Bhagavad-gita on Effective Leadership

Thanks to a tip-off from my mate Ekendra, I bought an e-book copy of this book:

Bhagavad-gita on Effective Leadership, by Pujan Roka.

You can get it for US$16 on Amazon, or US$5.85 from Diesel ebooks.

Pujan has a website at http://www.pujanroka.com/, and a podcast on iTunes.

I've read up to the fifth chapter so far, in between other duties and activities. My feeling so far is that this is a great book which really serves to illustrate the contribution of the Gita in the area of leadership. At the same time I feel there is room for further analysis and exploration of Bhagavad-gita and its application to Leadership.

Beyond principles of leadership practice leading to "effective leadership", in Bhagavad-gita Krishna exposes principles of leadership purpose which lead to "authentic leadership" - leadership aligned with fundamental universal principles in a way that empowers it to effect holistic positive change.

It is not simply a collection of pragmatic principles of practice leading to greater effectiveness, somehow divorced from purpose. It contains information about the very fabric of reality, and gives a prescription that allows leaders to discover their own intrinsic purpose, and align the purpose of their organizations with this fabric and the will of its weaver.

I believe that two factors, the principles of leadership purpose and the identity of Krishna as the origin of principles, are the unique significant contribution that distinguish Bhagavad-gita and place it in a distinct category from other seminal leadership works such as The Art of War.

I'll have to read through Pujan's book all the way at least once, and really a few times, to really get the hang of it. It may change as it progresses, but so far I feel that this commentary is not really exploring the full implications and potential of the Gita. So far it seems content to accept some good ideas on how to do things, rather than letting the Gita speak to what should be done, which is really the crux of the dilemma presented by Arjuna to Krishna. I think the Gita's real potential is realized when we let the Gita speak to both: how to do things, and what should be done.

Nevertheless, I am very enthused by reading this obviously well thought out and written commentary by Pujan Roka. Without doubt he demonstrates how many principles of effective leadership are alluded to or demonstrated in the Bhagavad-gita. I am very glad to have found this resource, and with this additional fuel will continue my own deliberations and further writing on the subject.