India, since its occupation by colonizers, was imbibed with western education, primarily English, which in turn, promoted western thinking in industry. Most of our head honchos, spanning the world are, exposed to and are familiar with the western philosophy and its accompanied management techniques.
Most of us are familiar with western stories and we have been trained to think that western thinking driven B-schools are the last word for organizational management. It goes without doubt that the success of western enterprises has been marketed across the world, indeed, very well and that is what we emulate.
Around 2300 years ago (370 BC-283 BC) a learned man walked amongst the now ruined city of Takshilla of ancient India (now in Pakistan). He taught at the greatest university of this region and was single handedly responsible for changing the course of history for the sub-continent. That man was Chanakya, a man who took head on and diffused the threat of Alexander the Great’s ambition to conquer India. His concepts of statecraft and kingship are holistic and still very much relevant today! Chanakya’s 'ArthaSahtra' is built on key pillars as encapsulated below:
Effective communication: Chankya quotes-“When in the court, he shall never cause his petitioners to wait at the door, for when a king makes himself inaccessible to his people and entrusts his work to his immediate officers, he may be sure to engender confusion in business, and to cause thereby public disaffection, and himself a prey to his enemies.”
Decision Making: Chanakya quotes- “All urgent calls he shall hear at once, but never put off; for when postponed, they will prove too hard or impossible to accomplish”.
Addressing the needs of all stakeholders: “In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness; in their welfare his welfare; whatever pleases himself he shall not consider as good, but whatever pleases his subjects he shall consider as good”.
Accountability: “Whoever imposes severe punishment becomes repulsive to the people; while he who awards mild punishment becomes contemptible. But whoever imposes punishment as deserved becomes respectable. For punishment when awarded with due consideration, makes the people devoted to righteousness and to works productive of wealth and enjoyment; while punishment, when ill-awarded under the influence of greed and anger or owing to ignorance, excites fury even among hermits and ascetics dwelling in forests, not to speak of householders”.
Leaders are not bound by a position as a ruler, but more so as the person wo serves the public best! They are found across all walks of life including boardrooms and across the globe and the wisdom of Chanakya is relevant throughout ages!
