Akbar: The greatest of all HR managers

The only thing that can make a difference between success and failure is management. An effective form of management increases the chances of success for any business, organisation, government, society or individual and bad management brings failure to their doorstep. There are many things that are taught in the Management colleges the world over. Here in India we have 1600 plus institutions that produce over 1 lakh managers each year. Probably that is the reason why we have a problem of plenty resulting in ‘over-management’ of the nation.
To address the ‘problem of plenty’, nearly all B-schools offer a course on Human Resource Management. Every aspect of handling the most essential part of an organisation— the man-power— is taught. However, we have a lot of cases, some known and others unknown, which clearly show that NO ONE CAN BECOME A GOOD MANAGER BY GETTING A DEGREE IN MANAGEMENT.

The biggest problem in our educational institutions is that a large majority of teachers do not teach by example. Thus, even though I am not a teacher (and am also not an MBA), I think I can share an extremely valuable information with you all.

India’s history is resplendent with examples of all kinds. Without going into any other example, I bring to you two kings. Both are from the medieval history of the Indian sub-continent.

The first one was a well-educated Sultan who not only had profound knowledge on logic, philosophy, astro science, mathematics and medicine but also had certain qualities fit for a king. The second one was simply illiterate. With only this much description you may have formed an opinion that the first one must have proved to be a great ruler while the other must have failed his kingdom. However, if I clarify that the name of the first ruler was Mohammed Bin Tughlaq while the second one was Jalaluddin Mohammed Akbar, what will be your opinion then?

It is widely known that Tughlaq was a whimsical ruler. His eccentric manners and mismanagement brought his downfall. Even his education could not save him. On the other hand, Akbar began his rule at a very young age (14 to be precise) and therefore he did not get any chance to read or write. He knew only one language throughout his formative years and that was the language of the sword. Later on he patronized music, architecture, arts and positive religious debates that firmly built on his reputation as a tolerant Mughal ruler.

Although illiterate, Akbar was a sound judge of character. The nine gems in his court were handpicked by him and each was a master in one way or the other. The reason why he became the most successful medieval ruler in Indian history is this aspect of his character. He simply knew who the right man for the right job was. He never erred in his decisions and was a very intelligent administrator.

He is therefore the greatest of all HR managers. There are many modern day managers who are on responsible positions but they themselves have no control on their own lives so how can they judge another? Akbar did not attain the title of ‘the Great’ for his military exploits but for his administrative acumen which proved equally effective as his victories in battles. It is very difficult to choose the right man but had it been that easy, all of us would have post-fixed ‘the Great’ to our names.