Review the review of the Review

We are all subjected to reviews in every moment… in all places…in all matters of life.

Some reviews are structured [repeatable, reproducible, over time, over  different people], periodic while some are ad-hoc, one-off, unstructured. Then again some reviews are personal while there also are professional reviews. Each passing moment of review is actually a moment of judging or analyzing where our chitta [awareness channel], jnanedriyas [sensory organs] interplays with the vivek [discretion],  memory bank and the unfolding ever-growing “desires”. If at several times the reviewer is not anybody else, then for surely it is our self reviewing self.

Communities in ancient times inquired, imbibed, assimilated,  handed-down several ways of making -sense of life, nature, cosmos in chaos. Some of them became foundational texts of “way of being” and some of them later got wrapped in the womb of religion. These texts even articulated modus operandi of an institution. Such institutions then took forms of kingdoms. Earlier forms of Corporations were actually somewhere in the shape of kingdoms.

The King would lay down targets for the period or season or ritu or during one of his ashramas [stage of life]. And such period to have different measures of Financial Metrics of wealth {lakshmi} [livestock, war stock, produce, valuables, territory]. The King would also have Non-Financial Metrics like {Saraswati} the gems/learned scholars in his court, the best sportsmen in his state, the best  Naatyashaastras for Navarasas in his state; and {Durga}/empathy by delivering Justice.

Each King would also be subjected to review of his “karma” in context of the “dharma”. Dharma would be the spirit of “duty of reason and virtue”, “righteousness”, “propriety”, “others over self”, “order and
balance in nature”.

Dharma has several cousins in different philosophies or religion such as in Buddhism “dhamma”, Zoroastrian “Daena”, Christianity ‘Logos”,  Sikkhism “Dharm”. The King’s Karma would be orderly reviewed by their Elders & Council of Advisors or Senate. History has strong memories of Kings who exhibited short-sightedness, narcissism, imprudence and ruthlessness met with wrong side of their fate eventually.

Let’s now turn our gaze to the settings of a Corporate. Each Corporate sets out its desires in defined periodicity [say annually which is expanded to three years and broken down to quarterly and monthly]. The
desires have mixed weightages of sattva [peacefully, rightfully, slow and steady] or rajas [furious passion, maddeningly expansive] or tamas [lethargic, retrograde, decelerating] for different aspects of  business. When these desires are set out, they are either done in a participative manner [ bottoms up, or top down or non-authoritatively] or in diktat.

Whilst setting out these desires to achieve, unknowingly the Corporate’s Own Dharma is also set out… as to what does the Corporate encourage and what it discourages? What is acceptable and what is not  acceptable? Winning stakeholders by transparency and integrity or by  short term juggling? Exorbitant, unachievable, super-risky plans & tacks or Achievable, Calculated steps? Focus on shortcuts for short
term gains versus more challenging road of prudent karma for sustainability?

Whilst conducting any review in a Corporate, one has know the Corporate’s “dharma” for lakshmi-saraswati-durga for all the stakeholders: Employees, Financial [Banks, Equity Holders], Customers,
Vendors, Partners/Advisors, Society & Nature at Large. A Balanced Scorecard Approach for these stakeholders having lakshmi-saraswati-durga for each is extremely worthwhile and  important.  Such Dharma has to be graphed alongside Leadership’s Karma.

More on other important aspects of a “Review Inside a Corporate” in the next Series of Bliss.