'Leadership'List of Related Articles with Summaries |
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First Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 18 July 2008
As Ravi entered his cabin, he suddenly felt lost. What was he supposed to do next? He set up his laptop and went straight for the email inbox. Maybe there were emails there to respond. And in the midst of responding to the emails, maybe he […]
Published as No Right Answer in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, July 4 2008
Vikramaditya, king of Ujjain, pulled down the ghost or Vetal who swung upside down from the branches of tree that grew on the edge of a crematorium ground. “If you can bring this creature to me,” a sorcerer had told the king, “I […]
Published as 'The Right Spirit' in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 20 June 2008
Of the five tenets of Islam, there is one that forces the believer to take cognizance of others around him. The first tenet is about the faith one must have – faith in one God and his final prophet, Muhammad. The second is […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 13 June 2008
In Vedic times, life was divided into four stages: the first quarter was Brahmacharya-ashram, the stage when one is a student; the second was Grihastha-ashram, the stage when one is a householder; the third was Vanaprastha-ashram, the stage when one retires from active household duty; the fourth […]
Published on 6 June 2008, in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times
According to the Shiva Puran, Daksha-Prajapati sought worthy grooms for his many daughters, men of substance, gods who helped life on earth, like Indra, the rain-god or Agni, the fire-god. He was quite horrified therefore when his youngest daughter, Sati, of her own free will, chose […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 29 May 2008
If there was no Mahish-asura, the gods would not have invoked the warrior-goddess, Durga. If there was no Tarak-asura, there would have been no need for the divine warlord, Kartikeya. If there was no Ravana or Kansa, Ram or Krishna would not walk the earth. Demons and […]
Published on 16 May 2008 in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, as 'We are the World'
Vishwaroopa is the form taken by Krishna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra when Arjuna asked him to reveal his true form. In this form, Krishna no longer looks familiar. He is neither cowherd nor charioteer. He is a magnificent being with […]
Published on 9 May 2008 in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, as 'The Cursed Gossip Monger'
Randhir was very happy with his bonus until someone told him that his colleague, Sukant, had been given a higher bonus. “Its not fair,” he said and stormed to meet his boss. Despite every attempt of his boss to explain his […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times on 2 May 2008 as 'Work it Out'
In the forest, Ram met an old lady called Shabari who invited him to a meal in her house and offered him her meager fare: berries she had collected in the forest. Lakshman who followed his brother was horrified to see the […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 18 April 2008
The Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius,’ is Latin for ‘Swifter, Higher, Stronger’. The roots of this ideal of continuous relentless improvement lies in the ancient Greek world, where the Olympic Games were a sacred ritual. Through participation, and especially through winning, the athlete reached the ‘zone’ that […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times supplement, 4 April 2008
Hanuman plays an important role in the Ramayan, yet in the epic itself, he does not hold any great position. He is just one of the many monkeys Ram encounters in the forest. He is not Sugriva, leader of the monkey troop. He is not Angad, […]
First Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, March 21, 2008
In the Ramayan, Ram is asked to string a bow – a feat that will win him the hand of Sita in marriage. Ram, however, bends the bow with such force that it breaks. Since no one until then had even been able to pick up […]
Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 25 Jan 2008
Vishnu is amongst the most popular manifestations of God in the Hindu pantheon. But curiously, there are very few Vishnu temples across India, the most popular, where he holds his four symbols, the conch-shell, the lotus, the mace and the disc, is that of Tirupati Balaji in Andhra Pradesh […]
11 Jan, 2008, 0548 hrs IST,TNN
When a family business breaks down, one is reminded of an old Indian tradition: never read the Mahabharata inside the house, always the Ramayan. For the Mahabharata is the tale of a household divided while the latter is the story of a household united.
The Ramayan speaks of three sets […]
18 Jan, 2008, 0608 hrs IST
Two childhood friends, one the son of a warrior, the other the son of a priest, promised to share all they possessed even in adulthood. Fortune, however, favoured only the warrior’s son. In desperation , with hesitation, the priest’s son, reduced to abject poverty, decided to approach his rich friend. […]
21 Dec, 2007, 0444 hrs IST,TNN
Most people in the corporate world have been educated in the modern scientific education system. They have gone through school where they learnt language, mathematics, science , history and geography. Then they went through college specialising either in science or arts or commerce . And yet, despite a relatively standardised […]
7 Dec, 2007, 0408 hrs IST,TNN
Marriage is the most important rite of passage in a family, second only to the funerary rituals because it brings with it the hope of children, the next generation, of continuity and renewal.
Organisations are no different from families – people are constantly leaving – either at the end of […]
30 Nov, 2007, 0510 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN (Corporate Dossier) When he wants to know the profits of the organisation, the CEO turns to his Chief Finance Officer (CFO). But when it comes to understanding opportunities in the market, the leader turns to the Head of Marketing and Sales (HMS). The CFO knows where investments have […]
16 Nov, 2007, 0449 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
In the great epics of India, Ramayan and Mahabharata, war ends not with celebration of victory but with transmission of knowledge . In the Ramayan, Ravan lies mortally wounded on the battlefield and the monkeys are celebrating their victory, when Ram turns to his brother , Lakshman, and […]
2 Nov, 2007, 0501 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
According to the Puranas, when Brahma creates the world, the Goddess appears as Saraswati, embodiment of knowledge, serene and aloof, dressed in white, holding a lute and a book, riding a heron. When Vishnu sustains the world, the Goddess appears as Lakshmi, stunning and alluring, dressed in red, […]
Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 12 Oct 2007
Vishnu Purana begins with the story of Matsya avatar, the fish incarnation of Vishnu.
A tiny fish approaches Manu, the first leader of mankind, on the riverbank and begs him to save him from the big fish. Manu, in his compassion, scoops the tiny fish out of the river […]
5 Oct, 2007, 1206 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
If vishnu is the CEO, then his office is Vaikuntha, the ultimate paradise, a place where his every word is law and every wish a command. What cannot be resolved elsewhere can only be resolved in Vaikuntha. Naturally everybody wants to go to Vaikuntha. Outsiders, from vendors to […]
28 Sep, 2007, 0510 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
Of the 18 days of the Kurukshetra battle described in the Mahabharta, nine days were indecisive. The Kauravas , with 11 armies, outnumbered the seven armies of the Pandavas. For the Pandavas, it was critical that Bhisma, the old but very able commander of the Kaurava forces, be […]
21 Sep, 2007, 0525 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN So it's your first day of work as the new leader of the team. Is it your appointment letter that makes you a leader? Or do actions make you a leader? What actions must you take to establish your leadership? Is there any step-by-step approach by which a […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 14 Sept, 2007
The ultimate goal is profit. Call it anything you want: bottomline, topline, market share, capitalization, equity, dividends, incentive, growth. It is what ultimately counts. It is why leaders are sought by organizations. Leaders are the ones who are able to mobilize the organizational resources to generate wealth. […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 7 Sept 2007
Hindu gods are distinguished from each other by the symbols they carry. Shiva, the ascetic, for example, is identified by his trident and rattle drum. Brahma, the priest-teacher, is identified by his books, rosary and pot. Vishnu, the leader-king, is identified with four symbols: conch-shell trumpet or […]
Published as 'Worldly Affairs' in Corporate Dossier (Economic Times) on Friday 3, August 2007
Case studies appeal to the rational side of the mind. But the mind has another side, the intuitive side, which is informed by various emotive, metaphysical, cultural and personal truths. This side rapidly understands concepts presented through mythology. Mythology is a little exploited teaching tool. […]
Published as 'Promised Land' in Corporate Dossier (Economic Times) on Friday 27 July 2007
Visualize this. A slave in Egypt in 1500 BCE (Before Common Era, formerly known as BC or before the birth of Christ). He hears a man, once a prince, now an outlaw, declare that God has instructed him to take all the slaves […]
