Vivek Gambhir is a Venture Partner with Lightspeed. He’s also the Chairperson of the Board of boAT Lifestyle. He serves on the board of a number of firms such as Honasa Consumer Limited and Magic Pin. His career has spanned leadership roles with firms such as Godrej Consumer Products and Bain & Co. Vivek also runs the weekly blog Monday 8am which has over 20k subscribers. Sunder Ramachandran brings 20 yrs of experience across healthcare, financial services, and technology, including a...

Jay Van Bavel is a Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business, Director of the NYU Center for Conflict & Cooperation. He is co-author of the award-winning book "THE POWER OF US", and an award-winning teacher and public speaker.  In this wide-ranging conversation, Prof Jay and Subbu discuss a new way to think about our identities, how bias, prejudice and discrimination work, how to dissent well, and a whole lot...

Pramath Raj Sinha wears many hats – he is a serial entrepreneur, having founded organizations like Harappa, 9.9 group, Vedica Scholars Program for Women, and is President at UpGrad. He is an institution builder – he was the Founding Dean of ISB and is the Founder and Trustee of Ashoka University.  In this episode, Subbu and Pramath discuss the importance of mentorship, the value of education, how careers are transforming today, and how founders can build distinctive workplace cultures. Key...

Jimbo Clark works across APAC with individuals, teams and organizations on achieving transformational change. He excels at meaningfully facilitating activities, games and simulations to bring new awareness of possibilities and clear actions for future improvements. In this episode, Jim and Subbu talk about what it takes to enable meaningful change for people, and how this can be transformative for not just individuals, but also teams and organizations. Key topics: Why Jimbo Clark decided...

Biju is the Chief Evangelist at Fractal Analytics and Chairman at Final Mile Consulting. Biju and his colleagues have utilized Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavioral Economics and Design to develop a new research technique called Ethnolab and the communication practice of Non-Conscious Design. Key topics covered in this conversation Biju's career spanning advertising to entrepreneurshipChallenges with positively impact human behaviorThe power of the non-consciousLearning from...

Andrew Barnes is an innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is also the pioneer of the 4-day work week movement. His organization, Perpetual Guardian, piloted the very first version of the 4-day week many years ago, and Andrew wrote a whole book about it. In this conversation, we learn about how Andrew came up with the 4-day week idea on a long haul flight, why we are all collectively time poor, how to setup a 4-day week trial, and a whole lot more. Key topics Highlights from...

Aarti Kelshikar is a specialist in human capital development, an intercultural coach, an executive coach, a facilitator and an author. She has written two books on the converging themes of leadership and cultural effectiveness. Her latest book is - How Women Work: Fitting In and Standing Out in Asia.  In this episode, we discuss insights from Aarti’s research and writing. The first part of the conversation unravels the complex corporate cultures we operate in, and the second half of the...

Abhijit Bhaduri is a talent management advisor to firms. He is among the ten most sought after brand evangelists and is a coach and mentor to leaders in different stages of their careers. He is rated among the top ten learning experts globally and is a LinkedIn Top Voice. Abhijit's weekly newsletter has more than 300,000 subscribers and is a powerful voice shaping the profession.  In this conversation, Subbu and Abhijit discuss career archetypes, why we may be at an inflection point when it...

Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Columbia University and is the author of the book You Have More Influence Than You Think. Her research focuses broadly on social influence and the psychology of compliance and consent. In this episode, Subbu and Prof Bohns discuss what we typically tend to get wrong about our ability to influence others, why assertiveness as a skill may be overrated,...

Krish Shankar is an industry veteran. He received his postgraduate diploma in HR from the prestigious XLRI way back in 1984. Since then, Krish has led the Human Resources function at firms such as Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Philips and Infosys. Krish is also the author of the book Catalyse – Power Up Your People Ecosystem. In this conversation Subbu and Krish discuss key learnings from Krish’s career over the last 40 years, the megatrends driving the future of work, and how leaders can...

Aparna Piramal Raje has worn a variety of hats including that of a business leader, journalist, author, educator and public speaker. For well over a decade, she profiled not just the workspaces of CEOs but also corporate offices of multi-national firms, the government, and startups for her Mint column Head Office. She is the author of two books – Working Out Of The Box, and most recently, Chemical Khichdi.   In this wide-ranging conversation, Subbu and Aparna discuss the big shifts in the...

R Gopalakrishnan, also known as Gopal, served for 31 years as a senior executive with Unilever and then for 17 years as Director of Tata Sons. He has authored over 15 books cutting across a variety of domains and is one of the foremost thought leaders in the field of management and business leadership.  In this candid and no-holds barred conversation,Gopal shares insights from his first managerial stint back in the late 1960s. He discusses why it's imperative for executives to keep learning,...

S 'Venky' Venkatesh is the President - Group HR and a member of the board at RPG Group. Since 1996, Venky has been holding group HR leadership positions at the national and global level for large corporations. In this episode, Subbu and Venky dive into the findings of the Gen Z Happiness Code report, which was commissioned and released by the RPG Group. We also discuss various initiatives that contribute to talent attraction and retention at RPG.  Key topics discussed Insights from Venky's...

Melanie Martinelli is the co-founder and director at the Learning Gym. She is a specialist in Learning Solutions and is passionate about researching and implementing latest and most relevant trends in the learning industry. Melanie assists individuals and organizations in building memorable learning experiences linked to performance. In this episode, Subbu and Martinelli discuss what it takes to build a learning culture, the levers of learning transfer effectiveness and measurement...

Shreyasi Singh is the Founder and CEO of Harappa, an online learning platform that focuses on building Thrive Skills - an essential set of cognitive, social and behavioral skills that enable professionals to succeed at all stages of their careers. Although Shreyasi is now an entrepreneur disrupting the Ed-Tech space, she’s had diverse experience in broadcast and print journalism, editorial leadership, book writing, teaching and higher education administration. In this free-wheeling...

Tessa West is a Professor of Psychology at New York University and a leading expert in the science of interpersonal communication. Her research focuses on understanding the nature and dynamics of social perception, addressing issues in the study of interpersonal and inter-group relations. In this episode, Subbu and Professor West explore the topic of Jerks at work – toxic co-workers and what to do about them, incidentally also the name of the book authored by Professor West. Key Topics 1:00...

Jeremy Utley is the Director of Executive Education at Stanford’s d.school and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford's School of Engineering. He is the co-host of the popular web series "Stanford's Masters of Creativity", and the co-author of the book ‘Ideaflow’. In this episode, Subbu and Jeremy explore the concept of Ideaflow – why generating more ideas is critical to business success, and how leaders can enable a culture of ideation, experimentation and implementation. Key topics 1:35 -...

Anita Bhogle is an alumnus of IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad. She spent her early career in advertising, market research and marketing consultancy. Over time, Anita went on to become an entrepreneur. She’s an author, most recently of Equal Yet Different. Anita wears many hats, she is also an amateur keyboard player and a homemaker. Anita brings her years of consulting, entrepreneurial and research experience to weigh-in on the question: what holds women back from succeeding at the workplace?...

Anshuman Tiwari is the Global Head of Quality and Continual Improvement at DXC Technology. He is also a mid-career coach and a top voice on LinkedIn. He has taught quality principles, methods, and tools to over 10,000 professionals and 1,000 students, and helped his clients win several quality awards, including the Deming Prize. His mission is to make an impact and to lead people to deliver 10x results. In this episode, Anshuman and Subbu delve into the fascinating realm where careers and...

Sharath Jeevan works with global leaders to navigate direction, build motivating cultures, and nurture potential. Sharath was awarded an OBE in the 2022 Queen's New Year's Honours for founding and leading STiR Education, which has helped ignite the motivation of 200,000 school teachers around the world. In this episode, Subbu and Sharath explore reigniting the power of intrinsic motivation in the workplace. They discuss topics such as guided autonomy, wicked work environments, pay...

Sonali Gupta is a highly sought-after clinical psychologist, author, columnist, and workplace consultant, having worked with numerous leading organizations. Her book - 'Anxiety: Overcome It and Live Without Fear' was published around the time of the pandemic and has received wide critical acclaim. In this episode, we shine a spotlight on fostering a culture of mental well-being in the workplace. As the world of work continues to evolve rapidly, understanding and prioritizing mental health...

Hari TN is the Co-founder of Artha School of Entrepreneurship. He is also an evangelist, thought leader, and influencer in the Startup ecosystem. He is an alumnus of IIT Madras and IIM Calcutta. Hari has authored 8 books and is a columnist at Mint. His books ‘Saying No to Jugaad', ‘From 'Pony to Unicorn', and ‘Diversity Beyond Tokenism’ have been bestsellers. Hari has been part of the leadership teams at five high growth start-ups and helped shape their growth journeys and exits, including a...

Colleen is a highly sought-after coach, trainer and speaker, and she works with clients spanning the globe. Her areas of expertise cut across Neuroscience, Mindfulness, Brain-based Learning, Personal and Professional Coaching, and Emotional Intelligence. Colleen has over 10,000 hours of training and coaching experience, a master’s degree in leadership, a Postgraduate Diploma in Neuroleadership and a PhD in Mindfulness and Leadership. In this conversation, Colleen and Subbu discuss how...

Professor Rishikesha Krishnan is the Director of IIM Bangalore and a leading expert in strategy and innovation. With over 140 publications spanning from academic journals to the popular press, Professor Rishi is an accomplished author and thought leader. In this conversation, Subbu and Professor Rishi discuss the steps to enable innovation in any organization, how to tap into the creative potential of employees, dealing with honest failures, and much more. Key Topics 0:25 - How Prof...