Chennai author’s management lessons from ‘Ramayana’, ‘Mahabharata’


Chennai: When T Jaganathan started reading epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, little did he know that it will eventually lead him to write a self-help book. A resident of Virugambakkam, he has penned the book, ‘Management Immemorial’, published by Notion Press.

‘It happened accidentally,’ he told News Today. As Jaganathan started reading more Indian literature, he shared his research with his employees via email, posting it as ‘Monday Musings’ to motivate them every week.

A technocrat, he is MD of a tech firm and had willing listeners. He also uploaded articles on his blog. ‘This went on every Monday for over 25 weeks,’ he recollects. ‘Looking at the positive feedback received from the readers of my blog, I decided to become a writer and publish the compilation as a book. That’s how ‘Management Immemorial’ came about.’

He dives deeper to explain about his book. ‘I talk about 15 management traits, categorised into three: attitude, skill and leadership. I use Indian literature to explain each trait spiced with stories, anecdotes, quotes and my experience. I believe that using literature quotes to learn personality development makes it more interesting and the knowledge gained lasts long.’

He adds, ‘My book will be useful for those wishing to develop their career.’

How does he get ideas? ‘The spark could come from a conversation with friends, books or TV shows,’ informs Jaganathan. ‘Many a time, I get ideas from social media. Authors need to keep their eyes and ears open.’

He makes use of a cloud page – Onenote – to capture ideas when they strike and then develop them into a story.

Jaganathan says everyone should write. ‘It is a wonderful experience, a good exercise for the brain and develops logical thinking.’

He recalls an old quote: ‘Rabindranath Tagore said, ‘You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water’. So don’t keep thinking, just start writing.’