Exclusive | Author, Spiritual Leader, Management Guru: Radhakrishnan Pillai

Radhakrishnan Pillai, recently unveiled Shemaroo Entertainment’s first ever management film, based on his bestseller book “Corporate Chanakya.”

 

Adgully caught up with the multi-dimensional man who; besides being an author, is also a manager, a spiritual leader and a management guru.

 

Radhakrishnan has spent eight years studying Chanakya’s work popularly known as “Kautilya’s Arthashastra” which is very rigorous. He thanks his family and friends for the unconditional support they have showered on him as he travelled the unknown paths. He also exclaims that he is extremely happy at the results that the efforts have borne.

 

Talking about his personal struggle as a writer, he says, “I have been writing since I was a child. In my case, I have been lucky. The struggle was a little different for me. I got a publisher, but the struggle was against time. I used to travel 15-20 days a month and therefore the time frame for writing was not enough. It is more of a mental struggle rather than the fear of succeeding. In life, you have to learn, unlearn and re-learn.”

 

Radhakrishnan asserts that Chanakya is not about the past, it is about the past ideas that can connect to the present and the future. He believes that Chanakya is widely read today because Chanakya is all about good governance and India’s need of the hour is good governance.

 

Sharing insight into the mindset that prevailed while the book was in process, he said, “I always think from a result perspective. As much as the process, the result is important. I wanted my audiences to understand management in a simple way. I have avoided the use of jargon. Most importantly, the chapters are one and a half page each and can be finished in three minutes. I wanted to simplify Chanakya and therefore I deliberately avoided the use of Sanskrit; which would give the readers an interpretation of the book being religious. Chanakya is secular and therefore needs to be presented in that manner.”

 

Radhakrishnan who was conferred with the Sardar Patel National award in 2009 for his research on Chanakya and his principles, said, “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is the modern Chanakya. Good leaders are selfless; putting their team before themselves and Sardar Patel did just that.”

 

Fondly known as Chanakya Pillai, he is also a manager and a teacher. Talking about the importance of marketing a book, he exclaims, “The key is to associate with people who know marketing better than you. For instance, Jaico Publishing and Shemaroo know marketing better than I do.  You market with your team and you have 3-4 organisations who market better than you. In management terminology, it is called associate with multipliers.”

 

Mr Radhakrishnan Pillai also has a very strong academic background. He believes that one’s academic achievements must be put to practical applications. He points out towards the fact that while he conducted research on Kautilya’s Arthashastra, he always wondered of its implications practically and consequently wrote “Corporate Chanakya.”

 

 His message to budding writers remains, “Write well, but before you do that, read well. Read works of different genres and across different generations.”

 

Some of his favourite authors are Swami Chinmayananda and Peter Drucker. He believes in imbibing spirituality from India and management from the West.

 

Radhakrishnan Pillai has been associated with the Chinmaya mission since childhood, which is a spiritual organization. He believes that there are many aspects of Chanakya which have been unexplored like astrology, Ayurveda etc. His mission is promoting Chanakya across the globe.

 

One of the quotes that has left an indelible mark on him is “A single ideal can transform a listless soul into a towering leader of men”.

 

On an end note, Pillai exclaims that he has touched a gold mine and would continue to explore Chanakya all his life.

 

He emphasizes that reading requires discipline. “It is easy to start a book, but difficult to finish it, ”exclaims Radhakrishnan.