An enterprise is only as good as the people that make it! Read to understand how can you work on the mind of your enterprise, from Kalindi Kale's article in MCCIA's monthly magazine - Sampada: July 2019

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Dr. Kalindi Kale
It also means a person's ability I
think and reason. Scholars have also
defined mind as not one, but as a set of
cognitive faculties like imagination,
perception, thinking, judgment
andmemory to the consciousness.Afew
more words can be added as
descriptors of the mind, like philosophy,
spirit, psychology, thought, judgment,
values and ideals, problem solving,
knowledge, subjectivity, nature,
character, disposition, choice,
subconscious, mentality, intuition, gray
m a t t e r , g e n i u s , r e a s o n i n g ,
understanding, wit, creativity, ingenuity,
wisdom- well the list go on.
While reflecting on the connect
between the mind of entrepreneur and
the mind of enterprise we could ask
several questions starting from
● When and how does an enterprise
get these descriptors?
What is 'mind'? The dictionary
meaning says it is the element of a
person that enables them to be aware of
the world and their experiences, to think
and to feel; the faculty of consciousness
and thought.
The reason behind getting into the
definitions and the words associated
with mind is to primarily get inklingabout
the connectedness of the mind of
entrepreneur with the mind of
enterprise.
● What is mind of an enterprise?
● How is the mind of enterprise
connected with the mind of the
entrepreneur?
● Why is it necessary to have
mindfulness about the mind of
enterprise?
Strictly going by definition, an enterprise
is a legal entity formed by a group of
individuals to engage in and operate a
business. Going by that alone, an
enterprise is a formless, shapeless,
colorless, virtual, abstract entity.
However, when one thinks of any
specific organization, words that are
used to describe a person come to the
mind. Benevolent, stingy, caring,
aggressive, robust, diverse, fun,
individualistic, tribe, opportunistic, risk
averse, stringent could be some of the
ways in which people see the
organizations. An enterprise is only as
good as the people that make it. The
e x h i l a r a t i n g j o u r n e y o f a n
enterprise,from an abstract entity to a
definite character and a persona is
exhilarating.
● How is the mind of enterprise
connected with the mind of the
entrepreneur?
It is almost like a parent and a child
relation between the entrepreneur and
an enterprise. While a child may have
● What is mind of an enterprise?
● What influences/motivates the mind
of an enterprise?
Enterprise- a mind of its own

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some inherent characteristics, in the
initial part of its lifecycle, the child is a
reflection of its parent. Similarly, in the
initial phase of its lifecycle, an enterprise
is a reflection of the entrepreneur. The
strengths and the weakness of the
entrepreneur are the strengths and
weakness of the enterprise as well. An
apple does not fall too far away from the
tree.
Here is a 'but'……. an apple does not fall
too far away from the tree, but if the wind
is too strong, if it falls in the rapid flowing
river on the banks of which the tree
stands, the apple would fall far away
from the tree. As the child starts
gathering experiences of its own, it
starts developing its own preferences of
behavior patterns. This is somewhat the
case of an enterprise as well. So often
we have heard people saying, “This is
not the organization that we worked with
earlier, and lot has changed in the
organization that we cannot relate to.”
How does an organization go through
such a radical transformation? These
changes in the organizations' persona
can be by design or by default. If the
changes are by design and well thought
there it is okay. If the transformations are
by default, the factors could be external
or internal to the organization.
Sometimes in the frenzy of market,
socio-economic, political, technological
changes, the organizations may tend to
lose their original characteristics and
assume new one. Over the period more
and more people from diverse
backgrounds join the bandwagon.
These people may come and go, but
they do leave a footprint of their
characteristics on the organization.
Collectively, over the period the
organization adopts a different
demeanor.
Having said that let me also say that
while an apple may drift away from the
tree, an apple would still remain an
apple. It does not become a different
fruit. It is in its DNA that comes from the
tree. Time, tide and the number of
people that may come and go have not
been able to alter the DNA of several
organizations that we see around us.
There are numerous examples that may
be quoted here, it is really hard to pick.
With great difficulty, I could pick three
o r g a n i z a t i o n s t h a t c a n b e
representative through time and place.
These organizations have a starkly
different persona. Founded in 1858,
almost a century before independence,
the Tata group a 161 year old
organization, over 120 business and
subsidiaries, over seven lac employees,
besides India presence in Europe, North
America, Asia Pacific, China, Middle
East, seven Chairmen later still has a
strong thread of 'Philanthropy'
Another non Indian, impressive
example that I may quote here is that of
Google. The organization started in
1998 in California. In its 20 years of
existence, it has reached nearly one lac
employees over almost 40 countries, a
little less than 250 mergers and
acquisitions. Google is driven by a motto
to 'do the right thing'.
A very Indian example that is
relatively recent is Patanjali Ayurved
formed in 2006, with 2 lac employees
and presence in India and middle east
900 products in of which 300 are
medicines, 45 cosmetics, 30 food
products, 4700 retail outlets, that
jumped leaps and bounds from 185 Cr.
turnover in 2010 to 11000 Cr. in 2018,
celebrating the 'Indianness'.

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Mindfulness defined: “the quality or
state of being conscious or aware of
● Why is it necessary to have
mindfulness about the mind of
enterprise?
● When and how does an enterprise
get these descriptors?
I am tempted to apply the theories of
motivation to an enterprise as I think of it
as a living, throbbing, thriving entity.
One of the most popular and well
accepted theories is the Maslow's
hierarchy of needs. Here is a classic
Maslow's hierarchy of needs:
● What influences / motivates the
mind of an enterprise?
I believe the mind of the enterprise is
like mind of a child at its formation. It is
p r e t t y m u c h t h e s a m e a s t h e
entrepreneur and it tries to copy the
characters of its creator. As long as the
entrepreneur is connected with each
and every member of the organization,
the status remains almost the same. I
believe that the organization starts
getting a mind of its own when the
'connect' between the entrepreneur and
the employees starts weakening.
Typically, this is seen when the
organization starts growing or may be
the nature of business is such that
employees are working in different
geographies or at times virtually. A
hierarchy/delegation becomes
imperative, an entrepreneur's influence
on each additional layer of employees
starts diluting. The faiths, values and
motives of each additional layer either
supplements or substitutesthe
descriptors of the entrepreneur. It is a
crucial time for an enterprise. Unless a
value system, vision & mission is clearly
defined and enforced at this stage, the
DNA that we were talking about earlier
would not get formed. A character or a
persona of the enterprise will evolve
eventually any way. However, it would
be more as a 'default' rather than
'design'. It may or may not; fully or
partially; match the mind of the
entrepreneur.
This is a very popular five layered
diagram that depicts what motivates an
individual to do several things in its life
time. It starts at the bottom of the
pyramid with the need of preserving the
existence by addressing physiological
need. Like the need of an individual to
survive, the enterprise too has a
struggle to survive in the initial phases.
The physiological needs of an
enterprise are the top line and the
bottom line. After the enterprise has
achieved that it moves on to its next
need, i.e. the safety need. The safety for
an enterprise comes from business
continuity and sustenance. Most of the
times getting past these two layers is
tough for the entrepreneurs. A
deliberate effort of defining the DNAand
enforcing it seems the last priority at
these stages. The first best opportunity
that an entrepreneur gets to really instill
his/her 'mind' as a DNA of the
organization is after getting past these
two thresholds. The various ways in
which an entrepreneur can do so is
through the consciously defined and
designed activities within the
organization. Here is a representative
diagram that would bring a perspective
to the thought that we have been talking
about : (Table 1)
These are three very differently
tenured group of businesses having
variedareas of works and patterns of
success. All three are driven by diverse
philosophies. The examples drive home
a point that if the DNA of that apple is
strong enough, while the apple may still
fall away from the tree, it will still not lose
its characteristics of being an apple.
Table 1

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An awareness of what the enterprise
represents would give a more cognitive
f l e x i b i l i t y. K n o w i n g w h a t t h e
organization stands for would help to
disengage the entrepreneur from
'automatic pathways' created by the
predecessors or fraternity and carve a
niche for itself.
something”. Mindfulness is a “a mental
state achieved by focusing one's
awareness on the present moment,
while calmly acknowledging and
accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and
bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic
technique.
Events. URL: arcsitecture.com;
Dr. Kalindi Kale,
Continuing from where we left off,
here are the next 20 questions that you
may ask yourself about the your mind as
an entrepreneur that you may want to
pass on as a DNA to the enterprise.
(SeeTable 2)
------------------------------------------
Mindfulness :
An awareness about what the
enterprise is? What does it stand for?
What do I want to make of it as an
entrepreneur benefits the enterprise in
multiple ways.
● ReducesAnxiety
● Brings focus
Founder ofARCSticture and Buzzroute
mail: kalindikale@gmail.com
● Improves Cognition
● Reduce Distractions
Awareness about self has a calming
effect on entities including the
organization. Less emotional reactivity
could lead to more calculated decisions
with high degree of conviction and
sense of purpose. An organization that
is mindful about what it stands for is less
likely to 'react' emotionally to the
stimulus from the external as well as the
internal forces. Small setbacks or losses
would stop bothering the people in the
organization.
Next month let us look at some of the
hygiene factors that would help not only
for operational ease but also for
percolating, retaining and benefitting
from having a consciously crafted mind
of the enterprise.
Do you have it in you!
47 If it comes to it, I will choose my values over the opportunity
Sr. No. I think………. 1 2 3 4 5
54 If it comes to it I am flexible to adopt based on the changed
45 I want to create/ build something that would leave my footprint behind
46 I want to ceate something that would outlive me
48 If it comes to it I will choose my values over talent
41 I am relentless till I achieve results
50 I am mindful about where I want to go
51 I am confident that I can take people along the path I want to walk
43 I have a deep sense of purpose in what I wish to do
42 I know what motivates me
44 I do realize that money would stop motivating me at a point
49 I am mindful about who I am and where I come from
52 I am sure that I want to take people along the path I want to walk
53 If it comes to it I am willing to flex my thinking in the best interest of
my creation
55 I believe that becoming an entrepreneur has a deeper meaning than just
my personal flourish
59 Whatever be the difficulty level, I am willing to take efforts to shape my
organization that is based on my values
circumstances, but some core values cannot be compromised on
57 I have clarity
60 It would not pain me to see my enterprise get a mine of its own
56 An employee can quit but an employer can’t
58 I have confidence of transferring my ingenuity through
systems and processes
Here is the way you score yourself 1= Note at all; 2= Mostly no; 3=May be; 4= Mostly yes; 5= Very much so
Table 2