Ancient Indian Texts and Their Management Reservoirs

Sri Hanuman Chaalisa | Reservoir of Management Wisdom :: Part1

India is the Land of Knowledge which has deep reservoirs of Supreme knowledge of both this world and the Metaphysical realms, showing the true path of Self-Realization,which is the final goal of life. With Modern Management principles evolving around us, there may be some hidden treasures which can be unearthed from the Ancient Sanatan Dharma Texts and Epics. 

Sri Hanuman Chaalisa is a treatise by Goswami Sri Tulsidas inked during BHAKTI Yuga, written in the glory of Sri Hanumanji, encapsulating various qualities and personality traits. This 40 versed (Chaalisa) starts with glorification and culminates into complete surrender of a student to his Guru.

As a student of Modern education with sanskars of ancient wisdom, it struck to the blogger of relating the contemporary thought with the Oriental philosophy and finding lessons for life which are capable enough of improving the quality of life. 

This is first episode from the series which shall try to cover all the verses of this litrary marvel. 

The Chaalisa starts with opening verse of Glorification of Sri Guru Maharaj, and Hanumanji, 

श्री गुरु चरण सरोज रज , निज मन मुकुरू सुधारि |बरनउँ रघुवर विमल जस,जो दायक फल चारि ||

बुद्धिहीन तनु जानि के, सुमिरौ पवन कुमार | बल बुधि विद्या देहु मोहि,हरौं कलेश विकार ||

All Obeisances at the Feet of my Revered Master, sand of Whose feet is so pure and sanctified, using which I decorate myself and correct my mind.  Singing the Glories of Sri RamChandra ji, Who is the crown jewel of RAGHUKUL,  I shall attain the nectar of four Purusharthas namely Dharma( True Knowledge and Wisdom), Artha (Material objects) , Kaam (Getting all desirable things)  & Moksha(Self Realization).

Being a person without any intelligence, I remember You, Sri Hanumanji, and seek your blessings to give me Energy, Intelligence and Knowledge, which shall help me bail out from my problems and distractions.

१. जय हनुमान ज्ञान गुण सागर | जय कपीश तिहुँ लोक उजागर ||

    रामदूत अतुलित बल धामा | अंजनी पुत्र पवनसुत नामा ||

भावार्थ : हे हनुमान जी ! आप समस्त गुणों के समुद्र  हैं , और ज्ञान के भण्डार हैं, आपकी सदा ही जय हो | हे वानरों के राजा ! आपके समस्त सद्गुण संपूर्ण विश्व और तीनों लोकों में प्रसिद्ध हैं | आप श्री रामचन्द्र जी के सन्देश वाहक हैं , और  अपरिमित बलवान हैं , जिसका परिचय आपके जन्म से मिलता है, अर्थात  वायुदेवता के आशीर्वाद से आपका सम्बन्ध है  |

Management Connect:

A person in his life becomes famous because of his deeds and actions which are either intrinsic to him or have been developed over a period of time. The real knowledge or complete know how comes only when someone really does things with utmost focus and attention. After having such lineage and an immaculate track record of consistent performance, only then a person is rewarded with acts which are far more Confidential,Strategic and have far fetching consequences. This  is indicated here in the word 'रामदूत', i.e. Sri Ram thought of entrusting Sri Hanumanji of sending him to Lanka in search of Mata Seetaji . 

Such person has to be well versed in all types of studies/ knowledge viz. ज्ञान,गुण, बल which comes from either family or by training or upbringing as is indicated by the word  पवनसुत = Son of वायुदेवता, who is considered as one of the strongest of all demigods, while mother Anjani has been specifically mentioned to indicate the fact that she was able to inherit and give good sanskar to her son. Sanskars, which are so good that he was able to receive education from none other than but Suryadev , who is the most enlightened being in the entire cosmos.This has been confirmed by Lord Sri Krishna in Srimad Bhagvad Gita,where He says that the most confidential knowledge was first imparted to "Sun God" by Himself only.

Sri Hanumanji has been referred to as KAPISH, meaning King of Monkey Clan. Monkeys are generally very spry, agile and fickle-minded. Lording over such a community requires certain physical and mental qualities, such as Self Restrain,being a good listener in times of dispute settlement or otherwise. Organizing such scattered energy and focusing the same towards a larger common objective is what modern management scientists and line managers must imbibe. 

These and other similar qualities are what makes Sri Hanumanji famous in Three Realms(Tihun Lok), namely Paatal Lok, Prithvi Lok and Swarg Lok. The actions of  a modern manager are observed by all (Seniors and Juniors).
Good Natured personnels who accomplish their tasks perfectly, and are able to take everyone along, are hailed by everyone across the hierarchy which is indicated by the THREE LOKs(Realms).

Thus, its important to have the Knowledge of your domain, and must be able to not allow the energy to fizzle out on actions arising out of momentary impulses, but to channelize the energy to achieve the higher objective in life.

New Way of Advertising--Thanking TG post communication

Recently Shopclues.com, an online marketplace launched a new concept of their which they termed as Ghar Vaapsi Sale, which they commenced everyday at 6pm and ended at 9pm. The objective was to attract the office going junta to utilized their commuting time, & utilize the same to the fullest by shopping through APP based interface.
While the above said concept is indeed novel in the thought but that's not what i want to highlight here...the promotions of this event ran across various digital media, & had a fair share of RADIO ad spends, because that's what most of the TG have access to, while they are commuting in Metro, local train, Cab,Bus, Car etc.
The peculiar aspect which largely went unnoticed was the ending note of the entire radio script... it ENDED with a "Thank You". When i first heard it, the first reaction was if i misheard something...but lateron, repeated spots clarified the same, it was correct & intentional.
Have you ever heard/seen an advertiser thanking its viewers(read potential customers) for viewing/listening to the advertisement( whether it is good/bad/ugly). This seemed to be an effort to break from the herd, & get noticed, don't know how many brand Gurus/digital marketers took note of it, but to me it really appealed a lot. There could be multiple thoughts behind this strategy:
1. To really thank the listeners, who patiently sat through their big mouthed, high volume announcement of the GHAR VAAPSI sale. If this is the sole objective, then, this effort needs sincere appreciation, as the brands & companies are really not bothered about the customers' privacy & they just keep feeding them with the content & information overload.
2. To make a niche for themselves & position themselves as a player which is really customer centric, because it is very difficult for new entrants to make a mark in the already crowded Online Retailing space with biggies of the likes of Amazon, flipkart, snapdeal already fighting it out for their fair share of customers' mind. However, customer centricity shouldn't get limited by such a subtle nuance, but should get reflected in their(read shopclues.com) every touchpoint & experience which customer gets. Of all the leading marketplaces, the customer services of amazon.com has been world class, & the assistance received is fairly decent, followed by flipkart & then snapdeal, which makes it a herculean task for shopclues.com to match up, to position themselves differently.

This could also be an indication of the kick start of an era where the marketers would have  to sincerely take note of the condition of the end users(or prospective customers) to whom in their bid to lure to their product offering go the unwanted extra mile, which the customer actually doesn't need. Rampant ad slot bookings, two to three slots(Road blocks at times)  in every ad break to make the noise really irritates the customer. It is high time, that the current communication channels,advertising methodologies, and humility in the approach needs to be incorporated to convey the message more subtly & effectively without over encroaching the customer's privacy & freedom.

Evangelism for yourself: Marketing yourself in a group

 

 

 

I have been learning many more things in life the hard way, which people tend to pick up very early in their careers, & one of the things which I have come across is the art of marketing yourself in a group or in a public setting.

This article has taken inspiration from an article by Guy Kawasaki where the author is trying to put forth the key arguments of being a good product/service evangelist. The same logics apply to individual marketing as well, where the importance of a being can only be stressed upon when the focus is not on yourself but on making the discussion/network more efficient & fruitful.

A professional shall be deemed crucial for a discussion, or to a process if he/she is able to change the lifecycle of the entire product/service or a significant part of it. This essentially means that the suggestions & participation in the group and contribution in the group is much more important and significant than the actual product and service, or the Cause for which the group or the Network has come together to jointly work .

The relevance of various different leaders from public domain was higher because of their contribution in making a difference to the society, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Aang San Suu Kyi and many more such people.

I my opinion, following are the key cogs in effectively changing the course of discussions while working on different products/services, thus leaving an impression on the group about “how passionately or sincerely you think/feel about the product/service”

Make it great.

It's very hard to evangelize crap. It’s much easier to evangelize great stuff. I learned that the starting point of evangelism is a great product or service. Great stuff embodies five qualities:

• Profound. This means that whatever you say in the discussion, has lots of different points of view, because you are trying to foresee the how the product/service shall be perceived by the customers, when it goes out commercially.
• Relevant. The network should reflect upon your contributions as genuinely relevant and important in transforming the product/service
• Complete. A successful product/service is only possible, when all the possible facets/modalities have been completely thought through and stitching things end to end is super crucial. Thus cross functional dependencies and their engagement in the process is super important.
• Empowering. Pushing yourself to the fore shouldn’t be the only agenda in a team, and thus Empowering others in the network to speak up and contribute is just as important as portraying yourself in the discussion.
• Elegant. This means that you shouldn’t be perceived as too pushy and your maneuvering in shaping up the product in the final acceptable format should be such that other contributors should take the suggestions in their stride while recognizing your contributions.

Help others to discover the “Soul” or "cause"

A discussion about a product or service, no matter how great, is a collection of parts or snippets of points of view. A “cause,” by contrast, changes lives. It’s not enough to make a great product or service—you also need to position it and explain it as a way to improve lives. Thus, making the group connect with the higher objective of changing the lives of the end consumers by identifying with the “Soul” of the product which ultimately shall help in evolving an amazing product/service.

Harp on Humility.

Don’t describe your suggestions as “revolutionary,” “paradigm shifting,” and “curve jumping.” Conveying your thoughts in a more subtle and humble but assertive tone, shall earn some extra points. People don’t buy “revolutions.” But look forward to quick solutions to fix the pain or “vitamins” to supplement their lives, so stay humble and keep it simple.

Non Users vs, Pre-occupied Patrons.

It is very hard to convert someone to a new religion when he worships another god. In order to successfully see your suggestions go through in the group, you must garner support of team members in the group. Those who are either neutral or have no point of view are easy to convert to your way rather than those, who have their opinions and dispositions.

If a person doesn’t “get” your product or service after fifteen minutes, cut your losses and move on and focus on those who are more interested in what you say and profess.

Demoing the Scenarios

“Evangelist who cannot give a great demo” is an oxymoron.Demoing should be as second nature, even involuntary, as breathing. Try to showcase the various scenarios as to how would the product look like if implemented the way you want to put it across. Let people figure out the various merits in the proposition rather than only you talking in person.

 

Minimalistic Changes in the existing processes.

The disruptively new thoughts and value systems shall be perceived well, only if they are not asking the users to fundamentally change their use cases. Thus, the new product/service in the making shouldn’t demand the users to put in lot of effort by expending their efforts and resources to adapt to the new environment. This may also not find favours with other stakeholders.

Everyone’s important.

If you want to succeed as a Significant contributor, ignore people’s titles and pedigrees, accept people as they are, and treat everyone with respect and kindness. Thus, garnering the support from different strata of stakeholders is as important as it for the CXOs or other senior management.

Conclusion

Don’t try to be a hardwired salesperson who is obsessed with his or her own best interests at heart: commission, making quota, closing the deal. An evangelist has the other person’s best interests at heart: “Try this because it will help you.” Keep this difference in mind, and you’ll be on the right track.

Thanks!

Socio-Economic Impact of 11/26 in Mumbai

The evening of 26^th November 2008, on Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus marked the beginning of a renewed era of Terrorism which has left the India as well the entire world awestruck. This carnage started from CST where indiscriminate firing was opened to all the passengers who were boarding the trains in the peak hours back home. Simultaneously, at the same time terrorists(ISLAMIC  JEHADIS) struck at 3-4 other locations in the nearby locations, one of these unlucky places were the likes of India’s First FIVE STAR hotel THE TAJ MAHAL, APPOLOBUNDER & THE OBEROI. The inmates were held hostages & the a huge firing & the grenade attacks started off.

The entire drama ran over 62hours continuously only to end with the deaths of those terrorists & a huge number of Civilians (156 as per official estimates & 20 security personnel). A wave of terror spread like the jungle fire & engulfed the entire country & also drew huge attention of International community as well. This incident has offset the impact of the global economic slowdown of the world economy  for a while, though adversely impacting the attractiveness & risk profile of India as an Investment destination for the investors who have been treading a cautious path & are taking out their invested capital from the Indian markets thus creating another bloodbath in the financial territory. The FIIs ( Foreign Institutional Investors) who had  invested over  USD52bn into the Indian markets since year 2003 till date withdrew about USD12bn to fund their home country fund requirements. The recent attacks which were more focussed on the High Profile Society & Elite of Indian Society & to the Foreign visitors, Delegates & the tourists who were staying in the above facilities or were there when militants struck the town.

These attacks have increased the risk of India as a safe Investment Destination with Higher returns & having a moderate risk profile to Moderate to High Returns with High Geo-Political risk. The markets which are mainly SENTIMENT driven will be accordingly impacted. Thus, in this scenario the responsibility of the ex-chequer has also gone up dramatically as it has not been able to deliver on multiple instances. India has been reeling under terrorist activism for over 2-2.5 decades & we have not been able to develop the capabilities to counter such Terror strikes & stop them & ultimately weed them out through their roots. India’s defence expenditure has been always in the vicinity of 2.5-3.00% for over the past few decades , but was downgraded to a mere 1.99% this year in order to build & improve rapport with our neighbours which are none but a pack of GOONS & hooligans who have found solace by doing anti-social activities in India.

In an era of Technology , Indian Security forces are still fighting the AK-47s of the militants with the age old rifles & similar artillery. An average Indian soldier/commando who is willing to risk his life & put the aspirations of his dependants at bay earns a meagre amount as salary & has the age old facilities, protective equipments like Helmets, Shoes etc. This reduction in the Budgetary allocation has fuelled a huge debate on as to how the GoI should leave the issue un-addressed. If we look at the statistics of defence expenditure worldwide , it is realized that the scale of allocations needs to be increased to much higher levels given the threats of similar magnitudes.

This terrorist attack on Mumbai has already resulted into the loss of INR 4000crores in a single day apart from the loss incurred due to the closure of the stock markets for a day which have an average turnover of over INR 32000 crores. This loss can be replicated if the authorities don’t take a note of it right away & prevent the movement of money from Indian Markets & the foreign Investments in the Indian ventures by boosting the confidence of not just investors but also that of the Tourists & other foreign dignitaries. 

Walking towards Sunlight

Project Sunlight--Unilever

 

This a very special and a unique initiative of a FMCG giant such as Unilever to impart hope to the expecting parents is a very applaudable effort. World at present is going through so many difficulties & scarcity issues, which are making us feel dwarf and human race as such. The volatility in ecosystem, the multiple wars which are being fought in the field but in the minds of everyone of us for more & more material prosperity, to stay one up, has resulted into this problem. Actually, problem is not that of the scarcity, but that of our inability to satiate our GREED.

 

People argue that if greed is killed, then there would be adverse effects on the world growth, evolution of the society shall stop, & so shall the need to make lives better. I don’t know if this argument stands 100% true, but certainly, we have bartered our mental peace in our quest for more money, prosperity, for a more relaxed & comforting lifestyle. These needs are beyond a point unnecessary, & have diminishing marginal utility. I was going through an article on the world's most richest politicians, & one of them have a fleet of 7000 cars(still counting) & one of the largest palace to live(>1mn sqft of carpet area). Why is such a lavish lifestyle driving us mad

 

Our madness in directing our endeavors to achieve more & more are leaving us mentally disrupted. Most of the professionals today, suffer from insomnia, high levels of stress, with no or minimal family life. Family life is one of the most amazing things available at one's disposal, which gives one a chance to unwind oneself with the family members. One learns many people handling skills while at the family, with different relatives having different priorities in life, but all converging to a common goal of nurturing a bigger aim of superior family value & integrity.

Reducing Lifecycles of products in Internet Economy

I am at a toy shop which is kind of moderately full with Angry Birds branded toys, games and other similar items of children. But, this presence of angry birds has reduced considerably as over last few months, when the angry birds game was a runaway success. This reduced popularity reminds me of the product obsolescence or in other words the reducing product,lifecycles in internet economy. This game Angry birds was trending big time on play store but now a days nobody seems interested in playing it forget downloading. Similar is the case, with other applications and games which seem less relevant these days,viz. Temple run, Candy Crush, Flipboard, Pulse and count goes on.

I think there is much more, to this changing behavior of users, apart from the reduction in epistemic value soon after the initial download from the app stores. The probable answer could be the fast changing internet landscape driven by
•reducing attention span of users towards any product
•inability of products to evolve themselves to keep the user engaged, the surprise factor is missing
•availability of superior me too products
•and the switching cost of these products for the users, which is presently Zero.

Thus, for any internet product company it is very important to stay relevant to the user group or built in a fan following or in other words develop a sustainable competitive advantage. There are products which have been able to extend their lifecycle, a perfect example could be Whatsapp...which kind of displaced the existing Khalifas of its domain such as BBM and other IMs. Despite multiple attempts by competition such as Wechat, line etc to displace this product, there was no,success . I don't have the correct reason for that but one reason could be the first product of its kind which is generically applicable to all operating systems, and their(Whatsapps') ability to define their competition as Traditional SMS, and not the other IMs.

These changes are accelerating every moment, and apply equally not only to the software companies but to device companies as well. It is even more difficult for the handset manufacturing OEMs where the inventory and SKU management is an uphill task. Smaller manufacturers like Micromax, Lava , Karbonn are having a tough time in bringing out the replicas of technically advanced Samsung ,Apple, Sony,HTC,Nokia devices. At the same time, these established brands have severe headache by constantly innovating themselves and command the premium and retain if not increase the market share.

With technologies like AR,ANW, driverless cars, internet balloons, the future is certainly bright and amazing for end users, but is very challenging for the OEMs who have the onus of developing the hardware to take these innovations at the door step,of the end user.

the festival called Guru Poornima!

Guru Poornima, a unique festival which is celebrated in Bharat(also India) to mark the reverence to the Holy Master/Guru/Teacher in One's life who has guided a person in difficult times, & has always stood by him as a beaming light showing the right path in life.

Today, I came across the etymology of word GURU, in Sanskrit, which is as follows:

                               गु शब्दस्तु अंधकारः स्यात् रु शब्दस्तन्निरोधकः ।
                               अंधकारनिरोधत्वात् गुरु इति अभिधीयते ॥

 

This verse says, that the word GU refers to the Darkness, whereas the latter means the barrier to the darkness. Thus Guru is one which obstructs the path of Darkness, and paves the way of disciple towards light and glory.

 

Some people say, why does one need a Guru in first place, when the entire knowledge is available in textbooks, scriptures and elsewhere. This situation is analogous to a situation, where the fruits are hanging from the tree, but are far off, and look like Oranges. Guru is the one, who bridges the gap and brings far flung fruits closer, making the disciple understand the difference between an orange and an apple at the same time. Had the Guru been absent from the entire picture, one would have never known the ways to reach to the hanging apples on the tree.

 

There are many Gurus in one's life starting from Childhood, where the kid learns the environment around him from his mother, father teaches him the ways to interact with the world. The teacher in the school makes the child educated, & socially presentable. This journey from childhood to adulthood, makes the child understand the nuances of the society, and when this citizen of society feels the need to understand and grown on spiritual level, the Adhyatmik Guru guides him to the path of perfection, and connects with the Almighty. In my view, knowingly/Unknowingly one is always guided by the Gurus in life.

 

Human life is like a big water body in night, which shines when the light of the Gyan/knowledge of Guru grace falls on water. Life is a reflection, of what one gets to understand under the able aura of revered teacher. As the moon wanes, which is nothing but digression of oneself from the teachings of the Holy master, the reflection stops, the glow, radiance in life goes away. Thus, being in line with the revered master, it is Disciple who gets the full benefit, while Guru sees to it that the shishya gains the knowledge & learning imparted to him.

 

Today, while attending a function of Guru Poornima, one of the six festivals celebrated of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the broad point highlighted was the fact that the Guru, readies the disciple for the higher goal in life, & prepares him for the increasingly challenging life that lies ahead in the journey of attaining the Superior Goal. Not Only Destination(Sadhya) is of importance, but the Sadhan(efforts and journey) to achieve that  goal is equally important. Superior Objective demands superior efforts.

 

Thus, we must pay our obeisance both in spirit and action at the feet of Holy Master  who shoulders the responsibility of taking His disciple to the perfection, through a well lit path under His able guidance.

 

HAIL THE MASTER!!!

Guru Gobind douu khade, kake laguun paaay...

Balihari Guru aapne, Gobind diyo milaay...