Beyond Ego to Wisdom:
The Eicher Experience

Dinesh Chandra

I have three treasures 
which I hold and cherish
The first is known as compassion 
No compassion no wisdom knowledge yes ...
-Tao Te Ching

In today's global business world, there is no dearth of knowledge; yet true wisdom, the deeper knowing that forms the basis for continuous learning, remains elusive. Perhaps, as the Chinese philosopher suggests, what is missing is compassion. After decades of organizational development and team building, the business community is still largely uncaring. It's rare to see a top management team in which members are sincerely devoted to making each other successful. The bottom line continues to be the motivating force. under the assumption that 'businesses have to be run this way." The experience of the Eicher Group, a large manufacturing firm based in India, demonstrates that businesses do not have to be run this way to be successful. If people within an organization are able to move beneath each other's surface to experience deeper connection, learning ability improves-with positive implications for bottom-line health. Organizations today are emphasizing the need to manage in a holistic, systemic manner, avoiding compartmentalizing people in functional silos. People are beginning to be seen not just as machines, or pairs of working hands, but as whole individuals- hands, brains (left as well as right), and bodies, with families and other considerations outside the job. With the recent increase of the feminine presence in the workplace, companies are even beginning to acknowledge emotions and feelings. But the deeper issues, sometimes referred to as "spirit" or "soul," still seem to be confined to Sunday School. So fragmentation persists. Although "soul" has recently become a popular concept (witness the success of Thomas Moore's book Soul Mates), It is ignored in the office and boardroom. Individuals In corporate functions interact with each other as though this aspect of the human being simply does not exist. This "nonexistent" soul makes its presence felt, with insistent and painful clarity, in the presence of the psychotherapist or the clergyman, but then is submerged again in the day-to-day functioning of the organization. Eicher's story is of a company's struggle toward becoming a learning community by exploring the road to compassion. Eicher has consciously encouraged its employees to go more deeply within, and to acknowledge and synthesize the importance of. Soul' in the workings of the company and their relationships with each other. The firm discovered that moving beyond the ego and escaping from the prison of intellect has provided an opportunity to be In touch with each individual's connectedness to others. Heightened trust has diminished no constructive conflict. Learning has become more natural, less of an effort. Memorizing and recalling mechanical rules has become unnecessary.

Eicher's Business Conundrum

India has always been a land of contrasts and complexity, and its business climate is no exception. During the last few centuries, the country and its industries were ruled either by feudal and religious or rigidly traditional bureaucratic creeds. Beginning in the early 1980s, however, the inexorable global forces of free enterprise have swept Into the country and have begun to change the entire way business is done.

Reaction to these winds of change has, on the whole, been positive. A determined set of industrialists and entrepreneurs are supporting the change process, even in the face of short-term loss. They realize that the mechanical, horizontal technology transfer of yesterday no longer works; today's organization has to send down roots in the local community in order to function successfully. Given this realization, one might think that the traditional Indian doctrine of karma yoga, a teaching of the Bhagavad-Gita that emphasizes the selfless pursuit of one's duties while detaching oneself from the result, would hold sway over practical aspects of Indian life. But economic struggles and Western influence have drawn most business leaders away from the ancient wisdom., India is a land full of self-oriented, self-serving, and extremely competitive individuals. Because of the vast economic gap between managers and workers, anything other than token social mingling is unimaginable. In this respect, India mirrors other third- world countries where people operate from a paradigm of scarcity. In such a situation, it is not easy to talk about teamwork, abundance mentality, and collaboration. However, a few organizations are experimenting with these ideas on their transformational journeys, as they explore Total Quality Management (TQM), re-engineering, and creation of learning communities. The Eicher Group is one of these companies. Eicher has been producing tractors and other vehicles since 1960. With only a very few hiccups, the tractor industry basked in a solid seller's market until the beginning of the 1980s. Then, when the forces of global competition began to challenge Eicher along with other manufacturers, senior managers immersed themselves in anything to do with quality. Quality orientation evolved from a narrow product quality focus to a much broader understanding of all the needs of internal and external customers. When Eicher entered into a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors to manufacture state-of- the-art light commercial vehicles at a new plant, Eicher executives began to explore elements of the much-talked-about Japanese management system. One of these was TQM. After some initial successes in TQM, Eicher ran into a major obstacle: intense internal competition-which prevailed even after a major overhaul of the performance appraisal system-did not encourage the team culture that is fundamental to a quality-based organization relying on empowerment. In addition, Eicherites resisted learning each new idea or model. After they had learned something, there was great momentum to move forward, but when time came to move on to a newer learning, tremendous resistance rose up again. For example, even as TQM was being accepted, the process of introducing new products was changing very slowly. Obviously, the organization had some learning disabilities.

Top

The Transformation Begins

The breakthrough to beginning Eicher's transformation came when the group CEO acknowledged that he himself posed the single greatest difficulty in fully implementing TQM theories and systems. 'I was apprehensive about the process for some time, even after we had begun,' he said. "It is the mindset of the chief executive that poses the biggest problem." This startling statement provided a wonderful role model, enabling others to search their own motivations. It launched Eicher's long, difficult, exciting journey beyond the ego-a journey that focused on creating a learning community, not merely manufacturing a change. The first overt step in this journey was to replace an archaic operational review forum with a quarterly management conference committed to learning and dialoging-without specific decision. This conference consisted of about thirty senior managers and evolved over time. In one of the early conferences, the concept of "dialogue' was introduced, as discussed in Peter Senge 's book The Fifth Discipline. The purpose of dialogue is to go beyond any one individual's understanding. The group explores complex issues from many points of view; individuals suspend their assumptions yet communicate these assumptions freely. The Eicher group chose its own topics for dialogue discussion, using Harrison Owens's 'open space' style in which simple rules prevailed: everyone has a choice, whoever comes are the right people. Whatever happens are the only things that matter, it starts and ends at the right time, people should honor the 'law of two feet' (leave when they wish). Those were turbulent times. Dialogue enables individuals to expand their view of reality, refining their perceptions and thinking patterns, deepening their level of inner wisdom, and discovering their highest purpose. As a result, politically inconvenient issues began to surface as members begin examining their own and others' assumptions. Nothing was sacred, including the vision, mission, and core values. Authenticity of communication became a focal point. Several skeptical managers discarded the whole idea of dialogue as gimmick. In private conversations, they rated authenticity of communication, as about 2 or 3 on a scale of 10, opining that people simply say what top managers want to hear and what will help them in moving along their career paths. One of the first topics addressed was the notion of the 'leadership model" versus the "professional management model': the flexible, inspiring, empowering leader as opposed to the efficient, rigid, controlling manager. At first, the majority believed that Eicher enjoyed a good balance between leadership and management, results of several diagnostic questionnaires at- tested to this belief. Finally, however, one senior member of the group disagreed openly, suggesting that the company might not really be in balance, and deep reflection ensued. That was the day authentic dialogue was born.

Top

The Soul Connection

Gradually, managers began to realize that if they were to be serious about empowerment-the keystone of Japanese-style TQM-they must listen to the aspirations and desires of all employees and develop agreement on the direction of choice. One issue that was generating intense heat was the question of how to deal with surplus manpower in a company with which Eicher had a strategic alliance. In the past, Eicher had made an un- equivocal statement that productivity improvement would not result in any reduction in permanent manpower, even in tough times. But Eicher had limited control in the alliance, which was now facing tremendous market pressures. Here is where Eicher experienced its first encounter with the issues of compassion and soul. In an organizational climate where logic is dominant, it would be easy for managers to conclude that, because the marketplace is changing, it is necessary to get rid of 'dead wood' to cut costs and remain competitive. But when people start to express themselves from deeply held personal values, the issue becomes much less clear-cut, as comments in Eicher dialogues indicate: "Eicher is facing an issue which is fundamental to our existence. Is profit our main purpose? I don't think so. I think in this company people are the purpose." 'If the worker was my brother, how would you deal with him? We are all human beings and the ancient Indian concept of 'Vasudhev Kutumbakam' [world is a family] reminds us that we are part of the same family. All our souls are connected.' The latter comment represented a profound shift in the Indian context, where workers are poles apart from managers in almost any respect. This led to an examination of the family prototype: what happens to a family if the income goes down, do we ask members of the family to move out? The answer was obvious: We don't; the sense of connection and compassion for each other enables us to go through tough times together. Now the company was moving closer to true community-a sense of mutual commitment and a higher purpose than individual gain. The role of the ego in blocking the awareness of the soul was breaking down. In fact, the formerly unacceptable word 'soul' was being discussed in a business setting. As a result, the approach towards the employees was one of caring and following up even after a voluntary retirement plan was implemented in one of the companies with which Eicher had a strategic alliance. This was a new approach to dealing with the turbulence that generally follows the implementation of a voluntary retirement scheme. At Eicher, as in other Indian businesses, management and workers did not socialize; managers did not take an interest in each other's family affairs nor attend each other's social ceremonies. Trying to connect at the level of the heart seemed reason- able to begin with. But as the company began to organize structured programs for executives and their spouses, the company experienced an uneasy sensation of venturing too far into the realm of the intangible in its desire for interpersonal connection. Serious questions arose about whether people have the ethical moral right, in an organizational setting, to try to influence each other's beliefs about being, life, and other soulful matters. If they don't, though, how can they discuss, with authenticity, the concept of shared visioning and its place in changing the destiny of the organization and its members?
Among the poignant comments were: We all come to these quarterly dialogues like
souls (Atma) and the energy here is like a great
spirit (Paramatma). It re-energizes us, but will the
great spirit be with us when we go back?"
'Are we not going too far into this venture? Isn't
this too spiritual for an organization to get in-
volved in, and should we back off?"
"How could we talk about a whole view of organization
and yet take a fragmented view of the human being?"
The journey via dialogue was not an easy one. At first, dialogues occasionally died a sudden death. Over time, however, people realized that it was not as important to find the "right' answer as it was to understand that individuals operate from different mental models about life and destiny, and that these models affect the decision-making process, leadership styles, and interpersonal relationships. Acknowledging the deeper issues helps to clarify confusing issues. The most interesting discovery the group made was the importance of childlike play in learning and in understanding different viewpoints. In one afternoon session, when the group was divided into subgroups, one subgroup decided to meet right in the swimming pool in their swimming trunks. The spirit behind the idea caught on, and soon people came up with further Innovations. Pictures, songs, poems-anything that enabled communication-began to gain acceptance. At these conference sessions marked by laughter and playfulness, it was hard to imagine that this was a group of senior executives of a structured company known for its serious professionalism. Someone pointed out that Carl Jung had said that men change when they get back to their childhood; that's where they are in touch with their intuition and feminine side. At that, someone else mentioned-and others agreed-that increased female participation in management would be a welcome addition.

Top

Benefits and Lessons

So the journey continues, and each quarterly dialogue is dedicated to ongoing inquiry into Eicher's learning system. The dialogue process has been dubbed the "Learning Laboratory.' Although people tend to enjoy dialogue, some have questioned whether the organization has realized tangible benefits as a result. The believers have pointed out that outcomes and attitudes resulting from the Learning Laboratory were spreading to other parts of the company. It was no coincidence, for example, that Eicher's divisional management began listening to union members, with their mouths shut and hands noting down the comments on flip charts, for as long as the workers wanted to talk. Trust began to grow between unions and management, resulting in contracts unparalleled In India. Individual and collective monetary incentives traditionally used in setting tar- get output levels, were abolished. The group felt that the high trust level made the connection between output and money unnecessary. The fixed salary was adjusted by the average bonus amounts of the past twelve months (a one-time increase), so that there was no loss of income for the workers. A wider participation in the strategic planning process, initiated in the quarterly management conference, highlighted the lack of consensus regarding the corporate mission. Certain groups of executives wanted the firm to be known for engineering excellence, and preferred vertical integration focusing on the key technologies. Others wanted it to be a diversified business group, and preferred horizontal integration driven by core values. To the latter group, any business-ranging from leather to clothing to housing-was fair game. Dialogue on mission led to an understanding of the fundamental differences of assumption regarding the firm's core competencies, and finally resulted in further decentralization, which is more conducive to a diversified business. This helped to create an environment where both groups of executives can pursue their dreams in alignment with the corporate vision. Today, all of Eicher's seven plants, the Research Center involved in the design and production of vehicles and components, and other corporate functions-involving, in total, more than seven thousand employees-have reported significant progress on the TQM path. Eicher has also launched a thriving consulting enterprise serving the needs of other companies.
Creating Dialogue Eicher has learned that the following elements are important in using dialogue to create a learning community:
. The chairman or key person in the group has to be deeply committed to the process, and be willing to relinquish his (or her, but in Eicher's case it was a male) position of authority. In the early stages, self- restraint in holding back his ideas encourages others to open up and express themselves freely.