Systems and processes - Learnings from Shankaracharya for Entrepreneurs, Chapter 8

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The syllable "Gu" means darkness and ignorance. The syllable 'Ru' means eradication of darkness or ignorance. Because of the power to dispel darkness, the guru is thus named.

Continued from Chapter 7 on market segmentation https://www.facebook.com/sureshnarasimha/posts/10161932915043782

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One of the critical factors of success is to create strong systems that help us stay committed to our ethos while we achieve scale. All great organizations have a culture, a system that fuels the culture & members that adhere to the system. No organization has ever scaled up without setting up systems.

In fact, even not-for-profit community organizations need to set up a system & some discipline to ensure their brand and culture are preserved. A few examples to be noted include shaka of RSS and meetings of Rotract. It is one of the reasons why the mutts incorporated by Shankara flourish even today. They say, the Junior pontiff of any of these centers, mirrors their gurus even in their body language.

Each center has a clear set of the syllabus to teach the junior pontiff, students of the center, set training program for admins, set details of rituals, and set details of each of those rituals.

Shankara’s innovation in Panchayatana will be discussed in subsequent chapters. But each of the rituals is so well defined that, they almost act like dharma sutras that we can refer back to.

As we discussed earlier each of the centers follows a different Veda and owns the responsibility of propagating that particular form of Veda. Periodically each of the centers conducts events to certify, recognize & celebrate experts in all aspects of Vedas. There are scholarly debates, Avadahanas( that test the expertise someone has in multiple subjects), and presentations of classical arts, and literature happening in each of the centers. All as per the calendar & tradition for more than 12 centuries.

While general education, social culture, norm, and priorities kept changing in the country, systems and practices in the mutts remained unchanged for good. IT is important to note that many of these centers were under direct/indirect rule of Muslim invaders/ missionary supported colonial rulers. Stong conviction & tradition ensured good things are not lost.

All Entrepreneurs, need to understand organization has to survive & culture needs to stay on for years to come. It takes little effort initially to set, document & communicates the systems. Systems that represent the culture, values & needs of the organization. Systems that people can appreciate & have fun following.

While we appreciate the unbroken tradition of Mutts of Shankaracharya, we should not forget the systems & practices that have helped them stay what they are.

The next chapter will talk about the importance of getting the distribution, a holy grail of the product business & what Shri Shankaracharya teaches there

Summary

Strong systems that reflect the culture, values & needs of the organization go a long way in establishing a strong brand and organization