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        Too many books on 'Management' are printed today by people who do not understand them and sold by people who too do not understand them. They are read and reviewed by people who have no feel for them and do not want to understand them. What is worst of all, books are even written by people who themselves do not fully understand them in letter or spirit. Nor do they know as to what motivated them to write. There are always spectacular exceptions to this general rule even in this age of super abundance of books on 'Management' everywhere.
 

S Ramchander

        One such great exception is a recently published book titled Creativity @ Work by S Ramchander who is a low profile management guru of extraordinary brilliance. He took his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) in the mid-1960s. He received the International Teachers' Programme Certificate from the Harvard Business School, USA. He has held several senior management positions in reputed companies like Hindustan Lever, Pond's, TI Cycles and Shaw Wallace. His rich and varied management experience extends over a period of 26 years from 1966 to 1992. The range and extent of his management expertise ranges from marketing to management services to corporate planning. In addition to his vast executive experience, he also has a distinguished record in the field of 'Management Education.' He was concurrently visiting faculty at the IIM (Ahmedabad) from 1983 to 1990. He was Director of the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai for six years from 1998 to 2004. He has also conducted and organised management programmes in collaboration with the University of Michigan Business School in Ann Arbor and the Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He has also been a prolific writer on different facets of management.

        We can see from Ramchander's book that 'Management' like life as a whole is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden; its wildness lies in wait.

        In the first chapter 'Creativity: What it is, and Why study it?', Ramchander declares with conviction that he proposes to talk of 'Creativity' as linked to the way we think and approach life. It is not about creativity in the abstract but about action in every day life. We have become used to imagining only of either artistic creativity or scientific discovery when we talk of being creative. Scientists and artists being a tiny minority, all of us tend to draw a false parallel between one form or expression of creativity - like painting or sculpture - that is admittedly given to few, and project it to the entire gamut and field of creativity. Ramchander invites our attention to the simple truth that we are all given to acting or thinking creatively, which often comes in many shapes and forms. Popular psychology has brainwashed all of us into accepting rigid ideas about right and left hemispheres of the brain as belonging to opposite poles. The right brain is the realm of creativity, intuition, humour, poetry and the non-linear ways of thinking. The left is held to be the empire of reason, logic, structure, formality, linear thought, order, discipline, etc. Recent developments in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and medicine have made it clear that this dichotomy between the right and the left brain is neither inelastic nor rigid nor immutable or inexorable.

        Dr. V S Ramachandran has established that there are phantom limbs and brains that exist in every part of the body. The body has its intelligence no less than the brain and this intelligence lies diffused to the cellular level.

        According to Ramchander, there are various types of intelligence and not all of them are purely cognitive or capable of being measured by what we know as IQ tests. All of us are under the wrong impression based on custom or convention that creative work may not be of much commercial or practical value. This is based upon our lopsided understanding of the world of creativity. He does not question the original creative genius of a M S Subbalakshmi or Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in the world of classical music as belonging to a unique category. At the same time, Ramchander argues that 'creativity' has a practical value in solving a managerial problem or achieving a business goal, even in the mundane world of management. To quote his appropriate words in this context: 'The spirit behind the approach is the same: dedication, passion, enjoyment, fulfilment, pleasure in art for its own sake, joy of doing something original, making a contribution and at times, even deriving aesthetic delight in making a good speech or writing a well-structured and beautifully-produced report. ... A creative individual would knowingly take a few moments to pause, reflect, take a break, or even erase something and start all over again. Some trigger from a stray idea or thought from somewhere else may prove to be of great relevance. To be prepared to be surprised by chance is a mark of the creative mine. What you need to take these excursions away from the well-trodden path, over rough ground is the mental equivalent of good hiking shoes. A robust intelligence, courage, willingness to try and flexibility with toughness are the needed gear for an enjoyable excursion of the mind.'

        Ramchander uses the term 'creativity' which has the following crucial ingredients:

        a) Imagination -not literal, linear thought.

        b) Exploration - to discover and experiment with ideas and situations.

        c) Openness - to change and chance happenings.

        d) Willingness - to give up prejudice and conventional wisdom without regret or demur.

        e) Broad goals in mind - but not a rigid route plan every step of the way.

        f) Heuristics - 'let us suck it and see' attitude.

        g) Humour - not taking oneself too seriously, playfulness.

        Ramchander brilliantly asserts that the topic of 'Creativity' has become indispensable in the changing complicated world of today marked by unprecedented social, technological and cultural upheavals. Mankind is becoming increasingly aware of the interconnectedness of all our destinies, as a race, regardless of how rich or poor we are and where we live. In this ever changing global vortex, there is a vital global need for totally new, daring, as yet untried solutions for the problems that face the world today. In the light of this broad analysis, Ramchander comes to the conclusion: 'Creatively and differently managing every issue, threat and opportunity - wearing fresh lenses, unlearning our past beliefs while also learning from past mistakes - is what every thinking citizen of the world, and not just managers, must logically strive for. This is the very inspiration and theme of this book.'

        To be creative in practice, every manager has to break away from routine. He must continue to conduct new experiments with known and unknown variables all the time. His constant attitude must be to learn to operate without certainty and at the same time without being paralysed by doubt or despair. He must be ready to ask challenging questions. He must be willing to allow the force of serendipity and chance to operate all the time - unhindered and unchecked. He must also have the ability to think in contrary ways, seeking hidden connections. A creative decision is the action a manager must take when he has information so incomplete that the answer does not suggest itself.

        Ramchander's book is full of great axioms and insights. I would like to summarise in my own way the nuggets of truth and wisdom which I have gathered from a careful reading of this great small book:

        a) The subject of management is man; the objective of management is the moving of men's mind and will and imagination.

        b) There are two worlds: The world that we can measure with line and rule and the world that we feel with our hearts and imagination.

        c) Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness.

        d) Some questions can be decided even if not answered.

        e) Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all the others.

        f) The fearful unbelief is unbelief in yourself.

        g) He that leaves nothing to chance will do few things ill, but he will do very few things.

        h) The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart.

        i) The truest wisdom, in general, is a resolute determination.

        j) Unapplied knowledge is knowledge shorn of its meaning.

        k) Unmitigated seriousness is always out of place in human affairs. Let no one mistake me flippant for saying so. It was Plato, in his solemn old age, who said it.

        In 15 chapters (less than 200 pages), Ramchander has covered a vast ground relating to various areas, dimensions and spheres of 'Creativity.' On the whole, this is a delightful book written by an Indian management guru rooted in the timeless traditions of our great national spiritual and cultural heritage. In my view, this book must be prescribed by all the management institutions in India as a compulsory text book for the I year management students.