Ranjay Gulati

“𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 I recently picked up an excellent book on #purpose titled Deep Purpose by Ranjay Gulati of Harvard University. The book mentions "reason for being" no less than 62 times! Something, I call #Ikigai. I believe as much as individuals need to find their Ikigai, corporate too need to find their Ikigai. I believe as much as individuals need to find their Ikigai, corporate too need to find their Ikigai. Sadly, most companies don't have a purpose other than selling things that we don't need at a price we can't afford financed by a loan we don't want. Katha Upanishad quoted in the book reminded me of Swadharma. Dharma is often mistranslated as religion but the definition in Mahabharata is "dharanat dharma ityahuh" meaning anything that sustains or holds the creation is Dharma while anything that destroys is Adharma. Essentially Dharma is the innate nature of something. The Bhagavad Gita verse 3.35 mentions "swadharme nidhanam sreyahpara-dharmo bhayavahah" meaning performing one’s own duty (Swa-dharma) is better than engaging in another’s duties (para-dharma). Ikigai is nothing but identifying one's dharma i.e. innate nature and then aligning one's karma with that dharma. This is as relevant for corporate as for individuals. I liked the example of Sankofa bird. In life we are often so busy chasing that speed becomes more important than direction. Sometimes it is worthwhile to take a pause and look in the rearview mirror to see where one is headed - something that the Sankofa bird adequately personifies. Satya Nadella's concept of "culture that allows you to pursue your sense of purpose" resonated with me. Maslow's hierarchy mentioned in the book seems a Western rehash of Indian Purushartha or the purpose of human endeavors which are four fold - Artha (economic), Kama (pleasure), Dharma (ethics), and Moksha (self-actualization or liberation). The book mentions Mars's purpose statement “The world we want tomorrow starts with the business we build today" which reminded me of Gandhi's "Be the change you wish to see in the world". However, Mars's actions were not in sync with their words - a concept we call trikaranasuddhi or the unity of thoughts, words, and deeds which was clearly lacking in "convenient purpose" companies such as Mars. On the other hand, I think PepsiCo's "Performance with Purpose" stems from the triple Ps of Purpose - Profit (which Pepsi calls Financial sustainability), People (which Pepsi calls human sustainability / talent sustainability) and Planet (which Pepsi calls environmental sustainability). The book says companies have well-established methods for measuring the “what” of performance (financial results) or the “how” (process measures that contribute to financial results), but they’ve struggled to develop methodologies for directly quantifying the “why,” which after all is ineffable, subjective, and “soft.” I couldn't agree more!”

“I met Ranjay at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA during my Advanced Management Program. Ranjay taught most sought after yet difficult course- Leadership. Ranjay had infectious enthusiasm, brought his original research, was extremely passionate about transferring his research and knowledge to the class, developed one to one contact during the class, understood individual needs from learning, remained in touch ever since. Ranjay has unique style in which he listens a lot, grasps different perspectives, brings unique & many real life cases and does follow up for best results. He is an asset to the community of learners, practitioners, researchers, writers and business professionals. Its always a pleasure to meet him and interact with him. I wish him best of success and good luck. I highly recommend him for business management and leadership naunces and practice.”