UdyamGita

The founder has to be hands on in the organization. He should know the in and out of all functions. He need not master every function, but he should at least be a jack of all. He should put his heart, mind, and soul into moving the organization forward. The person should be breathing, eating, and drinking with the thought of making the organization great.

When he does this, his intent is clearly visible to others in the organization. They knowingly or unknowingly start following the founder’s footsteps. Employees often idealize the founder, his behavior, and his intent. Hence, whatever standards he sets for himself, whatever guidelines he follows, and whatever pursuits he demonstrates, the team naturally follows his lead.

Krishna points to role models like King Janaka, who attained perfection not by renunciation, but through responsible action. Great leaders act not merely for personal fulfillment, but for lokasaṅgraha—the welfare and order of society. The actions of exemplary individuals become benchmarks. What leaders practice, the world imitates.

Leadership, therefore, is never private.

Business Insight

In an organization, the founder’s role is unavoidably hands-on at the level of understanding.

A founder may not master every function, but must know enough to connect the dots—strategy, operations, finance, people, customers, and culture. They must put their heart, mind, and soul into moving the organization forward. Entrepreneurship is not a part-time occupation; it becomes the founder’s lived reality.

When a founder truly breathes the business—thinking, speaking, and acting in service of the organization’s growth—the intent becomes visible. And intent is contagious.

Leadership Lesson

Employees consciously and subconsciously model themselves after the founder.

They observe:

• how the founder works,
• what the founder prioritizes,
• how decisions are made,
• how failures are handled,
• how people are treated.

Whatever standard the founder sets—discipline, ethics, urgency, humility, or complacency—becomes the organization’s default behavior. Culture is not written in manuals; it is lived through leadership example.

If the founder is committed, the team aligns. If the founder is distracted, the organization drifts.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership is action, not instruction.
• Founders must understand all functions, even if they don’t execute all.
• Intent, when visible, inspires alignment.
• Teams imitate behavior more than they follow policies.
• Founder habits silently become organizational culture.
• What you pursue becomes what your organization pursues.