the scientist and then also got involved in the political
activities becoming the president. He loved to work in different directions and attain success in
all ways (NITJ, 2019). He motivated all to think in a different manner and always inspired to
have experimented in life. He used to always say that never to be afraid of the failures or about
the opinion of others and only do what one feels to be right. He always led to the new
experiences and this can be noted from the living as he used to connect between various random
disciplines and work on them in an effective and efficient manner.
He achieved success in his life in a continuous manner and was successful in his career. He acted
as the role model for the youth who will be following him and his methods. He provided his
knowledge and wisdom to the young generation so that they can also attain the growth and
become successful. He used to care about others and their success and worked in that direction.
He made all realize their potential and then work accordingly in best manner.
A lecture was being delivered by him at IIM Shillong when he has a heart attack and was critical.
He was shifted to the hospital but died due to a cardiac attack. He is a memorable person and
lives in the heart of many afterward also (Goyal, 2019). His quotes and inspirations are still the
possession of many who pursue them and work with them to achieve their mission and vision.
Conclusion
The report has elucidated all the important aspects of the life of Dr. APJ Abdul kalam. It has
been identified that he emerged to be a great leader and worked for the welfare of all. It has been
determined that various achievements have been attained by him at a young age and is the role
model for all. Several awards have been given to him for his victorious actions. He worked in
different streams and was successful in all by providing the guidance and benefits to his
followers. He was a great leader and worked hard to maintain the vision that has been aimed by
him and also motivated all to dream big and make them come true.

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References
Aneja, N. (2014) The importance of value education in the present education system & role of
teacher. International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, 2(3), pp.230-233.
Dwivedi, R.S. (2006) Visionary leadership: A survey of literature and case study of dr apj Abdul
kalam at drdl. Vision, 10(3), pp.11-21.
Eragula, R. (2015) The Upshot of Social Alliance in Leadership. International Journal of
Management Research and Business Strategy, 5(1), pp.173-179.
Goyal, S. (2019) Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam – The Missile Man of India. [Online] Available at:
https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/a-p-j-abdul-kalam-1531230250-1 [Accessed 23
August 2019]
Gupta, A.K. (2012) Innovations for the poor by the poor. International Journal of Technological
Learning, Innovation and Development, 5(1-2), pp.28-39.
Jeevaraj, A.E. (2012) Kalam's Academic Inspirational Reflections. Labyrinth: An International
Refereed Journal of Postmodern Studies, 3(3).
NITJ. (2019) How I Am Inspired by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. [Online] Available at:
http://www.nitj.ac.in/nitj_files/student_corner/16050548497.pdf [Accessed 23 August 2019]
Pande, S. and Jain, N. (2014) Relation between personal values and corruption permissiveness of
government servants in India and the moderating role of dissatisfaction with the financial
condition of the family. International Review of Public Administration, 19(2), pp.126-142.