You pivoted mid-way through your career from a successful full-time CEO to become a social entrepreneur and author. Why did you do this and what are some of the key lessons you learnt in this change and the challenges you faced?
I was 47 and a mentor of mine asked me ‘What are the biggest problems humanity faces and what are you doing about them?’ So, before I ran out of time, I decided to focus on things that mattered most to me, which is growing leaders and making a dent on climate change and youth unemployment. What I learned is that the biggest challenge is actually inside me—my attachments, my fears, my fixed ideas—and have worked to overcome these.
You are an engineer with degrees from IIT Bombay and University of Purdue with an MBA from Harvard Business School. This dual higher education trend is now being seen a lot in India. How does this help, especially, in managing companies and is there any advice you have for those who may not have this dual track?
This was the recipe for success in the past; today what matters most is the ability to make sense of what is happening, the ability to lead people responsibly through all the change that is happening around us. And most of all, the ability to manage oneself. You learn these through ‘crucible experiences.’ The pedigree matters less and less.
Your ideas and thought leadership have envisioned a very different career trajectory going forward for the next generation. What are the ways in which these professionals can manage in this age of AI?
The idea of stable jobs leading to stable careers is obsolete. Most of us will have to learn to be self-employed, a gig worker or an entrepreneur. The single most important skill is adaptability. And you better be really good at something that people are willing to pay you for.
Unemployment and under-employment are rampant now in both rural and urban India. You have championed the idea of mass entrepreneurship. What are its key elements and what is the downside?
The key to a prosperous India, Viksit Bharat, is millions of ordinary people starting lots of ordinary useful businesses in every small town and city, each creating a small number of jobs. The challenge is to give people role models and the mindset and skills to do this at scale and to help create more positive conditions in 200+ cities to start and grow such businesses. This is what we do at the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME).
