There are two key drivers in any organisation—the leader and the manager or minister. The leader is called Swami in Kautilya’s Arthashastra and, and the manager is called Amatya.
One without the other is incomplete. While the Swami gives direction, it’s the Amatya who will build the strategy and execute the work. In fact, Chanakya found Amatya to be so important that he noted, “All undertakings have their origins in the ministers.” (8.1.22).
Here, origin not only means beginning but also planning, strategising and executing. Hence, the role of any Amatya has many dimensions, especially in today’s corporate world:
Planning
This is a quality every manager is expected to have inherently. How well he plans a project will decide whether an assignment ends in success or failure. If you were to build a cricket team to win a tournament, the first step is to plan well.
When is the tournament? How many days do you have to prepare? What are the conditions to be played in and what kind of players will be required? How much finances will be required? What kind of training should be given? What equipment is required?
Think from all the different angles. The best way of doing this is to write down all your thoughts. Now, this step is called ‘data collection.’ Only after you have organised this required data, we can get into strategising.
Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai is an Indian management thinker, author, and Founder of Atma Darshan and Chanakya Aanvikshiki. Dr Pillai has extensively researched Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the 3rd century BC treatise and incorporated it into modern management.
Comments