Lord Krishna as a Management Guru

1. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
Effective Management Lessons From the life of Shree
Krishna

2. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• Lord Shri Krishna is the most revered Gods
in Hindu mythology.
• He is also considered to be the well-known
biggest leaders of all times.
• He was a good communicator, orator and had
a great sense of dealing with complex
people.

3. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• He is worshiped as the 8th avatar
(incarnation) of the Lord Vishnu and also as
the supreme God in his own right.
• He is the god of love, tenderness and
compassion in Hindu religion, and is one of
the widely revered and famous among Indian
divinities.

4. Lord Krishna is worshiped as the 8th avatar
(incarnation) of the Lord Vishnu

5. He is the god of love, tenderness and
compassion

6. He is the god of love, tenderness and
compassion

7. He is the god of love, tenderness and
compassion

8. He is the god of love, tenderness and
compassion

9. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• Teachings of Lord Krishna are infinite.
• His names and forms are innumerable.
• Lord Krishna who is an entity unto itself is
a proven charismatic leader and manager.
• He imparted his teachings through his
exemplary life and actions.
• Let us reflect and take a glimpse at the
illustrious facets of Lord Krishna.

10. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru

11. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• An exemplary- a leader, a hero, a protector,
a teacher, a philosopher and a friend : all in
one.
• Krishna was one of the most pragmatic Lords
of all times.

12. An exemplary- a leader, a hero, a protector, a
teacher, a philosopher and a friend : all in one

13. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• The best manager and a leader who
imparted valuable lessons to all.
• He propagated theory of bhakti and good
karma in Bhagavad Gita.

14. The best manager and a leader who
imparted valuable lessons to all

15. He propagated theory of bhakti and good
karma in Bhagavad Gita

16. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• The Holy Book Bhagavad-Gita elucidates
several important management lessons for all.

17. Krishna as the Management Guru
• Lord Krishna is the master of finesse and there
is a lot to be learnt from him.
• Following are some of the management
strategies useful for leaders.

18. Krishna as the Management Guru

19. Friendly Approach
• Even though Lord Krishna had a tough task
at his hand, that of making the Pandavas
win against the Kauravas, he never lost his
control, cool or act carelessly.
• That is exactly how a leader should be:
patiently maintaining his calm under
pressure.

20. Friendly Approach

21. Friendly Approach

22. Even though Lord Krishna had a tough task at his hand, that of
making the Pandavas win against the Kauravas, he never lost
his control, cool or act carelessly

23. Friendly Approach
• Leaders who lose their cool can disengage
an entire group of employees with a single
emotional outburst.
• There’s no room for leaders losing their cool.
Instead, they should develop leadership skills
that make emotional outbursts unlikely
when staff members fail to perform as
expected.

24. Leaders who lose their cool can disengage an entire
group of employees with a single emotional outburst

25. Leaders who lose their cool can disengage an entire
group of employees with a single emotional outburst

26. Friendly Approach
• Positive Work Environment
• There are many ways to create a positive
workplace.
• Attitude is essential people should be respectful
and friendly towards one another.
• Bitchiness or backstabbing should not be
tolerated. Not just by supervisors, but among
colleagues as well.
• If anyone has issues, the supervisor/manager
should always be available to help resolve such
problems so they don’t linger and taint the rest
of the workplace.

27. Positive Work Environment

28. Flexibility
Lord Krishna lent an ear to anyone who
wanted to speak and consult him whether it
was Arjun who did not want any war or even
the Kauravas whose objective was to get
victory however, in the end Lord Shri
Krishna did what he felt was right.
You too should be like this in the corporate
world.
• Always follow your instinct.

29. Lord Krishna lent an ear to anyone who
wanted to speak and consult him

30. Flexibility
• Flexibility is an increasingly important trait
in a rapidly changing economic and social
environment.
• Flexible leaders are those who can modify
their style or approach to leadership in
response to uncertain or unpredictable
circumstances.
• In addition, flexible leaders can adapt to
changes as they come.

31. Flexible Leadership

32. Flexibility
• They can revise their plans to incorporate
new innovations and overcome challenges,
while still achieving their goals.
• Flexibility is not only about surviving and
thriving in new situations.

33. Flexibility
• Adaptable leaders can also implement new
behaviours into old, existing situations.
• This allows them to express creativity in their
work and find new ways to solve problems.
Flexibility is the willingness to try new
behaviours, regardless of whether one is
currently undergoing a time of change in
their company.

34. Flexibility

35. Accessible
• A good manager must be accessible to all
and employees shouldn’t doubt in talking to
him.
• Likewise, Lord Shree Krishna too was open
and accessible to everyone.
• He did not differentiate between people on
the basis of color and caste.

36. Lord Shree Krishna too was open and
accessible to everyone

37. Accessible
• Outstanding leaders are intentional about
being accessible. Generally speaking, the more
successful you become, the less accessible you
will be.
• Outstanding leaders make a concentrated
effort to be accessible and available to those
who need them.

38. Outstanding leaders make a concentrated effort to
be accessible and available to those who need them

39. Outstanding leaders make a concentrated effort to
be accessible and available to those who need them

40. Dharma/ Duty
• When Arjuna was in a doubt about fighting
against his own brothers, he reminded
Arjuna about his Dharma or duty.
• Likewise, although there are times when you
might not enjoy your work, but you still have
to do it.

41. Dharma/ Duty

42. Dharma/ Duty
• If you don’t like your current job, you
probably want to find a better job.
• But in order to get a better job, you need to do
excellent work at your current job.
• So you can build a solid reputation, get
stellar references, and attract new career
opportunities.

43. In order to get a better job, you need to do
excellent work at your current job

44. Strategy
• For the Mahabharata war, Krishna planned
ahead.
• He knew that the Kauravas would leave no
stone un turned to win the war and so he made
a point to note all their tactics and moves.
• In the corporate world too, one should
always be prepared.

45. For the Mahabharata war, Krishna planned
ahead

46. Strategy

47. Strategy
• Strategic planning is important to an
organization because it provides a sense of
direction and outlines measurable goals.
• Strategic planning is a tool that is useful for
guiding day-to-day decisions and also for
evaluating progress and changing approaches
when moving forward.

48. Strategic Planning

49. Strategic Planning

50. Strategy
• Lord Krishna was master strategist who used
problem solving approach throughout his life.
• He with his tactical skills won Mahabharata war
for Pandavas.
• He proves that a person who is skilled in planning
action or policy will win for sure in war and
politics.
• A plan of action is important to achieve long
and short-term goals.

51. Lord Krishna was master strategist who used
problem solving approach throughout his life

52. Strategic Planning

53. Detachment
• In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna
that one should remain detached from
Maya, so that one can fight clean in all areas
of your life.
• Similarly, at the workplace too, one should
not get emotionally involved with anyone,
lest his work suffers.

54. Detachment

55. Detachment
• Mentally distracting oneself from work
during out of work hours can help restore
emotional, cognitive and spiritual resources
lost because of long hours, work stress and
demands.

56. Similarly, at the workplace too, one should not
get emotionally involved with anyone

57. Mentally distracting oneself from work during out of
work hours can help restore emotional, cognitive and
spiritual resources

58. Detachment
• Research has found significant associations
between psychological detachment and well-
being such as job burnout and life
satisfaction.
• Getting away from work mentally, emotionally
and behaviourally is most important when we
are stressed, have a high workload or
overloaded.

59. Detachment

60. Support
• Krishna was unflinching in his support to
the Pandavas even though the Kauravas
came to him for help, he knew his priorities
lied with the Pandavas.
• At the workplace, if you take a stand for
any person, make sure to help him all
throughout.

61. Support

62. Support
• Employee support means giving the people
who work for your business the right tools to
get the job done.
• An important aspect of this strategy, and too
often neglected, is the acknowledgment that
employees need moral and mental support
from their superiors, managers and company
owners.

63. Employee support means giving the people who work
for your business the right tools to get the job done

64. Employee support means giving the people who work
for your business the right tools to get the job done

65. The Many Faces
• Krishna was polite and gentle and at the
same time, he could turn into clever and
shrewd, depending on the situation.
• At the workplace too, one should display their
characteristics, depending on the situation.

66. The Many Faces

67. The Many Faces
• Leaders also wear several masks.
• They could be polite and gentle. They could be
loving and compassionate.
• But if the situation demands it, they could also
invoke dread and fear amongst their team
members.
• Just like Krishna, they possess a multi-
faceted personality

68. The Many Faces

69. The Many Faces
• Geraldine Brooks, a Vancouver-based Jungian
psychologist, says, “People usually wear a
mask corresponding to their work role.
• That’s because all work roles come with
certain social expectations”.
• For example, senior managers may wish to
appear calm, authoritative or in control.
Customer-service personnel may want to seem
friendly, personable and approachable.

70. Geraldine Brooks, a Vancouver-based Jungian
psychologist
“People usually wear a mask
corresponding to their work role,
that’s because all work roles come
with certain social expectations”.

71. The Many Faces
• Dr. Brooks says we all need masks to function
in the world and deal with the demands placed
on us by others. “If we didn’t have masks, we
wouldn’t know how to act”

72. The Many Faces
• Masks can be helpful at work, especially if an
individual is going through a personal
difficulty.
• Being able to maintain a sense of purpose
and accomplishment at work by playing
one’s part, even when grieving a loss, for
example, can give an employee temporary
relief from tumultuous feelings.

73. The Many Faces

74. Inner Voice
• In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that one
should always listen to their inner voice,
which is that of a soul.
• No matter where you go in life or what you do,
always listen to your instincts.

75. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that one should always
listen to their inner voice, which is that of a soul

76. Inner Voice
• In the Bhagavad Gita, he says that one
should listen to their inner voice, which is
that of a soul.
• No matter what you do or where you go in life,
always listen to your instincts.

77. Inner Voice
• Some of the best advice we have all got be it
while making big personal decisions or
making critical business decisions is the
same: Follow your inner voice.
• Recent data suggests that intuition provides
extra sensory artillery that helps integrate
thoughts, thereby enabling better decision-
making.

78. Inner Voice

79. Inner Voice
• For instance, Tel Aviv University’s Marius
Usher found that when people made choices
based only on instinct, they made the right call
up to 90% of the time.
• Other researchers have estimated that 80%
of successful CEOs have an intuitive
decision-making style.

80. Tel Aviv University’s Marius Usher found that when people
made choices based only on instinct, they made the right call up
to 90% of the time

81. The Wise Advocate: The Inner Voice of
Strategic Leadership

82. Perseverance
• Krishna never wallows in self-pity.
• If something goes wrong, he makes sure to fix
it before it gets too late.
• At the workplace too, one should avoid
brooding over their mistakes.
• One should look at correcting them as soon
as possible.

83. Perseverance

84. Perseverance
• Perseverance: Steadfastness in doing
something despite difficulty or delay in
achieving success.
• Perseverance is an essential element when you
need to achieve a high level of success. It is a
great tool to use, and it doesn’t require any
college education or training. It comes naturally
and requires a strong will.
• It doesn’t matter what your goal is or how long
it takes you to reach that goal. The chances of
your success depend largely on your
willingness to persist and persevere.

85. Perseverance

86. Perseverance
• CEOs with a tenacity of purpose build up a
unique team of followers.
• Perseverance is ingrained in their character.
To give up does not come easily to them.

87. Long-term Goals
• Personally, Krishna had nothing to gain
from the Mahabharata war, no matter who
won.
• However, he knew that for the benefit of the
society, it would be better if the Pandavas won.
At the workplace, one should always look at
long-term goals and not short-term
victories.

88. Long-term Goals

89. Long-term Goals

90. Leading From Back
• A leader does not always have to bag the
limelight and no one can prove this better
than Krishna.
• He quietly did his work and made the
Pandavas win, without once picking up a
weapon. This is the mark of a true, great
leader.

91. A leader does not always have to bag the limelight
and no one can prove this better than Krishna

92. Leading From Back
• Leading from Behind
• Unlike Lord Rama, who leads an army from the
front, Lord Krishna leads it from behind.
• The former leads an army of monkeys.
• The latter leads an army of illustrious people.
• Each one has great prowess, expertise and self-
mastery.
• He also gets to handle people who are more
shrewd and cunning.

93. Lord Rama, who leads an army from the
front

94. Lord Krishna Leads It From Behind

95. Leading From Back
• In the initial phases of industrial revolution,
when manufacturing was the primary activity,
most of the leaders had to lead their teams
from the front.
• In the services sector, as also in the emerging
knowledge economy, leaders mostly manage
from behind.
• Depending upon the situation at hand, leaders
switch from one mode to another.
• The style also varies from person to person.

96. Leading From Back

97. Leading From Back
• In the human world, some people define
leadership simply as getting people to work to
achieve common goals and giving people a reason
(motivation) to work (active leadership).
• Other people hold that leadership is the ability
to influence the behaviour of others, to set up
goals, to formulate paths to those goals, and to
create and guide toward good behaviour (passive
leadership).

98. Leading From Back

99. Leading From Back
• Isn't that what we want to accomplish in the
equine world - to influence and motivate safe
behaviours?
• Many leaders have always wondered how
active or passive they should be.
• The active leader risks exacerbating the
problem by tackling it; the passive leader
risks being overwhelmed by a problem that
festers unchecked.

100. Surviving Through Adversity
• Krishna was born in captivity and
separated from his parents soon after birth.
• Yet, he never let his personal struggles come in
the way of his dharma.
• Hence, no matter what you are going
through in your personal life, don't bring it
to work.

101. Surviving Through Adversity

102. Surviving Through Adversity

103. Surviving Through Adversity
• Tough situations bring out the best within
managers.
• Life strives to chisel their character into a fine
shape, much like a finely carved statue which
is much admired by those who view it from the
outside.
• Few realize the pain, suffering and sacrifice
that the stone has undergone to achieve that
exalted beauty and that state of perfection.

104. Surviving Through Adversity

105. Surviving Through Adversity
• "If we had no winter, the spring would not be
so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of
adversity, prosperity would not be so
welcome."
- Ann Dudley Bradstreet
• There is tremendous power in facing adversity.
Harness the power, and you will survive and
thrive through challenging times.

106. Surviving Through Adversity

107. Committment
• Krishna always knew that the purpose of
his life on earth was to kill his uncle, the evil
Kansa.
• He did so while he was still a child.
• So, if you are committed to a cause, don't
delay in executing that.
• Do not let anything come in between you
and your cause.

108. Committment

109. Committment
• You cannot be an effective team leader
without commitment. There has never been a
great leader that was not committed.
• Commitment is a leadership quality that
inspires and attracts people. It shows that the
leader has convictions and that the leader
believes in the cause.
• A team will buy into the team leader before
they buy into the vision.

110. Committment

111. Committment

112. Share Your Learning
• Everyone knows that Bhagavad Gita is
simply a conversation between Arjuna and
Krishna.
• Krishna passed on all his learning to Arjuna
which motivated him to fight for justice.
Similarly, a good leader never keeps his
knowledge to himself. He passes it on.

113. Share Your Learning

114. Share Your Learning
• It’s been said that knowledge is the new
currency of business (and with good reason).
In the past, companies relied on physical
assets to stay competitive.
• New offices, more equipment, or additional
employees were the catalysts for growth. But
not anymore.
• These days, it’s all about knowledge – both
capturing and sharing it.

115. It’s been said that knowledge is the new
currency of business

116. Share Your Learning
• In a recent EY report, 81% of business leaders
say capturing and sharing knowledge are the
most important factors for success.
• Just ask the likes of Ford, GE, or Amazon.
• Knowledge sharing increases social interaction
amongst employees.
• It also builds trust and enhances creativity
especially in regards to problem-solving and
innovation.
• Yet, one of the biggest advantages is also the
easiest to overlook.

117. Share Your Learning

118. Manager
• Krishna could have made the Mahabharata
war finish in a couple of hours due to his
powers, yet he made the Pandavas win the
war based on hard-work and sacrifice.
• And this is what any good manager will do
make you toil so that you can succeed
eventually.

119. Krishna could have made the Mahabharata war finish in a
couple of hours due to his powers, yet he made the Pandavas
win the war based on hard-work and sacrifice

120. Effective Managers

121. Unbiased
• Kansa was Krishna's maternal uncle, yet
Krishna did not think twice before killing
him since he was evil.
• Similarly, even at the workplace, you cannot
let your friendship or relationship with
someone affect your work.

122. Kansa was Krishna's maternal uncle, yet Krishna did
not think twice before killing him since he was evil

123. Unbiased

124. Unbiased
• If some employees believe your organization
treats them unequally, their morale will
suffer and they won't trust your decisions.
• Some cases of bias in the workplace are
illegal.
• Minimize bias by taking every possible
precaution to ensure your decision-making
process is fair and equitable to all involved.

125. Unbiased

126. Communicator
• It is said that when Krishna talked, everyone
would listen to him in rapt attention and a
good manager should be just like that.
• He should have his way with words, so that
people should both listen to him and take
his advice.

127. It is said that when Krishna talked, everyone
would listen to him in rapt attention

128. Communicator
• Tactful Communicator : Krishna through his
power of speech and oration skills motivated
Pandavas several times.
• He motivated them to serve good and only
good, concurrently working towards
attainment of justice.
• A true leader or manager always takes
initiative to motivate his colleagues and
fellows.

129. Tactful Communicator

130. Communicator
• Tactful and diplomatic communication is
another concept that arises in the executive
business coaching context because
successfully competing on an international
level requires excellent communication (verbal
and nonverbal) across cultures.

131. Tactful and diplomatic communication

132. Communicator
• Building Blocks of Tact and Diplomacy
• Many elements of doing good business with
international clients are culture-specific, and
they may even vary within a single country.
• In the United States alone, for example, there
are business environments that are formal, and
those that are laid back.

133. Communicator
• To maximize your ability to carry out cross-cultural
business gracefully, the following basic elements are
necessary:
• Excellent listening skills – to verbal and non-verbal
communications
• Strong emotional intelligence
• Empathy
• Assertiveness rather than aggressiveness
• Development of rapport
• Politeness
• These fall under the umbrella concept of self-awareness,
knowing who you are and what your place is in relation to
others, and in light of the specific circumstances.

134. Tactful And Diplomatic Communication

135. Tactful And Diplomatic Communication

136. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• Lord Krishna who is an entity unto itself is
a proven charismatic leader and manager.
• His teachings are infinite; his names and forms
are innumerable.
• He imparted his teachings through his
exemplary life and actions.

137. Lord Krishna who is an entity unto itself is a
proven charismatic leader and manager

138. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• Thus, Lord Krishna, through his life
demonstrated how to live a life in entirety
and stated continue doing right, without
having attachment towards the outcome of
those actions and most importantly, never hurt
anyone.

139. Lord Krishna, through his life demonstrated how to live a life
in entirety and stated continue doing right, without having
attachment towards the outcome of those actions

140. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru

141. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• Throughout his life, Lord Krishna had to
face different crises that arose like waves,
one after the other.
• Even then, not once was his countenance
clouded by sorrow.
• He faced every difficulty under the sun, but
there was no place for sorrow in Sri Krishna’s
presence.
• He was the embodiment of bliss.

142. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru

143. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• In his company everyone rejoiced,
forgetting all else.
• In his presence they tasted the bliss of the
Self.
• Even now, after all this time, doesn’t the
mere thought of him fill us with bliss?”

144. In His Presence They Tasted The Bliss Of The Self

145. Even now, after all this time, doesn’t the mere
thought of him fill us with bliss?”

146. Lord Krishna as A Management Guru
• Krishna is a role model for spiritually
inclined leaders and managers.
• He demonstrates that being spiritual does not
necessarily mean being soft.
• It only implies that one’s decisions and
actions are rooted in stiff pragmatism,
supported by sound values and operated by
a desire to achieve the greater good.

147. Krishna is a role model for spiritually inclined
leaders and managers

148. Terminology
Spiritual quotient (SQ)
• Spiritual Quotient (SQ) is a measure that looks
at a person's spiritual acumen; it is as
important as intelligence quotient (IQ) and
emotional quotient (EQ).
• While IQ looks at cognitive intelligence, EQ
looks at emotional power of a person and
spiritual quotient (SQ) looks at spiritual
power of a person.

149. Spiritual Quotient (SQ)

150. Spiritual Quotient (SQ)

151. Organisational Spirituality
• Organisational spirituality is about taking a
more holistic approach to organisational life,
where it is recognised that people are
inherently spiritual and are compelled to seek
meaning and purpose in all aspects of life,
which naturally includes the meaning of one's
work.

152. Organisational Spirituality

153. Books
• Management Wisdom of Lord Krishna: A Treatise
of Unified Concept of Management Performance for
the Globalized World

154. Books
• BHAGAVAD GITA : The Art and Science of
Management for the 21st Century

155. Books
• Spiritual Intelligence : The Ultimate Intelligence

156. Krishna The Management Guru
-by Guruji G. Narayana
• https://youtu.be/T3ywvNOoB0o

157. Hare Krishna!
The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It
• https://vimeo.com/ondemand/harekrishnathefilm

158. Jai Shree Krishna…