Tirukkural as a guide for Modern corporates

The Thirukural  

The Tirukkural is believed to be about 2,000 years old and is composed of three parts that deal with wisdom, wealth and affection or love. In wealth aspect it deals with how you derive wealth, protect it and improve it. Management and leadership are closely related to wealth creation.It also discusses how does the evolution of leadership by cultivating qualities like courage, conviction, determination, self control, control over anger and emotions and a disciplined way of life, with renunciation of your ego, or “aham bhava” (arrogance) and the cravings of the five senses. (Srinivasan)

‘To maximize profits, you need strategies and implementation. Strategy is about what to do, when to do it, how to do it and where to do it. The Thirukural has chapters on each of these.’

It discsses about deliberation before action, on choosing the appropriate time, choosing the appropriate place. All these ingredients for profit maximization are discussed in Tirukurral. There are   kurals on decision making and implementation as follows:

“The end of all deliberation is to arrive at a decision; and when a decision is reached, it is wrong to delay its execution.”

“Go straight for the goal whenever circumstances permit. When circumstances are against, choose the path of least resistance.”

“Five things should be carefully considered in carrying out any action — the nature of the action, the resources in hand, the instrument, the proper time and the proper place for its execution.”

And this one is on goal setting: “Let all your purposes be grand, for even if they fail, your glory will never tarnish.”

“Men who cannot drive home their point before a learned assembly, even if they are very knowledgeable, are good for nothing.”

“Behold the man who is eloquent of speech and knows neither confusion nor fear; it is impossible for anyone to defeat him.”

About your weaknesses and troubles it says better to plan early pruning your troubles and weaknesses. “Fell down thorn trees when they are young…”

One kural says: “Do not reveal your troubles to men who do not know them. Similarly, do not expose your weakness to your enemies.” Or this: “The man of action lets his purpose appear only when the purpose is achieved, for an untimely disclosure may create obstacles that cannot be surmounted.”

‘A lot of people think you become a leader by throwing your weight around — that they need to shout at certain people and [punish them] even for small mistakes. This is particularly true of middle-level managers. Even some of the management schools create the impression that a snobbish attitude is actually helpful for leadership. To become a leader, you have to command respect or force people to have respect for you by creating awe around yourself. The boss who forces respect is not creating a sense of belonging and togetherness, and employees will leave for better salaries. This is one reason why people complain that they cannot get the right talent; it is an indication of weakness in leadership.”

 Thirukural advocates an openness to dissent and it is important because a leader may go ahead with his strategy and his close ones may not be vocal all the times to his errors either due to respect or fear. They may not be subject experts also. Hence dissent or counterview has to be allowed by a good leader. A kural on this is: “A leader should have the virtue to hear the words that are bitter to his ears.”

Thiruvalluvar also talks about being careful with the second tier of your organization’s management and instant sacking of undesirable people.

As the traitors in the camp know your strategy and your secrets, and can be the price catch and great help for your rivals. ‘The moment you come to know that somebody is a traitor, or even if you have a suspicion, you must remove that person or exclude him from your camp. The 10 kurals on this subject advocate a zero-tolerance approach.’

An untrustworthy minister, or your second-in-command is “…is more dangerous than even 700 million enemies.”

The kurals talk about the desired qualities in a minister or an ambassador and emphasize that the person you select must have ‘the organization’s larger objectives in mind.’

 There are kurals very useful for financial management: “It does not matter if the feeder channel is narrow, so long as the draining channel is not wider.”

 “If you put too many of them, even the peacock’s feathers ( debts ) would break the wagon’s axle.”

One kural says: “Take into consideration the inputs, the wastage, the output and the profit that an undertaking will yield; these are the yardsticks for any new venture.”

The Thirukural also says: “There are enterprises that tempt with a great profit but which perish even the capital itself. Wise men will not undertake them.” Also: “Before taking up any enterprise, determine first the exertion necessary, the obstacles on the way and the expected profit at the end.”

 “When the territory of the king (market share of a company) declines, leading to a fear in the mind of the king (CEO) that he will not be able to survive the opponent (competition), it is better for him to submit to an alliance with a stronger king (acquiring company).”

About right time to acquire : “Bend down before your adversaries when they are more powerful than yourselves. They can be easily overthrown when you attack them at the moment when their power is on the decline.” And: “When the tide is against you, feign inaction like the stork. When the tide is on, strike with swiftness and sure aim.”

The virtues prescribed in the kurals will ensure that you will automatically be on the path of good governance. One kural says: “Let the thing you decide to do be above reproach, for the world looks down upon the man who stoops to a thing that is beneath himself.”

Another kural is about epotism and playing favorites: “If you choose an unfit person for your job just because you love and you like him, he will lead you to endless follies.”

About resource building :“The prince (CEO) shall know how to develop the resources of his kingdom, how to enrich his treasury, how to preserve his wealth and how to spend it worthily.”

 Another kural says: “Never trust men without testing them, and after testing them give each one of them the work for which they are fit.” So one must first place new recruits in some relatively less sensitive positions before elevating them.

One kural says that if a certain person is very good at his work, don’t mind the small liberties he takes.: “If the king (CEO) is harsh of word and unforgiving, his prosperity, even if it is great, will end quickly.” If somebody is good and you pep him up, his ego gets boosted and he may take some small advantages. If you become too tight with the rules, it may hurt him and you may lose some bigger things. That is an unconventional thought.

Another kural says that you have to make friends with your enemy’s enemy.