Management Gita: Blindness to Greed

यद्यप्येते न पश्यन्ति लोभोपहतचेतसः । कुलक्षयकृतं दोषं मित्रद्रोहे च पातकम् ॥ १-३८॥
yadyapyete na paśyanti lobhopahatacetasaḥ
kulakṣayakṛtaṃ doṣaṃ mitradrohe ca pātakam 1-38

Spiritual Context

Arjuna notes the Kauravas’ greed blinds them to the harm of destroying families and betraying friends.

Management Context

This highlights cognitive bias, ethical blindness, and groupthink. Arjuna critiques flawed judgment, a warning for managers swayed by short-term gains.

Insights

Biases distort decisions (Kahneman, 2011). This aligns with studies on ethical failures in organizations (Bazerman & Tenbrunsel, 2011).

Applications

Leaders can use bias training or independent audits to counter groupthink and greed (Janis, 1982).

References

Bazerman, M. H., & Tenbrunsel, A. E. (2011). Blind spots. Princeton University Press.
Janis, I. L. (1982). Groupthink (2nd ed.). Houghton Mifflin.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

This excerpt is taken from Management Gita, authored by Sunil Khandbahale