The World is waiting to throw us out of its market

Let us find some solace in our great saints, who taught us managerial ethics which is profound in thought and Himalayan in substance.I wish we youth should be driven by values rather than price, because we are taught to know the price of everything, but value of nothing.

If we have known the real value of life,  the SATYAM episode and much earlier episode of LEHMAN BROS which bore the torch and catapulted the eminent collapse of the world economy would not have surfaced. The greed on the part of some and mismanagement by inefficient managers who where earning in multiples of billions even when they never deserved should have been averted. Let us learn a little from this that the world is not for the prosperous alone and it never can be.No man can last long where he is not entitled to.

This is a blog which reflects this idea with a philosophical touch with the greatness of Swami Vivekananda adding sheen to the topic.I have written this to infuse confidence(not cynicism) among the people who are now thinking of the imminent issue of  pink slips but awaiting their time, Let them not lose confidence and let optimism surround them.If we try to inhabit ourselves with the values proposed in this blog and wait,  the change is not too far,but not too easy either.

In an age when 30-something CEO's and VP's no longer surprise us and paradigms are busted each day, holding one's own at the workplace is a challenge in itself.

One hundred and forty-five years after Swami Vivekananda was born, we need to evoke his vision and focus on the fact that life at the workplace can be much simpler and more fulfilling. 

The Swami may not have been a student of management theory but the fundamental truths that he taught are invaluable in today's globalised workplace, where employees are often resentful of the relative success of others. 

Talent cannot be hidden for long. Talk of cultivating a spiritual approach at the time of annual increments might give rise to cynicism among some, but it is in tune with Vivekananda's thoughts: 

"We find ourselves in the position for which we are fit... if one has some capacity above another, the world will find it out too... He who grumbles at the little thing that has fallen to his lot to do, will grumble at everything. Always grumbling, he will lead a miserable life... But that man who does his duty as he goes, putting his shoulder to the wheel, higher and higher duties will fall to his share". 

No man can long occupy satisfactorily a position for which he is not fit. 

Wondering what the top bosses do with the astronomical sums they take home may be good for office chit-chat but it isn't of much help in getting to where they are. Vivekananda's analysis of how the hierarchy works can help us to assess our progress without regrets: "No man can long occupy satisfactorily a position for which he is not fit. By doing well the duty which is nearest to us, the duty which is in our hands now, we make ourselves stronger; and improving our strength in this manner we may even reach a state in which it shall be our privilege to do the most coveted and honoured duties in life and in society". If we take a random look at those doing the "most coveted duties' ? whether it is a Ilayaraja or Amitabh Bachchan ? we will find that they are people who did well the duty that was nearest to them at any given point of time; that is all that we need to do.

 Equally, there is little sense in being aggrieved when one feels that some-one else has been elevated to a role beyond his competence. Even for the highest offices, the rule that is that no man can long occupy satisfactorily a position for which he is not fit' has held true repeatedly; it is not difficult to find instances of former prime ministers who have faded into obscurity. If a person is not equipped to handle a role and make a mark at the job, it does not take long for that to be obvious.

 An organisational weakness is that issues are often soft-pedal-led when personal equations come into play. But Vivekananda advises us to put aside such hesitations where professional issues are concerned: "All combined efforts in India sink under the weight of one iniquity ? we have not developed strict business principles". Business is business, and no friendship should be used to subvert this. 

  "Let the world say what it chooses, I shall tread the path of duty... Otherwise, if one has to attend day and night to what this man says or that man writes, no great work is achieved in this world," said the Swami. 

 His profound thoughts continue to inspire thousands even a century after his demise, though he lived for barely four decades.Stephen Covey might be the current must-read but Vivekananda could well lay claim to being the original proponent of the character ethic

So now the world requires people who stand for their own benefit and show the will and grit not to meddle with what is not theirs for the benefit of the fellow people around this world.It is time to take hard decisions by changing ourselves for the benefit of this world.Or else it will be in no time the world will find a way to throw us out.Never mind you are prime minister or a poor who is administered.