UdyamGita

The business starts with the entrepreneur. The ideas, the goals, and the vision usually follow a top down approach. The organization is constantly changing like the Ashvatth tree. People change, people join, people leave, systems change, customers change, and partners change, so the organization is always evolving. In this ever changing environment, the entrepreneur should focus on creating a well documented system that reaches each and every employee. Using this system as a medium, the entrepreneur should be able to communicate ideas, vision, and goals, assign tasks accordingly, and receive feedback as well.

Krishna opens Chapter 15 with a powerful metaphor. The Aśhvattha tree is inverted—its roots are above and branches below—symbolizing a living system whose source is subtle, invisible, and higher, while its manifestations spread widely in the material world. Though called “eternal,” the tree is in constant motion—growing, shedding, regenerating.

This is a paradox by design: the essence is stable, but the structure is ever-changing.

Business Insight

Every business begins upward—in the mind and intent of the entrepreneur.

Ideas, vision, values, and purpose form the roots. From these roots grow the branches: teams, processes, products, customers, partners, and markets.

Like the Aśhvattha tree, an organization is never static:

• People join and leave
• Roles evolve
• Systems get redesigned
• Customers and partners change
• Markets shift direction

Trying to control this complexity through constant personal intervention is futile. The entrepreneur’s real leverage lies elsewhere—in systems.

Well-documented, well-communicated systems become the leaves of the organization. They carry knowledge, intent, and direction to every corner of the enterprise, enabling scale without chaos.

Leadership Lesson

A founder cannot—and should not—be everywhere.

But the founder’s thinking must be everywhere.

This happens only when:

• Vision is translated into clear processes
• Goals are broken down into assignable tasks
• Feedback loops are built into the system
• Decision-making principles are documented, not implied

A leader who understands this “tree” stops micromanaging branches and instead nourishes the roots and strengthens the trunk—the operating system of the organization.

That leader, like the knower of the Vedas, understands not just what is happening, but why it is happening.

Key Takeaways

• Every business grows top-down: vision first, execution later.
• Organizations are living systems, not fixed structures.
• Change is inevitable—people, processes, and markets will evolve.
• Systems are the real carriers of founder intent.
• Documentation is not bureaucracy; it is scalability.
• Great leaders build systems that speak when they are absent.