Rediscovering a Management and Leadership Manual in Ancient
Indian Literature
Business has often looked for
guiding principles in ancient literature from various lands, including the
sixth-century Chinese military treatise The
Art of War, by Sun Tsu, or India's Vedas, including the battlefield epic Bhagvad
Gita. Now, a new book brings to a global audience the management and
leadership insights contained in the Thirukural, a collection of 1,330
aphorisms written some 2,000 years ago by Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar.
According to V. Srinivasan, author
of New Age Management Philosophy from
Ancient Indian Wisdom, the aphorisms, or "kurals," form a manual
for governments and corporations, and they are a favorite of Indian finance
minister P. Chidambaram. Srinivasan is CEO of IT services firm 3i Infotech in
Edison, N.J., where he has overseen 27 acquisitions in the last seven years. He
spoke about his book and the connection between ancient wisdom and modern
management in an interview with India Knowledge@Wharton. An edited version of
that conversation follows.
India Knowledge@Wharton: Could you tell us a little about the Thirukural?
Srinivasan: The Thirukural is believed to be about 2,000 years
old. It has three parts that deal with wisdom, wealth and affection or love.
Several people have analyzed it, and it has been translated into Portuguese and
French.
It is considered the "Tamil
Veda." (The Vedas are Sanskrit texts of Hindu wisdom.) "Veda"
[means] the knowledge, realization and improvement of the self. It comes from
the root "vid," meaning "knowledge." With self realization
and self introspection, [people] get on a path different from those with just
knowledge -- they become leaders like Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa.
While the Thirukural talks of
the three qualities of wisdom, wealth and love, Tamil literature talks of a
fourth aspect of "veedu," which refers to God, or nirvana. One school
of thought is that if you follow every "kural" (aphorism), you will
automatically reach "veedu."
The Thirukural talks about
how territories maximize their wealth, and how there were princes, ministers
and ambassadors. You [can] equate a prince to a CEO, a minister to a COO and an
ambassador to a sales and marketing executive -- the qualities prescribed for
each of these functions correspond.
India Knowledge@Wharton: What aspects of the Thirukural does your book focus
on?
Srinivasan: My book concentrates on the wealth aspect of the Thirukural
-- how you derive wealth, protect it and improve it. Management and
leadership are closely related to wealth creation.
How does the evolution of leadership
take place? From our childhood, we learn a lot of things, including
mathematics, physics, chemistry and economics. The next stage is the refinement
of our personal qualities. When you don't have [refined] personal qualities,
you may be a knowledgeable person but you don't become a leader.
What are those qualities? Courage,
conviction, determination, self control, control over anger and emotions and a
disciplined way of life. To become greater, you may need to give up certain
things such as your ego, or "aham bhava" (arrogance) and the cravings
of the five senses.
India Knowledge@Wharton: What insights could one draw upon in the present context
of the sweeping changes underway in the Indian economy? What are the key
takeaways for management? For example, is the Thirukural consistent with
a corporation's focus on maximizing profits for its stakeholders?
Srinivasan: To maximize profits, you need strategies and
implementation. Strategy is about what to do, when to do it, how to do it and
where to do it. The Thirukural has chapters on each of these.
One chapter is on deliberation
before action. Another is on choosing the appropriate time. A third is on
choosing the appropriate place. All the ingredients for profit maximization are
contained in the Thirukural.
Consider these kurals on decision
making and implementation:
"The end of all deliberation is
to arrive at a decision; and when a decision is reached, it is wrong to delay
its execution."
"Go straight for the goal
whenever circumstances permit. When circumstances are against, choose the path
of least resistance."
"Five things should be
carefully considered in carrying out any action -- the nature of the action,
the resources in hand, the instrument, the proper time and the proper place for
its execution."
And this one is on goal setting:
"Let all your purposes be grand, for even if they fail, your glory will
never tarnish."
Even the greatest venture that has the
wrong people will not succeed. Take India's IT companies, for example. Some 20
technology companies started operations in India between 1980 and 1985, but
Infosys [Technologies] and a few others succeeded; several others vanished.
What is the difference? The environment was the same and they were all doing
the same kind of IT projects, but leadership made the difference.
Here are two kurals on this subject:
"Men who cannot drive home
their point before a learned assembly, even if they are very knowledgeable, are
good for nothing."
"Behold the man who is eloquent
of speech and knows neither confusion nor fear; it is impossible for anyone to
defeat him."
India Knowledge@Wharton: Some of the kurals you cite in your book seem very direct
and bold. One advises you against exposing your troubles and weaknesses. They
are also ruthless in some places: "Fell down thorn trees when they are
young..."
Srinivasan: Leaders of large corporations that become reputable
invariably follow these principles. But their people at the second or third
level don't know the nuances of these things. Take, for example, premature
disclosure. One kural says: "Do not reveal your troubles to men who do not
know them. Similarly, do not expose your weakness to your enemies." Or
this: "The man of action lets his purpose appear only when the purpose is
achieved, for an untimely disclosure may create obstacles that cannot be
surmounted."
Even to your board, you need to
disclose things only at the appropriate time in significant detail. If you have
clearly articulated in your mind the pros and cons of a proposal, you are able
to explain it to the board in 15 or 20 minutes and get it passed. If you
discuss your proposal prematurely without having thought it out, you risk your
board rejecting it.
I have seen CEOs of several midsize
companies and even some bigger companies who blame their boards for not getting
their proposals passed. It is predominantly because of their inefficient
articulation and inability to put forward their ideas in ways [that will] carry
their boards with them.
India Knowledge@Wharton: Do you recall an illustration of that?
Srinivasan: Among the people with those qualities I have personally
seen are Narayanan Vaghul [chairman of India's largest private bank, ICICI] and
K.V. Kamath [CEO of ICICI]. Somehow, even if the board starts out on a negative
note, saying that certain proposals are not consistent with the corporation's
core competence areas and so forth, they get their proposals approved.
Take, for example, the way ICICI
went about its retail banking strategy in the mid-1990s. At that time, it was a
predominantly corporate finance institution. Vaghul and Kamath felt the company
could not continue to be viable as a project finance institution because the
new economic liberalization policies restricted access to inexpensive funds and
forced it to tap the public markets like others.
They went about [developing] their
retail [services] through a shared vision and ruthless implementation and made
it happen, although a lot of people felt ICICI did not possess the
implementation capability -- HDFC was strong in housing finance, there was
Citibank in auto finance, and so on. That is where Vaghul and Kamath [offered
an] articulation of the competition's limitations that ICICI could take
advantage of. Without that articulation, it would have been tough to get the
board's approval.
India Knowledge@Wharton: What thoughts about leadership does the Thirukural
offer for Indian industry, especially now that it faces a talent shortage
across the board, attrition, wage inflation, etc.?
Srinivasan: A lot of people think you become a leader by throwing your
weight around -- that they need to shout at certain people and [punish them]
even for small mistakes. This is particularly true of middle-level managers.
Even some of the management schools create the impression that a snobbish
attitude is actually helpful for leadership.
To become a leader, you have to
command respect or force people to have respect for you by creating awe around
yourself. The boss who forces respect is not creating a sense of belonging and
togetherness, and employees will leave for better salaries. This is one reason
why people complain that they cannot get the right talent; it is an indication
of weakness in leadership.
Until five years ago, a strategy of
forcing people to respect you worked because employment opportunities in India
were scarce and people held on to their jobs like a golden cage -- they could
not move out even if their leaders harassed them. Today it is an employee
market, and leadership styles have to change.
India Knowledge@Wharton: Your book talks about how the Thirukural advocates
an openness to dissent.
Srinivasan: Generally, a leader believes that certain things are
right. He may not come to know the details of how his strategy is being
implemented, and the people close to him may not reveal everything. In an open
forum, even the adverse aspects will come out. But if you start punishing those
who point out the adverse aspects, then nobody will give you the right
information, and whatever you do will fail. A kural on this is: "A leader
should have the virtue to hear the words that are bitter to his ears."
I have personally experienced this.
When the second line of people in my company think what I am doing is wrong, in
75% to 80% of the cases I have been able to articulate that what I am doing is
right, and they agree. And in 20% of the cases, I have agreed with what they
say and changed my approach.
India Knowledge@Wharton: Thiruvalluvar also talks about how one has to be careful
with the second tier of your organization's management. He seems to suggest
instant sacking of undesirable people.
Srinivasan: He is advocating two things. One refers to the traitors in
the camp. They know your strategy and your secrets, and help your rivals. The
moment you come to know that somebody is a traitor, or even if you have a
suspicion, you must remove that person or exclude him from your camp. The 10
kurals on this subject advocate a zero-tolerance approach.
Secondly, the Thirukural
talks about an untrustworthy minister, or your second-in-command. It says,
"He is more dangerous than even 700 million enemies."
There are many parallels here in
politics and companies. People stage coups in countries because they were not
removed at the right time. You will find this true also with badly planned
corporate succession strategies.
The kurals talk about the desired
qualities in a minister or an ambassador and advocate that the person you
select must have the organization's larger objectives in mind.
India Knowledge@Wharton: What can one learn from the Thirukural about
financial management?
Srinivasan: This kural is useful in financial management: "It
does not matter if the feeder channel is narrow, so long as the draining
channel is not wider."
You may also apply the following
kural to managing your company's debt: "If you put too many of them, even
the peacock's feathers would break the wagon's axle."
India Knowledge@Wharton: M&As are now a popular route for many Indian
companies. But many firms are new to the game, and there are concerns about
whether they have the relevant experience -- whether they might overpay and so
forth.
Srinivasan: A lot of M&As are driven today by concerns that a
company may not be able to grow and gain market share unless it acquires or
gets acquired. Also, there is a fear among promoters that the value of their
stock may fall. One kural says: "Take into consideration the inputs, the
wastage, the output and the profit that an undertaking will yield; these are
the yardsticks for any new venture."
The Thirukural also says:
"There are enterprises that tempt with a great profit but which perish
even the capital itself. Wise men will not undertake them." Also:
"Before taking up any enterprise, determine first the exertion necessary,
the obstacles on the way and the expected profit at the end."
In addition, the kurals encourage
you to be pragmatic. For example: "When the territory of the king (market
share of a company) declines, leading to a fear in the mind of the king (CEO)
that he will not be able to survive the opponent (competition), it is better
for him to submit to an alliance with a stronger king (acquiring
company)."
Also, consider these kurals on the
right time to [acquire]: "Bend down before your adversaries when they are
more powerful than yourselves. They can be easily overthrown when you attack
them at the moment when their power is on the decline." And: "When
the tide is against you, feign inaction like the stork. When the tide is on,
strike with swiftness and sure aim."
India Knowledge@Wharton: What does the Thirukural say about corporate
governance and social entrepreneurship?
Srinivasan: Basically, corporate governance is openness, transparency
and not doing things for private benefit. If you follow the virtues prescribed
in the kurals, you will automatically be on the path of good governance. One
kural says: "Let the thing you decide to do be above reproach, for the
world looks down upon the man who stoops to a thing that is beneath
himself."
Another kural could be related to
nepotism and playing favorites: "If you choose an unfit person for your
job just because you love and you like him, he will lead you to endless
follies."
And there are others that could
apply to social entrepreneurship, such as: "The prince (CEO) shall know
how to develop the resources of his kingdom, how to enrich his treasury, how to
preserve his wealth and how to spend it worthily."
India Knowledge@Wharton: You say in your book that 3i Infotech faced many
challenges as it grew with acquisitions. How did you use the Thirukural
to deal with them?
Srinivasan: At 3i Infotech, I relied on the Thirukural mainly
in the selection and removal of a lot of people. For example, the kural [I
mentioned earlier] was helpful to me: "The minister that sits in the
council and plots the ruin of his prince is more dangerous than 700 million
enemies." At the time, I was in India, and a senior company executive
started cutting off communication with employees and became unapproachable to
them. He began making it appear as if I had authorized some decisions, basing
them on half-conversations with me and extracting a "yes" from me on
some things.
One day, after I returned to the
U.S., I realized he was dangerous to the organization. He had stepped out for
lunch and when he returned I dismissed him on the spot.
I had also hired some people without
proper checks and had to remove them. Another kural says: "Never trust men
without testing them, and after testing them give each one of them the work for
which they are fit." These days, I first place [hires] in some relatively
less sensitive positions before elevating them.
India Knowledge@Wharton: Are there kurals that seem to go against popular wisdom
but are, in fact, worth following?
Srinivasan: Regarding the retention of your good second-level people,
one kural says that if a certain person is very good at his work, don't mind
the small liberties he takes. It says: "If the king (CEO) is harsh of word
and unforgiving, his prosperity, even if it is great, will end quickly."
If somebody is good and you pep him up, his ego gets boosted and he may take
some small advantages. If you become too tight with the rules, it may hurt him
and you may lose some bigger things. That is an unconventional thought.
Another kural encourages you to make
friends with your enemy's enemy. If a CEO or a minister converts an enemy's
enemy into a friend, half your battle is won because your enemy is weakened --
you become two and he becomes one.
India Knowledge@Wharton: Many other ancient philosophical texts and religious works
from different faiths must also have lessons for management and leadership. How
is the Thirukural different?
Srinivasan: Compared to the Bhagvad Gita and the Vedas, the Thirukural
goes into more detail and nuances rather than the broad philosophy. The Thirukural
is more like a manual and has 10 kurals on every aspect; it lays out the
procedures and processes. The other works don't talk about the right time and
strategy for an enterprise, people management, and so forth.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4231
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