MM: Key Aspects of a Battlefield : June 22, 2007
KEY ASPECTS OF A BATTLEFIELD
(This weekly column will explore the relevance and application of Principles and Strategies of Chanakya as discussed in his 3rd Century BC treatise, Kautilyas Arthashastra, in Todays Corporate World)
In Book 2 chapter 18 of Arthashastra, there is detailed classification of the weapons used by an army. The Armory-in-charge is given instructions to take care of these weapons in order to fight the battle well. The knowledge of the weapons and the skill to use them are the key aspects to win a war.
What are the weapons that leaders of an organisation sould have before he goes out to a battle? Let us look at a few important aspects
KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION
Todays economy is slowly becoming a knowledge economy. The more you know and more informed, the better equipped you are equipped to fight. If you do a study of various industries, you will find that the companies that are on the top are those which have focused on knowledge utilization, research and development and also investments into knowledge assets. This also helps you to plan your battle well.
TECHNOLOGY
In todays world that is getting compressed – effective use of technology is the solution to speed up communications and transactions. Make your organisation techno-savvy. Spend time to investigate and understand the latest technology available in the world. Use them and you will find that you have a cutting edge over your competitors. It also reduces over heads in a big way. Many small countries that have small population yet powerful economies have used technology for higher productivity.
PEOPLE
The man behind the machine is more important that the machine, goes the famous saying. Yes your people, your employees make your army. Without a good strong and powerful army, you cant even think of getting into the battle field. Not only the size of the army is important but even the quality of the army is important right person for the right job! Human Resource department have been introduced in most organisations to fulfill this need.
INSPIRATION
The most important weapon you need to fight. If your organisation is an inspired organisation with a fire in the belly there is a transformation in the organisations output. Truly speaking if you have this quality the first three will follow. It is the human will that crates the change. Small organisations with a tremendous will have changed the way business is done. We find the same in the case of nations. A country like
As a leader, when you are preparing for the external war first try to win your internal war. All weapons are useless if you are not inspired to fight.
As our president APJ Abdul Kalam puts it, It is the wings of fire that gives you the ability to reach out to the skies
(The author is the director of ATMA DARSHAN, a company that provides services, including spiritual tours. He is a management consultant and trainer. He can be contacted at radhakrishnan@atmadarshan.com)