Value-based Learning for an Entrepreneur: a Gandhian Perspective of Self-reliance

Gandhian qualities of management style are to interpret and adopt the philosophy of love satya (truth) and ahimsa (nonviolence) in the domains of business and corporate dealings for entrepreneurs globally. Every one speaks about ethical management and moral codes of conduct but few practice it. Everyone teaches, gives examples and propagates Gandhian principles but few act according to them. The iconic image of Gandhi is used to spread the message of sanitizing India and Indians but his value-based principles offer more to just this cause. The study is an endeavour to emphasize not just the theoretical angle of the values taught by Gandhi but also how his personality clubbed by his actions can serve as a living example to corporate houses and young entrepreneurs to have more social and ethical dealings which can help bridge the gap between the poor and rich by utilizing resources well and earn a peaceful and dignified living which will in turn contribute to the economic progress of our country and spread the fundamental doctrine of equality. Through stressing value-based learnings like ahimsa, satya, patience, tolerance, trusteeship, selflessness, social justice, sacrifice; Gandhi espoused a unique paradigm of leadership which is an important series of lessons for all entrepreneurs.

Keywords: Entrepreneur, values, Gandhi, commitment, economic disparities, business, ethics, corporate, ahimsa, truth, leadership, spirituality

Introduction

Gandhi belonged to the ‘Baniya’ community which happens to be a business-oriented community of India. Given this background, he was no entrepreneur but chose to educate himself. Gandhi lived a life of strict morals and virtues which he followed and advised others to follow. Some of these morals and virtues serve as a living example to modern entrepreneurs to adopt in their business life. Entrepreneurs have one focused goal which happens to be profit-making but Gandhi gave away everything with he earned with joy, selflessly, and could have earned, given his huge body of work – be it wealth or position for himself or his family as for him fulfilment of bare minimum needs were more than sufficient.

Gandhi was a visionary and leader. Among the exemplary figures in Indian history, the simplicity of Gandhi’s principles, morals, ethics, and the consistency with which he applied them remains one of the finest role models for inspiring global leaders who are paradigms of change in the world.

Gandhi was a self-aware man. he knew his strengths and weaknesses and always worked towards overcoming his shortcomings. He therefore believed in first working on himself and then setting an example and a path for others to follow. This he did with ease. Faith in one self is an important trait of Gandhi which every entrepreneur can emulate from him. Gandhi preached that beliefs create destinies. When he launched the Khadi movement, he himself used to wear dhoti all the time. He knew that if he did not believe in what he was going to convey, nobody would believe in him or his idea. This lesson in entrepreneurship is important as entrepreneurship is based on living examples experiments, and the best results can be seen when one experiments successfully with himself for improvement. This connotes the essence of his words, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’.

Does Gandhi qualify to be an entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurs build business empires, acquire riches, making more and more money; but Gandhi suggested ways and means to generate financial opportunities which led to social improvement, yet Gandhi made a choice to remain poor. Gandhi had a multi-faceted and a very talented personality. He made contributions to the fields of law, education, medicine, journalism, writing, handicrafts, trade union movement, art, livelihood, national level programmes for social upliftment and even foreign relations besides the gigantic life task of making India independent.

How does a Mahatma, a freedom fighter, an activist, a social reformer, qualify to be called an ‘entrepreneur’? let us first understand what is entrepreneurship. Firstly, it is about taking risks and learning how to manage them successfully after meeting all challenges. Secondly, it is about having a clear aim or end or objective to achieve within a time-bound period. Thirdly, it is having a clear vision to collectively achieve the objective set or the business house. Fourthly, it is about dealing with challenging situations tactfully. Fifthly, it is about having out of the box, creative vision to accomplish the goals set. Lastly, it is about building a team by inspiring and motivating them and keeping them committed to the larger collective goal. The team should have faith in their leader.

Gandhi’s Contribution to Entrepreneurial Values

He is strongly associated with many self-defined brands like Satya, Ahimsa, Swadeshi, Non-Co-operation, Civil Disobedience, etc. These brands already existed in the Indian tradition, but it was he who popularized them and left them as living examples for all to emulate. This legacy demonstrated powerfully; how basic human values can be a powerful means of changing the world.

Entrepreneurship is about attitude, about passion. India has been a land of entrepreneurs, given the various challenges life throws up to the various classes, rich and poor. Creativity too, is not bound by lack of facilities or opportunity. An entrepreneur sees opportunity where people see problems. The entrepreneur sets out to address the problem in a small way.

Gandhi was self-dependent and would seek solutions to challenging problems by coming up with quick solutions which would add to his self-reliance. This can be demonstrated with the incident that took place in South Africa where a barber refused to trim his hair so Gandhi cut his own hair. This is an important management lesson for all entrepreneurs. Besides this, Gandhi left behind a treasure of work ethics values such as commitment, ambition, strategic thinking, optimism, enterprising, foresighted, trustworthy, integrity, tolerance, inspiring, transparent, compassionate, risk taker and so on. Entrepreneurs must understand what their brand or product stands for or symbolises and this should be the core foundation of the entire marketing strategy. The charkha become a symbol of change and was useful to promote the message of simplicity and self-reliance. Gandhi believed in himself and hence he took the bold step of standing up or what he believed in which later saw a huge crowd of followers who lovingly followed their ‘Bapu’ in every endeavour he made. This brings us to the next theme.

Every entrepreneur is a leader to his/her team. As a leader, every move he/she makes is exemplary. This leader inspires, motivates and gets the best in them; inspires his team mates to do work efficiently and effectively and motivates him to achieve his goals.

Gandhi lived by the mantra of living a truthful life. In the context of a business or corporate house, this translates to value of customers, client-centricity and more importantly the courage to be truthful. Many people are not able to solve their business or relationship issues because they are not transparent in their dealings.

Negotiations are an important aspect of entrepreneurs work life. When it came to dealing with the British who were stubborn and relentless, unless one had good negotiating skills, it would have been futile. Mahatma Gandhi had plenty of success in negotiations. Besides the British, Gandhi also negotiated with the Maharajas to accept the ‘one nation’ theory and overcoming their personal reservations. This was a mammoth task. Negotiations are difficult especially as all should feel satisfied with a win-win situation for all. Gandhi along with his able team ensured that India did not disintegrate.

Gandhi believed in working on the now and perfecting every action undertaken. An entrepreneur should focus on growth and progress in the now. It is the present moment that perfects a better future. His direct actions influenced and inspired the entire nation. His actions were confident and fearless. He was ready to bear the repercussions of the decisions taken. Gandhi’s action began with his own life – from weaving the cloth he wore, to walking to the sea to make salt, to facing physical injury in lathi charges by the police. He never waited for someone to make a move and the follow. He made the move and the rest followed him as they believed in his conviction.

Gandhi was a preacher and propagated of Satya or truth. The light of truth illuminates all facts but the darkness of falsehood dims all pathways. This helped him keep his conscience clear in his journey. Gandhi knew that truth sets the person free of many karmic burdens. His practice of spirituality through reading and analysing the texts such as Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharat affirmed his belief in the value of truth. An entrepreneur, likewise, needs to take care of the truthfulness in all his endeavours and ventures. He should not make false claims to any of his stakeholders, spread rumours and also should not encourage his team members with shallow promises. He must stick to truth and encourage his team to do the same.

Gandhi was impressed by the idea of ahimsa or non-violence taught in scriptural texts and also strongly affirmed by Jainism. This virtue he used in the struggle from independence. World leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. took on the same path to fight against the cause of racial discrimination. This virtue can be potently used by entrepreneurs. They too can use raw materials, production techniques, negotiating dealings, fight against unjust rules and unfair competition with the tool of ahimsa. This reduces negativity and promotes peace.

The leadership legacy left behind by Gandhi was of a mere instrument of wealth creation. The leader is always looked upon as the most important shaper of destinies – of those who worked for his organization and society as a whole – hence this leader had to choose social welfare by appealing to moral consciousness to permeate it with ethical business practices, activities and goals.

The Swadeshi movement given by Gandhi makes us dependent on our own resources and emphasizes on its fruitful utilization without polluting the environment. He had high regard for nature. The philosophy of the Gandhian principle’s stresses on uninterrupted supply of goods at affordable prices due to economies of scale, and then demand is automatic. An entrepreneur not only focuses on enhancing product quality, but must also concentrate on large scale production and provides manufactured goods to consumers at reasonable prices in order to create profit, which is the ultimate objective of organizations. These domestically made products acknowledges the unique philosophy of earning, learning pride and fun. Gandhi boycotted foreign goods which was not based on the premise of competition from others but the need to promote in-country talent.

Gandhi and Gandhian Economics

Gandhi believed that aparigraha or the non-accumulation of possessions and materialistic objects would be the beginning of distribution of wealth. Equal and equitable distribution towards upliftment of the poor was his ideal. However, since absolute equality will be unattainable, so, it would be better to work for the equitable distribution of wealth.

As Gandhi invested his efforts on rural development, empowerment of the less privileged, promotion of rural industries and handicrafts; it is evident that his economics was socialist in nature. Gandhi was instrumental in bringing about social welfare and business growth through various economic paradigms. Worldwide, change makers and mission-driven entrepreneurs have recognized that, to a certain extent, there is little difference between a for-profit company and a non-governmental organization. His vision for India was to make citizens, self-reliant and self-sufficient. India at that time was rural and semi-rural. He was skeptical of science, technology and industrialization, and worried about its impact on India. He wanted arts like weaving and handicrafts alive especially as it helped women to contribute to the economy of the nation.

Gandhi espoused social economics as a fundamental doctrine that promotes equality and equity. This would in turn, bridge the gap between the rich and poor. To Gandhi both the economics and politics of any situation had to be inherently rooted in ethics and propriety. His mantra was straightforward and devoid of jargons. He affirmed that anything which is harmful to an individual would end up being harmful to the nation so in short, it would not be gainful to anyone. His economic philosophy epitomized the basic precept that anyone who harms others and gains something is indulging in an immoral act and is therefore using inappropriate means.

Gandhi’s famous model of trusteeship gave rise to corporate social responsibility. For him, his model should be responsible for economic and social well-being at the collective level. His belief was that no growth should be of an isolated individual; it had to be clearly linked with the welfare of the have not’s. this reflects the egalitarian ethos in Gandhi’s philosophy. His Trusteeship concept is loaded and charged with the precept of private property being used for social upliftment. The value of giving selflessly and sharing generously are illuminated in trusteeship model.

Gandhi also linked the concept of ahimsa or non-violence to trusteeship. Humans should develop the attitude of looking upon themselves as a servant of society. This will make men earn and spend for its benefit. This brings in the pure motive and intention to help and not harm which upholds the attitude of ahimsa. There will be peace and unity in society intermingled with empathy and humility. Gandhi wanted to appeal to the moral consciousness of rich people so that they voluntarily embrace trusteeship and make more money keep the social goal in mind. Gandhi advocated for all the capitalists to have the opportunity to become statutory trustees when India becomes a free country. Trustees will build communities and the nation will progress. His intentions were humble, soulful and noble and strongly believed that the rich people could be persuaded to depart with their wealth to help the poor.

Gandhi’s leadership paragon for entrepreneurs was of great social sensibilities as wanted to change the social order peacefully to create a more equitable and equal society. His concerns for corporate leadership were inextricably linked both to the microcosmic concept of a caring & highly utilitarian organization and the macroscopic idea of a welfare state. Gandhi’s ideal was to optimise the value of his organization by multiplying it further or plough it back into society by using the surplus for the welfare of those who strived to maximize his outcomes. If the leader exercised his choice in the latter, he was invariably rewarded by a harmony that was created due to sound economic growth & moral endorsement of all that was good for society where egalitarianism prevailed by providing livelihood and enhancing the quality of life.

Conclusion

Gandhi a great spiritual leader, a sage (the mahatma), he is an inspiration in multi dimensions. His simplicity, humility and humanism coupled with an iron-willed determination to overcome all odds serve as an inspiration to today’s entrepreneurs globally. Gandhian paradigm of corporate leadership does not essentially invoke a management dogma nor does it endorse any thought on the economic definition of entrepreneurship or management. He himself was unaware of the contributions to corporate life as he concentrated on fixed goals of self-improvement and nation-progress. For him, both the ends and means have to be appropriate to attain any materialistic outcomes. This makes the Gandhian thought so deeply profound.

Every start up undergoes its own struggle which shapes the destiny of the business. Gandhi was aware of the human feebleness and his lower self vice of greed. He was concerned about the vulnerability of wealth-creators to keep all the fruits of their enterprise for self-fulfilment. That is was the ethos behind Gandhi’s thought of trusteeship. He wanted entire society to embrace it rather than a single individual upholding this conviction at a personal level.

The views of Gandhi on ethics and morals of entrepreneurship can be summed up as a risk-bearer, innovator and perseverance of knowledge about the business world. Hard work, desire for high achievement, independence good foresight and innovation are the main characteristics of a entrepreneur. A good entrepreneur can help in the higher national goals of distribution of national income, generation of employment opportunities for urban and rural masses, mobilization of capital and human skills and lastly leading to the economic growth of villages and small towns. He promoted the idea of generating wealth without cheating customers.

Gandhi practiced and preached truth, love and non-violence and worked relentlessly for sustaining human welfare and values so as to bring feelings of community while promoting peace and harmony. It is the integration of philosophy and principles which added a new dimension to the corporate life. Also, the self-taught marketing miracle reveals the formula of success coming along the way with a socialist and egalitarian dimension to it. India is often seen as the large framework of innovation and globally understanding the entrepreneurial landscape for enhancing adaptive efficiency thanks to Gandhian principles. Who better than Gandhi to have triggered one of India’s earliest entrepreneurship revolutions. He promoted new skills, homegrown ideas and self-reliance.