Have you ever had a life-changing idea that you think could be the next big thing or transform people's lives or if nothing else, could change the course of your own career? But haven't implemented it yet for the fear of the unknown or for the lack of direction? If it is so, this episode is for you. We have Kara Goldin, Founder & CEO, Hint Inc., speak to us about how she built the company with practically zero experience in making fruit-infused flavored water, in fact she wasn't anywhere...

What is the difference between ‘mentoring’ and ‘coaching’? “While mentoring is watching you from the balcony, and giving you lots of career advice over a long period of time. Coaching is being on the dance floor with a person, you roll up the sleeves, and you sort of get your hands dirty” Isn’t that a beautiful way of explaining the difference? I totally think so. This episode with Ruchira, is all about: - How ‘Coaching’ is the bedrock for an organisation to build great future leaders and...

Here we are with our second SOS Shot. We received great response from the first one and so we thought of resurrecting some of oldest conversations and present a capsule version. Here is one with Dr. Shalini Lal who talks about how did she find her own calling, what decides if you would be successful at work and how can you assess an organization before joining a new one if it's worth it or not. All of it in just about 10 minutes. You can also listen to the full conversation at: Spotify:...

Every individual has a journey of their own, unique in almost every aspect possible. But there is definitely a thing or two we can learn from greats or legends. This episode on Secrets of Storytellers is about one such person - Virat Kohli. He has not only been an inspiration to people associated with the game of cricket but his dedication, hard work, grit, and passion are so infectious and teach many lessons on how to become a better version of ourselves. It is the actions and incidents...

Here is a first of this kind, SOS Shots is an attempt to deliver the crux of the full conversation in under 10 minutes. No b******t. This first is a short version of the last episode with Hasan Kubba, who talks about a very interesting concept 'Unfair Advantages' which defies the concepts of meritocracy and equal starting line. Everyone has one or rather many Unfair Advantages in life which makes the playing field 'unlevelled'. Listen to the episode and find out your Unfair Advantage with...

Life isn’t fair, it’s a thought unsettling but true. On the 51st episode of Secrets of Storytellers, we challenge things like meritocracy with Hasan Kubba, a serial entrepreneur and a coach. We talk about how luck needs to be respected and how you can increase your chances of getting lucky. Hasan goes on to claim and make a strong case for the fact that we all have lots of unfair advantages in life and we need to leverage them to the full. But how do we know our Unfair Advantages? Hasan...

Bartending in India from the Lady Behind the Bar. Well bartending is a very very controversial statement in itself. Especially when you say that you want to be on the other side of the table and all the more when a woman decides that.  But it’s not the gender, and neither the profession but rather the passion in today’s day and age!  Today, in our 50th episode at SOS|Secrets of Storytellers, we have Shatbhi Basu with us, India’s best, and most favorite bartender. She is also an author...

“Money is an echo of value” Bob Burg, in this podcast, shares how a shift in our focus from taking and collecting things for ourselves to creating more value for others can not just be more fulfilling and satisfying but extremely financially profitable and sustainable. Go-Giver, a WallStreet Journal and BusinessWeek Bestseller, is one of the most impactful reads that I have ever gone through and recommend highly to each and every one. Bob shares all the learnings from the book and why...

"Intangibles drive the tangibles" "You can buy competence on the shelf, you can’t buy passion" "micro-manage excellence".... We have often heard of transformations in the private sector, but a transformation in the public sector and that too of a bank of the size of Bank of Baroda is simply unheard of. The reasons are simple, bureaucracy, government accountability, slow systems among other things that have for ages marred our public sector undertakings. Meet Dr Anil K Khandelwal, a...

We, as Indians, for so long have wanted to become a prosperous nation. We desire the stature we have wanted for 75 years now, but, have failed at it miserably. And a lot of it can be attributed to how the PSUs haven’t been able to come through, on achieving the intended economic growth. But then there is Maruti Suzuki, a perfect example of a PSU turned private firm which has shown tremendous results despite the same conditions and socio-economic environment. RC Bhargava, an IAS for 25 years...

We touch leadership and entrepreneurship with a very important link in this episode. We touch topics like 'FEAR' or differences between 'leading' and 'managing'. He also shares simple, rudimentary frameworks which could help you check, if the steps that you are taking are going in the right direction or not? There is much more to discussion ending with how his book 'Why Do Entrepreneurs Miss the Bus' failed to get printed thrice. Tune in! --- Support this podcast:...

Ravana is one of the most well-known characters from Indian mythology, but also deeply hated. He is known for all the wrong things, especially the abduction of Sita. But, we easily forget the intelligence, his knowledge on almost every subject in the world, his leadership skills and what not. The episode, with Gaurav Kataria, a mythology enthusiast and the author of the book 'Ravana',  is focussed to bring out what we can learn from and what should we not from the ultimate business...

Here's the episode with Wayne Brockbank, professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. He talks about HR at length and depth, and explains the role of the leadership in strengthening the HR. "HRs are in the people business but they take care of only half of it", he goes on to explain the other half. What is the HRs core business? Wayne shares Dave's famous quote, "if you put 5 best basketball players on a team, you still do not get the best team", Wayne goes on to tell...

Sandeep Krishnan is the COO & Senior Partner, People Business and Visiting faculty at IIM A. We discuss about how we can Leverage a Consulting Mindset for Professional Success. Key takeaways from the discussion: - It is important to know how and when to switch between an individual contributor and a team player (06:41) - To be a good leader, apply the Pygmalion Effect (Sandeep explains it in the episode at 10:19) and Cultivated Learning - Empathy and Power of Inquiry (13:52) are the...

Hacking? The term sounds so much like ‘cheat’, right?  So why is our guest for today, Apurva Chamaria, SVP and Chief of Staff to CEO & MD at Tech Mahindra, propagating ‘Growth Hacking’? Growth Hacking is definitely the way to exponentially grow your business and customer base multiple folds within no time. Companies like Shopclues, Zomato, Urbanclap, UpGrad, among others have all cracked this code and Apurva helps us how each of them did and how can everyone else too. How to get the...

The fight between the new and old  is actually not new at all. But no amount of any rule can bend the lines for a good product. Here we have Rajesh Srivastava with us today who recently authored the book, ‘The New Rules of Business’.  We sat down with him to have a heart to heart conversation about all things business and trying to understand the ‘new’ behind it! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/secrets-of-storytellers/support

When people you know, walk in the room. You can almost every time, define a person as an adjective. ‘Punctual’, ‘overconfident’, ‘helpful’, and the list goes on. Don’t you think this adjective is your ‘Brand’! Today, we have Mainak Dhar, who tells us how no one but You, define your brand! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/secrets-of-storytellers/support

From almost shutting shop to becoming one of the most iconic Indian brands, Royal Enfield is a cult with a very cool follower-ship. But how it went from 0 to what it is today and how it came around as the ultimate champion that it is, is definitely an interesting journey. Let's hear it from Amrit Raj, who has been following the brand since long and has authored the book titled Indian Icon: a cult called Royal Enfield. Here's to the dug-dug-dug-dug-dug-dug sound.. Link to the book :...

We have had prior episodes on Millennials. But this one is a bit different. It talks about the emotional side of the millennials.  Dr. Mona Shah a renowned academician is here to talk all about them, for them. The discussion spans across books, use of social media, relationships and new terms like, The Perfect Problem, that is precisely coined by her in the context of millennials.  This episode can’t come at a better time, when even the fast-paced millennials were forced to slow down and...

What made the tatas they are today? They stand tall to be a great inspiration for many. Let's look into the basics of what made Tata the mighty company. Who better to explain the roots than the man who worked with the Tatas for 25 years and has served as a part of the Planning Commission of India. Arun Maira is here to explain that there is nothing in life you can compare yourself with but it falls on you to grow bigger by ranking you against yourself. He explains how important it is to...

Yes, it is that time of the year! Where you believe in Santa, Plum Cakes, Carols & everything good. Well, we have someone very good too.  Today’s episode features Puneet Kulraj, director at the Vector Consulting Group - Asia's largest TOC Consulting firm (Theory of Constraints). TOC is a philosophy to identify the most limiting factor, i.e. a constraint, which is the real reason for limiting growth. It is an in-depth discussion to understand the basics of TOC and the beliefs on which...

Juggling between multiple careers, and trying to make it big in life. Millennials have always been under the scanner. What can be better than to meet a person who literally lists down the hacks for both life & career. We have the person who is definitely here to make it easy, Sandeep Das discussing on tips and tricks for success in life and how his achievements are all attributed to consistency. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/secrets-of-storytellers/support

There are many questions about the Nirav Modi's. How could he pull what he did so smoothly. Was his plan always to game the system? And more importantly who were the unseen and unknown forces behind? We have Pavan Lall, senior business journalist who has authored the book 'Flawed', which is a deep dive into the whole case. The podcast covers many important aspects of it. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/secrets-of-storytellers/support

Storytelling has been revered as one of the most important skills since it ensures you leave an impact on the listener and communicate effectively. This is the reason "Business Storytelling" has been doing rounds in the corporate world at a time when attention spans have become that of a goldfish. It is with this skill that great leaders and businessmen have stirred entire workforces to build something big and sustainable. We discuss this skill with a veteran who is in the business of...

What does it take to become a Brand Custodian at the Tatas, who better to answer than the Brand Custodian himself. We have Harish Bhat with us who has spent almost 31 years with the Tatas. He speaks to us on a myriad topics, right from what does a marketer or rather everyone needs in life to grow and succeed. He also shares about his fiction novel about the love of coffee and his tryst with coffee in his life. This is a deep yet fun conversation with a veteran and there is loads to learn from...