Why Dont Managers Think Deeply?

by Vasudev Das (Bhakti Vasudeva Swami) Why Dont Managers Think Deeply? This is a thought provoking question which is very relevant to a rapidly globalizing world. We need to think deeply, no doubt. Archimedes and many others were deep thinkers. Broadly, there are two sides of this bad coin of not thinking deeply. There are sociological and organismic factors which inhibit managers from thinking deeply. By sociological factors, we would be referring to those forces outside of the embodied soul that impinge on him/her and checkmate him/her from thinking deeply; and by organismic factors, we would be referring to those forces within the living being that inhibit him/ her from thinking deeply. The sociological factors include our educational methodological paradigm, societal needs and interests, attachment to sensory objects, lack of motivational incentives, and artificial lifestyle. The organismic factors include the inability to control the mind and sensory modalities; influence of the gunas, or modes of material nature namely, goodness, passion and ignorance; influence of endogenous lust; lack of awareness of our pristine identity; lack of analytical skill; disdain for introspection; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), etc. Our educational methodology lays credence mostly to pedagogy, as opposed to the andragogical approach to learning which focuses on eliciting learners critical, creative and caring thinking skills or synergic thinking skills. There are multifarious thinking processes, of which critical thinking is just one, and thinking is hierarchical. Bahiranga-sakti, or the illusory

potency of material nature, has stolen away the deep thinking ability and capability of more than a few managers. Creative thinking rooted in deeply supramundane internalization would usher in innovations meant to redirect a misdirected civilization. A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak hogwash, the minds demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals would be the best of deep thinkers, with little personal effort. Such a deeply thinking manager is qualified to train deep thinking mangers all over the global village. When we reflect on the lives of ancient and modern great thinkers, one indisputable fact is that their motto apparently seems to be Simple living and high thinking. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for example, is an intriguing case. They also lived close to nature. Of course, graduate programs are being offered in Critical and Creative Thinking (CACT) in some institutions, and this is facilitating capacity building in creative thinking skills or/and innovations. A contribution by Bhakti Vasudeva Swami (a.k.a. Vasudev Das) to Harvard Business School Working Knowledge seminar on Why Dont Managers Think Deeply? Link Article number (comment number) 55: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5952.html