10 Management lessons from Anna's Andolan

The modern India witnessed a sort of miracle last month when every city, Town and village swayed to the magic of Anna Hazare for nonstop 12 days. Every news channel carried minute to minute detail of the developments; and the newspaper editorials were filled with various aspects of the movement. Many senior citizens recalled the popular JP movement of 1977 and still old citizens fondly remembered India’s independence struggle.

It is indeed a matter of great surprise as to how this movement gathered so much popularity when there was neither a star attraction nor it was funded heavily by any big houses. What made the common man to hit the street and be voluntarily a part of this agitation? According to some reports, XLRI and some other management institutes have already included this entire movement as a case study for their courses.

We look at 10 most significant management lessons one can learn, which made this movement successful.

Management Lesson # 1

Keep right people around you if you want to succeed.

Anna Hazare had formed a team around him who were consulting him at every step and taking directions from him. This team comprised of Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan. None of them have any criminal record or any cases of corruption against them. Their lives are mostly transparent and they all have a righteous past. Notable among them are Arvind Kejriwal, who left IRS and started voluntary organizations to uproot corruption from the society and Kiran Bedi, who earned appreciation of all Indians in 80s by fearlessly exercising legitimate and constitutional power against the high profile offenders. There were some important players behind the scenes too, handling the logistics, IT campaign, statutory approvals etc, who did not get much media exposure.

On this point, Baba Ramdev scored very low, as his aide, Acharya Balkrishna is neck deep in trouble over various issues starting with his passport and qualifications.

Management Lesson # 2

A clear strategy with well defined objective yields results.

Anna Hazare had a clear strategy keeping in mind the end objective. His objective was the passing of Jan Lokpal bill by Parliament. He knew that people of India were fed up with corruption. The mega scams reported during last 2 years had already put the government in a very embarrassing position in the eyes of people. This was the right time to strike. Also, from the April adventure, he knew that he enjoyed the support of common man across India. So, he decided to go on fast following all the rules. His strategy was only to follow the rules and still pursue his objective. It required extraordinary kind of thinking to stay put in jail even after he was released few hours after his arrest, due to mounting pressure from the people. This ensured that the tempo continued to build up outside. The government crumbled in those 3 days and accepted all his demands of fast which they had denied in the beginning.

Management Lesson # 3

A good plan, with mechanism to review, monitor and amend it periodically ensures success.

The core committee around Anna was planning every minute detail during the entire period starting morning of 16^th August. In fact the actual planning started much before that. It was a part of the clever planning due to which Anna could shoot the video of his message to the country about his arrest even before he was arrested. The planning was reviewed several times in a day to take feedback on the actual happenings and make amendments to plan. A plan is needed to start the process but it needs to be reviewed and monitored continuously to proceed further. This is what the Anna team did best.

Management Lesson # 4

A proper delegation of responsibilities coupled with sincerity of team members in doing their tasks without interfering in other’s work ensures success.

The tasks were cut out for each and every member of Anna team from very beginning. While Anna remained firmly grounded in Ramlila maidan, all his team members went around performing their own tasks. Arvind Kejriwal was in charge of media management, Kiran Bedi was in touch with Delhi police to get a feel of their actions in advance, Prashant Bhushan was analyzing the legal consequences of the offerings made by govt during negotiations. The beauty is that everyone had a complete faith and trust in other team members and no one interfered in other’s domain. There was one person who went around getting approvals for fasting from govt bodies, while there was one more with full quota of sher and shayari related to Anna movement entertaining and inspiring the crowds throughout the day.

Management Lesson # 5

Follow the rules at all times – it helps.

The entire Anna movement was centered on one broad principle – not to break any rules. The team Anna never wanted to be seen on the wrong side of law at any time. That is why they took seriously the approvals given by Delhi police initially for observing fast at JP Park. That approval had 22 conditions, which were difficult to follow. The intense negotiations in Tihar jail for three days demonstrate how the team Anna wanted to make sure that what they start is a long term legally compliant movement and not end in a whimper because of violating laws. (Failure to adhere to the rules weakened the Baba Ramdev movement and Delhi police had some justifiable excuses for their actions, even though the way they acted was not correct.)

Management lesson # 6

When you have sincerity in your approach, you draw support from all quarters in your endeavors.  

The guiding light of this movement was Anna Hazare, who has a clean and spotless character. He lives in a small town in a room inside a temple. His assets are his principles. When such person starts an agitation against corruption, people believe in him and follow him. (If ever Laloo Prasad starts such an agitation, how many would support him? Or say Chidambaram starts an academy in ethical behavior how many would join it? Or say, if Kapil Sibbal gives a discourse on how to speak humbly, how many would attend it?) People knew that Anna practices what he preaches. His past reflects that he has always said what he believes in and does exactly what his conscience says. He is not political figure, who change colors with time. This was perhaps the biggest factor resulting in Indian masses following him blindly.

Management Lesson # 7

A genuine cause will attract much more support than a fake cause.

Team Anna has started the agitation for a cause, which has affected the aam admi of India for several years now. Last two years have been worst in terms of corruption in high offices. The inflation has already hit the middle classes hard. So, when they were presented a rosy picture of a system in which there would be minimum corruption, they were bound to support it wholeheartedly. Again, while the cancer of corruption had been existing in the system for quite some time now, it required someone who could take it up genuinely and not for any personal benefits. Even all religious scriptures suggest that the prayers are likely to be answered, if they are for a genuine cause, which helps the society in general.

Management Lesson # 8

A confidant approach is necessary for any endeavor to succeed.

Anna Hazare had a confidence that his movement will be successful. His every statement made to the media was filled with confidence. He is not a great orator. He is not well qualified either. But his confidence in himself was simply too much. When he said ‘Jail Bharo’ to his followers, they filled jails. When he said ‘Gherao the MP’s houses’ they did it for MPs across the political parties. For few days, he was the imagination of the nation. He overpowered people’s political affiliations. Had he displayed any doubts in his intentions or in his own words, the following would not have been so much.

Management Lesson # 9

When you lead from front, people have faith in you and follow.

Anna Hazare sat at the centre stage managing the entire agitation throughout the 12 days. Not just that, he was fasting too. It requires enormous amount of will power and dedication for an individual to survive only on water for so many days. In today’s world, this was a rare example of a person sacrificing his health for a social cause. The enactment of Janlokpal bill would not have helped him personally in any way whatsoever. Doctors had informed him on 9^th day that his kidneys were getting slowly affected. He bravely said there were so many people out there who would give him their kidney, if required. At one point, Shiv sena also commented that Anna Hazare should give up his fast and instead his team members should fast. However, he wanted to lead the movement.

What is also remarkable is that he did not give publicity to himself throughout the campaign. The van which carried him from Tihar Jail to Ramlila maidan did not have his poster. Also, the stage in Ramlila maidan was adorned with one big photo of Mahatma Gandhi on the backdrop. This is in stark contrast to the rallies / events of political leaders, whose posters are displayed everywhere by their supporters to appease them.

Management Lesson # 10

Positive thinking is a necessary ingredient for success.   

At no time during the entire 12 days, did Anna ever say what would happen, if his agitation failed. He was going all out. He made it clear several times that whether he remains or not the agitation should continue. That showed a steel resolve beyond normal thinking of an ordinary person. In spite of stoic government stand during first six days and then a super fluctuating stand during next few days, he continued to think that he would succeed. These were not the traits of an ordinary man. His self belief and positive attitude had already made him a national hero hitting international headlines.