Transformative Organizations Response Books_4 pot

Indeed, ifeveryone just forgets prior learning and becomes an expert in only new learning,then there would be very little diversity of knowledge among different people,and the value adde

$1.4 to $9.9 based on the type of mail and the company Sites claim that the mail gets processed within 24 hours Many sites support English like characters Convenience, reliability, cost-effectiveness “Snail mail for the Internet age” (letterpost.com) Register on the site, pay for the card in the case of Hotmailindia, compose the message and send it The site scans or takes print out of the message and delivers the message through post Free in the case of Bharatmail Hotmailindia charges Rs 35 for every 160 words of message Through the Indian postal or courier service Since the mails are delivered to the nearest mail centre, the delivery time is much lesser compared to the snail mail Multi-lingual support is offered in Bharatmail Convenience, security, cost-effectiveness India Post has a very clearly spelt out privacy and security policies Register on the site, compose the message and send it across The message will be processed and sent to the appropriate mail centre, which is its own area of operation, and printout is taken and delivered.

Fig 5.8: Screen shot of email service of Bharatmail (Class B)

Fig 5.9: Screen shot of Letterpost.com (Class A)

Indian consumers feel comfortable with revealing their credit-card information

on the net

ePost’s eShop certainly can alleviate fears of credit card information misuse

by allowing the user a variety of payment options including cash on delivery.eShop also promises comparison shopping—where a search result offers instantproduct comparison based on price, availability and merchant information, i.e.,

it helps shoppers find the best value on products, saving them time and money.However, the prime attraction is the promise of delivery anywhere in India,unlike other competitors who have geographic limits

MOVES TOWARDS OTHER VALUE-ADDED SERVICES16

As the Indian Postal Department has positioned its organization to tap the newtechnologies, further opportunities for value-adding services are being discovered.E-BillPost is a promising example It is designed to be an electronic collectionand consolidation service for payment to the service provider wherein bills arecollected in different locations, instruments processed and the accounts settled

at one point as per the convenience of the service provider The post office willperform the role of a consolidator and act on behalf of billing agencies such aselectricity and water agencies, mobile phone companies and municipal corpora-tions and so on For the customer the facility is single point payment of bills ofall types in a queue less and hassle free environment as the consolidator, the postoffice, will not only accept all kinds of bills for payment, but also in the event ofthe customer not having received a bill, access the service provider database forprocuring a copy of the bill online Depending on the location, availability ofinfrastructure in cities and towns with service providers, the collection could beon-line or off-line

Besides the two most common modes of payment, namely cash and cheque,depending on the agreement with service provider India Post may also go in forpayment through credit cards with facilities for on-line authentication

IMMEDIATE CONCERNS FOR THE DEPARTMENT

The future holds a lot of promise for ePost, now that India Post has woken up

to the challenge and the changing realities At the outset, the chapter noted thatIndia is a country of contrasts The same holds true for the strategy being followed

by the Indian Postal Department The two strategies India Post is followingappear to be based on contradictory assumptions of the future While the success

of ePost will depend on the continued low Internet penetration, eShop andE-BillPost can only succeed if the situation is just reverse These contradictionsmay resolve themselves in an evolutionary manner, which could result in eitherdifferentiated offer of the two services to different client groups, or could result

in divestment of these services to an external provider, or could be the basis foreventual privatization of the Indian Postal Service However, at the present

16 http://www.indiapost.org/News and Events.html#e-billpost, Jan 22, 2002.

time, these contradictions continue to challenge the Indian Postal Department.

As Nitin Jaswal, a customer of the rival Bharatmail, says

‘Good that at least now Indian Postal Dept has woken up There were a dozenplayers emulating the postal services in India during the dotcom boom As ofnow Bharatmail is the only site which is providing the same free services aregood and cannot be compared with Indian post

As a user of Bharatmail for the past four years—I tried a few links in theIndian Post and I found

1 the site is pathetically slow

2 none of the links are working

3 I had sent a mail asking for help—no reply until now

Do u think Indian post can succeed ?’17 

Yes, indeed, this seems to be the question on everyone’s mind—Can ePostsucceed? Is the Indian market mature enough for eShop and E-BillPost? Whattransformative dynamism can be cultivated in the organization using theplatforms created by these new services? How can the new capability andcompetencies feedback on the traditional postal services? Can the Indian PostalDepartment leverage the free services being offered by the private sector tofurther its social and economic mission?

17 “ZDNet Talk Back, Too Late….”, iArticleId = 21105&tbkId=11182&itbksourceid=1&redirectURL=, Jan 22, 2002.

http://www.zdnetindia.com/talkback/viewcomment.html?-Functional Strategies in the Indian Context

Knowledge Management and Change Processes Lessons from Kabir

In this chapter, we investigate a key formative, historical influence on the Indianwork culture This influence is represented by medieval Indian literature, whichrepresents fusion of the pre-medieval philosophy and turbulent medieval times

We focus on the works of the medieval saint and scholar, Kabir, and derivegeneral implications and insights for the transformative organization in light ofthe current Indian context and international research Kabir (1440–1518) wasone of the greatest exponents of reforms in medieval India and a key figure inthe medieval knowledge school In this chapter, we draw from his work tohighlight the process of discovering the diverse tacit knowledge bundles,developing them into productive organization-wide learning, and correcting thelearning to sustain competitive advantage–the steps of knowledge managementthat we identify as integral to the transformative organizations

Kabir, born to a Hindu widow and abandoned at birth, was brought up inthe house of a Muslim weaver in a village in Uttar Pradesh His life was marked

by spiritual happiness and contentment He possessed a straightforward natureand challenged the dogmas of the powerful sections of society His principalwork, Kabir Granthavali, contains a distinct form of presentation using devo-tional couplets, whose dominant motif is the inter-relationship between socialcapital and spiritual capital Kabir spread his message through examples for themanagers and the masses alike, and his works are widely taught and referred to

in modern India

Through his works, Kabir preached love and devotion which could befollowed by the masses and thus unite all sections of society He was opposed toall kinds of discrimination, whether on the basis of caste, religion, race, family

or wealth His sympathies were decidedly with the poor with whom he identifiedhimself Instead of focusing on social reformation, he addressed the issue oftransforming the individual and the guiding power of true leaders or gurus, andthus contributed to a transformative and long-lasting change in social practices

It is this focus on the transformation of individual motivation to that of devotionand love for pursuing the path of knowledge, and realization of one’s mission,

6

that makes Kabir relevant for both knowledge as well as values management inthe modern organizations.

Several models for the analysis of change are available, the most prominentbeing one by Lewin (1945) that specifies three steps of ‘unfreezing-changing-refreezing' Unfreezing refers to creating need for change and reducing resistance

to change A crucial limitation of Lewin’s model is an assumption that change issomething that is rare and occasional, rather than something that is continuousand discovery-driven Another assumption is that change always representspositive learning and there cannot be an error of judgment in change decisions.However, if the change agent unfreezes a productive behavior and refreezes anunproductive one, then the costs of changing back become very high, and suchreversal may not even be possible if the change was marketed and frozen verystrongly In turbulent times, the freezing of substituted change could actually

be counter-productive because the change may have only short-term relevance

as a stand-alone behavior

In contrast to Lewin’s change model, Kabir’s change management approachcalls for an appreciation that the diverse practices are relevant and have thepotential to contribute to the same mission Therefore, change does not neces-sarily require discarding the old, though it does require gaining an awarenessand appreciation of how and when the old is indeed gold The change, in Kabir’sapproach, is as much leadership oriented as it is individual-specific Leadershipplays an important role in carrying conviction that the beliefs, practices, andknowledge of other religions and groups have some value for accomplishingone’s mission, and in highlighting certain limitations of the beliefs, practicesand knowledge of one’s own religion and group The individual is challenged to

go beyond the current beliefs, practices and knowledge, so that the missioncould be accomplished effectively and on a sustained basis By highlighting thatthose specific beliefs, practices and knowledge that are (and are not) productivefor the fundamental goals of love and devotion, Kabir rather forcefully strovefor an essential and positive transformation in the mindset of people—free fromany dogma Thus, Kabir sought to encourage people to discover their own truemotivations and then to manage knowledge and values in a way that supportsinter-personal and inter-community love, and that helps the development of theindividual, the group, and the nation

To highlight the relevance of Kabir for transformative knowledge and valuesmanagement, we use Lewin’s model as a basis and show how Kabir offers analternative view of the three phases included in Lewin’s model The relevantcouplets of Kabir are reproduced in their original Hindi form followed by theirtransliteration in Roman, and then English translation and analysis of the same

STEP I: Learning to Discover

According to Lewin, the first stage in change management is to unlearn whathas been learnt earlier Such an approach has several limitations First, there islimited evidence to support that human beings are like computers with memorystorage space constraints Second, human learning is not like a cloth that can be

discarded at will Human learning influences the fundamental attitudes of peopleand has a formative effect on their skills and behavior Third, the new learningopportunity does not imply that the prior learning is of little use Indeed, ifeveryone just forgets prior learning and becomes an expert in only new learning,then there would be very little diversity of knowledge among different people,and the value added by each person would lack uniqueness and be very limited.Fourth, the cost and effort devoted to obliterate the earlier learning can be betterinvested for further enriching the new knowledge and promoting the use andacceptance among people of diverse approaches Fifth, no change ever requires a

180 degrees shift in one’s values, practices, and behaviors, but instead all changescan draw synergies from and build upon the prior values, practices, and behaviors.Therefore, instead of unlearning, the focus of the first phase of changemanagement must shift towards ‘learning to discover’

HUMILITY AND LEARNING TO DISCOVER

Ego is a major impediment for learning new things Once ego is shed, a personwill discover immense opportunities for learning It is critical to realize thisopportunity for discovery and learning, because life has a limited span foraccomplishing all this learning Therefore, a person should recognize theknowledge potential of the world and seek to continuously improve learning.People following dogmatic rituals show egoism, which actually removes themfrom their goal Kabir sought to encourage people to pursue the right practicethrough mutual love, respect, trust, and learning Thus, Kabir notes:

;k nqfu;k esa vkbZ ds] NkfM nbZ rw ,SaB |

ysuk gS lks ysb ys] mBh tkr gS iSaB ||1||

Having come to this world, you should shed your egos, and quickly pick up allgood things (good thoughts, actions and words) from the market of your life, as themarket will soon close

In the organizational context, if the employees have to grow, then theymust be prepared to learn continuously One would be able to learn by beingready to accept new approaches and not just having blind and frozen bondswith one’s own prior learning But if ego was attached to prior learning, itwould contribute to a status quo and rejection of diverse knowledge, and allowothers to take a lead and move ahead The ego bound behavior, particularly indecision-making, learning and training, should be given up as it makes a personresistant to learning and exchange-led change

In order to improve continuously, it is imperative for both the individualteam member and the leader to identify areas where egoistic tendencies hamperthe development of the members Poor performance is one potent indicator of

this egoistic tendency By identifying and highlighting the domains of poorperformance and ineffectiveness, the firms can encourage people and groups tobroaden their zone of acceptance, discovery and learning.

Kabir highlights that to extract most from the market of one’s life, it iscritical to first suspend the boundaries between self and the others, so that theknowledge of others is not viewed with suspicion, but is granted due recognition

as an option for discovery and learning At the same time, the suspendedboundaries offer an opportunity to discover the fullest value of one’s own priorlearning by exchanging it with the others for use in their respective goals Kabirnotes:

eSa rsjh rw tkfu djkS] esjh ewy fcuklh |

esjh ix dk iSxMk] esjh xj dh Qk¡lh ||2||

You should come out of the labyrinth of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ as it is the root cause of destruction; it is a shackle on the feet and a noose around the neck

self-This couplet has relevance for enhancing perspective taking, connectedness, social and spiritual capital, mutual trust and respect, and brotherlyattitude, for it makes the futility of a selfish attitude very explicit If onediscriminates and distances oneself from the others, then the opportunity fordiscovery as well as exchange is lost and a two-fold destruction happens First,the person fails to benefit from the knowledge of the others and is thus leftunmoved as if there are shackles on the feet Second, the person loses the option

inter-of gains from exchange and is just like a person with a noose around the neck,who must remain (un)satisfied with what s/he has and fails to realize dreamsand goals Self-growth should be the aim of the individual, but self-growth can’toccur if others are not invited to participate in the process

In an organization, if the employees or the management adopts the attitude

of ‘us versus them’, then each would avoid entering into a dialogue and exchangingsuggestions and ideas, and instead would try to impose one’s own views on theother Thus, while each party would try to win at the cost of the other, theorganization would end up being a loser in terms of value addition and no partywould be able to realize its goals and true accomplishments

EXCHANGE AND LEARNING TO DISCOVER

According to Argyris, learning is a process of reaching maturity from the infantstage and comprises seven components These are: (a) From infant passivitytowards adult activity; (b) From dependence towards relative independence; (c)From limited behaviors to many different behaviors; (d) From erratic, shallow,brief interest to more stable, deeper interests; (e) From short-time perspective to

longer time perspective; (f) From a subordinate social position to an equal orsuper-ordinate social position and (g) From lack of awareness to self-awarenessand self-control While these seven components reflect maturity of learning,they may also impede further learning An infant is in a constant state of discov-ery, and this discovery is sustained and fueled by a passive, dependent, limited,brief, short-term, subordinate, and awareness-free curiosity about the surround-ing environment, which allows the infant to rapidly learn from a variety ofpeople about different things Adults with mature learning can enjoy the learn-ing advantages of an infant through a similar open-mindedness about discovery.Kabir illustrates the behavior of the infants, using a simile, where he compareshuman life with the life of a flower, adults with flowers in bloom, infants withbuds, God with the gardener, and garden with the earth He says that when thebloomed flowers (i.e., adults) are picked up by the gardener (i.e., God) to servetheir purpose by going beyond the garden (i.e., earth), the buds (i.e., infants)gain awareness and look forward to take the initiative and be picked up next.Thus, as the adults conduct their spiritual and social roles, going beyond theirown physical needs, the infants become aware of the immense possibilities thateach adult represents, and gain confidence that God has granted them the samepotential to accomplish those diverse functions Infants reach out to actualizetheir potential to be as outstanding as, if not more, than the adults they hold astheir models Thus, Kabir proposes:

ekyh vkor ns[k dS] dfy;u dgS iqdkfj |

Qwyh Qwyh pqu ybZ] dy gekjh ckfj ||3||

On seeing the gardener entering the garden, the buds state aloud that all the bloomedflowers have been picked up and soon it would be their turn

Here Kabir portrays the realizations of others as a basis for detachmentfrom one’s current state, and to recognize those realizations as indicators ofone’s infancy thereby encouraging learning to discover If the adults remainattached to their worldly associations and believe their learning to be at an end-state, then it would be difficult for them to move towards their goals

In the organizational context if the employees want to grow, then theywould have to constantly set new role models, and discover new possibilitiesfor channeling their thought, perception and attitude; else they are liable toprove the Peter Principle of Incompetence as true For example, workerscan model the behaviors and values of a manager they find as successful,and having discovered valuable learning opportunities, seek to learn from theirco-workers as well as from their juniors about relevant skills and behaviors.Only then would they develop their fitness and capability to be promoted tothe level of the manager, and beyond for an extra impact in tune with the morecompetitive times

Kabir suggests that role models must be identified based on their evidentrelevance rather than on the basis of ideal dogmas and unsubstantiated notions.

He asserts that the opportunities for discovering relevant learning are pervasive,but people overlook them because of the misguided influence of dysfunctionalrituals As a result, they are unable to appreciate their own true potential, andare unable to develop their capabilities He posits:

gS eu bruk ckojk] ikFkj iwtu tk; |

?kj dh pkdh dksbZ u iwts] tkdk ihlk [kk; ||4||

It is the madness of the mind that it worships the stone-idol of God, but not thegrinding stone of the house, which is so useful

People usually put greater emphasis on things they understand little andseek to model roles on those who are not visible to them As a result, umpteenroles around them, that are possibly too easy to understand, are never reallyunderstood However, it is discovering Newtonian Gravity based on the naturalfalling of an apple from the tree that represents true learning

DETACHMENT AND LEARNING TO DISCOVER

Kabir’s work suggests that the organization as well as the individuals within theorganization must not blindly adopt the dysfunctional practices and hope thatthe external resources would solve their troubles Instead, they must concentrate

on developing full functional relevance and value of their internal capabilities

He retorts:

dslksa dgk fcxfM;k] tks e¡qMs lkS ckj |

eu dks dkgs u e¡wfM;s] theS fo"k; fodkj ||5||

What wrong has the hair done that it has to be shaved off so many times; why notclean the mind that (nurtures) the ill thoughts

In India, tonsuring of hair is a ritual that signifies a very big sacrifice done togain divine blessings Kabir questions the need for ritualistically repeating thissacrifice, when there is no assurance of a reward

In the organization too, several policies, procedures and rules are taken forgranted and become routine, for they are believed and expected to return positiveoutcomes with little and superficial efforts Such superficial routines only generate

superficial outcomes, rather than economizing on the memory of people andorganizations They make people more and more dependent on the context andhistory, and limit their capability to discovering possibilities around them on acontinuous basis Routine procedures and rules impede learning, generate redtape, inefficiency and provide a free hand for corruption Normally firms findthat systems and procedures if not changed with time, lose their relevance andeventually they attempt unfreezing of those old systems and procedures forsurvival Such a reactive approach must give way to a transformative approach,where the people learn about why specific systems and procedures are believed

to be functional, and are free to discover if alternative systems and procedurescould help improve this functionality

STEP II: Learning to Develop

Learning to discover detaches people and organizations, and removes their bondsand their shackles to prior knowledge It revives the memory about why thepractices and systems were first adopted in the organization Once people discoverthe true meaning and value of the prior knowledge, then they are in a position

to move quickly to develop the knowledge further by adopting alternativepractices The alternative practices need not necessarily be ‘better’ or ‘worse’—the selection criteria instead must be if those practices could generate anincremental value if used in complement with prior knowledge The requisitediscovery is not just about the alternative practices, but also about the value ofprior and alternative practices for different realizations

SELF-FRUCTIFICATION WITH LEARNING TO DEVELOP

Kabir emphasizes the self-related elements of learning to develop using personalexemplification For learning to develop, the person gains awareness of howvarious elements of knowledge can be put together to generate higher value inregular as well as once-in-a-lifetime domains This learning can’t be taught asclearly as the learning to discover, because development is perfected only throughconstant and rigorous efforts and practices Learning to develop has to bereinforced through proper evaluation of the self, whereby all negative thoughtsgenerated on account of inadequacy of prior knowledge are obliterated fromthe mind

dchj eu fueZy Hk;k] tSlk xaxk uhj |

rc ikaNh yx gfj fQjS] dgr dchj dchj ||1||

Kabir suggests that if my heart becomes pure like the water of River Ganges, theninstead of me searching for God, it would be Him who would follow me

The purification in an organizational context calls for gaining an standing of the relevance of each diverse practice, so that these practices can beused effectively Profitability, productivity, service, trust, loyalty, and competi-tive advantage would happen automatically, and the firm need not make anyextra effort (such as tension, stress, conflict, incentives, downsizing andrestructuring) to solve the problems In the process of developing transparentworking in the organization, the unique values that each employee brings to theorganization becomes evident, so that there is little to gain by losing this asset.

under-As Kabir notes,

izHkqrk dks lc dksbZ HktS] izHkq dks HktS u dksbZ |

dg dchj tks izHkq dks HktS] rks izHkqrk psjh gks; ||2||

Everyone desires for supremacy, but does not remember the supreme authority(i.e God) Those who devote themselves to God, have supremacy becoming a slave

dchj gfj ds ukolwa] izhfr djS bd rkj |

rkS eq[k rS eksrh >MS+] ghjs var u ikj ||3||

Kabir says that when a person who has undivided devotion to God speaks, his/herspeech is very soothing and valuable (being rare) as if he/she was spending outpearls and diamonds

Few people are totally dedicated to the cause of developmental activities,and when these people interact with others, they bring tremendous constructive,positive and meaningful energy to the fore Kabir refers to it as precious wealth,which is infinite and possessed for an indefinite period by the employees who

share their developmental energy While motivation through financial incentiveproves costly for the organization, and the managers must always be circumspect

in trying to motivate too much (for it might cost a lot), the learning to developitself motivates joint value creation

SELF-GENERATION OF LEARNING TO DEVELOP

Undivided devotion for learning to develop is something that must be generated for fullest realization of the potential and success in work and life.Similarly, the link between the personal learning to develop, and the exchange

self-of this learning for collective development cannot be bought using incentives orbrought from the market As the learning to develop becomes self-fructifying,the employees realize the value of further development, and discover vastopportunities for developmental growth through inter-personal exchange Oncethey understand that coordination is a must to achieve further development oflearning (as only by specialization and cooperation can people realize incrementalvalue for the organization), they would strive to perform as a team Kabirexplicates the in-dwelling precept very eloquently in several couplets as below:

rsjk lkag rq> esa] T;wa iqgqiu esa ckl |

dLrwjh dk e`x T;kas] fQj fQj <w<s ?kkl ||4||

Just as there is fragrance in the flower, your God resides within you; but the confusedmind like a deer traces the grass, without realizing that the sweet smell of musk iscoming from its own body

iqgqi ekWfg T;w ckl clr gS] eqdqV ekWfg tl Nkb |

rSls gh gfj clS] fujarj esjs ?kV ekWfg ||5||

Just as there is fragrance in the flower and shimmer (of jewels) in the crown, there

is God residing continuously within my body

T;ksa uSuks esa iwryh] R;ksa ekfyd ?kV ekWgh |

ewj[k yksx u tkfugs] ckgj <w<u tkfg ||6||

Just like the iris in the eyes, there resides God in you; but fools do not understandthis and search for God outside their own self

Kabir emphasizes that the flowers have fragrance, and they do not need tosearch for the fragrance Similarly, once the workforce learns to develop, itunderstands that sky is the limit for its accomplishments, and that it is the master

of its own destiny and divinity It is futile to expect some outsider to coordinate,and to help realize the added value Instead, the employees themselves mustassume the leadership role and become self-empowered to make fullest contribu-tions to the mission of the organization Just like flowers gain value throughsharing of their fragrance, employees must also appreciate their inherent potential,and earn incremental value through sharing it with everybody

Further explaining the benefits of developing the divine powers in oneself,Kabir declares:

dchjk lar lekt esa] Hkkjos Madk ekj |

xj gqbcs ge jke ds] gksbZ jke gekj ||7||

Kabir declares it aloud in society, “if we devote ourselves to God, God too wouldreciprocate to become ours.”

If the organization is devoted to the trading of its core competencies andpowers for development of each member, then the potential of each memberalso becomes a part of the organization’s core competencies The developmentaltrading enhances the social capital of the firm, and strengthens its networks ofrelationships and resources It allows the partners to develop their tacit knowl-edge, and to offer valuable components and services to the firm, and to havegreater purchasing power for compensating the firm In these varied ways, thefirm benefits from the potential of its networks, by being devoted to thedevelopment of this potential

Team spirit can be developed and utilized only when the employees areready to help each other Similarly, the collaboration can generate mutualdevelopmental learning when the organizations are devoted to exchanging theirdiscoveries, competencies, and services Mutual help and collaboration does notimply just accepting and praising the others and lauding their strengths Thoughone may believe that such pretentious goodness is indicative of a positive mentalattitude, there is nothing far from reality Towards this end, Kabir asserts:

lkWp cjkcj ri ugha] >wB cjkcj iki |

tkds fgjns lkWp gS] rkds fgjns vki ||8||

There is no penance harder than speaking the truth and no sin worse than telling

a lie, for God stays in the heart of the truthful

The organizations can enjoy spiritual satisfaction and build a spiritual capital

by developing their discriminating faculties, and encouraging their employees

to uncover the true capabilities and powers of various people and organizationsaround them The organizational mistakes and waste, responsible for thwartingits sustainable growth and competitive advantage, can be obliterated, and thepenance achieved, if the employees are aware of the immense spiritual and socialcapital that exists in everybody Such transformative organizations can enhancethe entrepreneurial leadership of each employee, and further their productivity,commitment, satisfaction, and achievements

SELF-DESTRUCTION WITHOUT LEARNING TO DEVELOP

In the absence of developmental learning, the wasteful and counter-productiveroutines proliferate Kabir specifically cautions:

dfcjk ?kkl u fufn;s] tks ikoks rfy gks; |

mfM iMs tc vk[k esa] [kkjk nqgsyk gks; ||9||

Kabir says don’t trample the grass beneath your feet, because if it happens to getinto your eyes, it can harm them

Even a small grass stick can be a major irritant if it enters the eyes Theorganizations must not behave like the dominant monopolies, as if they aremore capable than everybody else around them Even a small opening can allowthe other organizations to develop substantial destructive power Therefore,the discriminating potential and knowledge of different organizations, even ifthey have limited power and presence in the market, must not be undermined

or underestimated The assembly of the firm’s networks should not be confinedonly to the most powerful, because it is the weakest entrepreneurs who bringabout the downfall of the powerful and reach beyond the accomplishments ofthe powerful Kabir elaborates this further as follows:

djrk Fkk lks D;ksa fd;k] vc dkgs ifprk;s |

cksvk isM+ ccwy dk] vke dgk¡ ls [kk; ||10||

There is no point in repenting for your wrong deeds, why did you do it in the firstplace If you sow a thorny tree of acacia, you cannot expect it to bear sweet fruits ofmango

This couplet brings out multiple insights for the transformative tions First, if the organization oriented towards establishing its own supremacy,then it can not be expected to discover the unique powers of other organizations,and to transform itself into a dynamic, new generation player Second, instead

organiza-of wasting resources in trying to fix the prior oversights and mistakes, theorganization would do well to review its practices If the organization seeks topunish the individuals for the failure, then the individuals would only becomeself-protective and reluctant to make their own discoveries for developmentallearning Finally, Kabir also observes:

thor le>S thor cw>S] thor gh djks vkl |

thor dje dh Qkal u dkVh] eq;s eqfDr dh vkl ||11||

People spend their entire lives in understanding, exploring and expecting thingswithout ‘detached’ right action, and still they expect salvation after death.People who search for the supremacy by living a life attached to thesupremacy cannot expect to develop Similarly, organizations that seek leadership

by confining their benchmarks and relationships to only the cream of the marketcan never really understand what it takes to make the cream Only throughnetworking with the emerging and underdog organizations, that make efforts

to realize the cream, can the firms gain knowledge of the developmental learning,and not by remaining attached to the organizations that already have the cream.The detached approach allows the people to visualize the true meaning oftheir life, see life as a journey that offers an opportunity to enjoy the multi-dimensional, vibrant colors of nature If the people get emotionally or egoisticallyattached to any one color of life, then they are unable to develop the fullerpotential of their life Similarly, by being attached to the dominant positions,the organizations ignore the possibilities of the emergent new positions, andtherefore are victimized by the gales of ‘creative destruction’ Therefore, evenafter making so many investments and with so many resources, the organizationsare unable to generate and sustain their competitive advantage

STEP III: Learning to Correct

Once the organizations have learnt to discover and develop their knowledge,they must seek to further learn to correct their knowledge Only correctedknowledge is applicable to new domains and higher-order missions of life, becausethe prior knowledge has a context-dependent element that would be degenerative

if applied to alternative contexts Each culture, for instance, has a unique emic,

as well as universal, etic, dimension Further, the cultures vary considerably on