Dhritarashtra Management...

Quite a few days now, I was thinking of Dhritarashtra Management. Dhritarashtra, a blind man, was the king of Hastinapur for a long period of time and ruled the country. How was it possible? How can someone take decision when he can't see what is happening in and around the country? It was possible because of the truthful council of ministers he had. He viewed the country through the eyes of his ministers. 

The character of Sanjay is aptly used to explain this. Sanjay was entrusted to relay the events happening at Kurukshetra, the war ground. Sanjay had the special ability to see the battle ground sitting in the royal palace with Dhritarashtra. So, the king could see the events of the war at Kurukshetra through the eyes of Sanjay. 

In modern day corporate houses, the person sitting at the helm is somehow like Dhritarashtra, he is dependent on the managers below them, albeit with their eyes wide open. The CEO cannot see the day to day affairs happening in his organisation. He is solely dependent on the council of managers supposed to be assisting him. Vision of the CEO to move forward solely dependent on the truthfulness of his council. The council of managers act as Sanjay. They are the eyes and ears of the CEO. Dhritarashtra was lucky, the Sanjay had no vested interest. He relayed what he saw. 

Modern day Sanjays are not selfless always. They have their own vested interests. They create perceptions to meet their own interests. As a result, the CEO cannot see the actual picture. The CEO is shown what the Sanjays want to him to see. Over a period of time, the perceptions created looks like the truth. Decisions are taken on the basis of those perception.

Obscured Vision...

The phrase is striking in my mind for quite sometime now. It was constantly present on my subconscious mind for the last few days, may be months. Whether eating, taking bath, in a meeting or coding, I could sense the presence of the word in and around me. I was feeling a pressure, a sense of urgency to pen down the thoughts on this. Yesterday, when finally decided to give it a try, I thought to find the meaning in google. As soon as I typed the two words, like a super wife, google replaced it with "blurred vision" and gave me a list of eye specialists! Obviously, I was not looking for this! I changed the phrase with single word "obscured" and got the meaning which resembled with my thoughts. It says - 

keep from being seen; conceal. 
 "grey clouds obscure the sun" 

My subordinates always try to obscure my vision. When I ask them about the status of the job they are working on, the common and expected reply is "It is almost done." What are all the thing done? I get a huge list of features. What are all the things pending? Nothing sir, just a few minor validations at one or two places, about to be finished. At this point, normally I tend to take it as it is given. The matter of the fact is, at this point my vision is obscured. I do not try to look through, I do not look beyond. 

Well, to be honest, this is not how I actually realised it first. I felt it first when my boss, who used to wish me personally on my birthdays, refused to return a smile on my morning wishes. I do not have any direct interaction with him for any of the tasks entrusted to me. So, why this change in perception? There may be more than one reason for this. And when I thought deeply, I could realise that this is not something new or something strange that is happening with me only. This is happening everywhere with everyone. There are hidden agenda or interest which prompts people to conceal. The agenda may be as large as mobilising a mob or as small as to sink somebody to keep another one afloat. Each individual at his or her own capacity, tries to obscure the vision of others to meet personal interests. My subordinates do it with me, I do it with my boss, my boss does it with his boss, children do it with their parents, parents do it with the society and it goes on. More the hierarchy, more the obscurity. 

The recent scandals on beef eating and national intolerance broaden up the meaning. A few people can obscure the vision of hundreds of thousands of people and lead them to criminal offences. A few writers tries to obscure the vision of the entire nation by returning their awards to prove that the country has become intolerant. 

Looking beyond is the mantra. Trying to look beyond what is presented is the key. If I can look beyond what is presented to me by my subordinates, the product will have lesser bugs and will require lesser time. If my boss looks beyond what his subordinates present to him, the product as whole will be benefited. Same is applicable for higher ups. 

We all know that political or religious leaders mislead or misguide general public for their own interest. But still we do not try to clear our eyes to look beyond and let the leaders to succeed with their agenda.