Gita, an epic from the Hindu religion, is not about Hinduism. I have not found the word ‘Hindu’ anywhere in it. It doesn’t prescribe methods to worship a certain deity, doesn’t dictate the colour one must wear, the food one must eat, and, the prayers one must recite.
As you must already be aware of, Gita essentially contains a
discussion between the warrior Arjuna and his chariot driver, Krishna. Just
before the start of the war, Arjuna got overwhelmed with grief over the thought
of killing his family members. He cast aside his bow and arrows, and sank into
the seat of his chariot.
एवमुक्त्वार्जुन: सङ्ख्ये
रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् |
विसृज्य सशरं चापं शोकसंविग्नमानस: || (Gita Part 1, shloka 47)
Interestingly, Krishna didn’t drive the chariot away to a calm and
quiet place to enlighten Arjuna. He spoke right at the battlefield, a far cry
from meetings conducted in an environment usually totally indifferent to the
topic under debate.
Spread into several chapters, Gita deals with many concepts that
confuse the common man and the modern manager.
Let us take the concept of the basic business activity of
welcoming the client, making them feel important, and comfortable. What is the
purpose of this activity? Obviously, it is to make the customer feel good and
comfortable enough to conduct business with the organization. A retail chain,
Big Bazaar (now run by Reliance as Smart Bazaar), was established by Kishore
Biyani in 2001 to cater to the middle class. The spacious stores of Big Bazaar
were designed to offer wonderful convenience by selling moderately priced crockery
to footwear, linen to stationery, jewellery to cookware, furniture to
foodgrains, electronic gadgets to cosmetics, all under one roof. Naturally, the
stores were quite large when compared to ordinary shops. Many were spread over multiple
floors. The imposing gates of the stores were manned by and two or more hefty
guards in ceremonial attire, complete with ear-to-ear moustaches. After the
introductory excitement ebbed out, it was felt that the sale was below
expectations. There was nothing wrong with the publicity, the location of the
stores, or the range of the stock. Further analysis revealed that the targeted middle
class customers, intimidated by the presence of the well-groomed guards, were
presuming the merchandise to be expensive beyond their reach and therefore not
entering the stores. The rich, in any case, didn’t have much of interest there.
Sales improved immediately after the ceremonial guards were replaced with ones
in more common uniforms.
Whether it is HR, finance, logistics, design, marketing, sourcing,
or some other function, failures are bound to happen if the activities don’t
synchronise with the essence of the action plan. Expense control measures are
known to have increased the cost of acquiring business, quicker delivery has
resulted in imperfect execution, efficiency improvement projects have caused
loss of intellectual property, and attractive designs have attracted accidents.
Ritualistic activities cannot yield perfect results. Neither leaders nor their
followers can achieve goals with preoccupied minds. Krishna didn’t offer a
readymade advice to Arjuna; he awakened the conscience of Arjuna to examine
facts without prejudice.
प्रसादे सर्वदु:खानां
हानिरस्योपजायते |
प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धि: पर्यवतिष्ठते || (Gita Part 2,
shloka 65)
Often, the hurry to derive more and more gainful results makes one
overlook details and appreciate them. When I joined the sales force of an HVAC
(heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) product manufacturer, the managing
director proudly declared that their products enjoyed more than 70% market share.
Impressed, I asked him the reason behind the success. He laughed and said that
no one could really explain that. The words automatically came out of my mouth,
“In that case you would also not know the reason behind the loss of market
share.” The company faced some tough times within years and a new managing
director was appointed. Whether the scale is large or small, the experience of
life changes with change in perception. Excess focus on smaller details makes
one oblivious of the complete picture. One must become free of ego and false pretenses
to understand a situation in its entirety.
प्रकृते: क्रियमाणानि
गुणै: कर्माणि सर्वश: |
अहङ्कारविमूढात्मा कर्ताहमिति मन्यते || (Gita part 3,
shloka 27)
Eagerness to claim success often leaves one with egg on face.
Those caught in the petty boundaries of designation, hierarchy, department,
jurisdictions, etc., can never experience spectacular success. On the other
hand, managers with open mind, due to naturally greater interactions, vision, and
awareness, are able to convert seemingly non-existent opportunities into
roaring successes. They are more stable, they don’t indulge in self-denial, and
don’t look for scapegoats in adverse conditions. Like seasoned players, they
enjoy a long run.
ज्ञेय: स नित्यसंन्यासी
यो न द्वेष्टि न काङ् क्षति |
निर्द्वन्द्वो हि महाबाहो सुखं बन्धात्प्रमुच्यते || (Gita part 5, shloka 3)
To sum up, don’t be conditioned by what you want. Have the courage
to accept the reality even if it is not exactly as per your desire. That sincerity
is the starting point for fruitful action.
नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता || (Gita part 2, shloka 57)
संदेश
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