October 2nd was Gandhi's birthday - the Gandhi, the Mahatma, not the thousands with the same name. It's a holiday in India, and with globalization and flat-earthing one has to pay attention to when people work or don't. It got me thinking though. Gandhi's the icon for the ages when it comes to non-violence, but he's also expounded his philosophy on a wide variety of subjects. Is there a Gandhian way to entrepreneurship?
This doesn't aim to be a scholarly treatise on the subject and I didn't research Gandhi's life story or teachings. I know the highlights of course, and also know Gandhi was a big proponent of 'cottage industries' - the stuff that the rural poor can do on their own to make a living, with minimal capital investment. The spinning wheel was his icon - he would have got a kick out of the fact that organic, hand-spun and hand-woven clothing is a luxury item now. If Gandhi were around now he'd have plenty of burning causes to keep him busy and it's most unlikely he'd be off starting a company, but he'd probably have some good words for the clean energy and sustainability efforts, or anything that fights hunger and poverty.
So, no, Gandhi is not likely to be a startup guy, but is there anything in his philosophy that an entrepreneur may find worthwhile? Let's start with the first of the two most-popular Gandhian quotes (a mixed blessing when they're on mugs and New Age rocks): Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony. Nice one to live by - most of the time. For example, if you customer satisfaction is your #1 goal, sure, go ahead and paste it on a poster - but having your team solicit and pay attention to user feedback will build value and morale (knowing your work is in alignment with company goals is pretty satisfying). But few entrepreneurs are in the position to call all the shots in a startup - there are too many constraints, too much to be proven and too many players and stakeholders. There will be times when you may not want to say what you think and you should definitely not act on it. You may just want to slam down your laptop and scream "what a %&*! moronic idea" at your investor who asks you to make a 180 degree shift in your business model just when there's an uptick. This is why you're thankful the weekend stress management class you took 6 months ago kicks in and you're mentally chanting "he gave us $2 million, he gave us $2 million" while you deflect with "hmm, interesting idea, we'll go run the numbers on it, but let me show you our latest release". It definitely is not the time to say what you think, even if you deleted the %&*! expletives. This Gandhism is great for the big things, like principles, but most entrepreneurs would be happy to just be able to hold on to discretion and a semblance of calmness in the daily challenges of startup life.
Another over-used but undoubtedly cool quote is: Be the change you want to see in the world. This is not just a variation on the previous theme. It's a call to lead by example. If integrity is on your list of company values, be careful who you accept funding from. If you've always believed that companies could be run better, here's your chance - take time to make it happen, don't let it get lost in the startup chaos. If you're concerned about global warming, be serious about telecommuting options and don't keep putting it off for 'when we're bigger'. If 'doing good' is important, do it, and support your employees when they want to do it. I believe this is a Gandhism an entrepreneur could hold on to (got the inspirational mug?).
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