UdyamGita

There are three types of employees in an organization. They are driven by one of three reasons: knowledge, motivation, or duty.

Knowledge: They clearly know the goal, the system, the path they should take, and the tasks that need to be done. Their domain knowledge is clear, and hence they focus their mind on the tasks in hand to move ahead on the path of success.

Motivation: Motivation can be internal or external. With internal motivation, they are fascinated by the opportunities and challenges in front of them, and they are aware of the significance of the opportunities ahead. External motivation comes from the benefits they receive for doing good work.

Duty: Some people, irrespective of motivation or knowledge, give their best to the tasks assigned to them because they consider it their duty to work for the benefits they receive from the organization. It is a simple transactional relationship they have with the organization.

The quality of the outcome of each action item depends on three things: who is doing the task, which task is being done, and which tools are being used. The qualification of the person, the task he is supposed to do, and the tool he is using should be aligned. Even if a single factor is mismatched, it can drift away from the planned action.

And based on the knowledge that drives people to do their duties, the action itself and the person performing the action can also be classified into three kinds.

Krishna now introduces the architecture of action itself. Every action begins with an inner trigger and culminates in execution. He breaks this down with precision:

• Three drivers of action: knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the knower
• Three constituents of action: the instrument, the action, and the doer

Then He adds a crucial layer—all three are influenced by the three guṇas. This means action is not just what is done, but who does it, how they understand it, and why they act.

Business Insight

Inside every organization, employees act for three primary reasons:

• 1) Knowledge-driven employees: These individuals have clarity—about the goal, the system, the path, and the tasks. Domain understanding is strong. Because confusion is absent, their mental energy is focused, and execution is precise.
• 2) Motivation-driven employees: Motivation may be:
• Internal: excitement about challenges, growth, and opportunities
• External: rewards, recognition, incentives, or career benefits

They perform well as long as motivation is sustained.

• 3) Duty-driven employees: Regardless of knowledge depth or motivation levels, they deliver because they see work as obligation. The relationship with the organization is largely transactional—effort in exchange for compensation.

All three exist in every organization—and all three produce different qualities of output.

Leadership Lesson

Krishna highlights a leadership truth often ignored:

The quality of any outcome depends on the alignment of three elements:

• Who is doing the task (capability and mindset)
• What task is being done (nature and complexity of action)
• With what tools or systems it is being done (instruments, processes, technology)

Even if two are perfect, a single mismatch can derail execution.

Hence:

• Right person + wrong task = inefficiency
• Right task + wrong tool = frustration
• Right person + right task + right tool = excellence

This is why Krishna emphasizes that knowledge, action, and the doer are each of three kinds. Leaders must diagnose all three, not just demand outcomes.

Key Takeaways

• Action is triggered by knowledge, motivation, or duty
• Employees act from different inner drivers—leaders must recognize this
• Outcome quality depends on person–task–tool alignment
• One misaligned factor can distort the entire action
• Knowledge, action, and the doer must be understood together—not in isolation