Home ›› 09 Aug 2022 ›› Editorial
The modern day Kings and Queens do not reside in palaces but are found in boardrooms across the globe.Just as the words of this ancient wisdom of Chanakya were relevant thousands of years ago, they still hold true in this present day and age. Back in 4th century B.C., a philosopher-statesman Chanakya , a.k.a Kautilya wrote the first few principles of administrative management. Widely regarded as India’s first economist, his management theories have guided royalty from time immemorial. Kautilya documented his life’s labour in the Arthashastra , a list of principles that would ensure sound governance. The book is known more for its contents on economy and polity, but also contains advice on financial management and administration. While a lot of his management principles have been subject to extensive study, his leadership lessons are more than relevant in today’s society.
1. Learn from the mistakes of others. You cannot live long enough to make them all yourselves.
2. Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.
Here is a small story to illustrate the lesson. Once there was a snake. The snake was bad, as it used to bite almost everyone coming in its way. The village children and villagers were very afraid of going out in the dark. Once a saint was passing by that village and saw that the rogue snake was almost about to bite a child. The saint raised his voice at the snake and warned that he should he forego this nature of his; he shall be cursed forever. The snake promised that from then onwards it shall not bite anyone. Time passed. After a few months, when the same saint passed by the same village; he saw the village kids playing with the same snake. He saw that the village boys had almost beaten the snake into pulp. The snake looked at the saint with pleading eyes and explained to him that it is because of that promise only that he was in such a state. The saint told the snake – ‘I had told you not to bite. I had not stopped you from pretending to be venomous / showing your fangs’.
It is important that in the present day’s world order- you keep some nuisance value, else even children might stampede your feelings. You must not be vulnerable and very much malleable and ductile so that anyone can get away by hurting/harming you. Your truth should be known only to you. Make your fangs visible to the world. They need not know whether you have poison in them.
The intricacy of today’s world has presented several obstacles for business executives. For example, restructuring the company while retaining performance is a crucial problem for enterprise executives, as is the business environment. In addition, external difficulties that have arisen and continue to occur due to technology innovation have made it simpler to interact with the outside world while also creating a lack of responsibility. And there are transformational issues that force business executives to confront the psychological aspects of their jobs. All of these are related to the difficulties of today’s business climate. As a result, business leaders should take a strategy that includes individuals from all cultures and mindsets, places them in their respective fields, and adapts to fast technological development. Most importantly, it should consist of a psychological strategy to engage with personnel to alter an organization.
Chanakya is clear that, once these students pass out of his education system, they are bound to get into power positions. As the famous adage goes, ‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’. So to make sure that the leader does not misuse the power, the training on the right attitude is important.
Happiness
The focus of the leader should be on the happiness of his people. If the focus is on the people, the leader will continuously work towards their happiness and wellbeing. Otherwise, the welfare state will become a farewell state.Today we speak of Happiness Index in various countries.
Gross National Happiness (GHN) is the philosophy that was started by the government of Bhutan. It is an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and wellbeing of its population. It is institutionalised as the goal in the constitution of Bhutan, enacted from 2008 itself. Other countries are now following the model with various happiness indicators. UAE appointed a minister of state for happiness and launched the national programme for happiness and positivity in 2018. In India too some states have started exclusive ministry of happiness, first being Madhya Pradesh followed by Andra Pradesh. But Philosophically, it was Chanakya who made it the first mandate for leaders to think about happiness of the people, nearly 2400 years ago.
Beneficial
We need to also understand that difference between happiness and benefits. Hita is different from Sukha. Many times what is beneficial may not make the people happy.For instance, at times the leader has to take some extreme measures to ensure law and order. Certain part of the society also needs to be punished in order to maintain the overall benefit of the society.So being a humble and kind leader is important. But, the leader also needs to use the whip from time to time, as and when required. The leader should have the wisdom to differentiate between a happy country and a country that works for benefit of its people. A right balance of the two makes an ideal leader.
Own happiness
What about the leader’s own happiness? The leader finds joy in the happiness of his people. There is no self-interest at all. The leader works towards the larger benefit of the society. No personal agenda. It is like a parent who is ready to sacrifice everything for the happiness and the benefit of the children. The parent finds a joy in the success of the children. At that time no sacrifice is big enough.
Daily, global business executives encounter a variety of external problems. As the globe grows increasingly linked and relies on various sources owned by people in other nations, difficulties with opposing viewpoints may occur. Many businesses have embraced globalization by delegating specific tasks to other countries. Apple, for example, has outsourced its operations to Foxconn in China since it is inexpensive to produce its goods there. This move, however, has sparked a slew of questions about their disregard for social responsibility. Furthermore, working conditions and earnings vary significantly from those in the United States, demonstrating their weak CSR.
Climate change is also without a doubt one of the most pressing policy challenges of our day. Water pollution, growing carbon emissions, and environmental damage are all posing problems for companies and society. However, there is always time to avoid the worst effects of global warming and establish a more secure future, but time is running out. Failure to act would cost taxpayers billions of dollars and jeopardize the global health of the public. Instead, leaders must focus on renewable energy and more environmentally friendly corporate practices.
The usage of technology is another problem that management and leadership responsibilities face. As technology advances, it will have a detrimental and beneficial influence on the firm. Many issues have arisen due to technology’s fast advancement, such as misinterpretation and misunderstandings produced by emails, where it is tough to interpret the sender’s tone and difficult to predict their facial gestures, stance, or body movements. Email technology makes worldwide communication simpler, making communications more frequent. Furthermore, the usage of emails and other messaging services minimizes the amount of face-to-face interaction required to get to understand coworkers, supervisors, clients, and other company stakeholders.
Toys R Us, a well-known brand, has seen sales decline, if not entirely out of business. (Toys R Us, 2022). The leading cause for this is the fast-paced advancement of technology. Children in the twenty-first century are less interested in toys and more interested in technology like phones, tablets, and TVs. Furthermore, internet retailers such as Amazon provide high-quality toys and technology at lower prices than toy stores, enticing more consumers. Chinese e-tailer Alibaba’s charismatic Executive Chairman Jack Ma, who steps down in September 2019, has exhorted his 80,000-odd employees to have the right balance among system, people and culture to sustain the company’s growth. “Simply relying on individuals or blindly following a system will not solve our problems to achieve long-term sustainable growth; you need the right balance among system, people and culture,” Ma said in an e-mail letter to the group’s 86,833 employees, which the Hangzhou-based global firm shared with IANS here.
With an aim to connect Chinese entrepreneurs with the world, Ma -- who was a teacher in English and international trade at a university in Hangzhou -- about 180km southwest of Shanghai, founded in 1999 the e-commerce platform Alibaba.com, which rose to become one of the largest companies in the world.
The writer is MD and CEO of Community Bank. He can be contacted at masihul1811@gmail.com
