management lessons

Ramayana is an epic written by Valmiki which symbolises many things like values, virtues, the triumph of good over evil, etc. However, when viewed in an alternate light, the epic saga also has a few management lessons which every entrepreneur can learn in order to prosper in the field of business:

i. Over commitment is never okay

Dashrath over-committed to his wife Kaikei which led to a lot of problems later and was dangerous later. This can prove to be a great lesson to entrepreneurs as they learn that it is better to promise less and deliver more instead of the opposite as your credibility is at stake here.

ii. Build your team smartly

When Ram had to cross the sea to reach Lanka, it was important for him to build a team that consisted of dedicated and loyal members. Similarly, if one wants to prosper in the professional sphere, it is important to be able to find people who will share your vision in order to succeed as a company.

iii. Be an able decision maker

Just like Hanuman was burdened with the task of taking a decision when he couldn’t find Sanjeevani on a mountain, every entrepreneur is bombarded with choices and hard decisions that need to be made without consulting anyone. Hanuman decided to carry the whole mountain which might not be the best decision but seemed like the most feasible one to him.

iv. Making sacrifices

A person has to make many sacrifices in order to succeed in the entrepreneurial field as one has to work long hours and let go of a personal life. Unless you are willing to let go of certain things, you can never make it big. The best lesson of sacrifice you can take from Ramayana is from Sita who sacrificed the comfort of a home and luxuries of a queen to accompany her husband to the forest.

v. Get rid of the ego

Raavan was an able soldier and a great man in various aspects; however, what led to his downfall was his ego which he couldn’t curb. Similarly, a lot of entrepreneurs fail because their ego comes in the way and overshadows all the good things they have achieved. In order to be a good entrepreneur, put your ego aside and let your work do the talking.

Sholay was probably the biggest blockbuster ever made it India. The movie ran for over 100 months and the songs and the story proved to be a hit with the masses. For the next few years, all Indian audiences could rave about was Jai and Veeru’s friendship and how good a villain Gabbar was.

The movie also contained a lot of management lessons that entrepreneurs and startup founders could learn by watching this Bollywood blockbuster especially from the most feared villain of Bollywood, Gabbar:

1. Risks are inevitable

A major chunk of an entrepreneur’s job profile reads taking risks. An entrepreneur needs to take risks in terms of income, time and career to succeed in his life. One shouldn’t be afraid to take risks or be afraid of the outcome just like Gabbar said “jo dar gaya samjho mar gaya”. He lived his life on a very steep edge but it is very essential for an entrepreneur to take calculated risks.

2. Outsource work to better employees

An entrepreneur knows that he cannot sustain as a one member team. To actually succeed, one needs a dedicated team which is specialised in various areas. This concept is explained beautifully in Sholay as Thakur knows that he is old and won’t be able to catch Gabbar, so, he delegates the work to two younger and fitter people, Jai and Veeru to bring the villain to him.

3. Communicating with your staff is important

Gabbar shows us the power of communicating with the staff. He always asks and converses with his staff because putting any thought into action. He even asks one of his employees “Arre o Saambha… kitna inaam rakhi hai re sarkaar humpe”. In the same way, in real life, entrepreneurs communicate with their team and seek their opinion before taking a decision. This makes the employees feel more involved in the whole process.

4. Incentives to push the taskforce further

Gabbar knew that incentives make a person go beyond her boundaries and she eventually learns to put in her 110%. So, he told Basanti “Jab tak tere pair chalenge, iski saans chalegi” which is why she put in extra effort to save them. Similarly, in real life if incentives are offered to employees, they aspire to do the job in a better and more effective way. This tactic works in every situation and a simple bonus could be an incentive for a person to work harder.

5. Team work

Other than their epic friendship, one thing we can definitely learn from Jai and Veeru is how they worked together as a team all the time. They were coordinated and knew when to work and when to have fun. Their friendship shows the importance of team work and that is how a real entrepreneurial team should actually work to achieve their goal and targets successfully.

6. Don’t underestimate your competitors

A lot of entrepreneurs make a basic mistake of underestimating their competitor the minute they start gaining success which is a very wrong thing to do. Even in the climax, Gabbar, looked at an old and arm-less Thakur and laughed “Tu kya ladega mujhse Thakur”. However, Thakur beat Gabbar to pulp just using his feet which reinforces the fact that we mustn’t underestimate our competition.

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur and haven’t watched Sholay yet, stop everything and go and watch it right now!

Tag: management lessons

Great management lessons every entrepreneur can learn from Ramayana