I have had the privilege of being a part of the corporate landscape for 18 years. Throughout this period, I had the good fortune of working with some of India’s foremost organizations.

Moreover, I had opportunities to work across diverse functions. These experiences proved invaluable in enhancing my understanding of product design, operational excellence, process engineering, audit, training, sales, and marketing.

The pivotal moments in my career were the lessons I garnered during this journey, which I have since applied in my business. I especially cherish the time spent building systems from scratch, which were later used as enterprise solutions.

Having learned things in the corporate world, I wanted to bring these solutions to small and medium enterprises, start-ups, and educational institutions through consulting, coaching employees, and designing learning programs. 

The current curriculums are outdated. The methods of the twentieth century that we cling to for success do not work now. Technology is changing everything, and that too swiftly.

So, I started this exploration to offer practical solutions and assist businesses with the ongoing problems of sustainable growth, technology, and lean operations.

While working, I was testing the concept, and this wasn’t wholly a flash-in-the-pan idea. When the time was ripe, I quit the corporate and started independently.

No one on earth can predict the economy or where it is headed. There is enough data to show how statisticians, economists, and research analysts have failed in this endeavor. Two ongoing wars can escalate and disrupt growth immensely globally. Western countries struggle for growth, while Eastern forces have challenges around carbon emissions and geopolitics that can suppress them.

But people paint a picture of optimism everywhere because that is required in boardrooms, political circles, and all finance news outlets. History gives us shreds of evidence on how ministers were eliminated if they broke some bad news to the king or predicted the empire’s downfall. The culture lingers in the corporate even today.

No one, therefore, bets on the skeptic, let alone be one. Optimism is good and the only thing to get us back from dire straits. But we must be careful not to bet blindly.

There is a lot of development and noise on Artificial Intelligence, Bio-Technology, Life Sciences, and Climate Change solutions. The investors are definitely in. In the next 3-5 years, we will know where it has led us.

Learn from all possible sources. Make it effective by implementing the ones that matter. Then keep repeating them daily to make it muscle memory.

Taking action is of utmost importance for you and your customers equally. Perfection comes in the journey and is never a starting point. Start with what you know. Things will keep changing, and you ought to be flexible all along.

Adaptability is the in thing. Your business, customers, employers, everyone is asking you to adapt. 

Initially, I believed you need a lot of capital investment to start a business. This is a flawed thinking. I later realized money as an investment is only a distraction. If you have the right idea with intent, you don’t need money to start.

Innovation and Business aren’t two different ideologies. You can survive in any business only when you innovate to meet the customer’s demands and even latent needs. Apple and Amazon did it for long. Now Tesla and Nvidia seem to be doing it well.

In my line of business of consulting and coaching, the road to innovation is always to simplify lives. Simple to understand, execute, and sustain. Otherwise, the solutions cannot scale.

I mentioned adaptability before. Innovation precedes adaptability. You have to innovate and then adapt to the innovation to make it work.

A leader has to change the positioning from leading from the front to being in the center of things today. Being in the core gives you ground knowledge, keeps you agile, and is a great vantage point to support your team.

People need not always be told ‘what to do.’ Most are learning it with advanced courses, the internet, and have access to a lot of free information. 

They need to be told ‘why to do it.’

Ethical conduct is a long-term strategy. There is no shortcut to success. There can be tactical moves to douse a current problem. But the tactical approach shouldn’t burn someone else, and everything must be played fair.

Today’s businesses aim at enhanced due diligence, which is always a continuously improving domain.

There has been immense hype on sustainability in recent years too. This should start from our homes and requires a tremendous mindset shift to change our actions in terms of consumption and growth.

We always focus on being just and honest and work in a minimalist fashion

There’s a flood of influencers who have cracked the code on content virality. This is dangerous and a scam. We are already seeing a crackdown on well-known ‘Finfluencers’ by the SEBI. 

There must also be regulation on health, nutrition, fitness, and religious propaganda content.

We must improve our societies by enhancing people’s lives and not spreading fake information or misleading people for likes and views. Platforms must take note and incentivise the genuine and credible. I have a strong sense platforms will move in that direction now.

I read a lot, and speak with leaders on the undercurrents that drive trends. I try to learn new skills. Recently I learned content creation and editing, which helps me immensely in designing programs.

I try to listen as much as possible. I stay connected with technology to be aware of the changes.

The first book I published – Shift Left is a shining moment of my professional journey. I never knew about writing. It manifested through a specific traumatic phase of life. Since then, I genuinely believe hardships and hurdles can mould us for good. It can put you on a path that is your true calling.

With every challenge, find the opportunity that arises.

Never settle for a limit. Keep expanding the horizons of your thoughts and actions. Always think about scale. Always focus on multiple income streams. 

Stay frugal. Be humble and connect with every role and individual in your business as much as possible. You might create systems, but people in your organization drive them.

The business landscape is highly fluid, demanding healthy change agents to make transitions seamless. We consult, coach, and train businesses, employees, and students to adapt to the volatility and uncertainties of the modern world.

We aim to make all the complexities simple to grasp. When people understand the nature of their work, miracles happen. This is our vision to drive intent among people and make systems robust and effective.

I thank the Foundr Magazine for reaching out and publishing about me. I truly enjoyed sharing my insights on the questions asked and wish them the very best for the future.