One of the great movies to watch on leadership is the movie Gandhi . The principles of Gandhi came to be called Gandhigiri — a term made famous by the movie Munnabhai MBBS . In the movie, Munnabhai uses the advice on non-violence and compassion from the imaginary Gandhi he sees, to win over his opponents. Does Gandhigiri have a place in the business world?
Frugality instead of extravagance
Gandhi always nudged those around him to make a difference between wants and needs. Through his austerity he indicated his priorities. When he returned from South Africa to India, he chose to abandon his western suits and opt for the clothing of the poor. Should this matter in the business world?
In the July 14 issue of Business Today, there were some interesting conversations on angel investors and what they looked for in the start-ups they were prepared to invest in. Raman Roy, an IT veteran and co-founder of Indian Angel Network, spoke about an entrepreneur from UP. They asked him how he had arrived for the meeting. Turns out he’d travelled the whole night on the bus and had barely slept. He got a higher investment than he asked for. Saurabh Shrivastava spoke about taking a start-up founder for a drink. When Saurabh ordered a reasonably priced 12-year-old single malt, the start-up founder pushed for a higher-priced drink. Looks like he didn’t get any funding.
While on the surface, it may seem that the investors value frugality, what they also sense when they see it, is a priority for substance over flash, a respect for other people, common courtesy and a willingness to sacrifice things today for the gains of tomorrow. Gandhi through his frugality and austerity demonstrated what was important about leadership — not the authority you wielded but the change you could inspire, not the perks you displayed but the influence for good you could trigger.
Being authentic
Gandhi walked the talk on forgiveness, caring for the poor, removing untouchability. This also gave him the credibility to demand sacrifices from those around him and his countrymen, because he was the first to give it. There’s a powerful scene in the movie Gandhi, where Gandhi is asking his wife whether she has cleaned the bathroom just like all the others in the commune do. She responds that it is a job for servants (she means untouchables). Gandhi is furious. He tells her that if she won’t clean the bathroom, she has no place in his home. He realises what he has said and begs her pardon for the harsh way he spoke. The scene ends with Kasturba saying she will go and clean the bathrooms. The scene is a reminder of how much authenticity mattered to Gandhi. This is crucial in the business world. Leaders who are inauthentic may have a short run of success but are eventually found out.
Raman Roy talked about calling off a deal where a founder was heard talking rudely to his driver. “How will he talk to his employees if this is the way he talks to his driver?”
Rahul Gandhi’s famous hug could have been a genuine bridge-builder, even in a small way, but his wink at the end betrayed that it was not genuine and another attempt at one-upmanship. Walking the talk gives the leader credibility to lead, gives power to her words and makes her decisions trustworthy. This is not something we pick up at business school. This is something we pick up at home, from family members, from role models, from teachers. It has to be a part of us and impact everything we say and do. Gandhi had no disconnect between his private beliefs and his public behaviour. This is a power trait that we as leaders need to acquire. There is so much of a trust deficit in the everyday transactions of business that the leader who is authentic has a dramatic advantage.
The courage of convictions and handling conflict
There’s a scene in the movie Gandhi where Gandhi and his friend are walking down the road in South Africa when a gang of local goons — the leader of the gang is played by the famous Daniel Day Lewis in an unnoticed role — blocks their path. Instead of getting provoked Gandhi keeps calm but stands his ground. Eventually the goon’s mother intervenes. Gandhi gently tells the ruffians, “You’ll find there’s room for us all.” and they move away. Gandhi and his friend continue their walk. Gandhi gives us valuable lessons in how to handle conflict. “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” was the Gandhigiri way.
In business, there have been competitors solely driven by besting each other. Eventually, they either self-destruct or have to stop a lose-lose strategy. In the same scene above, Gandhi’s convictions and courage also have an impact on the ruffians. In a VUCA world (Volatility- Uncertainty- Complexity- Ambiguity), the firm convictions of the leader act as a beacon for the team. They provide a compass by which the organisation can navigate its way. In handling conflict, Gandhi teaches us to look for win-win. He teaches us to build bridges not raise barriers. He invites us to identify ourselves not by the labels and tags that society has given us but by the lowest common denominator — that conflict is eventually a lose-lose for human beings.
Gandhi can teach us much on the way we choose to lead every day. Learning about the principles he lived by and making them our own is perhaps the best tribute we can give him on his 150th birth anniversary.