My Turn to be Interviewed: Podcast with Rajeev Suri
At the India Digital Summit in New Delhi, organized by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India), I was introduced to a very interesting person. The person had an infectious smile, overdose of positivity and a boisterous laugh. Say hello to Rajeev Suri, a Senior VP with Reliance Group and who has had leadership roles at Infosys, Colgate-Palmolive and Cafe Coffee Day. More about at his Linkedin profile.
Rajeev and I share a common passion. Podcasting and interviewing leaders. I pulled him aside to get him on my show but he laid a condition that I should appear on his show too. The deal was stuck. Here is the video of our conversation where Rajeev asks me some very interesting questions. My part of the deal is due soon.
You can watch more of Rajeev’s podcasts here.
A Lesson in Forgiveness
Today, I learnt an important lesson.
I was helping organize a fairly large event to showcase India’s best Social Entrepreneurs. I was entasked with selecting ten speakers to showcase their stories. The audience were city’s biggest CEOs and business leaders and an exposure to them would make a world of difference.
There was one entrepreneur who we had short-listed but unfortunately we could not accommodate in the Top 10. An opportunity to present her story to such an influential audience does not come often and her enthusiasm was understandable.
At one point, we even extended a tentative invite to her but due to plans on having diversity of topics, we could not take her in as a confirmed speaker. Since I was busy with the event, I completely missed communicating this to her.
With two days to go for the event, she must have sensed it. She called me and the first thing she said was not to worry. She said she understood the travails of an organizer and that it happens to all of us. She took great effort to make sure I wasn’t feeling guilty.
If I was in her shoes I would have been disappointed and definitely harboured some ill-will. By forgiving and empathizing, it really showed her maturity. She put me in ease… and in doing so made sure I will never forget her !
A Recruitment Lesson I Learned from a Bakery Owner
Right opposite my home is a bakery I frequent. It’s run by a guy who earlier used to run a TV repair shop. The TV repair business wasn’t doing well and he shifted his profession.
What has screw drivers got to do with cakes? Nothing.
One evening, while munching an egg puff, I asked him about his knowledge of baking. He replied he knew nothing but was confident of his business skills. He recruited a very talented baker (“master’ as they are usually called) who did all the hard work of baking while the owner took care of the business side of things.
I asked him what would happen to his business if the baker fell ill and did not turn up for work or had to go home for an important festival. His answer not only surprised me but drove home a very important lesson that we should all learn.
He said that in the baking community, it is commons practice that if a “master” had to go on leave, then it is their duty to find another “Master” and fill his place until he returns. This is a practice that is special to this set of people. The bakers form a community code and help each other.
I learnt a valuable lesson. If a bakery does this, why not in our firm? We now have applied this principle in our office. Should someone be absent, then its their duty to make sure that someone, either within the company or outside, handle the task. If anyone quits the job, then its their duty to get a proper replacement during their notice period.
Amazing what a bakery can teach you in life!
Learning is Important. Ego isn’t. A Real Life Incident.
At a Social Media workshop that I recently conducted, a participant approached me during the tea break. We started to discuss about case studies that I had taught. She then broached a question that stumped me for a second. She asked, “Would it be OK if I interned at your Social Media firm.” And she hastened to add, “By the way, you don’t have to pay me”.
If this question had come from a college student, I would not have blinked an eyelid. This was from a person who was branch head of a large Advertising agency. She currently holds a senior position at a major English Newspaper. A person with decades of work experience.
She said that she was very well versed with traditional media but was very new in the digital space and was determined to learn the ropes.
Her attitude impressed me. Most people with her seniority and years of experience (including me) would cringe at the thought of asking for an unpaid internship in another form. She didn’t let her ego come in the way of learning and for that alone, she deserves credit.
It reminded me of Richard Branson’s words in his book, ‘Screw it…Let’s Do it’. He says…
“If you don’t have the right experience to reach your goal, look for another way in. If you want to fly, get down to the airfield and make tea. Keep your eyes open. Look and learn. You don’t have to go to art school to be a fashion designer. Join a fashion company and push a broom. Work your way up”
This is a powerful lesson that we should all learn from the lady. Learning is important. Ego isn’t.
Yup, I did say yes to her and look forward to working together.
Moderating Panel Discussions on Passionate Leadership at India Leadership Summit 2012.
While I speak at many events and conferences, there are a few that I truly look forward to. The India Leadership Summit 2012 is one such event. The line up of speakers is truly amazing. Dr.Kiran Bedi (Magsaysay Award Winner, Core Member of Anna Hazare Team), Dr.Satinath Sarangi (Leader fighting for Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims), Phanindra Sama (Founder, RedBus.in), Sharad Sharma (Director, Movico Technologies and Ex-CEO of Yahoo! R&D ) to name a few. Some of my good friends like Rashmi Bansal (Best-selling Author), Vijay Anand (Founder, The Startup Centre), Purushotaman (Director-South, NASSCOM) are also there and look forward to catching up with them.
The event takes place at Sree Shakti Institute of Engineering and Technology in Coimbatore on 3rd March, 2012.
I was invited to moderate two panel discussions. The first is on “Passionate Leadership – The Story of Amazing Ascent by Fellow Indians” which features the following 3 inspiring individuals. Scroll down for info on next panel.
Panel Discussion # 1
Muruganatham, Inventor of Low Cost Sanitary Napkin Machine
Mr.Muruganantham has made a powerful impact with his invention of low cost sanitary napkin making machine which won him the ‘Best Innovation National Award’ from the President of India.
He will speak on the personal journey of making the Sanitary Napking making machine. Also about Surviving versus Achieving.
Rajesh Bhat, CNN IBN Real Hero Award Winner, Rural BPO Entrepreneur
Rajesh Bhat, who is just 27 years of age, runs The Head Held High Foundation, which is turning illiterate villagers into BPO employees. “Our intention is to enable every villager, irrespective of whatever the background, caste, creed, religion to live a life of dignity with their head held high and give them an opportunity without charity,” Rajesh said. More about him here.
Rajesh Bhat will speak on his ‘Head held high movement’. What it meant to him when he won the CNN IBN Real Hero Award.
Babar Ali, World’s Youngest School Headmaster
Babar Ali is an Indian student and teacher from Murshidabad in West Bengal. He was called the “youngest headmaster in the world” by BBC in October 2009, at the age of sixteen.
Babar Ali is still a student himself, enrolled at the government-run Raj Govinda school in Berhampore, West Bengal.In the afternoons, starting at 4:00 p.m., he in turn teaches students in a school he founded in his parents´ back yard in Murshidabad. He had begun teaching at nine years of age, mostly as a game, and then decided to continue teaching other children at a larger scale.
Babar Ali will speak on the story of the hsi school, what inspired him to start the school , its challenges, and its success. He will also show a video presentation of his school.
Panel Discussion # 2
The second panel discussion that I will moderate is on the subject of “Passionate Leadership – The Story of Winning the Indian Turbulence” which has these two amazing individuals.
Anousheh Ansari, First Female Private Space Explorer
On September 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari captured headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. She also earned a place in history as the fourth private explorer to visit space and the first astronaut of Iranian descent. She blasted off for an eight-day expedition aboard the International Space Station as part of the Expedition 14 crew of the Soyuz TMA-9. This was the accomplishment of a lifelong dream for her. More about her here.
Anousheh Ansari will speak on The power of hope and imagination. Her experience of realizing a childhood dream of travelling to space. Stories of contributions to Space Exploration from Indians […this will act to motivate the young Indian engineers to consider space exploration as a career. ]
Madhan Karky, Computer Science Professor and Lyrics Engineer
Madhan Karky Vairamuthu is a lyricist, research associate, software engineer, and film dialogue writer. He is the son of poet and lyricist Vairamuthu. He is fast moving out of his father’s shadow by becoming an innovative lyricist. He has penned lyrics for songs in movies such as Ko, 180, Endhiran, Nanban, 7am Arivu etc. More about him here.
Madhan Karky will speak on his self-made breakthrough to the world of Movies. […the story of convincing Director Shankar to give an opportunity in Enthiran]. His tryst with Lyrics Engineering [..with atleast 2 examples of songs made through Lyric engineering]. And how he has been influenced by his famous father “Kaviperarasu” Vairamuthu.
This Week’s Guest Speaker at Entrepreneurship Class : Geoffrey G Thomas on Radio Industry
I’ve taken charge of the course ‘Entrepreneurship and Media Management’ at Anna University’s Dept of Media Studies. As part of the course, I rope in experienced professionals to give guest lectures to the final year students.
For this week, I’m roping in Geoffrey G Thomas, a veteran in the Radio business and a guy who defies his age with his enthusiasm and youthfulness.
Geoff has been in the radio industry for over 15 years. He started off as an on air presenter in 1995 on Times FM ( Now Radio Mirchi). In 1999, he was unanimously voted as the best on air presenter by a leading english newspaper.
From year 2000 to 2009, he was with Radio Indigo in Bangalore, where he set up the country’s first all English private FM radio station. Responsible for both Bangalore and Goa, he was the National Programming Director during that period.
Later, he moved backed to Chennai and took charge as the Chief Programming Officer at Chennai Live 104.8 FM. He was here for two years from April 2009 to April 2011.
Geoff is now an entrepreneur and is in the process of setting up his own venture called Amaranta Entertainment.
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