Holistic development of managers critical to corporate health

Tarun Narayan in Mumbai

Human productivity is not an outcome of intelligence but sharpened intellect. Action is not merely about prosperity and plenty, but about mental peace. No job is complete because everyone is looking forward to weekends and vacation.

Meet Swamy Parthasarathy, the corporate philosopher and vedic guru of Vedanta Life Institute, and these are some of the maxims to a successful corporate existence that he dwells about.

This synopsis from a presentation and possible talking points from a seminar on “Science of Productivity” to be hosted for corporate professionals on September 8, 2001, was made exclusively available to The Financial Express.

According to Swamy Parthasarathy, many of the shortcomings and inadequacies confronted in the business and life, stems from incomplete actions and the desperation to seek solutions. “Never seek solutions but always analyse the problem,” he says, chiding this reporter when queried for case studies. “If there is a stench in the room due to a decomposed rat the smell will not dissipate by spraying scent. It will go off only when you identify the dead rat,” reasons Swamy Parthasarathy. “Here what we needed was an analysis of the problem of smell rather than implementing the solution by spraying scent,” he explains, adding that “solutions are never an answer to any problem but analysis of the problem definitely is.”

What he suggests instead is that the “mind should back the present action and exercise the rein to prevent it from slipping into the past. “Champions like Ivan Lendel, Pete Sampras and John Vogue could notch all the prestigious titles at Wimbledon, but none could grab the honours of winning an US open,” says Swamy Parthasarathy. “This is because they were worried about whether they will be able to stand up to the expectations they have created in the past and anxious of how easy it would be to win the title in the future,” elaborates Swamy Parthasarathy.

The problems plaguing the corporate environment today is that they have the intelligence but not the intellect. “Intelligence can be developed by exposure to the external environment and intellect arrives by building oneself internally. Intelligence is knowledge while intellect is wisdom,” says Swamy Parthasarathy. “Develop the intellect to handle the intricacies of the mind and the battle to leading a wholesome life is won since mind is the master of all the achievements,” he sums up.