Devdutta Patnaik: The king of sutras

All of us are familiar with designations like Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Technical Officer. But has anyone ever heard of a designation called Chief Belief Officer (CBO)? Well, there is such a post, and it’s the first of its kind in the corporate world. Dr Devdutta Patnaik holds this post at Future Group, one of India’s retail pioneers with multiple retail formats. 

A physician-turned-leadership consultant, Dr Patnaik is an author whose works focus largely on mythology and management. He has written a number of books related to Hindu mythology, including Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, The Pregnant King, and Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata.

When I entered the conference hall of Le Meridian, Cochin, to attend the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) conference, I could hear the cackles of about 250 delegates present there. Since I knew none from the travel and tour industry, I thought it would be better to keep a close ear on the key note addresses. That’s when I found a plump person clad in a maroon silk shirt and smart pair of pants on the dais. To my astonishment, this gentleman turned out to be the CBO of Future Group, with whom I had an appointment.
I regretted being late for the session, but there’s nothing more I could do than curse the city’s heavy traffic for my delay. Dr Patnaik seemed very radiant and patient enough to answer the questions posed by the audience. Each answer by him was welcomed with a loud applause and laughter. Later, when I approached him for an interview, he welcomed me with a sunny smile.

In conversation with Devdutt Patnaik...

The journey thus far

I was a doctor by profession and spent about 15 years in the pharmaceutical industry. I have worked for Apollo Health Street and Sanofi Aventis. Then, I joined Ernst&Young as their Business Advisor. Since mythology was always a passion for me, I used to write articles related to it. In due course, I met Kishore Biyani of the Future Group, and he motivated me to turn my hobby into a profession.

Role as a CBO
CBO is just a designation created to excite people. It has been created to make people question the role of belief in menacing situations. Modern management is actually a Western belief, and will such a belief work in India? My theory is that it will not. The more you try to push Western beliefs in India, the more troubles you will have to face. Now, look at our judicial system, political system, and economic model. They are all Western. We are not adapting to it. We have not understood it well enough in order to adapt to it. We have not understood India or the West well and what we are doing is some strange ‘khichdi’ (mixture). This creates much more trouble than we can imagine because we are rejecting everything that is Indian. We have to discover who we really are. Rediscover. That’s the key point.

Mythology and modern management
The real question is how do we define mythology? It is a collection of stories, symbols, and rituals that communicates a subjective truth. Every culture has its own myth. This acts as an imperceptible force that influences decision-making, which is the axiom of modern management. Hence it is difficult to ignore myths. The only way to understand culture is through mythology.  

Whatever I believe, I communicate to others. What we call management today is based on the mythology of the West. People don’t realise it, but it is very obvious to a student of mythology. So, my question is if the mythology of the West can create management strategies, then why can’t Indian mythology do the same? It is a different way of looking at the same thing.

Medicine and mythology
Medicine is all about evidence, and mythology is about faith. That is the fundamental difference. In medicine, one needs evidence to believe in something, but when it comes to mythology, it is all about beliefs. Let us take an example of profit. If you think that profits are good for you, and you need to prove that, it is medicine. If you don’t care for a proof that profits are good for you, then it is mythology.

The connection between relationship and business
How do you manage your home? It is the same way we manage our society. If you think that you have to manage society differently from home, then you are wrong. We are being taught that it is different. There is no difference between managing our family and managing our business. Both have investments and returns. An individual getting married is expecting something from his/her spouse. You give something because you expect something in return from your partner, and if you don’t get anything, you are sad and depressed. A relationship is not so different from business. In business, you invest money, and in a relationship, you invest emotions. In Sanskrit, principles are called ‘tatva’. They won’t change. Same is the case with the principles in business too. The very same principle applies to day to day life also. In the West, they have made these divisions, of professional and personal life. According to me, such divisions are artificial.

Favourite mythological character

Lord Ram of the Ramayana. I don’t understand why everybody finds it great in criticising. Some wonder why our ancestors worshipped him as king. I couldn’t find an answer for it. Either our ancestors were wrong, or we are missing a very reflective fact.

About ‘Business Sutra’

As I said earlier, modern management is based on Western mythology, especially Greek and biblical mythology. The book ‘Business Sutra’ makes this obvious. It basically explores the ideas related to wealth generation, wealth management, and people management through stories found in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. We can learn a lot from these stories, which are being discussed in this book. There are 145 sutras in the book. We have a notion that business is only about wealth. It is a partial truth. Business is also about identity and wisdom.

Ten sutras for a happy mind at workplace

·       You should know that happiness is a combination of Lakshmi (material wealth), Saraswati (intellectual wealth), and Durga (emotional wealth), abbreviated as LSD. If there is no balanced exchange of all three, then happiness wouldn’t exist.

·         You should understand that beliefs cannot be measured, but they shape the way we think, the way we behave, and the way we do business. It is the base of everything.

·         Don’t assume that a decision is balanced; it is the greatest mistake of modern management. You should know that all decisions are influenced by the invisible belief systems of an individual.

·         Know that people want you to look at them: look at the person, not human resources, or people.

• Be aware of the fact that all things are subjective - what is right in one situation may not be in another.

• Know that Lakshmi chases the secure Vishnu while the insecure Indra chases Lakshmi; wealth follows confidence, confidence does not follow wealth.

• Remember always that Lakshmi always comes with Alakshmi, the goddess of quarrels - so when there is wealth and fortune, fights are sure to follow.

• Don’t forget that humans are 99 per cent animals, fearing scarcity and predators that they sense in their imagination.

• Very well remember a small fact that everyone wants to feel significant in an organisation - systems and processes tend to dehumanise people and take away their relative significance.

• Know that people often do not know why they are doing what they doing. This ignorance leads to confusion, hence unhappiness.

Message to youth      
I don’t believe in messages. Today’s youth have so many things to worry about. They don’t need one man telling them what to do and what not to do.



Click: Jose Jacob
Article first appeared in 2013 September issue of Money Indices magazine