Introduction
We are already into the Fourth Industrial Revolution as predicted at the 2011 Hannover Fair. Robots and artificial intelligence will redefine human work. Unlike the preceding industrial revolutions, Industry 4.0 cannot be attributed to any specific invention or innovation. More importantly, the present borderless and seamless interconnectivities (commonly known as the “Internet of Things”, IoT) present volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) challenges.“Set thy heart upon thy work, but never on its reward.Work not for a reward; but never cease to do thy work.”
—Gita (2:47), translated by Mascaro (1994, p. 52)
Amidst all the chaos and apparent confusion, today’s managers would still need to manage. In order to be effective, managers would need to align own passion with their business purpose. Gita (2:47) is an enduring guide for this.
Damage to reputation can be worse than death (Gita, 2:34);
Work becomes worship (Gita, 2:47); and
Courage is desirable, however clarity of purpose is divine (Gita, 2:31).
This analysis is divided into three parts. Part A will explain the concepts of competition and work. Part B will focus on Gita (2:47) and extract the key management principles that are embedded in it. Then Part C concludes by specifying the limitations and outstanding issues in this shloka that need further investigation.
Superior Performance
Different from those already in the industry;
Anticipate demand, just ahead of time—neither too early nor too late;
Resourceful, i.e. not just assets but how these can be organised and optimised; and
Ever-ready, i.e. scalable and sustainable, usually user-friendly and highly impactful.
Very often, the obvious may not always be evident. They exist even without being known, like gravity and oxygen. Likewise, the need for transport and retail are obvious components in any society. Yet these essential needs are perceived and performed differently during Industry 4.0. For example, UBER ( www.uber.com ) does not own any vehicle yet it has the world’s largest taxi fleet. ALIBABA ( www.alibaba.com ) is now known as the world’s most valuable retailer, yet it does not hold any inventory. Both business entities flourish because they make information easily available and transparent. Customers trust them. They add value by satisfying customers’ needs promptly and perpetually, thereby making profit accordingly. So, superior performance drills deep and distils the obvious for profitable enterprise. Much of such wisdom is contained in Indian metaphysics or vedanta in Hinduism, and The Bhagavad Gita is an example.
Part A: Business Competition and Work
Therefore, according to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India (1962–1967) as well as a professor in Indian philosophy (Subhamoy Das, 2017, para 1):“Unlike other religions in the World, the Hindu religion does not claim any one Prophet, it does not worship any one God, it does not believe in any one philosophic concept, it does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more.”
Indeed there are many Hindu gods and their associated deities. However, all these are commonly consolidated into the Trimurti of Brahma (the creator), Shiva (the destroyer) and Vishnu (the preserver). A study into The Bhagavad Gita would reveal the connection between an ordinary person (represented by Arjuna) and a specific god (Krishna being the avatar of Vishnu) or bhagavan svayam—the source of all incarnations (Swami Tapasyananda, 1980, p. 1). More importantly, within 700 shlokas, the understanding of oneself is revealed—not from merely reading but through personal reflection and the acceptance of “becoming” (Radhakrishnan, 2009, p. 368)—in aligning one’s real nature (svabhava) with one’s own calling (svadharma). This chapter further links such personal dispositions with doing business, especially during Industry 4.0.“Hinduism is not just a faith, but in itself is related to the union of reason and intuition. Hinduism cannot be defined, but is only to be experienced.”
“Every soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature: external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy—by one or more, or all of these—and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms are but secondary details.”
Reputation
Since every soul is potentially divine, it is the task of every individual to unleash own potentials. There are formal channels like training schedules and specific exposures. The informal channels include networking and even a personal crisis. However, these opportunities for self-awareness are constrained by own reputation. This is the distinctive “aroma” that goes before an individual and would even still linger on after a person’s death.
The Bhagavad Gita illustrated
The Bhagavad Gita applied to business
A business purpose and corporate values are the mandate for management, like horses that pull a chariot forward. For a business to thrive, the key feature between employees and management is trust. To ensure compliance with an organisation’s mission and vision, corporate governance is vital. Ultimately, the art of business is to continue to be remain relevant to a community and generate profit while doing so. However, there are also non-profit entities that thrive through charities and volunteers. In addition, there are not-for-profit organisations that make profit but channel their gains to beneficiaries resulting in zero profit recorded in their annual balance sheets. Therefore, being relevant and staying relevant are the cardinal features for doing business. In essence, it is the professionalism in a profession that ensures business continuity as illustrated in the following example on Arthur Anderson.
Damage to Reputation is not Death
In June 2002, Arthur Anderson was convicted of accounting fraud with American energy giant Enron. Their license as an accounting firm was revoked by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2002. However in May 2005, the Supreme Court of America reversed Anderson’s conviction due to serious flaws in the jury instructions. Although legally free to resume operations, the damage was so severe that this Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) could not regain their previous level of operations. From a high of 28,000 employees in USA and 85,000 worldwide, this LLP was left with only about 200 employees in USA who were re-deployed into four different companies named Omega Management I through IV as at December 2007.
However, since 2013 there is a group of new partners to reconstruct their business. As at March 2017, Arthur Anderson is now represented by 26 offices in 16 countries in 5 continents. This brand started in 1913 and departed abruptly from the market in 2002. It took them 11 years to resuscitate their roots for new shoots. Based on the Arthur Anderson example, damage to reputation is not death. However, when the reputation was damaged in 2002, the partners and employees then must have experienced the agony of disgrace that was worse than death as outlined in Gita (2:34).
After linking individual shlokas to business, the next section will provide an overview of the connection of the entire book of The Bhagavad Gita to doing business.
The Yogas in Business
The Bhagavad Gita applied to modern business
The Bhagavad Gita | Key Issues | Focus of Link | Applied to Modern Business |
|---|---|---|---|
Chapters 1 to 6 | Self-doubt, Spirituality of being, Understanding awareness, Wisdom in action, Sanctification of work, Meditation. | Karma Yoga actions without attachment to fruits of labour: Duty | Resourcefulness, Business cycles, Social enterprises, Protection of own interests, Work becomes worship, Contingency plans >> cashflow, especially reserves |
Chapters 7 to 12 | Supreme truth, Universal consciousness, Devotions, Alignment options, Universal form, Divine qualities. | Jnana Yoga self-knowledge: Decorum | Business principles, Inclusiveness, Diversity, Global footprint, The right person for the right job >> networks, especially trustworthy relationships |
Chapters 13 to 18 | Detachment, Wisdom transcends knowledge, Supreme self, Divine and demonic natures, Faith, Renunciation | Bhakti Yoga devotions: Discipline | Focus on delivery, Group think, Self-renewal, Corporate governance, Reliability in scalability, Keeping secrets secret >> reputation, especially resilience |
Overall | sat-chit-ananda (existence-consciousness-bliss) tat twam asi (that thou art: I am that I am) | Raja Yoga conquering the mind: Decisiveness | The “inner firmness of purpose” that is to be discovered and cannot be developed >> passion, vision, mission, i.e. the business resolution |
In Gita (9:19), Krishna states that he is both sat (“being”) and asat (“non-being”). The former refers to the tangible - an existence without qualification. For example, the poison that is deadly for human beings is harmless to the snake that produces it. A grown-up tiger can be dangerous, yet as a cub, it can be cuddled playfully. So, in Hinduism, there is strictly neither explicit good nor definite evil. Such judgement is situational. Likewise, in business, there is never excess profit. Surpluses can become a burden when a need turns into greed.
On the other hand, asat refers to the intangible. There is an inter-connectivity among the multiplicity of diversity that appears to be different individual variations. For example, nectar collected from different flowers anywhere tastes the same. Taste is intangible. When salt is dissolved, the water becomes salty although the salt is no more visible. Therefore, like nectar and salt, everything and everyone everywhere are in essence the same and yet different. Applied to business, the needs for transport and retail are evident yet such needs are serviced differently in different countries due to local laws and traditions.
The term sat-chit-ananda—“existence-consciousness-bliss” or sometimes translated as “truth-awareness-bliss”—is not listed in The Bhagavad Gita. This phrase originates from Katha Upanishad (Nawal, 1998, p. 148). The concept of sat-chit-ananda explains that everyone is pure consciousness and part of Brahman (universal consciousness). All beings are in one, and everyone is in all beings. The current global-warming is indeed a vivid illustration of the link of everyone to everything everywhere everytime.
The Yogas in business
Karma Yoga (work-in-action) links relationships with reserves. The equanimity at work is a continuous strive for better productivity. One common myth about successful companies is their focus on beating the competition. However the research by Collins and Porras (2002, p. 10) has proven otherwise. Visionary enterprises focus on beating themselves instead. Beating the competition comes as a residual result from their relentless strive for self-improvement. This is done as a disciplined corporate culture. In some cases for over 150 years like Procter & Gamble that was founded in 1837 and Johnson & Johnson in 1886. No matter how much they achieve—no matter how far ahead they are from their competitors—they never think that they have done “good enough”.
On the other hand, there are companies that remain very close to their customers by sustaining a tight bond in keeping secrets secret. Business growth hinges on working intimately with customers to offer them what they need, according to Simon (2009, p. 29). This is Jnana Yoga, (knowledge-in-action) that links reserves with resilience. Here speed to market and, more importantly, the strict safeguard of confidential information will ensure superior business results.
A third perspective is Bhakti Yoga (faith-in-action) that manages relationships and resilience. Management of the fear of failures, and even to leverage on failures, can help create even more successes. Very often, it is not about when to start a new venture but when to stop an apparently successful one before huge losses are incurred. This requires entrepreneurial “gut feel” and a strong self-belief to connect what appears to be unrelated, yet impactful, collaborations. For example, Anita Roddick sold her entire international chain of The Body Shop stores to L’Oreal in 2006 after discovering her liver cirrhosis in 2004 that led to her death in 2007.
healthful sustainability to only sell nutritious foodstuffs and nourishing beverages;
environmentally friendly to ensure zero impact on the natural eco-system; and
advocating the whole person at work, i.e. “not just to make a living, but to also have a life” thus allowing employees to unleash their mental and emotional energies at work.
Summary of Yoga-business interactions
Figure 6.4 links Fig. 6.3 with Fig. 6.2. The four yogas-in-action can be divided into three zones. The foundation (Zone 1) is the individual attitude or the trust between employees and management. Without trust, it is impossible to sustain business resilience that in-turn secures relationships and reserves. However, this trust hinges on the business resolution (Zone 2) that specifies the mandate for corporate governance (Zone 3) to regularly review the vision and mission. Then, the business continues to remain relevant to customers.
Svadharma
The key criterion for individual resolution is svadharma. The Sanskrit sva means personal or a particular inclination. Dharma refers to the orderly fulfilment of an inherent nature, like a dog barks while a cat meows. So, a cat cannot bark and neither can a dog meow. Therefore svadharma is an individual calling or a specific duty. However, this has to be discovered and cannot be developed.
For example, Genghis Khan was born with a blood clot in his hand. This was a sign according to local folklore that he was destined to become a great leader (Man, 2010, p. 40). He turned this belief into his svadharma to consider himself sent by God to punish sinners and to unify the Mongols. When he died, his entire empire stretched from the Yellow Sea in the East to the Caspian Sea in the West. The Mongols after Genghis Khan created the world’s largest continuous land empire in human history, spreading from Asia into Europe, including parts of the Muslim Arab region. Back then, even traders from Rome could reach Beijing safely using this overland route.
Covey (2004, pp. 37–63) also describes the need to find own voice and to inspire others to find theirs. The choice for this voice is because of personal freedom, guided by physical, mental, emotional and spiritual intelligences. All these features are akin to discovering svadharma as an individual. However, this Hindu aspect is not explicitly mentioned in Covey’s book.“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
creativity, in particular to foresee the needs of others and to satisfy them;
community building among persons for the sake of other persons; and
getting things right while getting things done.
Everyone has a calling (svadharma) and each has a unique way of expressing it. For example, to many, a stone is merely another piece of rock. Yet Michelangelo can turn it into Pieta. Likewise, it takes a succession of many leaders a long time to build a nation, yet Lee Kuan Yew turned Singapore from Third into First World within one generation. Both Michelangelo and Lee excelled because they were given (or self-created) opportunities to blossom. Lee could not have sculptured a Pieta and Michelangelo was not a nation-builder. But both focussed on their respective deliveries according to their individual calling. However, behind every glamourous achievement is a web of supporting networks that must remain anonymous, faceless, traceless and mysterious in order to be effective, according to Sun Zi’s Art of War (Griffith, 2005, p. 146 and Wee, 2003, p. 137).
The Busyness in Business
Unless a calling is clear, the work can turn busy. For clarity, the practice of yoga as a skill can help. For example, the world celebrated the first “International Yoga Day” on 21 June 2015. The United Nations General Assembly has scheduled this as an annual event to coincide with Summer Solstice—the longest day in the northern hemisphere according to Gregorian (Christian) calendar.
Yoga in Sanskrit means “to link”. The “International Yoga Day” promotes universal consciousness so that everyone can be connected globally. This universal get-together will intangibly reinforce one another directly and to help expand global harmony indirectly, for the present as well as for the future.“Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature.”
It is important to note that every business enterprise is like a tree. It grows only when it is healthy. The day a tree stops growing, it starts dying. Therefore, the purpose of business needs constant watering and pruning. So having like-minded people together, like “International Yoga Day”, will help build and defend a common purpose and remove the busyness in business.
Busyness comes from straying away from own svadharma. Gita (18:47) states that executing one’s duty, however humble, is better than performing the duty of another, even if this was great. (Swami Dayananda Saraswati, 2011, p. 188) Oprah Winfrey terms this disorientation as being “not centred” and therefore “all stressed out” (Winfrey, n.d. in 3 min).
So, whatever work done is basically guided by an inner disposition. Individuals find fulfilment and harmony in getting their own work done (Swami Ranganathananda, 2008, p. 315). Since everyone has a precise place in the scheme of things, performing duties ordained by one’s own nature, however imperfect, is better than doing well in the duty designated for another (Swami Chinmayananda, 2002, p. 1177).
A similar comparison is in the deployment of patrol vessels. Smaller police boats are designed to chase after bandits in narrow channels and for deployment in local rivers while huge naval gunboats safeguard the sea territory of a country. The small police boats will capsize in open heavy seas and big naval boats will be grounded when negotiating narrow bends in coastal operations. So every vessel is designed for a specific task, just like every individual having a designated calling. Going beyond own task would lead to busyness. To overcome this disorientation, modern management advocates “mindfulness”.
Mindfulness
Even among Buddhists, there is no one common definition for “mindfulness”. On one end of the spectrum, there is “right mindfulness” by Allan (1996) as part of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism. Then there is Kabat-Zinn (2012)‘s “paying attention to the present moment non-judgmentally”. This is akin to Gunaratana (2002)‘s phrase of “present time awareness”. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Dunne (2008)‘s definition of “non-distraction”, i.e. the mind does not forget an entity.
Really accessible—not just available, but also engaged;
Actually attentive—to participate instead of being merely present; and
Always appropriate—neither too much nor too little.
An example on container and contents can perhaps better clarify this mindfulness concept. Half-full or half-empty is a matter of interpretation. Change a container’s size, then the half-full could become almost-full or almost-empty, assuming that the contents remain the same. Likewise, by putting in the larger pebbles first, then the smaller and granular ones can later completely fill the empty spaces within the same vessel.
The practice of mindfulness fills the neglected parts apparent in every moment. Therefore, “first things first” is to focus on the key essentials and the less important will follow. The half-vessel-themes convey optimistic and pessimistic expectations. More importantly, however, is to know the relative benchmarks between contents and container.
In essence, a business exists because of customers. Value is added in the doing for, the delivery to and the deliverables perceived by the customer. However, within the delivery, there is a tone to every communication. This is the attitude that shows the drive and determination to complete a task. While the drive starts, it is determination that sustains an enthusiasm. However, individual discretion is vital. For example, a drive without discretion would lead to burn-out. Too many concurrent obligations will strain resources and confuse priorities.
On the other hand, determination without discretion is stubborn pride. In business, one needs to be abreast with fresh trends and be vigilant about competition. For example, billionaire Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, advises entrepreneurs not to be the “they” in this idiom that is borrowed from Mahatma Gandhi to describe India’s non-violent activism against the British (Vulcanpost):
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
So, even when the competitor is still small in size or still weak, one should take this threat seriously and monitor this opponent like a giant. On the other hand, even when the competitor is huge, one should not regard oneself as a weakling instead. So, awareness about the competition is good, but self-awareness is better.
Therefore, can a person be “mindful” when the mind is full? Basically “yes”, since mindfulness is a skill and not a state. There are breathing techniques to reduce individual anxiety and mental exercises to contain distractions in order to focus on the present moment. For corporations, there are standard operating procedures (SOPs) to handle similar recurring incidences and contingency plans in case of emergencies.
So, in being mindful, one would not only hear but also listen, not merely look but actually see. In addition, one would be able to discriminate ordinary clutter and rise above the noise for proper discernment. A task blossoms into a duty, and ordinary routine work would become harmonious preoccupations. Then work becomes worship. This transcends the physical into spiritual as a form of interconnectivity with universal consciousness, without being religious.
Work Becomes Worship
The spiritual dimension in Gita (2:47) elevates ordinary work to extraordinary performances. Chatterjee (2012, p. 38) invented the term “workship” as an acronym for “work as worship”. This sanctification of work involves the fullness of every moment or faith-in-action.
To worship is to conduct a recurring ritual in order to express a personal commitment or association. Likewise, when an attitude becomes a recurring habit, the work involved would turn into worship. There is calmness of the mind, always sturdy in intentions and steady in the delivery.
Fullness of the Moment
Meeting the “Fullness of the Moment”
Gita (2:47) illustrated
As illustrated in Fig. 6.6, “action” may also be denial, when one refuses to accept or “don’t want to know”. This can escalate into “don’t know and don’t care”, viz. apathy.
A state becomes a trait
The composition of an action
Diavam
Every action needs an actor, who has the aptitude but constrained by personal attitude. However, among all the components as detailed in Fig. 6.8, the most important is daivam. This can be translated as “chance”, i.e. in the allocation of a challenge by design or default.
Meeting the “fullness of the moment” is a choice. However, every intangible needs a tangible in order to make it visible, like a vessel to determine the content as half-full or half-empty. Yet, every vessel has a shape. This shape has internal tensions that enjoy an outward appearance. Mindfulness fills the neglected parts of the moment by accommodating the inherent tensions for a wholesome outward posture. It is the mind that decides and controls such moments. Therefore, minding a business is really a business of the mind. There is a never ending cycle of decision-making, a homeostatic process.
Management Cybernetic
Management cybernetics
Usually not pre-planned in “output”, but definitely with impact on “output”, is the “outcome”. These are repercussions or ripple effects in attaining an “output”. For example, Singapore’s successful family planning programme (“Stop at Two”) has resulted as output the highest GDP per capita in Southeast Asia. But this success has also the outcome that there will not be sufficient young Singaporeans to take care of a fast ageing population. The resultant outcome distorts a planned output. Therefore clarity of purpose is vital.
Clarity
Clarity of purpose determines proper action. Out of the 18 chapters, The Bhagavad Gita’s Chapters 12 and 15 are the shortest with each having only 20 shlokas. The former explains devotion while the latter captures the greatest secret of The Bhagavad Gita—the way towards Supreme Self. In India, since ancient days, Chapter 15 would be recited as a prayer by the Brahmins before taking food (Swami Chinmayananda, 2002, p. 973). This chapter also describes the extra faculty required of a spiritual seeker, i.e. the “Eye-of-Wisdom” (Swami Tapasyananda, 2010, p. 571 and Swami Dayanana Saraswati, 2011, p. 101).
It is an illusion to think that man is the centre of the universe and our physical bodies are real. Krishna consciousness means becoming free from this illusion. The name “Krishna” originates from the Sanskrit word KRSNA. When all the senses become concentrated and directed towards KRSNA, the resultant state of mind is called bhakti (devotion). (Swami Tapasyananda, 1980, p. 258) This is considered the fifth purushartha (proper goals for living), besides dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation). (Swami Tapasyananda, 1980, p. 1)
In Bhakti Yoga, man and the Divine are two separate entities. To some, KRSNA is the source of all incarnations, as bhagavan svayam (one without a second) with purifying and liberating effects for devotees and to grant relief from all miseries in life. (Swami Prabhupada, n.d., SB1.3) There is no business equivalent for this religious perspective.
However, in Hinduism every person has an individual consciousness called the atman. This has neither birth nor death and is never killed when the body dies (Gita, 2:20). At death, the atman abandons the old body and takes on a new one like a person changing garments (Gita, 2:22). Applied to business, the atman is similar to the officially registered name of a commercial enterprise. The composition of shareholders and management personnel may change over the years, but this business name prevails.
The universal consciousness of KRSNA can have a business perspective akin to “Zeitgeist”. This word is etymologically from German, translated as spirit (“Geist”) of our time (“Zeit”). This can be associated with business cycles and business trends. According to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON ( www.krishna.com ), true success in life comes only by understanding the grace of KRSNA. To have the courage to acknowledge this bond between man and the Divine is liberation (moksha) for the individual.
Therefore, the practice of Gita (2:47) (nishkama karma) must have reference to Krishna (KRSNA). Applied to business, however, this spiritual aspect can be associated with upholding human dignity and individual freedom. These are explained in “intent” and “worth” as detailed below.
Intent
When plugged into an intelligent system, traffic lights can be programmed for a “green wave”. This allows the seamless and safe flow of vehicles and pedestrians. So traffic lights are indeed self-less, desire-less and promptly accomplish all critical tasks as programmed. However, there is no nishkama karma because these lights change automatically but not willingly.
Marquet (2012) practised nishkama karma without even mentioning it. He turned around his entire crew in an American nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine from the worst into the best performers in their fleet. He did so by transferring the control of the ship to his crew, although he held command of the vessel between 1999 and 2001. The steps taken were evolutionary, yet the result was revolutionary. He basically respected the dignity of every sailor under his command and trusted their independent decisions that were deemed to be made for the good of the submarine. Mistakes never happened because these were corrected by the operator personally or by a team-mate. (Marquet, 2012, p. 124).
Likewise the Chinese international conglomerate Haier ( www.haier.com ) has designed their ZZJYT (Zi Zhu Jing Ying Ti, 自住经营体) as “self-organizing, autonomous operating units” to have zero distance to customers. (Fischer, Lago, & Liu, 2013, p. 98) A ZZJYT makes own hiring and firing decisions as well as to adopt new IT and social media systems. This business model attracts colleagues eager to have freedom to make decisions, to act swiftly, and yet have a strong drive to work as a team. With ZZJYT, ordinary employees can then do extraordinary things, which is akin to “work becomes worship” in nishkama karma. However, this Hindu aspect is not mentioned in the Haier report.
Security
According to Chopra (1997, p. 86), the search for security is actually an attachment to the known. This is linked to the past, with an association of personal comfort in dealing with familiar situations. Therefore the yearning for personal security actually inhibits innovative ventures and restricts creativity.
It must be noted that Gita (18:67) states clearly that The Bhagavad Gita is not to be shared with non-devotees, especially those who do not want to hear about or who would argue against such teachings. In addition, it is also not to be shared with those who are devoid of the self-discipline for service. In essence, evangelisation of The Gita is explicitly prohibited according to this shloka.
More importantly, Gita (18:63) stipulates that after contact with The Bhagavad Gita, every individual should have the freedom to personally decide on own course of action. So the secrets after personal reflection should remain secret.
Value vs. Worth
Value-worth matrix
Value is basically intrinsic. Comfort foods and folk music appeal differently to different individuals. Likewise, a company’s history and own retiree-network are very valuable to itself but not valuable to others in the industry directly. On the other hand, a company’s worth is extrinsic, based on market appraisal. For example, both Telsa ( www.telsa.com ) and Grab ( www.grab.com ) are still financially in the red, yet investors consider them highly attractive.
High worth is transient, when the value is low. For example, both travel insurance and protective wrappings are only necessary during travel or transportation. They become worthless then after. Professions like doctors, teachers and the police have their inherent value but have no worth (market rate) to an individual until their services are required, especially in an emergency.
Therefore, protection of business resources should focus on those that have high worth and high value. These should have high resale value, high support during a breakdown and high scalability in modular expansion. An example of conversion of high value to high worth is in customer loyalty. On the other hand, conversion from high worth to high value are the commercially proven intellectual properties like franchising and licensing.
Opportunity Share
In order to preserve the high value and high worth sector, management needs to monitor closely the emerging trends while still defending their current market share (present profit channels). According to Hamel and Prahalad (1996, p. 26), exploring “opportunity share” (future profit options) would be better to sustain corporate competitiveness than to merely protect current “market share”.
Part B: Key Management Principles in Gita (2:47)
While Part A has highlighted the general application of The Gita to business, Part B will analyse the key management principles embedded in one shloka, Gita 2:47. Translations of this Sanskrit verse are taken from three different Hindu authorities that have expanded their work outside of India. Although five swamis (men) are quoted, there are also matajis (women) who devote their lives in different Hindu orders. However, all of these cannot be included due to space constraints.
Key Management Components
Comparison of translations of Gita (2:47)
Ramakrishna Mission | Chinmaya Mission | ISKCON | |
|---|---|---|---|
Swami Ranganathananda (2010, p. 177) | Swami Chidbhavananda (2012, p. 172) | Swami Chinmayananda (2002, p. 119) | Swami Prabhupada (1983, p. 35) |
Your right is to work only; but never to the fruits thereof. May you not be motivated by the fruits of actions; nor let your attachment be towards inaction. Swami Madhurananda (2011, p. 49) | Seek to perform your duty; but lay not claim to its fruits. Be you not the producer of the fruits of karma; neither shall you lean towards inaction. | Thy right is to work only, but never to its fruits; let not the fruit-of-action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be to inaction. | You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of action, and never be attached to inaction. |
Common to all three missionaries is the interchange of meaning between “duty” and “work”. This can be linked to “work becomes worship” when ordinary tasks are elevated to duties, encouraging fullness-of-the-moment with faith-in-action. In business, this is the strong self-belief with a persistent proposition embodied in the business vision and mission.
Another common feature is the “fruit” of action which can be associated with business output and outcome. It is also necessary to include daivam of Gita (18:14) as another component of the actual result. By focussing on the process, results will follow. Business “best practices” are usually adopted as proven success models. However, when a business prospers the local community must also benefit. Such outreach is commonly termed as “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) that reduces current profit but secures future profitability of the business.
Lastly, the word “inaction” is also common. As illustrated in management cybernetics, the management components are in perpetual motion within a closed loop. Like many rivers that flow into the sea, yet the sea does not overflow. Therefore, to keep this momentum, there is a constant search for opportunity share with high worth and high value propositions.
Power of Purpose
Limitations of individual action
The speed, rhythm and intensity of individual effort hinges on a plan-implement-review cycle. In a business, the strategy and structure can be planned formally. Although the corporate culture can have an explicit framework, it will over time be complicated by tacit links that can distort formal channels and standard procedures. To be effective, these official processes need to be reviewed regularly and audited with proper corporate governance.
During the implementation of a plan, interferences and misinterpretations can be barricaded through contracts and legal channels. However, the internal pilferages and collusion of own employees with external parties in order to cheat a business are like cancer that need isolation before treatment. But, isolation can only happen after such deceptions are detected.
During the review stage, contingencies and redundancies can be catered for. But, not within immediate control are the alternative support like sleeping partners and entities of great political and financial influence. These can retard or even reverse the efforts involved.
Superior Performance Re–Examined
Superior performance in a horse race
Team A | Team B | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
Race 1 | Best horse | Inferior horse | A wins |
Race 2 | Inferior horse | Average horse | B wins |
Race 3 | Average horse | Best horse | B wins |
Overall Winner = Team B | |||
Therefore, superior performance need not always involve the “best”. However for Team B to win, they would need competitive intelligence on the status of horses in Team A. In addition, disruptive innovations can also distort superior performance, like spiking a horse with drugs.
Gita (2:47) During Industry 4.0
Superior performance levels for Gita (2:47)
Peformance level | Industry 4.0 | Examples on application of Gita (2:47) |
|---|---|---|
Global | Breakdown of traditional boundaries due to transparency & connectivity in the internet of things | International Yoga Day – to showcase the inter-connectivity between man and nature as well as to enhance insights into individual “inner firmness of purpose”. |
Region | Africa: Ban on the manufacture and use of plastic bags in Kenya, Nigeria and Cameroon. This ban is mandate for management decisiveness, to focus more on the delivery instead of the final deliverables. | |
Country | France: Since April 2016 ban on supermarkets to throw away unsold food, fruits and vegetables but to donate these to the needy instead. This ban encourages community engagement for more diversity and inclusiveness in local business. | |
Industry | Sharing “best practices”, although individual company’s secrets must remain secret. | |
Company | Like PepsiCo’s “Performance with Purpose”, Gita (2:47) enhances life-long learning in order to be “Fit for Purpose” and driven by individual “Power of Purpose”. | |
Individual Employee | Mindfulness with focus on company’s core competence. |
Presently Uber ( www.uber.com ), Grab ( www.grab.com ) and Didi ( www.xiaojukeji.com ) are disrupting the taxi and car rental industries globally. However, these do not have a “revolutionary” business model other than providing faster and cheaper services instead. A paradigm shift has yet to come. For example, an individual's need for transport can be predicted and a vehicle would always be available even before it is summoned through a bidding service. In essence, the demand would be properly anticipated and promptly serviced without any disruption to the lifestyle of the customer.
Therefore during Industry 4.0, Gita (2:47) can perhaps be applied as follows:
Scenario 1: Change Without Changing
Like the revival of Arthur Anderson, a new team continues as professional accountants worldwide, perhaps with more stringent checks and controls. “Work as worship” (workship) takes a secular approach by focussing on human dignity and benefits to the local community where business is done.
Scenario 2: Enhanced Interoperability
Artificial intelligence and robots will add a new dimension to the definition of work. There will be rights and obligations between man and thinking machines. Likewise, rest and recreation will have new economic values, especially for work-life balance. Many will have passive income like Telsa sheets on house roofs and car surfaces to generate electricity that can be sold into the main power grid. There will be a greater search for the purpose and meaning of work. The philosophical analysis of Gita (2:47) will be intensified.
Scenario 3: Blended Efficacy
Management efficacy. Adapted from Chow (2014, p. 4)
The efficacy of work will be in closed communities like Haier’s ZZJYT, serving residents in smart cities. Gita (2:47) will have a global impact besides International Yoga Day that promotes life-long learning. There will be more social innovations to plug service gaps, especially among elderly residents and active-agers in smart city clusters.
Analysis of Analysis
Business during Industry 4.0 would likely transit from Scenarios 1 to 2, and then to 3. The transition from one scenario to the next will depend on the cohesion between man and artificial intelligence (thinking machines). Just like the smooth flow in a “green wave” of traffic lights, there will be chaos when individual street lamps malfunction. Therefore, regular maintenance of these traffic lights is essential. So, even in Industry 4.0, The Bhagavad Gita will still remain an essential guide for managing relationships, in particular for creating and maintaining new perspectives to planning, performing, appreciating and appraising work.
There will be increased anxiety about losing or frequent changing of jobs as new technologies make radical innovations to the way we work and live. Unlike previous revolutions, first-movers or early adopters of new technologies will not have significant and sustainable advantages. New trends will change quickly due to a faster pace for improvements and the transparency in information exchanges. Therefore, superior performance is about being “fit for purpose”. So, Gita (2:47) would still be valid during Industry 4.0 because it focuses on the individual attitude instead of aptitude for work. The latter can be supported by life-long learning, hence ensuring continued employability.
Linear thinking
Exponential thinking
Franchising is another example. The linear thinking lies in direct benefits from sale of items as well as royalties from established processes. The exponential mode of thinking will include forward and backward integrations in the supply chain as well as to co-operate with others in the industry cluster in order to expand the outreach and impact of the franchise. This will include finance, branding and social media marketing to jumpstart new franchise options and to deliver directly to individual customers on-demand with the help digital printing based on tested and established recipes.
Part C: Limitations of Findings
This analysis has extended The Bhagavad Gita from an individual level to business perspectives at local, regional and global levels. As explained in Chapter 15, reference to Krishna (KRSNA) is necessary for the study of The Bhagavad Gita. Therefore this analysis on Gita (2:47) is actually incomplete without taking into consideration Srimad Bhagavata, also known as Bhagavata Purana or Srimad Bhagavata Maha Purana that explains the life of Krishna in twelve skandhas (books).
In addition, the study of Bhagavad Gita would usually be preceded by Gita Dhyanam which has nine shlokas (verses). Links, if any, between Gita (2:47) and Gita Dhyanam have been neglected.
Although many business examples have been highlighted, none have officially included or publicly acknowledged The Bhagavad Gita in their operations.
In addition, although superior performance is attributed to principles in DARE, namely different, anticipate, relevant and ever-ready, the links among these four components (e.g. the weightage of each component that contribute to optimal result) and their interactions (like the need for precursors or catalysts) are not discussed with reference to Industry 4.0.
In business, every person has a position, specifying the person’s role in an organisation. There is a distinction between the “Self” as a person (e.g. an engineer) and the “Self” of a position (e.g. chairman presiding a meeting). Doing what needs to be done, e.g. to provide technical inputs as a professional engineer, is different from getting a second opinion on the same matter as the chairman at a discussion. Gita (2:47) can be applied to both situations. Therefore, another shortcoming of this analysis is the lack of differentiation between person and position.
Although the business components in Gita (2:47) have been identified, there is no investigation into the inter-relationships among these components, e.g. “duty/work” with business vision/mission, “fruit” with benefit(s) to local communities, and individual/corporate “inaction” with opportunity share.
Conclusion
The Bhagavad Gita is too catholic to be confined to only one philosophical doctrine or a religious orientation. (President Sri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, 2008, p. 9.) The key difference between “action in inaction” and “inaction in action” is in self-realisation. The former goes with the flow while the latter flows on the go.
The Bhagavad Gita is about the spirituality of relationships. The devotion to KRSNA can be applied to business as upholding of human dignity and the respect for individual freedom. For Gita (2:47), at the individual level it refers to mindfulness with focus on the core competence of a business. At the corporate level, the local communities are engaged to benefit from a business activity. At the global level, Gita (2:47) is a gift from ancient India to rekindle the harmony between man and nature.
Therefore, applied to Industry 4.0, there will be a seamless transition from an apparent no-change into enhanced interoperability between man and machines, until the work done is a paradigm shift to be both effective and efficient, hence with efficacy.
While superior performance is about being “fit for purpose”, Industry 4.0 thrives on the “power of purpose”. The spirituality of “work as worship” will be elevated by exponential thinking to form competence networks beyond national boundaries. In upholding human dignity and the respect for individual freedom, ordinary work will be transformed into extraordinary performances. In essence, minding a business is a business of the mind.
Summary
The links between Arjuna and Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita are illustrated graphically by circles and an arrow (Fig. 6.1). This model can be adapted for modern business (Fig. 6.2) and further amplified by a triangle (Fig. 6.3) to showcase the various zones depicting corporate relationships, resilience, reserves and resolution (Fig. 6.4).
The essence of Gita (2:47) is graphically illustrated as “aware of being aware” for “fullness of the moment” (Fig. 6.5). Detachment is neither denial nor apathy, but the complete immersion into an action (Fig. 6.6), elevating every task into a duty (Fig. 6.7). However, care should be taken to address opportunities and threats presented as daivam (Fig. 6.8).
Application of Gita (2:47) during Industry 4.0 can evolve from an apparent no-change, to enhanced interoperability between man and machines, until the work done is a paradigm shift to become effective and efficient, hence with efficacy.
The Bhagavad Gita, especially Gita (2:47) can help more research into the spirituality of work, in particular on the distinction between person and position, in upholding human dignity and the respect for individual freedom.
Figure 6.15 consolidates the key features of this chapter:
Chapter synopsis illustrated