VOL. XXXXVI NO.4
OCTOBER 2020
CONTENTS
CHINA: Business, Technology & Economy in 2020
The Art & Power of Nudging M S Narayan
Partnerships in the Age of Covid Panel Discussion
Transforming India & Indian Businesses Pradeep Deshpande
Women Leader Series: Policing in Covid Times & Beyond
Lakshmi Venkatachalam
Panel Discussion
EDITOR Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM EDITORIAL SUPPORT Gp Capt Dr R Venkataraman (Retd) LAYOUT EXECUTIVE D Rajaram
MADRAS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Management Center, New No.240 Pathari Road ﴾Off Anna Salai﴿, Chennai 600 006 Ph:044‐2829 1133 Email:mma@mmachennai.org | mandate@mmachennai.org www.facebook.com/mmachennai
I
am inspired to write this column for Business Mandate after witnessing the resounding success
of the recent presentation of Ritesh Andre, Spokesperson for Mumbai Dabbawalas, and our associate Raja Atmamayan, Vice President, ASCENT Transformation Ventures, Coimbatore. MMA reported that two thousand viewers tuned in for a Sunday session and many provided positive feedback on the session. It is hoped that viewers would consider making a donation to the Dabbawalas. MMA is to be felicitated and thanked for this success. The viewers learned in the presentation
that
exemplary
performance is possible when and only when the level of internal excellence is high. In the case of Dabbawalas, theirs is a Six Sigma operation and the Dabbawalas are Varkaris, intensely devoted to customers and whom they consider as God. Internal excellence and emotional excellence are two sides of the same coin. When emotional excellence rises, the level of internal excellence too will rise. Pursuit of high levels of emotional excellence is a wellposed scientific problem. Emotions can be measured, and the process with which to enhance
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
emotional excellence is meditation, or
of emotional excellence will bring a
itself has provided ample evidence
more generally yoga, known for
myriad of additional benefits. They
of such creation. One famous
thousands of years. Since emotions can
include:
example from Tamil Nadu is S.
be measured, progress can be audited. As evidence on the need for emotional excellence, Gallup published a survey of a large number of business units across many industries in 2004
• Health and wellness. Negative emotions lead to stress, a root cause of many serious illnesses including cancer. Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn has shown that high levels of stress shorten telomeres
finding that there were more than 22
(the protective caps at the ends of
million workers—in the United States
our chromosomes) and accelerate
alone—who were extremely negative or
aging. Medical researchers have
"actively disengaged." This rampant
also
negativity was costing the US economy
lengthens telomeres and slows
between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone. Gallup estimated that when workplace injury,
shown
that
meditation
aging. • Leadership. Harvard Business Review has carried numerous Researchers reported in HBR that
were added, the cost could exceed $1
intuition and selfawareness are
trillion, annually. In fact, they found
critical components of leadership.
that negativity appeared to have spiked
Intuition is immediate cognition
across the world in recent years.
without the benefit of the five
Emotions Survey, BBC said people around the world were angry, stressed
senses and the rational mind. Yogic processes can enhance intuition to a point it becomes possible to do numerous
tasks
blindfolded,
and worried. Gallup interviewed
provided training is given at a
150,000 people in 140 countries for
young age. For adults, meditation is
their 2019 Global Emotions Report and
a route to enhanced intuition.
found that a third of them were stressed while one in five experienced sadness or anger. In this survey, the United States was 39th most positive country and India ranked 93rd. Clearly, negativity is a serious issue for India Inc., as well.
• Less discord and violence. Improved
interpersonal
relationships, less discord and violence are natural consequences of higher levels of emotional excellence. • Creativity
and
Negativity and negative emotions
innovativeness. Pursuit of higher
are synonymous. Negative emotions
levels of emotional excellence is a
lead to stress while positivity attenuates stress. Successful pursuit of higher levels 56
OCTOBER 2020
graduate,
Ramanujan
would
formulate complex mathematical theorems and their proofs without knowing the steps in between. He told his mentor, G. H. Hardy at Cambridge,
creation
happened
when he connected to the source via a prayer to his Goddess. Progress in America Ancient India is the home of emotional excellence, but you would find it interesting that America is recognizing
reports on emotional intelligence.
illness, turnover, absences and fraud
Reporting on Gallup’s 2019 Global
Ramanujan. Barely a high school
pathway to connect to the source where all creation happens. India
Emotional intelligence is an intellectual inquiry to fundamentally understand the importance of emotions within oneself and in others, and it indicates the capacity to be aware of one’s own emotions and intuit the feelings of others with obvious implications for decision‐making.
Business Mandate fountainhead of excellence
its importance independent of any
Intelligence: “In 2002, UNESCO began
intelligence by itself cannot bring about
scriptures.
a worldwide initiative to promote social
the required positive changes from
In 1990, University of New
and emotional learning (SEL), sending
within.
Hampshire psychologist, John D. Mayer
a statement to ministries of education
Emotional excellence, the term I
and his friend and a fellow psychologist,
in 140 countries.” He writes that he was
have coined, is the wherewithal of how
Peter Salovey, now President of Yale,
most gratified to note that tens of
to bring about the required positive
coined
“Emotional
thousands of schools worldwide offered
changes from within and there is only
Intelligence”. By then, the importance
children SEL. He says that in the United
one way to achieve this feat and it is
of IQ was wellknown globally but the
States, many districts and even entire
through meditation, or more generally,
profound implications of emotional
states currently make SEL a curricular
yoga. No amount of training, rules,
intelligence or EQ (emotional quotient)
requirement mandating that just as
regulations, and policies, topnotch
had not yet been understood in the
students must attain a certain level of
quality initiatives, nor intellectual
West.
competence in math and language, so
pursuits will cut the mustard.
the
term
Emotional intelligence is an intellectual inquiry to fundamentally
too should they master these essential skills for living. The
Alarmed by the aggressive pursuits of China, India Inc., appears to be
Business
making concerted efforts to wean
within oneself and in others, and it
Roundtable released a New Statement
companies away from China to India.
indicates the capacity to be aware of
redefining the purpose of a corporation
There is also a reported effort at
one’s own emotions and intuit the
in 2019. The 181 CEOs of some of the
Government reforms. Pursuit of
feelings of others with obvious
largest companies in the world who
external and internal excellence is
implications for decisionmaking.
signed the New Statement, committed
essential for the success of these
to lead their companies for the benefit
initiatives.
understand the importance of emotions
Relatedly, Daniel Goleman first published the bestseller, Emotional Intelligence in 1995. That book sold four million copies and was on the New York Times bestseller list for a yearanda half. According to HBR, Goleman’s articles on emotional intelligence are some of the most enduring in their publication. Goleman says in his HBR article, “IQ and technical skills are important but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.” Goleman goes on to say in his tenth anniversary edition of Emotional
of
prestigious
all
stakeholderssuppliers,
employees, customers, communities and shareholders, away from the shareholdersfirst ideology. A little reflection should convince the reader that enhancing internal excellence is the only route for one group of stakeholders to work for the benefit of all stakeholders. The progress Americans have made in realizing the importance of emotional intelligence is laudable. However, as important as an intellectual inquiry to fundamentally
understand
the
Pradeep B. Deshpande is Professor Emeritus and a former Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Louisville. He is also President of Six Sigma and Advanced Controls, Inc.
importance of emotions, emotional OCTOBER 2020
57