• Ignorance of the work to be done or of the rules, regulations and work practices;
• Laziness and disinclination to hard work;
• Neglect of duty due to indulgence in sensual pleasures (for example chit chatting, browsing, social networking sites)
• Timidity due to fear of public discontent or uproar, (reactions from) evil persons or of untoward results;
• Corruption, particularly showing favors to selfish persons with whom the manager has had dealings;
• Short temper and tendency to violence (alienating those from whom he has to inspire to perform);
• Arrogance about his learning, his wealth or the support he gets from highly placed persons;
• Greed for incentives or higher pay which prompts him to use false metrics, observations, standards, or to make false assessments and calculations.

In such situations, Kautilya recommends that the penalty and disciplining shall be commensurate with the (gravity of the) offence. (i.e., not follow a rigid pattern but to take into account the circumstances of each case.)

This write-up is based on a section from Kautilya’s Arthasasthra dealing with productivity and economic wealth generation of the state. Though this was originally meant to assess the government servants in Maurya Kingdom in 3rd Century BC i.e., 23 centuries back. The wisdom is applicable to any business organization. In fact, to any organization including voluntary as well as government.

This write up is heavily modified from the original text because the social structure, livelihoods and economic activities were very different from the current economy and social situations. However, the negative characteristics of human nature specific to officers/managers have mostly not changed despite 23 centuries since the book was first written.

The reality check – Is entrepreneurship new?
From the independence period, self-employment existed as #1 employer in India. A sheer need to survive forced many into self-employment and subsistence entrepreneurship, which means a hand-to-mouth business earning less than required for basic existence. Almost every type of major employment from farming, LIC agencies, grocery stores, fruit vendor, auto rickshaw, electrician, plumber, carpenter, hair cutter, and beauty saloon is self-employment. Low per capita income countries typically tend to have many self-employed people, whereas thriving economies have more people working as employees.

Beyond the Hype – Why is entrepreneurship so high in India since independence?
Entrepreneurship is very high in India for many social, political and economic reasons. Also, most agrarian economies have high self-employment and a significant non-professional workforce in low paying jobs. The creation of a viable middle class requires at least an industrial economy.

• Very few government jobs

After independence, a limited number of public sector companies existed as government of India was still in the process of building PSUs. As a result, there were very few government jobs, which existed in India after independence. In addition, there were few private sector companies that existed in India after independence. This scarcity of jobs for educated persons led to forced self-employment.

• No meaningful jobs in traditional businesses

There were no meaningful jobs for educated persons in traditional businesses in the post independence period. Traditional businesses do not operate in a professional manner and the environment in such businesses is typically not conducive to educated people.

• Farming mindset fueled entrepreneurship aspirations

A farmer has a tendency to be one’s own boss. A farmer does not work for others. In many parts of India, the rural hired hand is called “salaried” and the term “salaried” has a negative connotation; it means someone who is not enterprising, unskilled person from a not so great family background. A typical farmer’s mentality is to take pride in being independent and self-employed. For generations, this mindset continued and fueled entrepreneurship aspirations.

• Private sector prior to 1991 reforms was not actively encouraged

Private sector in India before the 1990′s faced many bureaucratic hurdles, thus it did not grow fast enough to create jobs for the people seeking employment. During 1950-91 due to industrial licensing / socialistic agendas, private sector was not actively encouraged and had stunted growth. The government itself did not consider the private industry very kindly. People could understand the mood of the government and did not want to join private sector as everyday could be an uphill journey against the might of the government bureaucracy / prevailing public opinion. This environment affected growth of professional private businesses and led to insufficient job creation in the private sector.

If you see the movies of Amitabh Bachchan in 70’s and 80’s when he was Bollywood superstar, the common theme was the lack of meaningful jobs in educated India. The frustration of the educated Indian and the role of the angry young man played by Amitabh Bachchan strongly connected with the audience and made him a super star. The common scene in many movies of this time was the educated person holding a degree and roaming from office to office for a job till his boots get holes in them.

• Inability to work in organizations

In the earlier generations people were mostly into self-employment, which mostly didn’t required any interpersonal skills and awareness levels of teamwork. The younger generation grew up seeing this generation. Even if the younger people aspired to join PSUs and private sector jobs, they lacked the interpersonal skills and awareness levels to get and keep the job in such organizations. Their inability to get adjusted to work in teams made many educated people unfit to work in organizations. This also led many people to get into forced self-employment.

However, the real development in India is the growth of decent paying, good profile jobs in professional private sector companies. Many multinational companies also entered the Indian market and tens of lakhs of respectable jobs have been created. Contrary to what is the general perception, the reality is that it is not the growth of entrepreneurship that we are seeing today. The reality is the aggressiveness and the determination with which Indians have let go off the self-employment mindset to join the professional work force as employees.

In fact, this trend is such a strong trend that currently the professional employees and corporate taxes (mostly from PSU’s and professional private companies) account for more than 50% of the taxes collected by the Indian government.

For 2100 years, it is well known that the subordinate has a right to have a good manager who is capable to train and guide them effectively. The manager should have all-round expertise in various fields to face any kind of situations. To be lead by a capable manager is the right of a soldier, and it was recognized and followed even in 107 BC.

Who is a Centurion?
A Centurion is a professional officer equivalent to a captain in the Roman Army since 107 BC. Earlier, Centurions commanded a ‘centuria’ or ‘century’ that means a company or a tribe. Unlike by its word ‘century’, a Centurion led anywhere between 80 to 100 men, and in particular 100 at full strength.

A Centurion used different tools, as his role was different from his legionaries (army), and also to spot him easily in the battlefield. They wore horsehair chest on helmet, cloak of fine material, sword on left side, and a vine stick that was often used to punish his men. Each Centurion could hired an optio, who is a second in command in position for that century. A Centurion typically hires an optio to perform administrative functions like enforcing his orders, taking commands in battles, supervise subordinates, and to take lead in his absence.

He was often of the humble origin, and is not from the aristocracy. Moreover, a Centurion’s son can’t become a Centurion automatically i.e. it is not inherited. Centurion is not the aristocratic only position.

Centurions are personally responsible for training and disciplining his soldiers. They had a well-deserved reputation of giving harsh punishments for his soldiers under his command.

If there were enough Centurions to lead, some of the extra Centurions performed a variety of tasks ranging from training to cavalry, providing security to governors, and medical service to emperors based on the requirement both within the century itself and in other units.

Why Centurions are admired?
Centurion was the role model and led the Century at the drill, on the march, and in battle. He was a skilled professional and the best soldier who could be relied on to run a Legion on a campaign and in battle.

1. Lead from front
During war, Centurion usually led his soldiers from the front, occupying a position at the front right of the century formation. They led and inspired their men by example. Historians cite examples of them being the first over the enemies’ walls or through the breach in walls. They also have to display the skill and courage that made them to achieve the rank in the first place.

Though it is kings and other aristocrats who were the rulers, but when it comes to war and leading the cavalry, it is the leaders like Centurions who fought alongside of soldiers guiding from the front and winning battles. Centurions led their legionaries by guiding from the frontline and are among the first to break into enemy’s army.

As Centurions are stationed in the front of the century formation, they are heavily wounded in battles by taking the first strike from the enemy. For this reason, they often face disproportionate number of casualties in a battle.

2. Highly skilled in using all kinds of weapon
A Roman Centurion was chosen for his size, strength, and dexterity in throwing the missile weapons, and sword and shield using skills.

3. Right temperance and attitude
Centurions also had to have the right temperament and attitude. He has to be vigilant, active and ready to execute the orders he receives than to talk. In short, he is chosen for his expertness in all the exercises.

Julius Caesar is said to have promoted someone to Centurions for display of courage and spirit. Caesar even doubled the strength of the soldiers for his high performing Centurions.

4. With practical knowledge from prior experiences
Only the very best soldiers could hope to become Centurions and this would take 15 years! Therefore, if he had entered the army at age of 16, he would have spend almost half his life in the military, giving him the experience needed to know how to command his century well.

Lessons in Management From Roman Centurions

1. Capable – Centurions are chosen based on their abilities but not on their social class and inheritance. Any one can become a Centurion if he is capable enough.
2. Multi-skilled – The manager should be an all-rounder i.e. skilled in a variety of areas (swords, shield, Javelin, and knife).
3. Attitude, skills, courage, and knowledge of battle situations – 15 years of strong experience as a soldier at various positions gives enough tools and techniques to perform at the deciding moment. If he is not good enough to brace the situation, he could die in the first five minutes of the war, as he is among the first to face the enemy’s army.
4. A subordinate has the right to have a good manager
5. A manager has many authorities / privileges. But he has to be capable skill wise, attitude wise, and knowledge wise. This covers mental, physical, and emotional aspects.

Suggested Reading:
Leadership Attitude: Stockdale Paradox – Confront the facts however unpleasant but never lose hope!
Management is a Practice, Not a Degree
How Soft Skills Are Recognized And How It Is Related To Performance
Role Of Soft Skills In A Person’s Career
Understand The Motivational Theories In Management
Accuracy and Precision

James Stockdale was prisoner of war from September 9, 1965 to February 12, 1973 in Vietnam War. Stockdale credited that his stoic nature helped him to survive as a Prisoner of War.

Jim Collins included Stockdale philosophy as Stockdale Paradox in his renowned book ‘Good to Great’ as “confronting the brutal fact of the situation, yet at the same time, never give up hope.”

When interviewed by Jim Collins about Vietnamese Prisoner of War (POW) camp, Stockdale said “I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”

And when asked about who didn’t make it out, Stockdale replied, “Oh, that’s easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”

Stockdale was born in Abingdon, Illinois in 1923. He graduated from Naval Academy in 1947 and joined Naval air station Pensacola, Florida for flight training. He received masters in International relations and Marxist theory from Stanford University and later preferred to be a fighter pilot. He rose through ranks quickly and reached highest position as a fighter squadron commander.

Stockdale was held as Prisoner of War in 1965 in North Vietnam while working on a mission in Vietnam War. There he was sent to one of the most infamous Hao Lo prison where he was brutally tortured physically and mentally. In the seven years where he was kept captive as prisoner of war, despite severely beaten, malnourished, asphyxiated, and spent few years in total dark room, he never succumbed to the North Vietnam captors.

During his seven years as POW, he resisted to cooperate with the captors, even when he was placed in solitary confinement. He was locked with leg irons in a bath stall, beaten, and whipped. He resisted them using him for propaganda by hurting himself relentlessly. When Stockdale came to know that he was to be paraded in public before foreign journalists by captors, he slashed his scalp with a razor to disfigure himself, so that the captors do not take him and use him for propaganda. When they put a hat, he had beaten his face with a stool to be swollen beyond recognition. When captors told him that other POWs are dying under torture, he slit his wrists to show that he preferred death rather to capitulate.

His uncanny determination is widely respected. He received ‘Medal of Honor’ in 1976, the highest military decoration awarded by the US government along with 26 other personal combat decorations.

Suggested Reading:
Lessons in Management: From The Ancient Roman Centurions
Management is a Practice, Not a Degree
How Soft Skills Are Recognized And How It Is Related To Performance
Role Of Soft Skills In A Person’s Career
Understand The Motivational Theories In Management
Accuracy and Precision

One individual may not possess all the soft skills such as interpersonal, informative, convincing and negotiation, communication and socializing skills. Some of them are important and applicable to most people such as written and oral communication skills, interpersonal skills like empathy, good manners and listening skills. Different roles demand different set of soft skills. It may take years together for a person to develop a set of soft skills to handle a range of challenges successfully that are encountered in life.

For instance, a student must need good listening skills, a willingness to learn, commitment and discipline. It is not uncommon for students with lower ranks in EAMCET to score higher percentages because of good soft skills.

In an information technology company, if a person is appointed as a team leader in case there is a team of people with similar IQ and technical skills, then the team leader is the person who shares information properly with his fellow employees about the assignments and coordinate with them in completing the given work in a stipulated time.

In the same way, it is applicable in a tech support company also. Lets say there is a team of 10 people with same technical knowledge. A person who is good in handling the customer complaints and solving the disputes would outrank his colleagues in terms of his performance, because of his soft skills and not hard skills. Most of this competence comes from his well developed soft skills. This person stands head and toe over the rest of the team members, when his performance is compared with others. Similarly, it is widely applicable in every type of job in any industry with different set of soft skills requiring for different job roles.

Lastly soft skills are not talent. Many talents are natural. A person who has talent may not be aware of it. It took Chanakya to discover the talent of Chandragupta Maurya. Also, it took Imran Khan to discover the talent of Wasim Akram. A person with talent would still need a good teacher and systematic practice to develop it. However, a person without the talent will go nowhere even with the same teacher and systematic practice or training.

This is not the case with the soft skills, which are mostly teachable and learn-able by applying ourselves correctly. That means anyone can learn soft skills. No qualification is required for learning soft skills. However, based on the career aspirations the set of soft skills will vary from person to person.

Suggested Reading:
Role Of Soft Skills In A Person’s Career
Lessons in Management: From The Ancient Roman Centurions
Leadership Attitude: Stockdale Paradox – Confront the facts however unpleasant but never lose hope!
Management is a Practice, Not a Degree
Understand The Motivational Theories In Management
Accuracy and Precision

If you are perceived to be difficult and unfriendly, of what value are your hard skills when nobody is ready to work with you? The people who interact with you such as your colleagues, clients, and managers must perceive you as a significant contributor, an asset to the team, and this is possible only when you possess good soft skills. Because, it is the team performance that counts but not the individual performance in organizations. In such an environment soft skills are important for you in getting work done from your team.

An employee may be thoroughly trained in the technology he is using; but how good are those skills, if the same employee has no idea of how to handle a customer complaint or to effectively handle an important project? In many situations, it’s often the soft skills that matter the most in dealing with the day-to-day operations of a company.

A customer usually has no idea about the computer program you are using, but they appreciate when you complete a project beyond their expectations or resolve an issue quickly and effectively. A customer who receives great customer service is sure to keep coming back and tell others about his positive experience. Some common soft skills that are important for most of the people in building their careers are writing skills, presenting their work assignments status and the ability to work within a team.

Though a person has good hard skills, it is the soft skills that create opportunities for that person. What is the use of technical skills if nobody knows that you have got such skills? The essence of your technical ability is opportunity. So, one must have such soft skills to create opportunities.

Soft skills not only create the opportunities but they empower by making you to take advantage of the opportunities such as jobs, career or business. No matter how great your hard skills are, your persuading skills should be good. Otherwise, others who may not be as capable as you, but who have better persuading skills might beat to the jobs. Though you require hard skills to work on a job, but it is soft skills that make you to be likeable by others and to get associated with success on good projects and critical assignments. Obviously, nobody wants to have an unlikable person in their team or in an organization.

Your technical skills will not have any value if you possess poor soft skills. How well you coordinate and communicate with your coworkers, clients or mangers matters a lot. Soft skills make you to contribute at your best to the team and the organization in achieving better results. So, along with the technical skills you must possess good soft skills to have even a moderately successful career.

In order to contribute for better results for the company, a person needs to work with other key people in the company. This requires both competence in their specialization as well as being able to work with others and being aware of others roles, challenges and strengths. In addition, critical projects in a company carry risks and some amount of stress. To be able to handle your emotions is essential to deliver on these critical projects. So, a person with only technical skills will not be able to perform well in critical or important projects in a company. Success in such projects establishes who are the champions in the company and these people will be rewarded.

Suggested Reading:
Lessons in Management: From The Ancient Roman Centurions
Leadership Attitude: Stockdale Paradox – Confront the facts however unpleasant but never lose hope!
Management is a Practice, Not a Degree
How Soft Skills Are Recognized And How It Is Related To Performance
Understand The Motivational Theories In Management
Accuracy and Precision

Then just think about it. How many people are working and putting their livelihoods at stake when the management is run by people with no formal education in management. If you think it is not risky then just imagine the consequences of the failure of the management – the people do not get paid, their family finances, education of their kids and the EMI payment on their dream apartment is all at stake.

A company like Hewlett Packard or Microsoft has lakhs of employees in high paying jobs. So many of their customers are using their technology. If the management is incompetent and not able to perform, then all these people suffer and the impact will be felt across many countries. Then, why both Microsoft and Hewlett Packard did not insist on management degrees for Steve Ballmer and Mark Hurd, who are the CEOs of these companies respectively.

Steve Ballmer discontinued from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and should be having only half-baked ideas of management. Whereas, Mark Hurd is even worse and has only a bachelors degree of business management. He did not even have a postgraduate MBA course.

Peter Drucker, the management guru said, “Management is a practice”. The expertise in management comes only by practicing and getting your hands dirty on the field. Learning, adopting and growing in the process.

The Practice of management is independent of a management degree. Having the degree gives you the theoretical basis for management. However, there is no guarantee that you will be able to perform in real life.

Let me explain this simply – It is like fast bowling, if someone is given theoretical inputs on how to bowl at 150 kmph in cricket for 14 years. With textbooks, classroom instructions and rigorous tests to check the knowledge on fast bowling. It does not mean this person will actually be able to bowl at 120 kmph. While an uneducated teenager having the right genetics (physique) and used to hard work can quickly be taught to bowl over 120 kmph.  Because, it depends on the ability to exert yourself and some technique that is learned on the playground.

Suggested Reading:
Lessons in Management: From The Ancient Roman Centurions
Leadership Attitude: Stockdale Paradox – Confront the facts however unpleasant but never lose hope!
How Soft Skills Are Recognized And How It Is Related To Performance
Role Of Soft Skills In A Person’s Career
Understand The Motivational Theories In Management
Accuracy and Precision