Janmashtmi has approached and his devotee will be celebrating it in vivid ways. Different people have different images of lord Shri Krishna but only handful of people are aware of His other side – The management guru. The teachings of Lord Krishna are known all over world and had been encrypted in the very famous Bhagavad – Geeta. Five thousand years back Lord Krishna taught Arjuna self-development which is the key to leadership skills. This leadership would eventually lead to Managerial skills. The teachings of Shri Krishna centuries back are applicable in present day where the knowledge of the individual is powerful.

Many corporate can follow his teachings for human resources development of the managers and workers.   

Shri Krishna started enlightening the world with knowledge right from his childhood days. Though many people feels that he was naughty in his childhood and hence used to steal Maakhan from various houses yet He had a different perspective all together. He was the leader of his poor friends who did not have butter at home. He would steal butter from the houses where it was in excess and would equally distribute it among the poor friends. The message Shri Krishna conveyed is that a true leader would always solve the problem of all those who look up to him, however small or big it might be.

” Karmanye Vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachna, Karmaphalehtur bhurma te sangostvakarman “

In the above quoted very famous shloka of Geeta Shri Krishna has beautifully explained about the relation between deeds and results. Shri Krishna says that every person has a right to perform his/her prescribed duty but should not be concerned only to the fruits of action. One must never consider himself as the cause of the result of his/her duty and at the same time should never be attached to not doing the duty. Not many people understand this.

In order to understand consider youth icon Vishwanathan Anand. Whenever he wins a game, he never takes the credit for winning rather he would say that his opponent did some mistakes.

By saying so he does not consider himself as the cause of the result of his deeds but at the same time he does perform his duty very well. In the above shloka, Shri Krishna also guides people to have a right attitude towards the work they perform. There is a very famous story of three stone-cutters who were engaged in constructing a temple. A man asked them what they were doing. The first stone cutter said with a dejected face, “I am a poor man. I have to maintain my family. I am making a living here”. “Well, I work because I want to show that I am the best stone-cutter in the country,’ said the second one with a sense of pride. The response of the third worker to this innocent-looking question is illuminating. He said “Oh, I want to build the most beautiful temple in the country,” with a visionary gleam. Their jobs were identical but their perspectives were different. What the Geeta tells us is to develop the visionary perspective in the work we do. It tells us to develop a sense of larger vision in our work for the common good.  

The famous epical story of Shri Krishna and Sudama is not unknown to anyone. After being the king of Dwarika when Shri Krishna once got to know that His childhood friend Sudama has come to meet Him, He left his throne and went to the main gate of the kingdom to receive Sudama and embraced him. The story clearly portrays a very humble and down to earth nature of Lord Shri Krishna. The message any management professional can take from the story is even after achieving the heights of success and glory one must keep his/her feet firmly on ground. More humble and down to earth a person is more he/she succeeds in the life and carrier.   

The Mahabharata war was fought three thousand years ago, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Shri Krishna gave up all his men-power to the Kauravas and was standing with Arjuna to guide him and to perform his responsibility of being a true leader. History has witnessed that though kauravas had enormous resources, yet it was the leadership of Shri Krishna who guided a handful people and Arjun’s sheer talent that led Pandavas towards success and victory. Kauravas had great archers like Dronacharya, Karan and many more yet they could not win. The reason being is lack of leadership. Clearly even best mind and talent cannot achieve success without a good leader. And looking on the other side of the coin, despite having limited resources a good leader can definitely take his company to the zenith and much above.   

In the battle of Mahabharata Shri Krishna had the most powerful weapon called “sudarshan Chakr” but never used it for anyone who was not guilty of any wrong deed. The message that he has conveyed through this is that even though a leader or manager might have the supreme powers but he/she should never misuse it. The lessons of Bhagwat Geeta are very much applicable in today’s scenario as well. The iconic industrialist Mr. Ajay Piramal Says “Bhagavad Geeta is one of the greatest management books as it prescribes optimism and freedom from stress”.

People generally get confused with effectiveness and efficiency and its applicability in management. In Bhagwat Geeta there is a beautiful extract in which the difference between effectiveness and efficiency has been distinguished in a crisp manner. It quotes; Effectiveness is doing the right things and Efficiency is doing things right. Management has become a part and parcel of everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose, management principles come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human effort. The critical question in all managers’ minds is how to be effective in their job. The answer to this fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad Geeta, the teachings of Shri Krishna which repeatedly proclaims that you must try to manage yourself.’ The reason is that unless a manager reaches a level of excellence and effectiveness, he or she will be merely a face in the crowd.  

Indeed Lord Shri Krishna is teacher of the universe, “krishnam vande jagat gurum”. Although throughout his life he taught some body or the other but in battle field of Kurukshetra he taught Arjun, principles management and leadership. This conversation between Krishna and Arjuna is known as Bhagwat Geeta. This is not only Hindu holy book but it is for the whole of the mankind. And an idol book for management.