The Case of the Bonsai Manager
- Lessons from Nature in Growing
288 Pages - Hardcover
R. Gopalakrishnan
No one sets out to become a bonsai manager, just as no plant is created by Nature to be a bonsai. Managers’ growth can be stunted by their own acts of omission and commission — instead, they should branch out in new directions drawing on their innate genius.
Where two circles — Nature and Management — intersect, intuitive leadership is born.
In his book 'The Case of the Bonsai Manager', R. Gopalakrishnan illustrates this by drawing management lessons from endearing stories about the animal kingdom. Drawing on his rich management career spanning forty years, initially with Unilever and more recently with the Tata Group, the author stresses that after all the analysis is done, it is gut instinct that should take over, as intuition will be a key differentiator for excellence in the future, more than in the past.
The book dissects human nature and the complexity of employee behaviour within organizations. It nudges managers towards an agenda for change, for future managers will face vastly different challenges as the world around them gets dramatically transformed. The top-down approach will not work, but an inclusive and humane style of management will.
Using anecdotes about a vast array of living creatures, and his own experiences in the world of business, the author urges managers towards letting their gut instinct speak when faced with difficult decisions.
Why, when imported into China from Thailand, did crocodiles lose their sex drive? What was the purpose behind the Arab bonding with his falcon all day long? How do squirrel gangs scare off snakes? Why are grizzly bear cubs trained for two years to hook salmon?
There is a management lesson in each endearing story from the animal kingdom. This book gives an idea of the basic characteristics of human nature, the complexities of employee behaviour within organizations and how an agenda for change can be charted out. This is essential because future managers will face vastly different challenges as the world around them changes dramatically. In this world, the inclusive, intuitive and humane style of management will work, not the top-down approach — and here is an author uniquely placed to tell us how.
R Gopalakrishnan
R Gopalakrishnan is executive director of Tata Sons, chairman of Rallis India and Advinus Therapeutics, and vice chairman of Tata Chemicals. He is a director of several Tata Group companies such as Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Teleservices.
A key member of the Tata Group Corporate Centre (GCC), Gopalakrishnan plays a vital role in providing direction and impetus to the Group's forays into potentially viable areas of the new economy.
Gopalakrishnan joined Hindustan Lever (HLL) (now Hindustan Unilever Limited) as a management trainee in 1967. In 1987, he joined HLL's management committee as executive director of exports. In 1991, he was appointed chairman of Unilever Arabia, based in Jeddah, to establish and manage Unilever's consumer products business in Arab countries. On his return to India in 1995, he was appointed managing director of Brooke Bond Lipton. After the company's merger with HLL, he was designated vice chairman of Hindustan Lever. After 31 years with HLL, Gopalakrishnan joined Tata Sons in September, 1998 as executive director.
A graduate in physics from Calcutta University, Gopalakrishnan also has a degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He has been president of the All India Management Association, and is involved with education through his board memberships of a school and two management colleges.
His recently published book, The Case of the Bonsai Manager: Lessons from Nature on Growing (Penguin India, 2007) is about nature, management and intuitive leadership.
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