Mythical heroes & Co

If you’re looking for a how-to or ready-reckoner on business solutions, Business Sutra is not the book to refer to. In fact, on page 437 is a list entitled ‘How to reject this book’, with comments such as ‘This is too theoretical, not practical’, ‘Which university endorses this?’, ‘So what does the author want me to do now?’ If this is meant to be funny, it isn’t.

Funny-peculiar the book sometimes is, and that’s when you don’t quite get what the author intends. However, what it does offer is some possibilities as to why people behave the way they do. This is bolstered with stories from Indian mythology, philosophical and psychological insights, examples from contemporary work situations and plenty of line drawings.

The first two short sections of the book lay out the land: they discuss the connection between belief and business, and offer a general understanding of Western, Chinese and Indian belief systems. The third section, which comprises the chunk of the book, is all about the Indian approach to management, with a Business Sutra vocabulary, index of sutras, and the rejection list bringing up the rear.

Pattanaik has amazing empathy with and knowledge of Indian mythology; he is also an engaging speaker and writer. That’s why it was surprising how difficult it was to wade through the first two sections. But he does make an important point about the role of culture, even in business practice. This is something we ignore all the time, from the way we live our lives to the way our government conducts its foreign policy.

For a while now, Pattanaik has been making connections between management practices and mythology. He is Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group, he writes extensively in newspapers and on his Web site. Some would argue he carries this too far. Judging by the book, while I cannot honestly say that I’m convinced by his idea of ‘Business Sutra’, some of his arguments are forceful, and the examples he provides, illuminating. Take the following example: “Every time Josephine concludes a conversation with Mukul, her counterpart in India, she sends an email summarising the contents of her call. When Mukul does not do the same, Josephine finds it annoying. She reminds him of company policy, compelling him to comply.”

This reminded me of the time an English friend articulated the problem her son had with a project partner in India. The Indian team never met deadlines. “Is it a cultural thing?” she asked me. “Should he expect that when a deadline is fixed, the work will actually be completed only later?”

Like me, you will find many points of reference and familiarity in the book which, by the way, does not have to be read in chronological order. Dip into it wherever you want, you will make discoveries anyway.

Pattanaik’s hypothesis is enlightening, but it’s up to you to buy the arguments or not. For instance, he says, we often understand ‘Indian’ in terms of ‘Western’. “European scholars mistakenly equated Manu with the biblical Adam. With that, the Manu Smriti, once an obscure text known only to Sanskrit-speaking Brahmins of North India, became the definitive law book in the eyes of the world”. You begin to see the force of the logic.

While the author draws mainly from Hindu mythology, he does occasionally also refer to Jain and Buddhist experiences. In a section entitled ‘Drishti, observing objective reality’, there is a story about Vishnu sending Narad off to investigate something. He returns with little or no information. Garud, sent off on the same task, comes back with all the answers. The ‘management’ story appended to this is: “Arindam realizes the value of Meena as a team member over Ralph. Both are good workers. But when Arindam has to go for a meeting with Meena, she gives him a file with all relevant details about the client so that he can prepare well. Ralph will do no such thing. When Arindam points this out, Ralph says, ‘Is that the process? Do you want me to do that? I will do that, no problem.’ Arindam realises that Ralph is no Garud.”

There are very many examples and talking points throughout the book. In the ‘Divya-drishti, observing subjective reality’ section, there is a story of Narad getting Satyabhama and Rukmini to match Krishna’s weight on the weighing scales with what they consider most valuable. Satyabhama piles up her gold and jewels, but is unable to balance the scales. Rukmini places a sprig of tulsi and the scales shift.

Link this to the real-life story: “Zafar has a small shop that sells fake brands at about a quarter of the real price. He has never understood why people pay so much for brand names. The actual cost of production is much lower. His uncle explained: ‘The customer is not buying a tool that tells the time. He is buying aukaat : status, dignity, respect, admiration and envy. For that the customer is ready to pay anything.’ Zafar thus understood the difference between the literal and symbolic value of Rukmini’s tulsi.” We get it.

Somewhere along the way, it becomes clear that we must take mythology for its symbolic, not literal meaning in the way that the author himself did. That’s when things began to fall in place rapidly. “Business is ultimately about decisions,” writes Pattanaik. “When we take decisions, we use frameworks, either consciously or unconsciously. This book is full of frameworks, woven into each other. While frameworks of management science seek to be objective, the frameworks of Business Sutra are primarily subjective.” He then goes on to say that he is neither selling these frameworks nor positing them as the truth. “They are meant to be reflective, not prescriptive.”

If we take this view, then many of us will find the book illuminating, even useful. Pattanaik’s father did his MBA from New York University and, says the author, he “always spoke of trust, relationships and respect, rather than processes and control”.

In retrospect, it would be safe to say that Business Sutra is broadly about winning trust, establishing relationships and earning/ giving respect keeping in mind and drawing inspiration from the cultural foundations of Indian society.

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