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Harvard Business School Ain’t What It Used To Be…. |
BusinessWeek is currently featuring a story on the purported influx of Desi inspired ideas into cutting edge American capitalism. Paint me a cynic but the piece takes a simplistic view of 1) what really happens in business or 2) what’s really uniquely desi philosophy or 3) both. The result is a mass of ethnic feel-goodness but not enough of a structured explanation to satiate a, uh, cynic like myself.
Our no-doubt well-intentioned writer christens the movement “Karma Capitalism” -
You might also call it Karma Capitalism. For both organizations and individuals, it’s a gentler, more empathetic ethos that resonates in the post-tech-bubble, post-Enron zeitgeist….while it used to be hip in management circles to quote from the sixth century B.C. Chinese classic The Art of War, the trendy ancient Eastern text today is the more introspective Bhagavad Gita.
BizWeek quotes different folks who take stabs at identifying what “it” is -
…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“The key point is to put purpose before self”,” 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.”…”The best way to describe it is inclusive capitalism,” says Prahalad, a consultant and University of Michigan professor who ranked third in a recent Times of London poll about the world’s most influential business thinkers. “It’s the idea that corporations can simultaneously create value and social justice.”
The problem, of course, is that aside from the most narrow, cartoonish definition of capitalism, these aren’t groundbreaking revelations. While there’s value in packaging & codifying even the obvious, it’s not uniquely desi to identify the role of “purpose” in separating true business Leaders from mere Managers“Purpose” separates Leaders from mere Managers. Capitalism’s proponents starting with Adam Smith himself have readily accepted that the beast isn’t really all about the Benjamins. Many of Sepia Mutiny’s (over-)educated readership can readily change jobs to something better paid + less “purpose”-ful and yet choose not to. Making that choice doesn’t necessarily make you”anti-capitalistic”.
And at the other end of the wealth spectrum, what is it that motivates Jack Welch, Bill Gates, Larry&Sergei and the like beyond the incremental dollar? To weave together an answer for this question, and in the same breath as blue chip business talent like Ram Charan and CK Prahalad, the article points us at business lessons from one Swami Parthasarathy -
The speaker that evening was Swami Parthasarathy, one of India’s best-selling authors on Vedanta, an ancient school of Hindu philosophy. With an entourage of disciples at his side, all dressed in flowing white garments known as kurtas and dhotis, the lanky 80-year-old scribbled the secrets to business success (“concentration, consistency, and cooperation”) on an easel pad. “You can’t succeed in business unless you develop the intellect, which controls the mind and body,” the swami [Parthasarathy] said in his mellow baritone.…a young investment banker sought advice on dealing with nasty colleagues. Banish them from your mind, advised Parthasarathy. “You are the architect of your misfortune,” he said. “You are the architect of your fortune.”
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You’ve gotta write your OWN book girlfriend… |
Similarly, the integral role of self actualization in capitalism’s process is discussed in many other places. For example, I really enjoyed a recent WSJ OpEd by this year’s Econ Nobel Prize winner, Edmund Phelps -
I would, however, stress a benefit of dynamism that I believe to be far more important [to capitalism than just rate of return]. Instituting a high level of dynamism, so that the economy is fired by the new ideas of entrepreneurs, serves to transform the workplace—in the firms developing an innovation and also in the firms dealing with the innovations. The challenges that arise in developing a new idea and in gaining its acceptance in the marketplace provide the workforce with high levels of mental stimulation, problem-solving, employee-engagement and, thus, personal growth. Note that an individual working alone cannot easily create the continual arrival of new challenges. It “takes a village,” preferably the whole society [of capitalists].
The concept that people need problem-solving and intellectual development originates in Europe: There is the classical Aristotle, who writes of the “development of talents”; later the Renaissance figure Cellini, who jubilates in achievement; and Cervantes, who evokes vitality and challenge. In the 20th century, Alfred Marshall observed that the job is in the worker’s thoughts for most of the day. And Gunnar Myrdal wrote in 1933 that the time will soon come when more satisfaction derives from the job than from consuming. The American application of this Aristotelian perspective is the thesis that most, if not all, of such self-realization in modern societies can come only from a career. Today we cannot go tilting at windmills, but we can take on the challenges of a career. If a challenging career is not the main hope for self-realization, what else could be?
Wrote his own book…
While it’s debatable that “people need problem-solving” arose in Europe, the broader argument that Capitalism is also about addressing these aspects of the soul — something Socrates called “Thumos” or Spiritedness — rather than just dollars is still apparent. And to think that we can have all this talk about self-realization, purpose, spirit and dynamism without kurta-clad disciples…
Criticism aside, I do think the BW article actually does a pretty good job at obliquely highlighting a different desi success story. While tales of desi’s in tech and medicine are told far and wide, their cousins who stroll the mahogany panelled offices of American Capitalism — I-Banks, Consulting, and profs at B-schools — aren’t as well known -
About 10% of the professors at places such as Harvard Business School, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business, and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are of Indian descent…More important, Indian-born strategists also are helping transform corporations. Academics and consultants such as C. K. Prahalad, Ram Charan, and Vijay Govindrajan are among the world’s hottest business gurus. About 10% of the professors at places such as Harvard Business School, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business, and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are of Indian descent—a far higher percentage than other ethnic groups.
Still, the portion of the inquiry where I felt the most at home was the reaction some of these folks seemed to have when interviewed -
Whatever the common themes, India, of course, is hardly a showcase of social consciousness. While companies such as Tata Group or Wipro Technologies have generous initiatives for India’s poor, the country has its share of unethical business practices and social injustices. In addition, some Indian academics bristle at the suggestion that their background makes their approach to business any different. They’re quick to point out the wide range of religions, influences, and specialties among them.
So perhaps supply, demand, and self-actualization are universal after all? As I said earlier, I’m definitely cognizant of how important “packaging” is when it comes to pushing an idea forward. And it’s project management 101 that things get done more quickly if you’re willing to let other folks take credit for your ideas. International observors have often noted that it was Japanese (& Taiwanese) success in promoting an “Asian brand of capitalism” that comforted the Chinese that it was possible to adopt markets without becoming American. While it’s debatable just how different “Japanese” Capitalism was from it’s “American” counterpart, there’s no question that the 2 had more in common vs. competing ideologies in the 50s-80s. So perhaps a desi-pride centric take on capitalism might be useful for getting folks in the homeland to throw off the last mental chains of socialism.
