With more than half a century of work experience, Prof. N. Balasubramanian embodies a unique blend of exposure to the industry and academia. For three and a half decades, he served companies like Imperial Chemical Industries, Britannia and Wipro at senior levels. He then switched to academia and currently teaches at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He was a professor at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
A non-practising chartered accountant with a PhD in business finance, and a deep interest in Indian scriptures and heritage, Prof. Balasubramanian has been on the statutory and advisory boards of listed companies as well as early-to-mid-term start-ups. He also serves on the editorial and advisory boards of some Indian and international scholarly journals. Prof. Balasubramanian lives with his family in Thane, near Mumbai. This is his eighth book.
Contemporary dilemmas, whether in business or politics, bear an uncanny resemblance to the predicaments witnessed in the ever-timely epic, the Mahabharata. Who else but Bhishma Pitamah then to the rescue of the modern-day manager, politician or bureaucrat! In the epic, Bhishma is the upholder of truth and dharma, his life shaped by the difficult choices he makes. He isn't always infallible, but even where his decisions are questionable, he serves as a role model.
Prof. N. Balasubramanian uses this powerful figure and his selfless values as a guide to make the right choices in The Bhishma Way. He discusses the importance of values, dharma, truth, justice and governance in businesses and governments. Analyses of real-life cases -- among them, Union Carbide and the Bhopal gas tragedy, James Hardie and asbestos in Australia, and Ok Tedi in Papua New Guinea -- complement the mythological stories and insightful anecdotes in this illuminating and thought-provoking book. This serves as an instructive read for anyone striving for a higher moral code in day-to-day decision-making and leadership.
