Leader should be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is individual and spontaneous and voluntary. Leader should try to always generate some atmosphere of fresh challenge to the people, so that they will agree enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of management: to draw out spontaneous loving spirit of sacrificing some energy for a Higher goal. All of us should become expert managers.

Servant Leaders are leaders who have taken up the responsibility to personally take care of a group of serious candidates for the advancement in devotional service. They are leaders-servants, the concept that is becoming more and more prominent in business sector today. They are facilitators. They recognize talents and potential of the devotees and help them express and engage them. They are friendly and unselfish. They like to see others advance. They like to assist others in becoming servant leaders.

Leaders should never consider themselves as proprietors of those in their charge. Ownership implies that we have a right to do with our property as we will, and it can serve as justification for all kinds of exploitation and abuse. But if we view ourselves as caretakers, coordinators, catalysts or carriers of the vision, and if we treat others in loving, supportive ways, we will not engage in such exploitation.

For only when a ruler has learned to listen closely to the people’s hearts, hearing their feelings uncommunicated, pains unexpressed, and complaints not spoken of, can he hope to inspire confidence in his people, understand when something is wrong, and meet the true needs of his citizens. The demise of states comes when leaders listen only to superficial words and not penetrate deeply into the souls of the people to hear their true opinions, feelings and desires.”

Many believe business ethics is a recent phenomenon because of increased attention to the topic in popular and management literature. However, business ethics was written about even 2,000 years ago — at least since Cicero wrote about the topic in his On Duties. Business ethics has gotten more attention recently because of the social responsibility movement that started in the 1960s.

When defining a value for your company, it’s a good idea to try to describe it in detail. For example, a company may adopt the value “Customer Delight.” That’s the value’s name. The description for the value could be something like: “We recognize that in today’s highly competitive market providing excellent service is not sufficient to satisfy customers and ensure their loyalty. Our goal is to convert the customer’s interaction with our company into a thoroughly and unforgettably enjoyable experience.” You are describing how the value can uplift a company in general, or your company in particular.

The Conscious Manager also presents other exercises, for example, ones that help readers not to overreact to things that happen every day, things that are not worth getting twisted up about. Both kinds of exercises help us find out what really matters to us, so we can pursue that effectively and without distraction. The book features vignettes in business settings that illustrate the value of this approach for managers.