In the competitive landscape of modern business, a critical flaw is emerging from the very institutions designed to train future leaders: India's management schools. While they excel at teaching operational efficiency, they are failing to cultivate the creative imagination necessary for genuine growth and innovation.
The Two Lungs of Business
Every successful enterprise operates like a living organism, breathing through two distinct but equally vital lungs. The first lung is dedicated to growth and imagination. It involves a deep understanding of society, market dynamics, cultural shifts, and fundamental human desires to create something novel and needed.
The second lung is all about efficiency and discipline. Once a new idea is born, this aspect ensures it runs smoothly, minimizing resource leaks and maximizing returns. The modern entrepreneur must be a master juggler, balancing the artist with the accountant, the dreamer with the doer.
The B-School Imbalance
However, a closer look at the curriculum of our management institutes reveals a significant imbalance. As noted by Partha Sinha on November 28, 2025, these temples of modern business have constructed elaborate cathedrals dedicated solely to the science of efficiency. Meanwhile, the art of imagination has been relegated to a small, forgotten shrine in the corner.
The core management curriculum is overwhelmingly focused on process discipline, metrics, and optimization. It produces graduates who can streamline operations but often lack the capability to envision the groundbreaking products or services that require streamlining in the first place.
The Consequences for Modern Business
This educational gap has direct consequences. Today's business environment does not just need managers; it needs leaders who are equally at home with both structured process and creative disorder. Companies require individuals who can not only manage the existing machinery but also invent the next machine altogether.
The overemphasis on efficiency at the cost of imagination creates a generation of professionals adept at maintaining the status quo but ill-equipped to challenge it. In a world driven by disruption, this is a significant strategic disadvantage.
The call is clear for a pedagogical shift. Business schools must evolve to build grand cathedrals for creativity alongside their halls of efficiency, fostering managers who are as comfortable with ambiguity and innovation as they are with spreadsheets and SOPs.
