Additional Qualities of a CEO : 

In business, timing and ability to act swiftly with assertiveness are very important. Even the most well intentioned project looses it’s relevance if it gets delayed.This assumes great relevance, in the light of  fierce competition and innovation with disruptive technology, that dictate survival of  a firm in today’s corporate world. While decisions are often made by CEOs, they have to be well informed ones - based on reliable data converted in to useful knowledge. Above all he or she should  be bestowed with courage to take bold decisions and not bogged down by fear of failure. These are highlighted in the following Kural. 

தூங்காமை, கல்வி, துணிவுடமை, இம்மூன்றும்

நீங்கா நிலமாள்பவர்கு (383)

Thoogamai, Kalvi, Thunivudamai, Immoondrum

Neenga Nila Malbavarkku    

காலம் தாழ்த்தாத விரைவான செய்கைகளும், கற்பதினால் பெற்ற அறிவாற்றலும், துணிவும் அரசனுக்கு நிலைத்து நிற்க வேண்டிய பண்புகளாகும்

Action without delay (Alertness), knowledge acquired through education and courage to act are three vital qualities a king should posses without fail.

Motivation ( ஊக்கம்)

  Apart from the above seven qualities, a chief executive must be a highly motivated person who should probagate positive energy to everyone working with him.

The Tamil word ‘ookkam” signifies combination of enthusiastic energy, zeal and diligence, inspiration and self actualisation with un-quenched interest in life. Thiruvalluvar terms this quality alone being the true wealth, as, even if one does not have any other wealth, Motivation will drive him to to earn all of them. On the other hand, even if one is lucky to possess all other material wealth, absence of motivation will eradicate it. Hence, one’s true lasting wealth is nothing but Motivation.

A case in point is the true storey of wealthy Indians who were driven out of Uganda(present Zimbabwe  over night, by the then dictator Idi Amin, rendering them penniless overnight. They migrated to United Kingdom and other countries, re-started their life from scratch and became millionaires again. Great companies and institutions are the result of ordinary individuals with extraordinary motivation and will power to achieve their goal.

For a chief executive, this is the most important quality, as he can overcome any trouble without getting bogged down by crisis and work with fire in the belly to take the organization to great heights. Business cycles with their ups and downs are common occurrences and no executive can afford to lose motivation as that trait alone will help him to pull the whole organisation out of crisis to glory.    

The Great sage had stressed this aspect in unequivocal term signifying it importance in the Kural below. 

 உடைய ரெனப்படுவது ஊக்கம் அஃதிலார்

 உடையது உடையரோ மற்று  (591)

 Udaiya Renappaduvathu Ookkam Akthilaar

 Udaiyadhu Udaiyaro Matru

  ஊக்கம் உள்ளவரே செல்வந்தர், அது இல்லாதவர்க்கு செல்வம்

 என்று வேறு என்ன இருக்க முடியும் ?

Those with motivation only posses true wealth; therefore, how others who lack in it, can be considered to have any wealth at all ?  

Attributes of CEO (தலைமை நிர்வாகியின் பண்புகள்)   

As the old adage goes,”Fortune favours the bold”. Top executives are rewarded with exalted position and huge compensation package, primarily for leading the team with capability to meet critical situation without fear, coupled with compassion towards all colleagues, long range vision and perseverance towards achievement of set goals. The saying ‘Distance between two points depends upon who guides the journey’ is testament to the vital role CEOs and other corporate leaders play in shaping up the future of an organisation they lead. This aspect is brought out in the following Kural.

 அஞ்சாமை ஈகை அறிவூக்கம் இந்நான்கும்

எஞ்சாமை வேந்தர்க் கியல்பு (382)        

   

 Anjamai Yeegai Arivookam Innangum

 Enjamai vendark Kiyalbu       

பயமின்மை, இரக்க சிந்தை, அறிவாற்றல், உயர்ந்த குறிக்கோளை எட்டும் முயற்சி என்ற இன்நான்கு பண்புகளும் அரசர்க்கு குறையாமல் இருக்க வேண்டிய தகுதிகளாகும்.

Fearlessness, Compassion, knowledge and motivation to achieve the goal are four qualities a chief should possess. 

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was bestowed with all the above qualities. He was born with a silver spoon in a very rich business family. He was always interested in science and became an international figure in cosmic ray research. He dedicated his whole life in pursuit of excellence in all task he had undertaken. No one believed him that he would one day be successful in the area of rocket development. he used to dream about the satellites in orbit while pencil rockets were failing. He never allowed himself to despondency  or despair and he believed in his men and extended full support. He was bold and never buckled pressure by doomsayers. He was most compassionate to all his subordinates. He was a brilliant multi faceted person and had untiring enthusiasm with matching efforts to persevere his goal. Dr.Vikram Sarabhai‎

Background   (பின்னணி )

I had a great opportunity of working in ISRO from it's nascent stage where very small rockets to predict the weather conditions were launched. I was not only a participant but also an observer in the day to day functioning of the organization. The vision of the the founder Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and his chosen leaders who have turn his dream to reality against odds. Following were great challenges the Organisation had to face during the course of development. 

• First and foremost was the technology was zealously guarded by a handful of developed nations.       
• Second the rocket science per say is very complex needing mastery over cutting edge technologies in multi - disciplined interacting with each other. 
• But for a very few, most of the engineers and scientists were qualified in india without any exposure to the high technology areas.
• ISRO being a Government of India organisation is governed by set rules and does not have the flexibility either to hire and fire or to encourage exceptional talents with out of turn increment or promotions. 
• The strategic nature and the complexity of the development process prevented ISRO from subcontracting most of the functions to other organisations or industries.
• The whole process of development of rocket is inherently costly with long lead time and highly risky with possibility of failure looming large all the time during development up to the actual flight.
• There were many skeptics questioning the need for a rocket for a poor developing country like India.

It will be interesting to note the even United Kingdom  abandoned development of  Rocket after encountering continuous failures.  

Despite all the above hurdles, today ISRO is the most successful Organisation and countries like USA and France have partners in progress. This could not have been possible but for the great leadership of many who had carried out the task with untiring efforts. The organisation worked towards a set goal defined by the Mission Statement by Late Vikram Sarabahi which is being strictly adhered to till today. 

when i deal with the great management principles  I learnt from Tirukkural, I was amazed to see a striking resemblance to the functioning of ISRO management. Hence I would like to bring to light some of the unique attributes of   the personnel  in reavent context. 

Management Lessons in “ TIRUKKURAL”

Management Lessons in “ TIRUKKURAL"

Preface (முகவுரை)

Tirukkural is a tilmeless Tamil Classic written approximately 2,000 years ago by the great thinker and philosopher - Saint Thiruvalluvar. It consists of 1,330 couplets. Each couplet is called a “Kural” consisting of 4 words in first line and 3 in the second; composed in a poetic grammatical form known as “Kural Venba”.  This body of work, is divided in to 3 major divisions - Virtue, Wealth and Pleasure. They are grouped in to 133 chapters, each with 10 couplets dealing with every facet of life. Over the centuries, readers have often considered the Turukkural as a set of best practices that defines the “Art of Living”. While that perception points to the practical applications of the philosophy this masterpiece espouses, this is also a highly analytical scientific manual that enumerates cause and effect of actions or the lack thereof.

The message conveyed in this great work is universal and timeless. There is no mention about a specific God, a religion or a geographic region or country. The author, Saint Thuruvalluvar did not call attention to him and did not even mention his name in this entire work. This great sage had given counsel to both Kings and commoners alike on the best way to lead life. Among many areas he had covered, it is awe inspiring to note the great extent to which he had dealt with the principles of management, leadership, governance and ethics - concepts that find relevance and applicability in our daily lives today - 2,000 years after this manuscript was originally written. 

I have made an attempt to highlight specific Kurals, or couplets that deal with management principles and best practices that are timely and relevant even after 20 centuries. I want to share the awe, inspiration and the wonder I experienced with regards to the advanced thought process in the highly developed ancient Tamil civilization. I have introduced each Kural as stated in the original body of work in Tamil with transliteration in English followed by meaning in Tamil and English. Where ever I found necessary, I have elaborated with examples of present day achievers. The number indicated in the bracket / parenthesis signifies the serial number in which each Kural appears in The Tirukkural.

The present day CEO, COO, Chairman or Managing Director of a multi-national corporation is often much more powerful than yesteryear kings or emperors. Even in monetary terms, the revenue and earnings of some of large corporations exceed GNP of small nations. In other words, the success or failure of a company has far reaching effects on the society as a whole. The role of government cannot be over emphasized, considering the power they wield on all facet of a common man’s life. Hence, Tirukkural which prescribed and called out good attributes and character traits for a successful king is applicable for present day CEOs. The executive’s action or inaction has far reaching implications on all stake holders in the corporate ecosystem including share holders, financial institutions, employees, suppliers, customers and society at large.

Today’s global economy and the resulting flat world have only hastened the spread of this effect across time zones and national borders. It is more important than ever to direct corporate energies towards the consistent and efficient application of management principles globally. This includes business sub-domains such as ethics, corporate planning, corporate social responsibility, coordination, resource allocation, human resource management, communication, risk mitigation and much much more. There is also a need for the top man or woman to embody and nurture impeccable personal character and conduct. The fact that Thiruvalluvar had conceptualized and had offered succinct best practices that resonate with today’s global challenges and drivers is testament to this most revered body of work’s timelessness. It is equally astounding to understand Thiruvalluvar’s advice on Political Economics particularly in the light of the fact that the birth of modern political economics is as late as 1776 with the publication of ‘ The wealth of Nations’ by Adam Smith.    (Annexure 1)

One striking phenomenon of “Tirukkural” is it’s brevity. Each couplet isn’t very different from today’s electronic integrated circuit chip that packs intelligence equivalent to a million transistors and the capacity to store and process large amounts of data into a very small physical area. Each couplet similarly, conveys a message in a crisp yet sometimes cryptic form and provokes the reader to interpret the teachings, while drawing one’s own ideas and conclusions - which of course, is the hall mark of any great artist. The Tirukkural has been the subject of thousands of scholarly as well as casual books, dissertations and debates - each serving to enrich the universe of ideas.

In conveying the message Thiruvalluvar had adopted two methods. In one, he indicates the positive outcomes one could expect in performing a good act. In another way, he points out the negative effect of certain actions. He adopts the second method, if the repercussions are lethal. When the poet had to covey a very strong message, keeping the need for brevity, he highlights it with a beautiful analogy which turns out to be very powerful.

Jack Welsh, who retired in 2001 after serving for about 20 years as the CEO of the General Electric is often dubbed as the one of the greatest managers of this century and is presently engaged in sharing his knowledge with corporate executives globally. In just the past decade he had met about 250,000 people to impart his life lessons about the corporate world. He developed GE into a multi-product multinational conglomerate with its value shooting to $400 billion at the time when he left the company. He had written two books- “Straight from the gut” and “Winning”. ‘Winning’ in particular has received widespread acclaim including from the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. In that book, Welch prescribed major qualities to look around in selection of Individuals. His 4E+ P formula is highly acclaimed to this day. E1 - stands for – inherent energy, E2- energizing others,  E3- Edge (taking decision under crisis) and E4- Execution being most important. P - Stands for passion. Jack Welch insisted on testing prospective candidates for Integrity, Intelligence and Maturity as key selection criteria in addition to other technical or business requirements of the job.

The continued relevance of this 2,000 year old masterpiece to 21st century management principles and business drivers never ceases to amaze me each time I have read these couplets over the past many years.  In shining the light on contemporary management principles ranging from leadership, motivation, anger management, treasury management and much much more, this work is my attempt at shining the light on how powerfully the Tirukkural resonates with the Boardroom & boiler room alike.