HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

HR LESSONS FROM LORD GANESHA

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Of all the multitudes of deities and gods that constitute the Hindu religion, Lord Ganesha is probably one of the most loved and revered of all, regardless of individual beliefs and customs. Considered the god of good beginnings and wisdom, it is in his name that new ventures are undertaken and important life decisions made.

Ganesha is a management guru who embodies the qualities needed by a smart manager. His big head inspires us to dream big and profitably, his big ears instruct us to listen attentively to new ideas and suggestions, his narrow eyes signify the need to concentrate, and his small mouth reminds us that silence is golden

No doubt we all look upon Lord Ganesha to help us whenever we are in difficulty by praying to him. But in our professional life, where action has to be immediate, we cannot wait for the Lord to settle down things for us. It is here that his Holy form comes to our rescue. Each part of His body and everything associated with Him has a significance that can be related to our professional challenges.:

BIG HEAD

The big head of lord ganesha inspires us to think big, store big, dream big and learn more

The big head of Lord Ganesha indicates a big brain within the big head. It tells us we have to think big. Only then can we achieve success. It is these big thoughts that are processed into actions, which is later seen as successful achievements. A manager who thinks big can achieve all laurels for his organization and if he narrows down his thoughts or if he cannot think big, he really cannot achieve anything great. So the big head of Lord Ganesha tells the management – think big and achieve big.

SMALL EYES

The small eyes give us the message to stay focused, do not distract here and there, work precisely and minutely, and keep sharp eyes to judge

the problems beforehand.

Small eyes is a sign of focus. The management has to be focused on its target. Any kind of distraction from the target can result in failure. So remain focused and work towards the goal with a sharp eye - says the small eyes of Lord Ganesha. A proper focus will enable the management to make the right judgment; and making the right judgment is what is expected of any management.

BIG EARS AND SMALL MOUTH

listen more and speak less.

This is indicative of Shakespeare’s – “give every thy ears, but few thy voice.” The big ear suggests that you have to listen to all and the small mouth says speak less. Management has to keep their ears open all the time; only then will they know what is good and what is bad. Like you would separate the chaff from the grain with a winnow; the winnow shaped big ears of Lord Ganesha suggests that the management should give their ears to all, separate what is needed and throw away the unwanted. A good manager is obviously the one who knows what needs to be adhered and what should be ignored, so that when he speaks, he speaks with relevance.

LONG NOSE

smell early and recognize early

search new opportunities, to recognize them and to get success.

The long nose of Lord Ganesha suggests that one should be able to smell from a long distance, i.e. smell into the future. The management should smell the dangers or opportunities that are coming up well in advance. Just like the trunk of the Lord can be moved into any direction the management should smell into all directions to detect where the opportunities are coming from and which is the dangerous zone and tread accordingly into the direction of success.

BIG STOMACH

digest everything, good and bad both

The stomach indicates digestion - and a big stomach like that of Lord Ganesha can digest a lot of things; rather everything. A manager should be able to digest any kind of news – good or bad. Whether it is objections, disappointments or hardships, digest all resentments and hatred and move ahead until the goal is achieved.

FOUR HANDS

Lord Ganesha has four hands and each of them has something to signify. While the left hand has a modak, the right hand is raised to bless. It implies a give and take relation. Lord Ganesha, who loves modak takes modak from his devotees and in turn bless them. Management has to learn to give while they expect outcomes from their sub-ordinates / employees; only then will it succeed.

The right hand at the back holds an axe; an axe all of us know is used to chop. This symbolizes retrenchment – cut off – economize. Reduction of cost is undoubtedly an important aspect of successful management.

The noose in the left hand at the back is a gentle implement to capture. It indicates that one has to capture things that are advantageous and pull it towards you. Entrap the opportunities and use it to your advantage.

SMALL FEET

Be firm and modest

The small feet of Lord Ganesh, which supports his large body, leaves him with no choice but to be firmly grounded to avoid tumbling or falling. The management (often a small team of professionals) has a large responsibility of handling all the stakeholders of the Company (the large body); and to do this the management has to be very firm with its decisions and policies. Any leniency or relaxation can become the reason for downfall.

Ita can also be said that to be a leader, others can recon with, you must be humle and down to earth.

ONE TUSK

Do not shirk from making sacrifice if it can give enduring results

Since tusks of an elephant are used as beautifiers, then it must be assumed that if one of them is broken definitely the beauty is lost. However, in the case of Lord Ganesha, the broken tusk has not brought down his popularity. His broken tusk reminds us of the sacrifice he made. As per the legend, Ganesha was asked to write the epic of Mahabharata as Vyasa Muni narrated it. Lord Ganesha realized the enormity and significance of the task and decided that there could not be a better pen than his tusk to

scribe it. This sacrifice made by Lord Ganesha, helped in enlightening the whole world with the wisdom depicted in Mahabharata.

The broken tusk of Lord Ganesha thus teaches management that there is always a good and bad or the right and wrong; but a good manager is the one who can make a decision that can give enduring results, even if he has to make a sacrifice for it. In short, the broken tusk conveys the message that one must conquer emotions with wisdom to attain perfection.

MOUSE AS VEHICLE

a perfect person is one who has conquered his (or her) ego and desires.

Lord Ganesha with a huge body has a small mouse for his vehicle. It shows that Lord Ganesha has no egos. Ganesha’s modesty does not permit him to consider the mouse as insignificant; but he has reviewed the advantages that the mouse can offer him. The mouse can squeeze in through the tiniest space and can even help him commute during the night.

Thus in management one should be modest, leave aside his egos and should be observant to understand the advantages, which others overlook.

There can be yet another lighter interpretation to this. The mouse, known to cause great havoc, is kept under the close control of Ganesha by serving as his vehicle. Similarly, a successful management should be able to detect the troublemakers of the organization and keep a close watch on them by keeping them at a closer distance to have a proper control over them.

OFFERINGS

Be an easy-to-reach manager

The offerings made to Lord Ganesha are modak, durva and hibiscus flowers. These offerings, be it the modak, durva or the red hibiscus are easily available. Hence the devotees of Lord Ganesha who desire to have his darshan can easily approach him with any of these easily available offerings.

The employees like the devotees of Lord Ganesha would want to meet their superiors / management to sort out their issues. A true leader is the one who is accessible to the sub-ordinates and team members. There should not be any strict rules and regulations or any fear factor for the employees to approach the management. Easy accessibility is what these offering made to lord Ganesha tells us. Transparency is the mantra here.

Leaders who persevere with the holy form of Lord Ganesha can gracefully confront all difficult situations. They will not get over-excited at the success of a deal or a project nor would they be overtly dejected at any failure. Their success will teach them to be modest like the Lord himself, who though being so great used a mouse for his vehicle; and any failures will teach them how to overcome that difficult situation and go ahead with the axe and the noose by cutting down the unwanted and capturing the wanted. A true leader is the one who leads being with the sub-ordinates and the other team-members, just like the Lord who is always available for its devotees.

A leader who adopts all the qualities from Lord Ganesha’s form will be a true Vignaharta to any business organization and all people associated with it.

While there are many spiritual lessons to be learned from the stories of Lord Ganesha, there are some lessons that find a place in our every-day professional and personal lives as well. We take a look at some of them:

Act in good faith

Whatever Lord Ganesha undertook, he undertook with conviction and self-belief. It was the belief that his actions were in his and his mother Parvati's best interests is what governed his thoughts and translated into challenging acts, feats that improved his abilities and honed his skills.

It is this that we need to inculcate in ourselves, in the way we work. Any job, if it is worth doing, is worth doing well. Whatever the task you are faced with, face it with courage and conviction and do it to the best of your ability. At the end of the day, even if your effort goes unrecognised, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you gave it your best shot.

Depend on yourself

One of the other names Ganesha is known as is Vinayak, meaning master of oneself. This signifies independence in thought and action. Whether in one's professional or personal life, one must act on one's beliefs after due consideration of relevant factors. Take ownership and responsibility for your actions and their outcome. Just knowing that you alone are responsible will make you take the decision that much more seriously.

Every obstacle can be overcome

Lord Ganesha is also known as Vigneshwara, one who removes obstacles. It is for this reason that he is invoked in times of crisis by believers and also why business ventures are started with a puja (prayer ceremony) in his name. Removing obstacles is his religion.

To take this a step further, one must believe that every obstacle can be overcome. One must also make removing obstacles a dharma in one's own life. Whether in your professional or personal life, with the right attitude -- a never-say-die attitude -- even what seems like the most insurmountable difficulty can be handled without your world falling to pieces. All you need is faith in yourself.

Modesty

Lord Ganesha is considered one of the most powerful gods in Hinduism, unlike the other gods who choose bejeweled chariots, his vehicle is the modest mouse. The mouse is seen to signify darkness and, as the Lord's vehicle, is believed to signify the journey from darkness (or ignorance) to light or enlightenment.

Another interpretation is that Ganesha wins hearts through simple methods, and this too holds a lesson. A shiny car or extravagant lifestyle might impress, but to win hearts, the simplest way is through one's actions -- through simple gestures of affection and respect.

Seek knowledge

While Lord Ganesha has been attributed with many of the qualities proverbially credited to elephants, the most well-known are the ears and trunk -- which suggest curiosity, the quest for wisdom and knowledge. His large head and ears are said to indicate an open-minded attitude that helps him accrue wisdom.

These are qualities that we could do well to adopt to improve and grow as a person. Read, explore, listen and learn -- nothing is irrelevant and nothing insignificant. Only when one educates oneself and listens to all sides of an argument can one judge what one truly believes in, what one wants and how it can be achieved. that every obstacle can be overcome. One must also make removing obstacles a dharma in one's own life. Whether in your professional or personal life, with the right attitude -- a never-say-die attitude -- even what seems like the most insurmountable difficulty can be handled without your world falling to pieces. All you need is faith in yourself.