Innovation through Diversity: Hinduism & the Art of Business Strategy

Posted on May 1, 2010

In his Harvard Business Review blog, Vijay Govindarajan makes a fascinating link between the Hindu worldview and successful long-term business strategies.

Though the Hindu religion recognizes millions of gods, he writes, there are three main Hindu deities: Vishnu, the god of preservation; Shiva, the god of destruction; and Brahma, the god of creation. According to Hindu philosophy, preservation-destruction-creation is a continuous cycle without a beginning or an end.Too often, he argues, companies go wrong by concentrating solely on preservation–that is, on managing costs and meeting the demands of the current moment. Companies that grow give as much attention to the other two phases of the life cycle: destroying or selectively abandoning past strategies, and creating wholly new ones attuned to global, nonlinear shifts.

This is the challenge for large companies, especially in an economic downturn: to create their future while managing their present. How good is your organization, Govindarajan asks, in managing the preservation-destruction-creation cycle?

About Andrés

Andrés Tapia is President of Diversity Best Practices, the preeminent diversity and inclusion thinktank and consultancy. In this role, he helps companies create first-in-class diversity strategies and develop innovative solutions for culture change. Previously he served as Hewitt’s Chief Diversity Officer and Emerging Workforce Solutions Leader. As a published writer and prominent speaker, Andrés offers thought-provoking views about diversity’s impact around the world. He is the author of The Inclusion Paradox: The Obama Era and the Transformation of Global Diversity. Find his bio here.