Most of our readers don’t know this but Sepia Mutiny was founded and is run on many of the same principles that Sun Tzu laid out in his classic text, The Art of War. Here are some quotes taken from the walls of our blogging headquarters in North Dakota as an example of what I mean:
-All blogging is based on deception. Hence, when able to blog, we must seem unable; when writing a post, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the readers believe we are far away; when far away, we must make them believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the reader. Feign disorder, and crush them.
-Bring blogging material with you from home, but forage on the commenters… use the conquered commenter to augment one’s own strength.
-The clever blogger imposes his will on the commenter, but does not allow the commenter’s will to be imposed on him. [Link]
Many businesses also adopt Sun Tzu’s teachings which have become part of the fabric of corporate America. An article on our News tab recently informed us that things may soon begin to change. There is a new book of strategy being adopted by prominent business leaders. Business Week reports:
The ancient spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita seems at first like an odd choice for guiding today’s numbers-driven managers. Also known as Song of the Divine One, the work relates a conversation between the supreme deity Krishna and Arjuna, a warrior prince struggling with a moral crisis before a crucial battle. One key message is that enlightened leaders should master any impulses or emotions that cloud sound judgment. Good leaders are selfless, take initiative, and focus on their duty rather than obsessing over outcomes or financial gain. “The key point,” says Ram Charan, a coach to CEOs such as General Electric Co.’s (GE ) Jeffrey R. Immelt, “is to put purpose before self. This is absolutely applicable to corporate leadership today…”
There are also parallels between Indian philosophy and contemporary marketing theory, which has shifted away from manipulating consumers to collaborating with them. “Marketing has tended to use the language of conquest,” says Kellogg professor Mohanbir S. Sawhney, a Sikh who discusses the relevance of the Bhagavad Gita to business on his Web site. Now the focus is on using customer input to dream up new products, Sawhney says, which “requires a symbiotic relationship with those around us.” [Link]
Interesting idea. I am not sure if the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita would help make SM a leaner and more productive outfit, but in the endless pursuit of perfection I decided to try out some ideas:
Those who consciousness is unified abandon all attachment to the results of their blog posts and attain supreme peace. But those whose desires are fragmented, who are selfishly attached to the comments generated by their work, are bound to the blog by every post they write.
I look upon all commenters equally; none are less dear to me and none more dear. But those who worship me with love live in me, and I come to blog for them.
O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who realize the Self. Some are inclined to understand Him by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others are inclined to know Him by blogging. [Link]
Business Week has more:
Indian thinkers are affecting not only the way managers run companies. They are also furthering their search for personal fulfillment. Northwestern’s Kellogg even offers an executive education leadership course by Deepak Chopra, the controversial self-help guru and spiritual healer to the stars. Chopra also is on the board of clothing retailer Men’s Wearhouse Inc. and has conducted programs for Deloitte, Harvard Business School, and the World Bank.
In a stark, brightly lit classroom, Chopra, sporting glasses with heavy black frames studded with rhinestones, led a class through a 20-minute meditation in June. “Sit comfortably in your chair with your feet planted on the ground,” Chopra instructed the 35 mostly midlevel executives from corporations that are as far afield as ABN Amro Bank (ABN ) and sporting goods retailer Cabela’s Inc. (CAB ) “Our mantra today is: I am.’ “… [Link]
I think that one segment of the market that could really use the guidance and direction of the Gita is the call center industry. Another article on our News tab pointed to the fact that call centers in India are fast becoming dens of lasciviousness:
Stories have been emerging for some time of promiscuity in the 24-hour centres. There was the call centre where the drains were choked with condoms. And the woman worker who told the press that she and her colleagues went to work with condoms in their bags.
Hardly a cause for concern by Western standards. But in India, where attitudes to sex remain highly conservative, it has caused a minor scandal. Which is where the Catholic Church has come in, offering counselling and week-long retreats for call-centre workers “in the hope of turning staff away from a life of sin”.
“We don’t want to do moral policing,” the Archbishop of Bangalore, Bernard Moras, said. “But we want to advise young people that being ‘modern’ doesn’t mean losing family traditions or moral values…” [Link]
If these lewd young people adopted the Gita to their work environment then they’d know that living in the mode of passion is just plain wrong.
There is a sexual revolution going on in India. The young, at least those from the middle classes, date in a way their parents could never have dreamt of. In the big cities, more and more nightclubs and bars are opening up where men and women can socialise freely.
In Delhi this year, plastic surgeons say they have seen a 40 per cent rise in demand for cosmetic surgery in the months leading up to this weekend’s Diwali festival - with men as well as women seeking nose jobs. [Link]
What the hell?? How did nose-jobs get associated with Diwali? The Kali Yuga is definitely at hand.
