Goswami Tulsidas kept the fire and changed its direction: a lesson for every pivot

From Rambola to the ghats of Varanasi

Across North India, village Ramlilas and the Ramlila of Ramnagar in Varanasi stage episodes from a single book. The book is the Ramcharitmanas of Goswami Tulsidas, and its presence on those stages since the late 16th century is the clearest evidence of what its author achieved. He took the story of Rama out of Sanskrit and gave it to everyone.

His beginnings are uncertain. He was born in the early-to-mid 16th century, traditionally in 1497, though many scholars, Britannica among them, prefer about 1543 and Hindupedia gives 1532. His birthplace was probably Rajapur, in today's Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh, and his parents are named as Atmaram Dube and Hulsi. Tradition says he was born with teeth and named Rambola. Devotees recount that, left without family care as a child, he was taken in by a sadhu, Narharidas, who by the traditional account stood in the line of Swami Ramananda. Narharidas taught him the Ramayana and gave him the name Tulsidas. He studied Sanskrit and scripture, reportedly at Kashi.

Tradition names his wife as Ratnavali and says that their infant son, Tarak, died. Devotees recount that a rebuke from Ratnavali turned him to renunciation, and that he then lived for years as a wandering devotee. Tradition holds that Hanuman guided him, and devotees recount that Rama came to him at Chitrakoot while he was grinding sandalwood paste, and that he did not at first recognise him. These accounts come from later hagiography and are told here as devotees tell them.

By most accounts he began the Ramcharitmanas on Ram Navami in 1574, or 1575 by another reckoning, in Ayodhya, and completed it about two years, seven months and twenty-six days later, largely in Varanasi. He settled in Varanasi, wrote the Vinay Patrika, the Kavitavali, the Gitavali, the Dohavali and other works, and founded the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. The Hanuman Chalisa is traditionally attributed to him. He died at Assi Ghat, Varanasi, in 1623.

Doing good as the measure of everything

Tulsidas's devotion has many strands, and one line from the Uttar Kand of the Ramcharitmanas gathers them into a test that any decision-maker can apply.

No dharma equals doing good to others; no sin equals causing them pain.

Goswami Tulsidas, Ramcharitmanas, Uttar Kand 41.1 (Gita Press numbering); English rendering prepared for this series

The couplet works in both directions, which is what makes it useful. It sets a ceiling and a floor. Doing good to others, parahit, is the highest duty, and causing harm is the lowest act. A leader who adopts it has a question to ask of every option: who does this serve, and whom could it hurt?

The line sits inside a wider vision. In the Bal Kand, Tulsidas writes that, knowing the whole world to be filled with Sita and Rama, he bows to all with folded hands. Every person, in that view, deserves respect as a dwelling of the divine. His long prayer, the Vinay Patrika, adds humility: the devotee comes to God as a servant. And at the centre of his practice is the Name of Rama, which he held to be the simplest and surest path for ordinary people.

The last strand is language. Tulsidas wrote the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi, the speech of ordinary people, so that devotion would reach everyone and not stay with Sanskrit scholars. He says in the opening verses that he tells Raghunath's story for his own heart's joy. That private joy became a public one because it reached people in words they already spoke.

Ratnavali's sentence

Devotees recount that young Tulsidas could not bear to be apart from his wife Ratnavali, and when she went to her father's house he followed her there. She told him that if he loved Rama as he loved this body of bone and skin, he would be free. He left home that day.

Most retellings treat the story as a renunciation, and it is one. Read with a leader's eye, it is also a story about energy. Ratnavali did not tell her husband to love less. She told him to point the same love somewhere else. The force that had sent him chasing after her, unable to bear a separation of days, is the same force that later held him to a single book for more than two and a half years.

That is the turn at the heart of this chapter. Tulsidas kept the intensity and changed its object, and the work that resulted, written in Awadhi so ordinary people could hear it, has been staged in Ramlilas across North India since the late 16th century.

Two details matter for leaders. The wake-up came from someone close, in plain words. And it began a long redirection: years of wandering, then years of writing, then a life of work in Varanasi. A pivot that ends on the day of the decision has not yet begun.

Thirty-nine per cent of skills, and the question of direction

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 says that workers can expect two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets to be transformed or become outdated over the 2025–2030 period. The same report expects the creation of 170 million jobs and the displacement of 92 million by 2030, a net increase of 78 million. Careers and companies are being pushed to change direction whether they planned to or not.

The Tulsidas question is where the energy goes. Acemoglu and Restrepo, writing in the Journal of Economic Perspectives in 2019, argue that automation "always reduces the labor share in value added and may reduce labor demand even as it raises productivity", while the creation of new tasks "always raises the labor share and labor demand." Erik Brynjolfsson warns of a "Turing Trap": an excessive focus on AI that imitates and automates human work, at the expense of AI that augments what people can do.

Both arguments describe a choice of direction for the same force. A company can point its new capability at removing people, or at new work that serves customers and staff better. Ratnavali's sentence applies with uncomfortable precision. The passion that a team has for its old work need not be crushed when that work is automated. It can be turned towards something that does more good.

A leader who redirects talent towards new tasks that serve others, and tests each option for who it helps and whom it harms, is making the Tulsidas pivot. A leader who simply cuts has kept neither the fire nor the people who carried it.

The WCRC PurposeTurn Model

Created by Abhimanyu Ghosh · A proprietary model of Abhimanyu Ghosh and WCRC

WCRC calls this the PurposeTurn Model. Its anchor is the Uttar Kand line that no dharma equals doing good to others, and its story is the redirection that devotees say began with Ratnavali's words. The model treats a wake-up moment as the start of a turn: the leader keeps the full force of their passion and points it at serving others. Service becomes the test of every choice in the pivot, the redirected energy goes into one work built to last, and that work is made in the language of the people it serves. The flow in the diagram runs from raw passion through the wake-up moment to purpose, lasting work and reach to all, with one note beneath it: the same energy, in a new direction.

The PurposeTurn Model treats a wake-up moment as the start of a redirection: the leader keeps the full force of their passion and points it at serving others. Service to others becomes the test of every choice in the pivot, the energy goes into building one work that lasts, and that work is made in the language of the people it serves.

The building blocks

1. 01The wake-up moment

   Recognise the moment that shows the old direction cannot hold, often in words someone close has the courage to say.

   In practiceAfter a shock or a hard piece of honest feedback, the CEO writes down what it revealed before deciding anything.

2. 02Redirect the passion

   Keep the energy and change its object; suppressing it wastes the very force the pivot needs.

   In practiceLeaders map what their teams care about most and point that energy at the new problem instead of shutting it down.

3. 03Service of othersParahit

   Doing good to others is the highest duty and the test of the new direction; causing harm is the lowest act.

   In practiceEvery pivot option is assessed first on who it serves and who it could hurt.

4. 04Build the lasting work

   Pour the redirected energy into one durable work, as the Ramcharitmanas took more than two years of steady effort.

   In practiceThe company commits multi-year resources to one flagship and protects it from quarterly cuts.

5. 05Speak to everyone

   Make the work in the language of the people it serves, as Tulsidas chose Awadhi over Sanskrit.

   In practiceThe pivot is explained to customers and frontline staff in their own languages, including regional languages where relevant.

After the wake-up call: what a CEO decides first

The model's first discipline for a CEO is restraint. After a shock or a hard piece of honest feedback, write down what it revealed before deciding anything. The point is to separate a real signal from ordinary criticism. The model's first failure mode is pivoting on impulse, treating every complaint as a Ratnavali moment, and a CEO who changes direction every quarter teaches the organisation to wait each one out.

The second discipline is gratitude to the messenger. Ratnavali spoke plainly to someone she loved. In a company, the person who tells the CEO that the current direction cannot hold is usually taking a career risk. Thank them, ask what else you are missing and keep them close through the change. Few acts tell an organisation more clearly whether honesty is welcome.

The third discipline is the parahit test. Every option in a pivot should be assessed first on who it serves and whom it could harm, with the answer written beside the financial case. Options whose main effect is harm should be dropped however attractive the numbers. Tulsidas's couplet does not let a leader count only the upside.

The blind spot is the old passion itself. Leaders in the middle of a pivot often treat the people who loved the previous direction as obstacles. Those people hold the energy the new direction needs. Meet them, learn what they care about most and give them real parts in the new mission. Suppressing their passion wastes it, and the model's second failure mode describes what happens next: the people who carried it leave.

Founders who change direction and keep the team

Founders often pivot, and many pivot under pressure: the market was smaller than the deck said, the product solved the wrong problem, the money is running out. The moment usually arrives as a sentence from someone close, a co-founder, an early customer, a blunt investor. The PurposeTurn Model asks founders to treat that sentence as Tulsidas treated Ratnavali's, as information about where the energy should go.

A founder can test the wake-up signal with customers before acting on it. Then comes the harder work of carrying the team's existing enthusiasm into the new direction, person by person. An engineer who loved building the old product is likely to love building the new one if they can see why it matters and who it helps. The founder's job is to show them.

The flagship component matters more for startups than it first appears. Tulsidas spent more than two and a half years on one book. A pivoting startup is tempted to chase each quarter's trend, and the model asks it instead to commit to one product for several years and protect it. A company that pivots and then keeps pivoting has found a new habit, and not yet a new direction.

Flagships, budgets and the language of the people

In a large company, the PurposeTurn Model lives or dies in the budget process. Multi-year flagship work is the easiest line to cut when a quarter goes badly, and a pivot whose flagship is cut in its second year has not happened. The model asks boards to approve multi-year funding for one flagship and to confirm every quarter that it is still intact.

Boards should also insist that service is more than a slogan, the model's third failure mode. Gartenberg, Prat and Serafeim, writing in Organization Science in 2019, found from employee survey data that firms whose employees perceive both a strong sense of purpose and high clarity from management showed higher subsequent financial performance. Purpose in that finding is something employees perceive, and they perceive it in what management funds, protects and explains.

Language is where large companies most often fail the Tulsidas test. A pivot explained only in the language of the headquarters and the investor call reaches a fraction of the people who must carry it. Tulsidas chose Awadhi over Sanskrit so that his work would reach everyone. A company with plants, branches and customers across India's languages can explain its change of direction in each of them, and the model asks boards to review that reach every year.

Finally, the benefit-and-harm review belongs in board papers. When a company changes direction, investors and the public deserve to know whom the pivot serves and what it costs. A board that requires that statement in every major decision has written parahit into its governance.

The business model

Inside a company, the PurposeTurn Model runs as a disciplined redirection. The inputs are an honest signal that the old path is failing, the energy and skills already in the team, and a clear view of who is served. Four practices follow: options are assessed on benefit and harm, passionate teams are pointed at the new mission, one multi-year flagship is funded and protected, and the change is explained in stakeholders' own languages. The operating model below shows how those practices produce a pivot that keeps its talent, a flagship product or institution and messages understood across regions, and how they add up over time to growth on a durable purpose and lower attrition through change.

The benefit model

A well-made turn benefits everyone it touches. The leader can change direction without losing the drive and identity that built the company. Employees keep their passion and skills and see them put to a purpose worth the effort, while customers are served by work built around their needs and explained in words they understand. Investors can judge the new direction against a lasting body of work. Society gains a company whose energy moves towards doing good and reaches people beyond elite audiences. The benefit model below sets out each group.

How to implement the WCRC PurposeTurn Model

If you are the founder or CEO

1. 1

   Write down the wake-up

   In the first week after a shock or honest feedback, write down what it revealed before deciding anything. Separate a real signal from ordinary criticism so you do not pivot on impulse.

2. 2

   Thank the honest voice

   Thank the person who had the courage to say it and ask them what else you are missing. Keep them close through the change.

3. 3

   Ask who it serves

   Assess each pivot option first on who it serves and who it could harm, and write the answer down alongside the financial case. Drop options whose main effect is harm, however attractive.

4. 4

   Point passion at the mission

   Meet the people who carried the old direction, learn what they care about most and give them a part in the new mission. Founders can do this person by person; CEOs of large firms should do it with business heads.

5. 5

   Protect the flagship work

   Commit to one multi-year flagship and defend its funding yourself at every budget cycle. Explain the change to customers and frontline staff in their own languages.

Rolling it out across the company

The execution roadmap

Four phases, each closed by a gate. Do not move on until the gate is met.

1. Days 0–30

   Phase 1 · Diagnose and commit

   Test whether the wake-up signal is real before committing to a pivot.

   • The CEO writes down what the shock or honest feedback revealed before deciding anything (The wake-up moment).
   • The CEO office and strategy team test the signal against evidence and separate it from ordinary criticism.
   • Map what teams care about most and who carries that passion (Redirect the passion).
   • List pivot options and assess each first on who it serves and who it could hurt (Parahit).

   Deliverable

   A written wake-up assessment and a benefit-and-harm review of each pivot option.

   Gate to proceed

   Baseline recorded for every KPI, the wake-up signal tested against evidence and not a single criticism, and every pivot option has a written benefit-and-harm review.

2. Days 31–90

   Phase 2 · Pilot and prove

   Prove that a team's existing passion can be redirected to the new problem without losing its people.

   • Pilot the pivot with one team that cares deeply about the old work.
   • Point that team's energy at the new problem instead of shutting it down, with its leaders shaping how.
   • Track who stays engaged, who drifts and who leaves.
   • Explain the pivot to the pilot's customers and frontline staff in their own languages (Speak to everyone).

   Deliverable

   A pilot report on talent retained and early evidence of service to the people the pivot is meant for.

   Gate to proceed

   The pilot team's key people are still in the work, the pivot has been explained in every language its customers and staff use, and the harm review has been updated with what the pilot learned.

3. Days 91–180

   Phase 3 · Embed and scale

   Commit lasting resources to one flagship and make benefit-and-harm review standard.

   • Commit multi-year resources to one flagship and protect it from quarterly cuts (Build the lasting work).
   • Make a benefit-and-harm review a standing step for every major pivot decision.
   • Train managers to redirect their teams' energy instead of suppressing it.
   • Extend explanation of the pivot to every language group among customers and staff.

   Deliverable

   A board-approved multi-year flagship commitment and a standing benefit-and-harm review step.

   Gate to proceed

   The flagship has a multi-year commitment approved by the board, and every major pivot decision in the period went through a benefit-and-harm review.

4. Month 7 onwards

   Phase 4 · Sustain and renew

   Keep the flagship alive and the purpose honest over the years.

   • Protect the flagship's funding in each budget round.
   • Track retention of the people who carried the old passion.
   • Gather evidence each year of service to the people the flagship was built for.
   • Test any new wake-up signal with the same rigour before starting another pivot.

   Deliverable

   An annual purpose and flagship review to the board.

   Gate to proceed

   The flagship has kept its funding through every budget round, and its service to the people it was built for can be shown with evidence.

Implementation risks and how to handle them

By stage of company

Habits to start this quarter

1. 1

   Name your Ratnavali

   Identify the one person in your working life who will tell you an uncomfortable truth to your face. Once this quarter, ask them a single question: what am I holding on to that no longer serves anyone? Write down the answer before you respond.

2. 2

   Keep a harm ledger

   Each Friday, write one line about a decision you made that week that could cause pain to someone, and what you did to reduce it. Review the ledger at the end of the quarter for patterns.

3. 3

   Protect two hours for one long work

   Set aside two hours a week for a piece of work that will take more than a year to finish, whether a capability, a mentoring relationship or a body of writing. Treat the hours as fixed, as Tulsidas treated his book.

4. 4

   Hear your company in another language

   This quarter, sit in on a team meeting or customer conversation held in a language other than the one you use at the head office, with an interpreter if needed. Note what your last strategy message sounded like by the time it reached that room.

5. 5

   Greet the whole room

   Tulsidas bowed to all as dwellings of the divine. In practical terms, for one month, greet every person in a meeting room by name, including the people serving tea and running the projector, before the agenda starts.

What to measure

Where the model goes wrong

• !Pivoting on impulse, treating every criticism as a wake-up moment.
• !Suppressing the old passion instead of redirecting it, and losing the people who carried it.
• !Service becomes a slogan with no lasting work behind it.

Same energy, a different object

WCRC's view is that Goswami Tulsidas offers leaders the most practical account of change in this series. He did not become a different person after Ratnavali spoke. He remained someone capable of overwhelming attachment, and he attached himself to work that served others. Companies facing the AI transition have the same choice about the energy of their people: crush it, waste it or turn it.

A book written for his own heart's joy, in the language of the street, is still staged in Ramlilas more than four hundred years later. Keep the fire. Change what it warms.