Loyalty.....

The great example of loyalty is in our epic Mahabharata, personified by the character of King Karna. Though he was the eldest brother of Pandavas by birth, unfortunately he was shunned as a person of low caste. Through friendship with Duryodhana, eldest of Kaurava brothers, he could regain his social status from charioteer to king of Anga. Karna stayed loyal to Duryodhana till the very end though he was tempted by Lord Krishna to switch sides, and sacrificed his life in the great battlefield fighting for Kauravas.

Loyalty thus defined as the behavior of someone who does not mind to refuse a better option being offered at some point in time and stay on. It is definitely a quality that is the most sought after one, in our business world and who does not want loyal customers, loyal employees, and loyal followers? Believe everyone.

Business spends enough energy and money to retain loyal customers. And at the same time, we need to understand that the customers who are loyal to our brands or products or services are not so because of our low price or perceived quality. It is the relationship that gives personal comfort to the customer and avoids possibility of switching.

Is the loyalty a sustainable one or a transient one? The real answer is that it is a transient one as the personal comfort level depends highly on the people relationship.

The same logic also applies to the employees. People work for people rather than the organization. It depends on the quality of relationship in terms of human touch, fairness and transparency that is being fostered by the leaders and people continue to stay on without switching.

In order to succeed in business, leaders need to create an organization culture that makes people loyal to continue. As the quote from Napoleon Hill says, “ Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.”

But at the same time, leaders should take note of the fact that loyalty should not be confused with mediocrity and also should not be equated with other attributes like obedience and faithfulness.