Management Strategy - Lessons from Lord Krishna

The success of any organisation, in this hyper-competitive world, is dependent on its strategy in order to drive and sustain growth. However, the impact of any strategy would be dwarfed if it fails to prioritise its people strategy. At the heart of any organisation is its people who make it great and successful. Having a strong people strategy not only underpins business success but also acts as lynchpin for sustainable growth. That said, it is important to see how you treat your people, especially by your line managers. While a formal management education and experience help in dealing with people, there are many other avenues from where we can extract valuable lessons which we may all have heard about but may not have had a chance to read between the lines. One of them is from Lord Krishna and his “people strategy”. Our legacy offers many lessons, let us explore some of them:

We very well know what happened in Mahabharata, one of the biggest epic fought on earth. However, if we only look at the ground on “what happened” and ignore the ideas and the lessons it offers to us, we would fail to understand what Mahabharata was all about. Hence, its imperative, for those who believe they make good people-centric strategies, to look at the both strategic and tactical approaches taken by Lord Krishna for the very purpose Mahabharata took place.

Let’s look at the some of the key traits demonstrated by Lord Krishna and how they make sense in the realm of corporate fraternity:

Purpose:

While Mahabharata could have been easily avoided, there was a clear purpose as to why Lord Krishna wanted it to take place - “to establish dharma”, irrespective of the fact that there would be bloodshed and many would curse him for the same. Similarly, in the corporate world Managers/Leaders also need to have a purpose, which should resonate with the people who work with them and the purpose should be for the greater good.

Being Fair:

Lord Krishna was related to both Pandavas and Kauravas. While he did have a soft corner for the Pandavas as they were following dharma, he offered help to both of them. It was Duryodhan’s shortsightedness that led him to believe that a larger army would lead to better results. However, he ignored the fact that he was missing on the “strategist” who wouldn’t need an army to win the battle. Hence, if 10 people report to you, as a Manager - should you offer benefits, opportunities, perks to someone who’s more close to you or to everyone even if the other person doesn’t share a great rapport with you? May be not

Effective Communicator And An Inspirational figure:

When Arjuna gave up before even the battle had begun, Lord Krishna did not get agitated, instead he reminded him of his core duties and through his words of wisdom inspired him to lift the weapon to kill is own relatives. He did not use any magical or Godly powers to influence him, he simply clearly passed on his message of what “dharma” is all about and why it was important for Arjuna to look at the larger picture than get trapped to emotional bindings of the world. Similarly, as a Manager, transparency and effective communication not only motivates your subordinates but also ensures to keep their spirits high to go beyond the call of duty.

A Mentor Than A boss:

Lord Krishna treated Arjuna as friend and helped him, guided him throughout the war. He even became his driver for his chariot, while still helping him take the right decisions. It’s very easy to be a boss in an organisation but equally difficult to be a friend at the same time. Without losing the essence of professional relationship, Managers/Leaders can still foster friendly environment and keep guiding and their people to grow. A bossy culture not only harms interpersonal relationships but also takes away the incentive for your people to work and stay loyal to you.

Real Strategist:

You may not always have all the skills, knowledge, tools/technologies in place to execute your plan, however, there will always be an option to navigate through that situation. Sometimes your competitor may be ahead of you. The real strategist is not the one who only considers “what resources are available with him” but also who takes into account “what resource are not available with him” and prepares a counter executable strategy. Of all the names given to Lord Krishna, one of them sounds very unreal - do you know why was he also called “Ranchod” (one who runs away from the battlefield). Yes he ran away from the battlefield not because he was scared of his enemy but he knew an alternate and indirect strategy would be required to outplay his opponent. When Jarasand planned to attack Mathura city, Lord Krishna instructed his fellowmen to move to another city. Kalayavan who was an ally of Jarasandh was very powerful and Krishna new that it may not be easy to defeat him directly, hence, he ran away from the battlefield and hid himself in a dark cave where King Muchakund was in a deep sleep for years. In order to confuse Kalayan, he put his Pitambara over King Muchakund. The ignorant Kalayan, thought him to be Lord Krishna and hit him out of his deep sleep. The moment King Muchakund opened his eyes to see Kalayavan - he was reduced to ashes. Hence, being clear of what you have and what you don’t, always helps to play smarter than your rivals.

I am sure, if we as Managers/Leaders imbibe even some of the traits exhibited by Lord Krishna, we’ll not only be better human beings at home but also at work, thereby laying a strong foundation for the organization to achieve its strategic objectives