Corporate Chakravyuh

One fine morning Arjuna was chewing datun, thinking that if he had slightly adjusted the angle of the last arrow he shot yesterday, it would have hit Duryodhana's nose, and he would've been pranked. A smile appeared on his face as he pondered. Just as he was savouring the taste of the neem datun, a sudden message popped up on WhatsApp: "A Chakravyuh has been formed today. Stand-up meeting in fifteen minutes. Join online."

Arjuna exclaimed, "Oh, come on, not now." He tossed the datun aside; there was no time to clean his teeth. He hurriedly got online; the meeting was already in progress.

The manager said, "Chakravyuh is not a big deal. We've seen many of those. Arjuna, give us an overview of Chakravyuh in fifteen minutes. I want everyone to participate and show some teamwork."

Arjuna replied, "I know how to break a Chakravyuh, let me handle it."

The manager retorted, "You are too eager to get promotion and lead. Have patience, I'm talking to upper management, and I'll let you know what happens."

Arjuna retorted, "I'm not asking for a position. I'm saying let me do the work that I'm good at."

The manager scolded, "That's why you haven't become a leader yet. A leader is someone who grooms his juniors. If you know something, let others learn it. Be a mentor."

"But this isn't training time, it's an incident time."

"Do one thing, follow Susharma from Gurugram and report back to me. I'll handle the Chakravyuh. I know how to do it too."

"But..."

"Just do as I say."

"I'm thinking of taking sick leave instead."

"I'm giving you a chance to do something big. You're stuck on the Chakravyuh! Cowards take sick leave at such crucial moments. Susharma is leading Trigart operations. Go after him!"

"Listen, at least..."

"First, tell me, how did you come to the meeting in a vest and shorts? And you even left your video on."

Apologizing, Arjuna quietly left.

The manager called Guru Dronacharya, "Gurujee, what Ghitorni have you created today? What kind of chaos is this?"

"It's not chaos, it's a Chakravyuh. Understand, there's a problem in the program life cycle. Send your best resource! This is a very difficult task."

"You could have at least given me an idea, so I could prepare for it! Is this in our Scope of War?"

"Where was your attention when the SOW was being signed? Now send your best resource, otherwise accept defeat!"

The manager called another meeting, "Look, Arjuna has gone to Arjangarh to collaborate with a crucial customer. Who will go into the Chakravyuh?"

Nakul said, "You just said you will do it!"

"Yes, but I want to give you all a chance to prove yourselves. Leaders are made in such situations. Tell me, who will go?"

Sahdev said, "I can do it, but I don't know what to do. If I don't know what to do, what will I do when I get there?"

"Everyone has so much experience, everyone is an expert. Go prove yourself. I am here to support you. Let me know what you need."

Intern Abhimanyu enters the scene. "What's the discussion about?"

"Nothing, we need to break a Chakravyuh! We're thinking of sending someone. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"I learned this in boot camp training. Should I go?"

"You're a fresher, but if you want, you can go. Capitalize on the opportunity. We like people who come forward in tough situations."

"What is required?"

"That you have to find out."

"Who can help?"

"We don't know at the moment."

"What do we know?"

"We know only what you know."

"Do you know what I know?"

"We know exactly the same thing that you know."

"I know that you don't know what I know."

"Don't make jalebis, just tell us if you'll go or not?"

"I'll go, but I don't know how to get out once I'm in."

"Entering is important, Abhimanyu. Getting out is easy, just return the way you get in!"

"Can I escalate if needed?"

"The rest of the seniors will be on call. Our calendars are booked for the entire day; otherwise, we could have handled."

In this way, the intern Abhimanyu was sent alone into the client's Chakravyuh. The outcome was the same as expected. After a fierce escalation, Abhimanyu was terminated. All the senior resources were busy in a meeting with Jayadratha. The next day, when the situation worsened, Arjuna said, "I will resolve it by the end of the day, otherwise I'll resign." Then Arjuna engaged in intense troubleshooting.

The root cause of the issue turned out to be Jayadratha, who had been hiding. In the end, just as Arjuna was about to send a resignation email, he identified the root cause and fixed the issue.

The moral of the story is, there is Arjun who knows; there are Nakuls and Sahdevs, nobody knows what they know and what they do, but they are there as important pillars. Then there are interns with confidence surplus and knowledge deficit. Ready to jump in everything. Finally, there is a boss, and you know what he does.