management lessons from mahabharath - revised

8/9/2019 Management Lessons From Mahabharath - Revised

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Mahabharata

what is found here may befound elsewhere but what isnot found here cannot befound elsewhere


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Written around 3000 BC - Composed of 1,10,000 sanskrit couplets, it is seventimes the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined, or three times thelength of the Judeo-Christian Bible.


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Mahabharata is not plainly the story of a war or a source of wisdom forphilosophers. It exposes the secrets of leadership and the path to success.

Mahabharata can be considered equivalent to other management bibles. man management, human/organizational behavior, game theory, management by objectives, all aspects of modern management can be

discovered in various characters and episodes of the great epic.

Has mind-boggling revelations. Astronomy: Existence of Uranus (Shweta) and Neptune (Ksharaka).

Geography. Lands as far as Cambodia (Kamboja), Kazakhistan and/orScandinavia (Uttarakuru),

Mathemetics: Nos to the range of 10 raised to powers of 16 & -16. Descriptions of Weapons which resemble modern day weaponry including

Nuclear and/or Chemical Weapons.

Complex Military Formations and Strategies. Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Spirituality, Religion, Politics.

Prelude - Mahabharatha


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Logistics Kauravas :11 Akshouhini Pandavas : 7 Akshouhini

in a ratio of 1:1:3:5. This setup is preserved in the game of Chess.

At the end of 18 days war:

Bhishma killed nearly 1.27 Akshouhinis = 277,749 Drona killed nearly 1.00 Akshouhinis = 218,700 Karna killed nearly 2.37 Akshouhinis = 518,319 Salya killed nearly 0.29 Akshouhinis = 63,423 Ashwatthama killed nearly 0.09 Akshouhinis = 19,683 Rest of the warriors 1.98 Akshouhinis = 433,026

TOTAL 7.00 Akshouhinis = 1,530,900


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GeneralsPandavas :

Arjuna Bhima

Dhrshtadyumna Abhimanyu Ghatotkach

Shikhandi Satyaki

Kauravas :

Bhishma Drona

Karna Shalya Kripacharya

Ashwatthama Duryodhan


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BackgroundPandavas: Exiled for 13 years. Have no kingdom. Their main strength both in terms of political & financial power depends on

their friends and relatives :The Pancalas, The Yadavas, The Magadhas and The Chedis.

Kauravas:

In power for 13 years. Duryodhan has been a benevolent king.

Not only have they the wealth and power of Hastinapur, but also that ofIndraprastha, the kingdom that the Pandvas had taken such labors to buildand which had surpassed the Hastina of old in all degrees.

Karna had gone on a nation-wide conquering on behalf of Duryodhana. Theyare the national sovereigns


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MotivationKauravas :

Without war, will concede not a needle-prick of earth. -Duryodhna

Duryodhana was completely focused on the War. It was his moment oftruth. He had usurped a kingdom, and he meant to keep it. He hadresorted to any means, foul or fair to get the kingdom, which hebelieved to be rightfully his, and he was in no mood to give it up.

Pandavas :We fight over a Kingdom, as dogs over a piece of meat.-

Yudhisthira

The Pandavas had been humiliated, their wife insulted, their kingdomtaken. Butstill they wanted to avoid the War. The three elderPandavas were against the War. They even went as far as making anoffer that they will stop the War in exchange of 5 villages.


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ResultWar Lasted : 18 Days.

18th Night of the War: Ashwatthama slaughtered the Pandava campin sleep.

Except Pandavas, Krishna,Satyaki & Yuyutsu on Pandavas side, &Kripa, Krutavarma & Ashwatthama on Kaurava's side, all were killed.

Death in Kauravas :Bhishma, Drona, Karna and his sons, Shalya, Bhagadutta, Bhurisrava,Susharma, Jayadrath, Duhsasana and all of Duryodhanas brothers,Shakuni and Ulooka.

Death in Pandavas:Drupad, Virat and his sons, Abhimanyu, Ghatotkach and Iravan


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SOHOW

DIDTHE

PANDAVASWIN?????


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PreparationKauravas: Karna went on a country-wide military mission, subdued the different

kingdoms and acquired wealth. loss in terms of both men, money and creation of new enemies.

Pandavas: Though in exile they turned their attention to improving over their weakness Arjuna set out on a mission to acquires Divyastras.

Bhima met his brother Hanuman & got a blessing of enhanced strength. Yudhisthira acquired teachings from the various wise rishis, and also learntthe Game of Dice from Gandharava Chtrasena, lest he was challenged to yetanother dice game. Its said that he had become undefeatable in Dice.

Turn your weakness into your Strength.


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AlliesKauravas:Centralized power system. The greatest empire of the time.But not many powerful allies, except from old relations from far off placeslike Gandhara(Shakuni), Sindhu(Jayadrath) and Kambodia(Camboja Bhagadutt)

Pandavas: No wealth. No power of their own. But powerful allies all over India. Panchala through Marriage with Darupadi. Dwarka through marriage with Arjuna and Subhadra.

Magadh through marriage of Shadeva and Vijaya. Chedi through marriage of Nakula and Karenmayi. Kasi through marriage of Bhima and Balandhara. Kekaya through marriage of Yudhisthira and Devika. Matsya through marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttara.

The Rakshasas through marriage of Bhima and Hidimba. The Nagas through marriage of Arjuna and Uloopi.

Make Powerful Allies.


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LeadershipKauravas : Centralized leadership. One Head of Army at a time, who hassupreme authority of 11 akshouhini of army. Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya andAshwatthama.

Pandavas : Distributed leadership. Seven commanders for the seven divisions.(1 mancommand 1 akshouhini each).

Virat (King of Matsya). Drupad (King of Pancala). Sahadeva(King of Magadha).

Dhrshtaketu (King of Chedi). Satyaki (Only warrior from Dwarka). Shikhandi (Prince of Pancala).

Dhrshtadymna Commander in Chief.Arjuna Supreme Commander.

Krishna Arjunas charioteer and counselor.

Share your responsibilities.


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Team SpiritKauravas : No team spirit. They all fought their individual wars. Bhishma : For his Vow to protect the throne Hastinapur. Drona & Kripa : They owed allegiance to the throne. Shalya: Simply cheated by Duryodhana to be there. Was originally a Pandava

ally. Karna: To prove his mantle against Arjuna. Friendship for Duryodhana.

They didnt gel well with each other. Bhishma and Karna. Bhisma and Shakuni.Karna and Shakuni. Karna and Shalya. Shalya and Bhishma. It was like a bees,

hornets and mosquitoes put together in a jar.

Pandavas : One team. One Goal. As men, they all had huge respect for Krishna &Yudhisthira. While as warriors they were in complete awe of Bhima and Arjuna.Most of them were close relatives cousins, brother-in-laws, father- in-laws.

More than that they all were part of the decision-making process. It was theircommon war.

Teamwork succeeds where Individual effort fails.


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Individual MotivesKauravas : Except for Duryodhana nobody wanted the War. All the 4 main generals had

strong ties with the Pandavas. Bhishma (grandchildern) Wont kill the panadavas. Will kill a thousand soldiers each

day. Drona (students) Wont kill the Pandavas. Will capture them only.

Shalya (Nakula-Shadevas maternal uncle) : Loved the Pandavas & covertly helped themby humiliating Karna Karna (brother to the Pandavas) : Promised not to kill any of the other Pandavas save

Arjuna. A Team of Traitors.

Pandavas : Common goal. But the individuals had their individual targets. Their own agenda,which just became one with the teams agenda. Dhratsadyumna : Drona. Shikhandi : Bhisma. Satayaki Bhurisravas. Arjuna Karna.

Bhima Duryodhana & his brothers. Sahadeva Shakuni and his sons. Nakula Karnas sons.

The Right team is made by selecting the Right Individuals. Get the

right man for the right job.


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CommitmentKauravas : Already said the Big 4 had big emotional attachment with the 5 Pandavas.Looking further on their commitment. Bhisma himself gave away the secret of killing him to the Pandavas.He prolonged the

War by killing only inconsequential soldiers. He did not fight a warrior like Shikhandibecause of his personal bias.

Drona too indirectly gave away his secret, by saying he was invulnerable as long as heheld a weapon. Moreover he abandoned weapons as soon as he knew his son had died.

Karna did not kill Yudhisthira & Bhima when he got the chance. He gave away his Kavacand Kundala prior to his War. Karna fled innumerous times from the War when he washurt. He didnt save Duhsasana when Bhima was killing him.

Shalya kept on insulting Karna while in Battle.

Pandavas : Abhimanyu, a 16 year old kid ventured beyond enemy lines alone. This was suicide

mission but he still went in and took a great part of the army down with him. It tookthe combined effort of 7 Maharathis to take him down.

Ghatotkach even in death, took with him almost half the army. Yudhisthira, he knew he couldnt face Karna in War, but still went in to set an example.

Yudhitshira didn't hesitate to tell a lie or a twisted truth when faced with the decision

of whether to stick to his personal integrity or welfare of the team. Krishna took up arms twice and almost entered the War, inspite of his promise, only to

be stopped by Arjuna.

The interests of the Individual should never exceed the Team interest.

The best man for a Job is not the one with the best capabilities but onewith the greatest commitment.


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Right ManagersKrishna : The Greatest Crisis Manager the world has seen.

Yudhisthira : Low-key strategist. On the first day of the War, he played a Master game. Went over to

the Enemy side to seek blessings from Elders. In reality he made acovert deal with them, wherein all of them agreed to help him andunfolded the secrets of defeating them.

While coming back, he took a calculated risk. He made an offer to allthe assembled people to change sides if they wanted to.

He knew well of the lack of cohesiveness among the Kauravas.Yuyutsu, son of Dhrtarashtra crossed over to the Pandavas. Thisexposed the weakness of the Kauravas for all to see.

Know your enemies weaknesses & exploit them.Take Calculated risks.

Inspire, invigorate, counsel your own team inmoments of need.


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The RootsKauravas:Princes brought up in the comfort of the Royal Palace, matured on romanticizedideals of Power, Fame, Courage and Valor. No experience of ground reality.

Pandavas: Spent the greater part of their lives in Poverty. Childhood in the Himalayanfoothills among Rishis. One year exile among the poor people of Kuru-Panchala. 12 years of Vanvas and 1 year of Agyatvas.

Experinced with the ground reality. Contact with people from various strataof the society. Sannyasis (celibate monks), Acharyas (Householders,

teachers), poor Brahmanas, lower-class Potter. Different races of people. Rakshasas, Gandharavas, Apsaras, Nagas. People

from different regions Uttarkuru, Bengal etc. A Sense of Sharing. A sense of Brotherhood.

Know ground realities.Know different ideologies.

Share.


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Women EmpowermentKauravas : Patriarchal structure. Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Dhratarashtra, Vidur,

Shakuni, Duryodhana, Karna, Duhsasana.No women in the decision making process.Gandhari retreated to the Inner Chambers. Nobody listened to her.

Pandavas : Matriarchal Structure. Kunti was the authority supreme for the Pandavas.

Whatever my mother says is Dharma to me : Yudhisthira. Draupadi was a companion in whatever the Pandavas did. She had a big role in

all the decision making. Without her the Pandavas would have most probablyreclined to the forests.

Even the younger Pandavas: Ghatotkach, Abhimnanyu and Iravan werebrought up by their mothers. So the female influence was huge.

Women = Better Half. Any team which doesn't havewomen is unbalanced, for the Masculine traits of

Aggression and Dominance should be balanced by theFeminine traits of Harmony and Sustenance.


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Recap

Turn your weaknesses into strengths.

Turn enemies into allies.

Share your responsibilities. Teamwork scores over Individual Effort.

Right Team = Right set of Individuals. The right man for the right job.

Commitment scores over Competence.

Team interests over Individual interests.. Know your enemy/challenges. Exploit its weaknesses. Take calculated

risks.

The Right Managers : To inspire, invigorate, counsel in crisis .

Know Ground realities. Accept different ideologies. Cooperate. Empower Women. The Gender Balance is required for stability &

administration.


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Bhishma, an honest manager caught in diametrically opposed clashes, who wasforced to take wrong decisions by forces beyond his power.

Yudhisthira is a flawless example of managerial acumen.

Karna, a manager who fought his way up the ladder but could not keep up withthe pressure and tensions and met a tragic end.

Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, a daredevil leader without a business-plan ofescape. He fought his way into the chakravyuha, but failed to come out and wasbrutally cornered and killed by Drona and others.

Draupadi is the typical model of a woman powerhouse who kept othersmotivated till the goal is achieved.

And Lord Krishna is the ideal example of a leader-manager who kept his eye onthe target till the desired outcome was achieved.

Managers


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Harvard Business Review Harvard Business Review (HBR) came out with a survey of 188 MNCs worldwide, onpersonal capabilities that contribute in the making of a successful leader, it was found

that leaders by their very nature are of six types: Coercivemeaning ones who compel team members to follow their decisions Authoritativethe come with me type; Affiliatingones who work through close association;

Democraticthose who believe in building consensus; Pace-Settingthe I will jump and you will follow type; and Coachingthe ones who believe in mentoring.

The survey found out that with regards to the faculties that go towards making asuccessful leader, there are three primary skills, which are laid emphasis on:

Technical skills,

Cognitive And Analytical Skills, And Emotional Intelligence (EI).

The surveyors found EI to be twice as important as the other two attributes. In fact,the importance of EI, which is an embodiment of motivation, empathy, and social skills,increases as one, goes up the management chain.

There are three components in management the analytical (head), the emotional(heart) and the spiritual (soul).

EI is experience-driven. Life skills like creative thinking, listening, mentoring, workingunder pressure, empathy, team building come from EI which can be easily learnt fromthe great epics.


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Lord Krishna himself advised the Pandavas that no action can beperfect in an ever-changing dynamic world & hence he casuallyadvocated them to keep the overall ethical standards in view andthen act according to the contingency which may require provisionaldeviation from strict ethics.

For example, Krishna prevails upon Yudhisthira, an honest king, to lieor convey a half-truth to psychologically depress Dronacharya.From the complete moralistic standpoint, such a lie may beconsidered unethical. But as long as such lies contributed to a

desirable final outcome - it was acceptable. So the greatestchallenge for the modern corporate leader is the modification ofthese responses keeping in mind the ethical and legal issues butwithout compromising corporate interests.

This can be simplest example to explain the importance of building anetwork of relationships and developing a web of influence. If thereis a single lesson from the war, it is that competitors must try tofind areas of alliance wherever is possible, group their resources forresearch and development and offer innovative solutions forcustomer's money.

Important Teachings


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Karmanyeva adhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana,

Ma karmaphalaheturbhurma te sangostvakarmani.

Gita: Chapter II-47

Certainly in what you do Authority or privilege your

Not In results or outcome At any time or never

Not Motivated by Karmaphal Not Your Attachment

Should there be

In having no action

Your privilege is certainly in what you do; but, never in the outcome of what you do.

(Since you dont have control over the Karmaphal) Do not do something only for

achieving a particular Karmaphal or result; also, there should be no attachment in not

doing anything (Akarman or no actvity)

Note: This verse is related to doingappropriate Karma for realizing God or freeingfrom the cycle of birth and death and birth.It is not related to doing mundane activitiesor daily chores.

Become

That is; you do not decide the Karmaphal in advance and then proceed to do the work .

ma bhu = should not be


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What others have to say:

When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created thisuniverse everything else seems so superfluous. - Albert Einstein

When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see

not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse tocomfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelmingsorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meaningsfrom it every day. - Mahatma Gandhi

The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's wisdom

which enables philosophy to blossom into religion. - Herman Hesse

The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creationrather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning forevery civilization. - Sri Aurobindo

The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve andprotect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of theMahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence offlowers. - Madhvacarya


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management lessons from mahabharath - revised

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