1. In 1993 I founded MART, a livelihoods and rural marketing
Ethics, Excellence and the agency, as a value based organization. Today, 16 years
later, we are a family of 50 dedicated professionals serving
World of Management rural India. We are a flat, non hierarchical totally
By Pradeep Kashyap, Founder & CEO, MART transparent organization – no designations, every staff
member knows each other’s salary or the fact that we
submit detailed, itemized consultancy budgets to clients.
We are a team based organization where all decisions are
taken through consensus. We are an employee owned
organization where on completing 10 years of service every
employee automatically become a partner in the firm.
Let us now come to Ethics. To begin with let us try and
understand what ethics is?
Ethics is the application of spiritual principles to human
behavior. So ethics involves living by (and not theorizing
We all live by some principles. I was fortunate to have met about) the highest principles applicable to human behavior
my spiritual guru nearly 30 years ago who inspired me to on a daily basis.
live by high principles and values. Values inspire in us the
highest that we should do. It is the job of a leader like a What are Principles?
spiritual Guru or a CEO to inspire in us these values.
A little background about me and my organization MART
would help, as a number of examples in this article will be
from my life.
For the first 20 years of my professional life I worked with 3
multinational companies in India–Exide from the UK,
Bosch from Germany and Toyota from Japan. During this
period I acquired fair amount of material wealth and
creature comforts. But the inner richness was missing from
my life and a hollow feeling kept bothering me. The year I
turned 40, I decided with the guidance of my Guru that I Principles are guidelines for human conduct. They are
must change the course of my life. I voluntarily opted out fundamental and universal because their source is the
of the corporate sector and since I wanted to understand spirit. These principles have come to us from rishis and
the social sector I joined a large NGO at just 10% of my last sages who received them over centuries in meditation,
drawn salary. I have been working for 20 years in the rural through dreams and as visions.
sector and have not regretted my decision even once. Sure,
there have been times when I was not making enough Ethics can be understood at two levels. Steven Covey in his
money but this was more than compensated by the inner book ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ calls them
satisfaction I derived from my work. I have had the Personality ethic which refers to the development of
privilege of meeting some of the best minds in the world personality, and Character ethic which focuses on
and seen some great and highly innovative work. evolution of human character.
I too have created some innovative models of What is Personality Ethic & Character Ethic?
development, particularly in the area of marketing. Had I
continued in the corporate sector I would have probably Personality ethic includes public image, attitude, skills and
become the CEO of a large MNC but would have continued techniques. The effort here is to develop a more pleasing
to do repetitive and dissatisfying work. I am glad I made and attractive personality with the objective of achieving
the decision I did. better social acceptability and greater material success.
This is the job of psychologists and personality grooming
experts who teach you better communication skills, better

2. social manners and personality grooming methods. These Spiritual dimension is your core, your centre, your
are secondary traits and not primary like character. commitment to your principles. Meditation,
Personality ethic results in quick fix solutions without contemplation, enquiry into who am I are ways to remain
addressing the fundamental causes of human behavior. I in touch with the timeless core.
will not be focusing on personality ethic.
Dreams as Our Inner Guide
My concern is with character ethic which involves basic
principles of effective living – integrity, humility, courage, When your external action reflects your internal code you
fairness, patience and simplicity. These are value based are in alignment with your principles. This is how you gain
motives or ‘Lighthouse’ principles that govern human integrity. Integrity is important because without it you are
growth and happiness. It is important to understand that living with a sense of division within yourself. You will know
these fundamental principles do not change. Principles do when you are not acting in alignment with your moral code
not react to anything; they do not depend on the behavior because your conscience will remind you of the difference
of others. between what is ethically right and how you actually
behaved. The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is
Personal power that comes with principle centered living is
easy to stifle it: but it is also so clear that it is difficult to
the power of self aware, knowledgeable proactive
mistake it. When we refuse to hear the voice of conscience
individual, unrestricted by
in our waking life, it often appears as a critic in our dreams
the attitude, behavior and
at night. Dreams often show a mirror to our behavior by
action of others or by any
becoming critical of us. For example if we have told a lie in
circumstances. Gandhiji
waking life our dream may create a situation where we are
never held any position of
reprimanded for telling a lie. We wake up feeling guilty
power in the government
knowing well that we have tried to cheat on ourselves. Or
in waiting, but he wielded
when we are going through an anxious phase in our life we
more power in politics
dream of reaching late for an exam or missing a train.
than anyone else because
Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious. If we record
of his principle centered
our dreams and make the effort to interpret them they will
living. We accord the
guide us how to conduct our lives ethically.
highest respect to a
spiritual master, even political leaders and royalty bow to When we make any commitment it is our conscience that
them, because they are centered in universal principles. ensures that we keep it. So when we set a personal or
Highest power rests with the person with the highest professional goal we must make a promise to our
awareness. conscience and set out to achieve it. Trust is cornerstone of
every strong business relationship. Without trust your
What are Spiritual Principles?
prospective customers won’t buy from you, your team
The most fundamental principle of effectiveness is the mates won’t listen to you and your family and friends will
Principle of Personal vision: For this we need to know ‘Who run away from you.
am I’. We should understand that we are not our body
because if we were then which part defines us –legs, hands, Information, Knowledge & Wisdom
brain or the heart? What happens to people with heart
A man of wisdom is a man of ethics. But how do we
transplants? Do they cease to be or do they assume the
become wise? I will explain in the next few paragraphs how
person of the donor? Further we need to understand that
information leads to knowledge and finally to wisdom.
we are not our feelings. If we were then which feeling
defines us? We are not our moods. We are not even our Information is something we read or hear about. For
thoughts. If we were then how come we continue to exist example we dial railway enquiry to get the timing of
in deep sleep when there are no thoughts? And the very Shatabdi from Jaipur to Delhi or the TV news informs us
fact we can think about these things separates us from that it rained in Delhi yesterday. Information is essential to
them. It is self awareness that enables us to stand apart conduct our daily activities smoothly. But it does not
and examine even the way we “see” ourselves. The impact ethics in anyway.
continuous effort has to be to expanding our self
awareness which also helps to find our inner centre. Our But when information is analyzed and understood it
centre is where we deal with our vision and values. becomes knowledge. This is the purpose of education. In
school and college teachers impart information and then

3. encourage us to use the tool box of analysis to transform know. Intuition is not what can be taught, you develop it on
information into knowledge. So knowledge can be taught, your own. The word itself means to learn (tuition) from
you can acquire it from external sources. And knowledge is within (in).
what you know you know. For example I know that I can
solve a particular mathematics problem because I learnt Our subconscious minds are our link to the wisdom of the
the analytical tools in school. universe (the collective unconscious as described by Jung).
Our conscious thinking is so limited, but our subconscious
When knowledge is integrated with intuition, it becomes thinking when connected to the unconscious is infinite.
wisdom, your experiential knowledge. Analysis as
described earlier and intuition are not substitutes of each Why is Intuition important for managers?
other, they are complimentary.
At a management school you learn techniques and
We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it after a concepts to develop your analytical brain. In real life the
journey of life that no one can take for us. Each one of us executive does analyze, but he also needs to synthesize for
has to undertake our own journey. The ultimate which he needs experience and intuition which as we
destination of your life, if there is one is wisdom. Wisdom is discussed earlier, cannot be taught. So the single biggest
the highest and deepest degree of knowledge, insight and challenge for a corporate leader is to develop the power of
understanding. It provides you with the broadest intuition because intuition is the critical differentiator
perspective on life. They say when you find your wisdom between a good and a visionary leader. Ray Croc recalls in
you are living in the ‘light’, the light of the spirit. his memoirs that he had this strong intuition that he should
buy the then unknown, few, franchised McDonald stores.
Wisdom is not a state to be achieved but rather a state to There was no logical or obviously analytical reason for his
be recalled. You arrived on this planet with the boundless decision. Today, we all know, it is the largest retail chain in
wisdom inherent in all human beings; you only need to the world.
access that place within you that connects you to the
infinite divine source. You are potentially as wise as the As we grow in our careers knowledge alone is not enough
Buddha or Aristotle-they have simply accessed places to make complex decisions. Decisions such as should the
within themselves where perhaps you have not journeyed. company enter the European or Asian market? Should we
That is why it is said we are all born a potential Buddha. partner a local company or go it alone? Should we hire local
managers who understand the local culture or send out
Wisdom is not intelligence. Wisdom is much more. It is the managers from the parent company who know the
highest level of emotional, spiritual and mental evolution working of the company well? These are decisions
where you synergize your deepest understanding with your concerning the future and knowledge alone is not enough
deepest everyday actions. to act. The manager needs to have intuition or insight to
foresee the future.
What is intuition?
How to develop Intuition?
You can develop intuition through viewing issues
holistically. Intuition is enhanced through varied
experiences and relationships. Emotion is a strong element
for developing intuition. Story telling stirs emotion.
Intuition is developed by exploring and sensing beyond
what is visible and audible (sleep over things, sometimes
intuition comes through dreams). Intuition can be
developed by paying attention to our dreams. The
language of dream connects us to our unconscious where
all knowledge of the universe preexists.
Intuition is developed through total involvement with the
work. Women are more intuitive because they are more
Intuition, extra sensory perception (ESP) or insight is when emotionally involved in work. Contemplation, reflection,
we see things other people do not see. It is the ‘Aha’ or the meditation and long walks help the mind become quiet. A
‘Eureka’ moment. Intuition is what you do not know you quiet mind helps to see things the way they are and not the

4. way you would like them to be. At the crucial moment of competition with others and put you on the fast track
decision making, trust your intuitive brain and not your towards excellence.
analytical brain. Managers have to be intuitive, inclusive
and humane. Motivating for Excellence through Story Telling
A big part of a CEO’s job is to motivate the team towards
Excellence
excellence. To do that he must engage their emotion, not
Let us now move the discussion to excellence. What is just their mind, and the key to their hearts is a story. At
excellence? Like life, excellence is a journey, a search for MART we have a tradition of celebrating staff members’
the highest. That is why Tom Peters called his famous book birthdays, weddings, annual increments and just about any
‘In search of Excellence’ and not the destination of occasion. Most of my teaching and inspiring people are
excellence. Excellence is a total quality movement. It is a done through stories I tell at these gatherings. Story telling
process of continuous self improvement. is a very personal, emotional experience and therefore
allows management ideas to get united with an emotion in
My guru used to say you should bring the same level of the listener.
awareness and concentration you experience during prayer
to your daily activities. Every meal at the ashram was Many cultures have a rich tradition of parables, stories and
preceded by aarti in the temple. And after every meal we mythology to help common people relate to complex
washed the dishes. The Guru would say the awareness and subjects like character, honesty, sincerity and so on. In
concentration you apply to washing dishes should be the management too, anecdotes and evocative stories can
same you achieve during prayer. So level of awareness help managers learn about human nature. These stories
equals degree of excellence. Total awareness or inspire managers to seek excellence.
enlightenment in other words leads to complete
Another important truth-for you to win, no one needs to
excellence. That is why when we see something truly
lose. We are conditioned to compete for scarce resources.
excellent we say God must have made it. So the constant
We are told to be best in our class at school and
effort must be to increase our awareness. Excellence is not
encouraged to be first in sports. This creates a scarcity
achieved by attitude alone, it depends equally on the
mindset and leads to competition. All competition does is
awareness you bring to the task.
fuel the illusion that we are all separate. But when we
Excellence through Mentoring operate at a higher level we begin to see the
interconnectedness of everything, we all win. When we
Another way to put an employee on the road to excellence work in harmony, there is more for everyone, Take love,
is through mentoring where the junior has complete trust, the more we give the more we get and our love bank does
respect and faith in his senior, resulting in a strong, not diminish. Or take happiness, or even knowledge. The
instructional and emotional relationship. The two share more we share the more it grows.
warmth, love and support like the bond between Lord
Krishna and Arjun. Success in life does not lie in reaching your goals-it lies in
the personal transformation and inner shifts in
I look for every opportunity to show and tell my team consciousness and awareness that take place.
members that I care for them deeply. These young people
have given some of the best years of their lives to help me The question in your mind must be. Is it possible to practice
grow MART. I honor them for that. Their successes are my what I have suggested in a competitive, corrupt and greedy
success and we celebrate all successes. Similarly their world? Well Ratan Tata runs his multibillion dollar business
setbacks are my setbacks and I always offer my shoulder on ethical principles, so do Warren Buffet and
and hand to them in their hour of need. Narayanmurthy and many others. Barrack Obama is a
symbol of hope for humanity because of his transparency
When you strive towards excellence it does not help to and middle class values. If you are looking for enduring
compete with others because you may be better than one happiness you should be prepared to lose out on some
but worse than another. So are you better or worse? material gains. Or you could follow a competitive,
Comparing yourself with a moving benchmark cannot give aggressive and manipulative approach to seek short lived
you an accurate picture of yourself and it only results in gains but a life filled with stress and anxiety. I made the
wastage of productive energy. So don’t race against choice to run MART and live my life on value based
others, race against yourself. Resolve to be better today principles. You must make your choice.
than yesterday. This approach will get you out of
Contact the Author: pradeep.kashyap@martrural.com