Suresh Kr Pramar
Business leaders across the globe have discovered a new Management icon-Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation. While leading the nation in the struggle for independence Gandhi held a beacon to some management strategies which are critical in present day corporate world. The Mahatma is now being rediscovered as more than just a political leader who gained independence for the country. He is being looked upon as a master strategists and an exemplary leader whose ideas and strategies have great meaning for the corporate world, particularly in India.
According to Shahbir Merchant, Vice President, Consulting Services, Grow Talent India Co Ltd, “Simple corporate strategies like vision (freedom for India) and core values (honesty and non-violence) are well illustrated in his life.” A master strategist the Mahatma knew how to create a vision which would be widely shared by the people.
Leadership is considered to be the most important aspect of management. In this Gandhi excelled. By identifying himself with the masses, dressing like them, living among them and empathising with them, he won their respect, confidence and allegiance.
Millions responded to his call. They spun cotton, burnt foreign cloth and made salt in defiance of the law. They submitted to beatings, imprisonment and even hanging but did not react with violence. Judging from his remarkable achievements and the excellent and effective manner in which he selected and negotiated his satyagarha issues, and planned and implemented his campaign he was undoubtedly a management expert.
Gandhi traveled throughout the country to make the vision of independence a shared vision among the people living in different parts of the country. For todays Corporate leadership the lessons Gandhi provides is that when they conceive a transformation plan for their organization they need to think for the future and define values that will help achieve this vision. They should create a shared vision like Mahatma Gandhi.
Most Corporate plans are conceived and finalized within the four walls of the Board Room. No effort is made to communicate these plans/decisions to the masses who are the real engines of change. According to Merchant “investing time and effort to create a share vision and defining values is the starting point for all change.”
Gandhi’s greatest achievement was that he could easily relate to the people. He made efforts to relate to the masses through his ‘walk the talk’ method of rallies, dharnas, padyatras and non violent protests. Says Merchant “ CEOs should not talk about cutting costs and cost optimization to the rank and file, and then fly business class or stay in 5 star luxury. Living the values is the key for CEOs marching on the change management path.”
In his book ‘Count Your Chickens before they Hatch’ Arindam Chaudhuri has written extensively about Gandhi’s style of leadership and how it can be applied to corporate India. He says Gandhi’s leadership style was ‘follower-centric’. One that took into account existing conditions before determining the strategy.
“Gandhi advocated leadership styles that were dependent on the circumstances. When Gandhi was in South Africa, he launched his protests in a suit and a tie. When he came back to India, he thought of Khadi and launched nonviolent protests on a greater scale.”
In India corporate managements are rediscovering the Mahatma in a new Avtar. Indian born Management Guru C.K.Prahalad has said that Corporate India needs to take a fresh look at Gandhi’s ideas. They need to apply the lessons learned from these ideas to their leadership styles.
Speaking at the Pravbasi Bharatiya Day held in New Delhi in 2003 Prahalad had said “the Mahatma’s ideas have particular relevance for India as it struggles to find ways to inch closer to the 8-10 percent gross domestic product growth. Today I do not know how to grow at 10 percent or more or how to create 10-15 million new jobs every year. But that is not the option before us. We have to reinvent new way and that is what Gandhi taught us: clarity of goals. Let us have the courage to reinvent the means”
Gandhi reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the available existing methods had failed “He broke tradition. He understood that you cannot fight the British with force. So he decided to change the game in a fundamentally different way. He unleashed the power of ordinary people, inspired women and men in the country to fight under a unifying goal. Resource constraint did not bother him. He aimed at a common agenda: Poorna Swaraj. That was the motivation,” says Prahalad.
According to Dr Gita Piramal, managing editor, The Smart Manager, Gandhi he was a wonderful strategist, showman and leader. He had an amazing public relations network and a very good relationship with the press. “For instance, look at the Dandi march. If Gandhi had gone there quietly, it would just not have made an impact. He knew he had to create an event to make an impact and so he took his followers on a march that stirred popular imagination of the time. He had a total understanding of the human psychology and used it along with his public relation skills.”
Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma’s Great Grandson, says “Gandhi was a management Guru, he created brands. The Swadeshi movement popularized Khadi, and for every videshi goods burnt he provided options. First creating platforms for the public to connect to each other and later using their latent talents for their own advantage.” Swadeshi, Champaran and the Dandi Salt March are examples of Gandhi’s precision planning and execution of projects.
Speaking recently at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on his great grandfather Tushar spoke about the opposition Gandhi faced among this senior colleagues when he decided to march to Dandi to make salt. The British government had decided to ignore the naked fakir confident that he would fail and make a mockery of himself before his people.
Even within the Congress there were many who did not go along with the plan. One of these was Jawaharlal Nehru’s father Motilal Nehru who wrote him a long letter asking him to give up the project. Motilal told Gandhi that the plan would not succeed and would cause considerable embarrassment to the party. Gandhi wrote back a single line reply Kar ke deko( do it and see).
The march and the symbolic making of salt galvanized the entire country. It shook the British administration. The effects of the salt march were felt across India. Thousands of people made salt, or bought illegal salt. The march mobilized many new followers from all of Indian society and it drew the world's attention.
Dandi was a key turning point in the struggle for independence.. Within hours of the successful competition of the march the administration ordered the arrest of the second rung of Congress leaders When the police went to arrest Motilal he asked for a few minutes to get ready. Before walking away with the police he sent Gandhi a telegram Karne ke pehle he dekh liya ( even before doing it I have seen the result).
Arun Maira, chief executive officer, Boston Consulting Group, points out “We keep feeling that models of people in the West are the ones we should follow. In a way, we remain subservient to the leadership values and models of the West. But since the last two to three years these models are being doubted even in the West, and so it is time for India to look within itself for leadership examples.” .
Maira says Gandhi’s style of leadership as applied to corporate India would involve making even the lowest person in the organization believe in it and the significance of his contribution towards it. “In business, empowerment is all about making sure everyone is connected to the organization’s goals.
Gandhi had a way of doing that: making sure that everyone in the cause is connected to the goal.”
Even among those who look up to Gandhi as a Management Guru there are a substantial number who concede that all his ideas would not be acceptable today. For one thing, they say, Gandhi was against industrialization and felt it would have a highly negative impact on society. But to say that Gandhi was completely opposed to industrialization would be wrong nor was he an enemy of the capitalists.
Repeatedly during his lifetime Gandhi said that he has very good friends among capitalists, including Jamunalal Bajaj, whom he called his fifth son and G.D.Birla. A more detailed study would reveal that the disconnect between Gandhi’s socialist ideas and the capitalist views is not as wide as it may seem.
Writing in the December 16, 1939 issue Gandhi said “ I am not ashamed to own that many capitalists are friendly towards me and do not fear me. They know that I desire to end capitalism almost, if not quite, as much as most advanced socialists or even communists. But our methods are different.”
Gandhi offered his theory of Trusteeship which required capitalists to consider the wealth they had as being held in Trust for the benefit of the poor. The concept of Trusteeship is a mid path between pure capitalism and pure communism.
Gandhi said the rich were the Custodians or Trustees of the wealth they earn and that this was to be used for the welfare of their less fortunate beings. “My theory of trusteeship is no makeshift, certainly no camouflage. It has the sanction of philosophy and religion behind it...No other theory is compatible with non-violence,” Gandhi had said
For Gandhi a Trustee is one who self-consciously assumes responsibility for upholding, protecting and putting to good use whatever he possesses, acquires or earns. This is the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility as propounded by western writers.
Says Maira “In the last few years, there is a thinking that capitalism is not just about creating wealth, but you have to take care of the shareholders and stakeholders, too. Many years ago, this emphasis on the interests of the stakeholders was labeled socialism. So, Gandhi’s ideas and the lessons learned from him are not totally different from what corporate India would like to do.”
“ Gandhi’s example as a manager and leader is extraordinary. There was no one like him who could get people together to embrace his vision as their vision.” says Piramal. According to B.D.Agarwal, Chairman Surya Roshini “Gandhi and his charkha were not against new technology but symbols of self reliance.” (CRBiz March 2007)
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| The Dandi March to make salt |
According to Shahbir Merchant, Vice President, Consulting Services, Grow Talent India Co Ltd, “Simple corporate strategies like vision (freedom for India) and core values (honesty and non-violence) are well illustrated in his life.” A master strategist the Mahatma knew how to create a vision which would be widely shared by the people.
Leadership is considered to be the most important aspect of management. In this Gandhi excelled. By identifying himself with the masses, dressing like them, living among them and empathising with them, he won their respect, confidence and allegiance.
Millions responded to his call. They spun cotton, burnt foreign cloth and made salt in defiance of the law. They submitted to beatings, imprisonment and even hanging but did not react with violence. Judging from his remarkable achievements and the excellent and effective manner in which he selected and negotiated his satyagarha issues, and planned and implemented his campaign he was undoubtedly a management expert.
Gandhi traveled throughout the country to make the vision of independence a shared vision among the people living in different parts of the country. For todays Corporate leadership the lessons Gandhi provides is that when they conceive a transformation plan for their organization they need to think for the future and define values that will help achieve this vision. They should create a shared vision like Mahatma Gandhi.
Most Corporate plans are conceived and finalized within the four walls of the Board Room. No effort is made to communicate these plans/decisions to the masses who are the real engines of change. According to Merchant “investing time and effort to create a share vision and defining values is the starting point for all change.”
Gandhi’s greatest achievement was that he could easily relate to the people. He made efforts to relate to the masses through his ‘walk the talk’ method of rallies, dharnas, padyatras and non violent protests. Says Merchant “ CEOs should not talk about cutting costs and cost optimization to the rank and file, and then fly business class or stay in 5 star luxury. Living the values is the key for CEOs marching on the change management path.”
In his book ‘Count Your Chickens before they Hatch’ Arindam Chaudhuri has written extensively about Gandhi’s style of leadership and how it can be applied to corporate India. He says Gandhi’s leadership style was ‘follower-centric’. One that took into account existing conditions before determining the strategy.
“Gandhi advocated leadership styles that were dependent on the circumstances. When Gandhi was in South Africa, he launched his protests in a suit and a tie. When he came back to India, he thought of Khadi and launched nonviolent protests on a greater scale.”
In India corporate managements are rediscovering the Mahatma in a new Avtar. Indian born Management Guru C.K.Prahalad has said that Corporate India needs to take a fresh look at Gandhi’s ideas. They need to apply the lessons learned from these ideas to their leadership styles.
Speaking at the Pravbasi Bharatiya Day held in New Delhi in 2003 Prahalad had said “the Mahatma’s ideas have particular relevance for India as it struggles to find ways to inch closer to the 8-10 percent gross domestic product growth. Today I do not know how to grow at 10 percent or more or how to create 10-15 million new jobs every year. But that is not the option before us. We have to reinvent new way and that is what Gandhi taught us: clarity of goals. Let us have the courage to reinvent the means”
Gandhi reinvented the rules of the game to deal with a situation where all the available existing methods had failed “He broke tradition. He understood that you cannot fight the British with force. So he decided to change the game in a fundamentally different way. He unleashed the power of ordinary people, inspired women and men in the country to fight under a unifying goal. Resource constraint did not bother him. He aimed at a common agenda: Poorna Swaraj. That was the motivation,” says Prahalad.
According to Dr Gita Piramal, managing editor, The Smart Manager, Gandhi he was a wonderful strategist, showman and leader. He had an amazing public relations network and a very good relationship with the press. “For instance, look at the Dandi march. If Gandhi had gone there quietly, it would just not have made an impact. He knew he had to create an event to make an impact and so he took his followers on a march that stirred popular imagination of the time. He had a total understanding of the human psychology and used it along with his public relation skills.”
Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma’s Great Grandson, says “Gandhi was a management Guru, he created brands. The Swadeshi movement popularized Khadi, and for every videshi goods burnt he provided options. First creating platforms for the public to connect to each other and later using their latent talents for their own advantage.” Swadeshi, Champaran and the Dandi Salt March are examples of Gandhi’s precision planning and execution of projects.
Speaking recently at the Gandhi Peace Foundation on his great grandfather Tushar spoke about the opposition Gandhi faced among this senior colleagues when he decided to march to Dandi to make salt. The British government had decided to ignore the naked fakir confident that he would fail and make a mockery of himself before his people.
Even within the Congress there were many who did not go along with the plan. One of these was Jawaharlal Nehru’s father Motilal Nehru who wrote him a long letter asking him to give up the project. Motilal told Gandhi that the plan would not succeed and would cause considerable embarrassment to the party. Gandhi wrote back a single line reply Kar ke deko( do it and see).
The march and the symbolic making of salt galvanized the entire country. It shook the British administration. The effects of the salt march were felt across India. Thousands of people made salt, or bought illegal salt. The march mobilized many new followers from all of Indian society and it drew the world's attention.
Dandi was a key turning point in the struggle for independence.. Within hours of the successful competition of the march the administration ordered the arrest of the second rung of Congress leaders When the police went to arrest Motilal he asked for a few minutes to get ready. Before walking away with the police he sent Gandhi a telegram Karne ke pehle he dekh liya ( even before doing it I have seen the result).
Arun Maira, chief executive officer, Boston Consulting Group, points out “We keep feeling that models of people in the West are the ones we should follow. In a way, we remain subservient to the leadership values and models of the West. But since the last two to three years these models are being doubted even in the West, and so it is time for India to look within itself for leadership examples.” .
Maira says Gandhi’s style of leadership as applied to corporate India would involve making even the lowest person in the organization believe in it and the significance of his contribution towards it. “In business, empowerment is all about making sure everyone is connected to the organization’s goals.
Gandhi had a way of doing that: making sure that everyone in the cause is connected to the goal.”
Even among those who look up to Gandhi as a Management Guru there are a substantial number who concede that all his ideas would not be acceptable today. For one thing, they say, Gandhi was against industrialization and felt it would have a highly negative impact on society. But to say that Gandhi was completely opposed to industrialization would be wrong nor was he an enemy of the capitalists.
Repeatedly during his lifetime Gandhi said that he has very good friends among capitalists, including Jamunalal Bajaj, whom he called his fifth son and G.D.Birla. A more detailed study would reveal that the disconnect between Gandhi’s socialist ideas and the capitalist views is not as wide as it may seem.
Writing in the December 16, 1939 issue Gandhi said “ I am not ashamed to own that many capitalists are friendly towards me and do not fear me. They know that I desire to end capitalism almost, if not quite, as much as most advanced socialists or even communists. But our methods are different.”
Gandhi offered his theory of Trusteeship which required capitalists to consider the wealth they had as being held in Trust for the benefit of the poor. The concept of Trusteeship is a mid path between pure capitalism and pure communism.
Gandhi said the rich were the Custodians or Trustees of the wealth they earn and that this was to be used for the welfare of their less fortunate beings. “My theory of trusteeship is no makeshift, certainly no camouflage. It has the sanction of philosophy and religion behind it...No other theory is compatible with non-violence,” Gandhi had said
For Gandhi a Trustee is one who self-consciously assumes responsibility for upholding, protecting and putting to good use whatever he possesses, acquires or earns. This is the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility as propounded by western writers.
Says Maira “In the last few years, there is a thinking that capitalism is not just about creating wealth, but you have to take care of the shareholders and stakeholders, too. Many years ago, this emphasis on the interests of the stakeholders was labeled socialism. So, Gandhi’s ideas and the lessons learned from him are not totally different from what corporate India would like to do.”
“ Gandhi’s example as a manager and leader is extraordinary. There was no one like him who could get people together to embrace his vision as their vision.” says Piramal. According to B.D.Agarwal, Chairman Surya Roshini “Gandhi and his charkha were not against new technology but symbols of self reliance.” (CRBiz March 2007)
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