The Economic Times: Thinking Inside the Box
In a recent article in The Economic Times, I write about the importance of creating the future. I state what I have been stating all along, despite the fact that few companies are actually doing what I recommend:
Strategy used to be about protecting existing competitive advantage. Today, it is about finding the next advantage. In fact, strategy starts to decay the day it is created. That’s why corporations must develop strategies that address tomorrow’s business realities.
What readers may find interesting is the link three-box thinking has to traditional Hinduism. When I've presented the three-box approach to strategy to Indian executives, on more than one occasion someone in the audience has pointed out the similarity between the three boxes and the three primary Hindu gods. (Some years ago I made a comparison between the three Hindu gods and the three boxes to an American audience. The metaphor was not particularly effective since the audience did not have the background in Hindu deities.)
Though the Hindu religion recognizes 330 million gods, there are only three main Hindu deities (the “Hindu Trimurti”): Vishnu, the god of preservation; Shiva, the god of destruction; and Brahma, the god of creation.
The correspondence between the three boxes and the three Hindu gods is clear. Vishnu/Box 1 = preserving or managing the present; Shiva/Box 2 = destroying or selectively abandoning the past; and Brahma/Box 3 = creating the future.
According to Hindu philosophy, creation-preservation-destruction is a continuous cycle without a beginning or an end. The three gods play an equally important role in creating and maintaining all forms of life. Further, Hinduism states that while changes in the universe can be quite dramatic, the processes leading to the changes usually are evolutionary in nature and involve smaller steps.
The three-box approach to strategic thinking argues that for an organization to sustain leadership over long periods of time, it must emphasize all three boxes. Innovation creates a new business (Box 3), which, at some point, becomes an established business (Box 1). Before the established business matures and dies, the organisation must selectively forget the past (Box 2) and again engage in innovation.
This is a dynamic and rhythmic process, one that never ends.
What is interesting to me is that this process of creation, preservation, and destruction is all around us - at work, at home, and yes, even at play.
Comments
Dear VG,
We can extend the 3 box model in terms of the charecteristics of the leaders heading those boxes and the support they need.
If we look at Box 3, create the future (Brahma), he should be supported by someone like saraswati (goddess of knowledge). Only with thorough knowledge of past and present one is able to create a vision of future. Personal charecteristics should be the thirst of knowledge, ability to view different directions/perspectives and a non challant attitude towards fame.
Box 2 leader should be supported by Power (parvati) with the ability to destroy the past without any emotional attachment and ideally Box 2 leader should be different from Box 3 to avoid any attachment to the creation. Charecteristics of Box 2 leader should be like of Shiva, epitome of power.
And Box 1 leader should be like Vishnu supported by goddess of wealth. Wealth is both support and measure of success for the leader in this box. The leader should be deft in handling multiple stakeholders and hence people management skills are most important. Amongst the 3 boxes, this leader should least ego and should be able to excel in different avatars with elan.
Posted by: satish bairy | August 30, 2009 10:45 PM
The issue of being able to operate effectively while continually evolving is what "lean done right" is all about. And yes, a business model that achieves that is powerful because it align with nature and truth. The fun is in taking this to the factory floor or whatever the front lines of one' business may be. Companies that do it will succeed, those that don't will disappear and the world will benefit as business organizations become more efficient, effective, responsive, innovative, etc. and better for workers and cutomers. Great stuff. As an HR person w/ some experience with this, I can say that standard work (again, done right) is one of the most key components of this cultural shift.
Posted by: Russ | September 25, 2009 09:13 AM
I think it is very appropriate to call Box2 - Shiva as God of Renewal to describe it in a positive tone. Destruction is a necessary component to maintain universal harmony, balance and evolution - hence renewal.
Posted by: Avnish Bhradwaz | September 27, 2009 09:25 PM