Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed

This is the recording of a live conversation I had with Dr. Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag to explore how the principles from the Theory of Constraints can be applied to multi-project environments (Digital transformation efforts) to deliver projects on time, on budget and on spec. She shared insights from her latest book (now available in Worldwide) Goldratt's Rules of Flow to help us understand how to increase the velocity and throughputs of project deliveries within our organisation. We covered the following topics in the conversation: Introducing the work of Dr. Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag Do 70% of projects really fail to achieve their goals? Why? And how can we address it? The importance of triage in a multi-project environment instead of focusing on improving productivity Whose job is it to identify the constraints in a multi-project environment? Why is flow important in the Theory of Constraints? And what are the fundamental rules of flow? The importance of Full Kit. How do organisations make the shift from their current operating model to the ToC model? My learnings from the book - Goldratt's Rules of Flow When you want to go farther, focus. The psychological cost of the wrong assumptions that run multi-project environment What is a Full kit? How to deal with an external customer and run projects the ToC way. Does this work for projects with no clear end date? You can watch the session delivered by Rami Goldratt @ https://youtu.be/YIc1U1LUDE0?feature=shared&t=9660 #TheoryOfConstraints #ToC #CriticalChain #ProjectManagement #ontime #onbudget #onspec #DigitalTransformation #EliyahuGoldratt #Goldratt  You can connect with her via LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-efrat-goldratt-ashlag-44046212a/ You can find Dr Efrat's book: Goldratts Rules of Flow @ https://amzn.to/3Q6mqik You can find Dr. Goldratt's book: The Goal @ https://amzn.to/3MBsYEL My website: https://rmukeshgupta.com Connect with me: https://linkedin.com/in/rmukeshgupta My books: - Thrive: https://amzn.to/493brhZ Your startup Mentor: https://amzn.to/3FrBbHr Being Happy: https://amzn.to/3QsE4xO

In this episode of the podcast, we host the inimitable and unapologetically ambitious, Sophie Krantz. We had a conversation about leadership and the need for economic growth and opportunity. We discussed the possibility of creating positive change in the world through frameworks like exponential organization (ExO) and coaching ordinary people to do extraordinary things. In this wide ranging conversation, we discussed - The importance of seeing the world as one and the need to overcome fears and limiting beliefs to achieve breakthrough growth. - The value of immersive experiences and tapping into personal passions to create unapologetic ambition and confidence in tackling global problems. - The difference between a limited and expanded worldview, with Sophie encouraging people to look for colour in the world and to tap into their potential to create something new. - The power of generative AI and the importance of exploring the world and pushing outside of one's comfort zone. - The importance of expanding limitations and having ambition in leadership. - The need for role models and the importance of creating a space for people to play and experiment in order to tap into their creativity - The importance of expanding one's perspective and mindset in order to succeed in a world surrounded by smart machines and intelligent algorithms. - The importance of continuously learn and experiment, and to reach out to others for support and knowledge. We had a conversation about experimentation with generative AI, the oneness of the world, and the importance of concrete stories in relating to ideas. Books discussed in the video: Exponential Organisations 2.0 by Salim Ismail: https://amzn.to/492yYzH Connect with me - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmukeshgupta Connect with Sophie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiekrantz/ Sophie's website - https://www.sophiekrantz.com My books: - Thrive: https://amzn.to/493brhZ - Your startup Mentor: https://amzn.to/3FrBbHr - Being Happy: https://amzn.to/3QsE4xO

In this conversation with @DrAlanBarnard, we explore how the principles of the Theory of Constraints (originally created by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt) can be used to not only drive significant business results but also to help us make high stake decisions as leaders. In this freewheeling conversation, we explore Dr Barnard's story about how he met with Dr. Goldratt and his famous motto. We explore who is a true expert He shares how he got into an argument with Dr. Goldratt and how he then formed a life long connection with Dr. Goldratt. He shares his most important lessons from all his interaction with Dr. Goldratt What is a Life Goal? The definition of a Life goal is a "Dream taken seriously - Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt I will not sacrifice my goal for anyone and I will not sacrifice anyone for my goal Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt He also introduces the concept of Theory of Constraint then, shares what is a constraint and the different kinds of constraints that we might face in any given system (Market/demand (external), Capacity (internal), Supply (external), Cash (Internal), Management Attention (internal) and probably the most crucial in any business. He also shares two ways to improve a constraint and therefore significantly improve your impact. He shares the importance of "Flow" or "Throughput" in any given system and how "Flow" is two-dimensional. He also shared the importance of understanding and increasing flow (time and velocity). He also shares different Ways to improve any given system. He also shares the story of how Tata Steel UK went from 1 Million Pound loss per day to 1 Million pound profit per day using Theory of constraints We constantly see good people make bad decisions. He explains why this happens and how to avoid them. He talks about what he calls as the agency equation. We then move into the realm of individuals and he shares how to identify what constrains our belief systems? Really? The power of questions - Really or unless. He also shares insights about how our minds work? He talks about the importance of learning prompt engineering to engage not just chatGPT but ourselves as well. He also shares insight on how to ask good questions as a leader and the 2 steps to make a breakthrough in any field. He also shares insight on how to measure people's performance and its impact on the business. Dr. Goldratt had started a movement called "Viable Vision". He shares more information about this viable vision and how can one go about achieving the same in their business. We then understand his own learning process and the key people he learns from - Herbert Simon and Nassim Nicholas Taleb. What is so obvious to him that all of us miss? We don't usually learn from experience but from Experiments Dr. Alan Barnard In Summary: We need to remember the 4F's - Flow, Focus, Finish and Fast Feedback to become influential and impactful leaders. More information about the resources we mentioned in the conversation: 1. Goldratt Research Labs: https://goldrattresearchlabs.com 2. Dr. Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag:   / dr-efrat-goldratt-ashlag-44046212a   3. My interview with Dr. Efrat:    • Delivering Projects on time, on budge...   Books discussed in the video: Goldratt's Rules of Flow by Dr. Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag: https://amzn.to/3FrAa25 The Goal by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt: https://amzn.to/3Q0iXSe Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: https://amzn.to/3s0ieIK Blackswan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb: https://amzn.to/40d9ewz Apps mentioned by Dr. Alan Barnard: https://harmonyapps.com/apps/harmony-... Dr. Alan Barnard's podcast - https://dralanbarnard.com/category/im...

In this free wheeling conversation, we cover What it takes to lead in an ever changing world  What are some of the key skills leaders need to cultivate to thrive What are some of the things that leaders need to avoid to thrive How AI or Artificial Intelligence will change the face of the organisation and therefore the role of a leader The importance of having a clear strategy or a "True North" when everything around us is changing all the time and much more.

In this interesting conversation, Speaker, Author and Advisor (and Public speaking coach)  @ColFink  shares his perspective on the importance of clear and effective communication for leaders. He also shares insights on how to get good at communication and specifically when speaking to an audience (internal or external). He shares how leaders can learn to communicate to inform, inspire and connect. He also talks about how good communication can provide leaders the leverage they need in order to scale both - effectiveness and efficiency. If you are a leader and want to work on your communication, this is a conversation worth listening to. Here are some things that we cover in this conversation: Most Common mistakes people make when trying to communicate Questions to ask ourselves before planning our speech (People, Problem, Purpose, Plan, Prescription) The cost of not having prepared our speech How is communicating different when the goal is to Inform, Inspire or Connect people The importance and the skill of telling stories using the concept of Pink Sheets developed by  @Matt.Church  How to get good presenting in front of a camera? How can leaders find leverage to increase their impact and influence How does Col learn and continue to stay current One piece of advice that had a profound impact on him What is so obvious to Col but people miss all the time and that frustrates him You can find more information about Col at https://www.ColFink.com. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/colfink. Books discussed in the video: - Speakership: https://amzn.to/3Q9xo6q - Tribes of learning: https://www.colfink.com/store/p/tribe-of-learning - Kevin Kelly on Pushing Beyond the Obvious: http://rmukeshgupta.com/2017/06/29/pbto56-the-inevitable-technological-forces-that-will-shape-our-future-with-kevin-kelly/

In this first episode of a new series, which will be focused on leadership, we host a practicing leader - Pankaj Rusia. He currently works for SAP as the Head of Customer Success for the SAP HR Cloud business are and is based out of Singapore. As the Head of Customer Success for SAP South East Asia, he is on a mission to make customers look great in front of their leadership, employees, and managers, and to help them get the best out of their SuccessFactors solutions. In this wide ranging conversation, he shares his insights on leadership. WE cover many things including the following: The leadership burden, which makes us be different person at work and while at home. We discuss some challenges that typically leaders in the middle management face. He talks about the importance of listening more than talking, understanding what drives your team members and having good conversations. He shares the importance of developing people and letting your people outgrowing us as their leaders. He also shares the importance of finding mentors and sponsors for those we lead outside of their immediate circle within our organization. We discuss the book - One minute manager and the key insights from the book.  

This the first episode of the current season of my podcast - Pushing Beyond the Obvious and I am super happy and excited to kick off the season with none other than Lisa O'Neill. She is a self described energy and human expert. In this wide ranging conversation about energy and leadership, she shared a lot of great insights on leadership. Here are some of my takeaways from the conversation: She shared insights about the importance of knowing ourselves. If we do not know what kind of a leader we want to be, how would our team know. In order for our teams to perform at their best, they need to know exactly what we expect from them. So the first thing that we need to do as a leader is to become aware of what exactly do we want, who exactly we are and how exactly should our team engage with us. She also shared the importance of letting our team know how we roll as a leader. That way they know how to get the best out of us. High performing teams don't just need team members performing at their peak but their leaders performing at their peak as well. And this aspect of leadership is not discussed or shared enough. She shares a 4 step model to help us get more self aware - Notice, Nourish, Navigate and Nurture. In all, she shares the importance of pondering, pondering about ourselves and what we want. She also challenged the leaders listening with these three quests: Spend a week only asking questions of your team. List down all the people in your team and rate them from whom you really like to the one you least like. Answer the question - why is this so? Write down three personal things you know about everyone on your team. If you can't up with them, take them off for a cup of coffee or tea and talk to them to get to know them. In conclusion, this season could not have started at a better note than this conversation. I have lined up a lot more conversations with both thought leaders and practicing leaders for the show and am excited about how things will go from here. I hope you ride along with me on this journey. PS: If you want to want Lisa as you listen to this conversation, you can do so below: https://youtu.be/Y6adjSNMUeI Resources that were mentioned in the episode: - Thought Leaders Business School - https://thoughtleaders.com.au - My post on the 25 Women - https://rmukeshgupta.com/celebrating-25-women-who-influenced-and-shaped-my-thinking-and-work/ - More info about Matt Church - https://www.mattchurch.com Books mentioned by Lisa: - 100 questions for self awareness by Lisa O'Neill - https://www.lisaoneill.co.nz/shop - Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsh- https://amzn.to/3MiMuWd - You can Heal your life by Louisa Hay - https://amzn.to/3S92BcI - Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - https://amzn.to/45Hls1v - The Net and the Butterfly by Olivia Fox Cabane - https://amzn.to/45JGRaA You can find more information about Lisa and her work - https://www.lisaoneill.co.nz You can connect with her on LInkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaonz/ Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rmukeshgupta My books: - Your startup Mentor: https://amzn.to/3FrBbHr - Thrive: https://amzn.to/493brhZ - Being Happy: https://amzn.to/3QsE4xO

In this episode of Pushing Beyond the Obvious, we host Stacey Barr – The Performance Measure Specialist. Stacey is a specialist in strategic performance measurement and evidence-based leadership. She specialises in using practical performance measurement as the catalyst for creating a high-performance culture that achieves measurable success. She is also the creator of the PuMP® methodology. PuMP® is a performance measurement methodology that routinely transforms measurement cynics into its greatest advocates, which has been adopted in more than 90 countries and across industries. In this wide ranging conversation, we cover:  1. What is the definition of a KPI and what are the […]

In this episode of Pushing Beyond the Obvious, we host Stacey Barr - The Performance Measure Specialist. She Stacey is a specialist in strategic performance measurement and evidence-based leadership. Stacey specialises in using practical performance measurement as the catalyst for creating a high-performance culture that achieves measurable success. She is also the creator ot PuMP®. PuMP® is a performance measurement methodology that routinely transforms measurement cynics into its greatest advocates. In this wide ranging conversation, we cover:  1. What is the definition of a KPI?  2. The difference between Leading measures and lagging measures.  3. What is the true purpose of defining KPI 4. What is the difference between good KPI's and bad KPI's  5. We also talk about the PuMP® methodology that she created. 

In this wide ranging conversation, we host Radhika Dutt, who is the author of the upcoming book Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter. We speak about what is Radical Product thinking and why this is not just about products but a way of life and an approach to thinking. She also shares the story of Lijjat Pappad and a few other case studies that explain her thinking, with respect to Radical Product Thinking. She also shares the importance of being vision led in building a product and the challenges that one ends up facing when we are […]

In this episode, we speak to Radhika Dutt, the author of the book - Radical Product Thinking.   

Who is on the show: In this episode we host Liz Kislik, For 30 years as a management consultant, executive coach, and facilitator, Liz has focused on advancing business results for her clients. She develops higher performing workforces for leading organizations, from the Fortune 500 and national non-profits to family-run businesses. Why is she on the show: Over the years Liz has coached and mentored employees from the C-suite to the contact center — vice presidents, human resource professionals, and department supervisors — motivating them with her wit, wisdom, and humanity. She also is the author of the Workplace Wisdom […]

Who is on the show: In this episode we host communication and influence expert Stacey Hanke. She is a business owner “Stacey Hanke Inc”, a keynote speaker, author and an executive coach and a mentor. Why is she on the show: In her forthcoming book, “Influence Redefined”,  she offers readers a new perspective on how to behave such that we can grow our influence and impact people not just when we are around them but even when we are not around. What did I learn from the conversation: True influence doesn’t come from a fancy title. It needs to be […]

As part of an employee engagement activity, I was given the opportunity to deliver a talk based on my latest book – “Thrive – Mindsets and Skillsets needed to succeed in a world dominated by smart machines & intelligent algorithms“.  I tried to record the audio of this recording and would like to share that as part of my podcast. The recording is not very clean and there is some noise through out the recording and I am sorry about that. I am sharing this despite the noise as I think that each one of us can go away with something […]

One of the greatest strengths of the human race is also one if its weakest link. Our ability to imagine is the source of all the innovations around us that has made our lives and our species so dominant in the also what causes us to trip in a lot of our pursuit. We could end up living in our imaginary worlds and never see the reality. This is the reason why so many of us (individuals and organisations) are never able to realize our potential. We are unable to get out of our imaginary worlds into the real world and look at reality as it is, without colouring it with our imagination. This is why: Even after being completely drunk, we still think that we are sober enough to drive home. Even after seeing that the reality around us has changed, we continue to execute our old plan as if nothing changed. There is such a gap between knowing and doing what is the right thing. This is the reason why most change initiatives fail (as they don't acknowledge and incorporate the reality but are built on imagined realities). Most leaders fail (as they don't acknowledge the reality of their situation and of their followers). We continue to smoke or drink (we imagine a future when we will quit smoking or drinking). We don't learn from our mistakes (we think that the reason for that failure was not due to mistakes we made but because of some other imagined reason). We have so many couples go through divorces (instead of accepting our spouses for what they are, we imagine how we want them to be and when they don't measure up to that imagined reality, we are not happy in our relationship anymore). Even though we know this now, I am sure that we will imagine that we are much better at recognizing the reality and not make these same mistakes (which is also a form of living in an imagined reality).     The question then is how to get grounded in the reality (some might even question the very notion of reality, but let's leave that discussion for a later date) and not make these very mistakes. One way that I have found to work really well is to have a buddy who can help us see the reality and shatter the imagined reality that we are living in. If we are looking for a reality check in our work life, then this person needs to be someone who doesn't have a stake in the discussion but is still part of the same universe. Someone who sees the world very differently than how we do. As buddies, it is our responsibilities: Recognize that every world view is biased & based on some figment of our imagination or experience. Share our world views openly and without any Question each other's world views. Go deep to find out the core beliefs driving our world view. And then explore how close to the reality these beliefs are. This can only work on the following conditions: There is a strong level of trust between both the buddies There is no conflict of interest between the buddies Both the buddies know and understand that biases and imagination are a real threat that needs to be addressed. Both the buddies believe that the process will make them better and more successful. In Conclusion: As they say, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”. Acknowledging the fact that we all live in some imaginary world which leads to biased thinking and decision making is the first step towards addressing this problem. There are more people who have failed due to this reason than any other reason. As this is also the reason that allows us to build a better world, we need to be extra careful and intentional about when to allow our imaginary world to lead the way and when to come out of our imaginary world and let our work be rooted in our reality.

One of the greatest strengths of the human race is also one if its weakest link. Our ability to imagine is the source of all the innovations around us that has made our lives and our species so dominant in the also what causes us to trip in a lot of our pursuit. Imagination can be both productive and destructive.  We could end up living in our imaginary worlds and never see the reality. This is the reason why so many of us (individuals and organisations) are never able to realize our potential. We are unable to get out of […]

In this episode, we speak with Anne Sugar. She is an executive coach and speaker who has advised top leaders at companies like TripAdvisor, Sanofi Genzyme and Havas, She also serves as an executive coach for Harvard Business School Executive Education.

Who is on the show: In this episode, we speak with Anne Sugar. She is an executive coach and speaker who has advised top leaders at companies like TripAdvisor, Sanofi Genzyme and Havas, She also serves as an executive coach for Harvard Business School Executive Education. Why is she on the show:  Dorie Clark recommended that we should host Anne and that she will have a lot of insights that can help us. Anne proved to be all that Dorie said that she will be. She shares a lot of great insights that will help us find success in our […]

Who is on the show: David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker, an associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University. Why is he on the show: His forthcoming book, Friend of a Friend, offers readers a new perspective on how to grow their networks and build key connections—one based on the science of human behavior, not rote networking advice. He’s delivered keynotes to the leaders of Fortune 500 companies and the future leaders of the United States Naval Academy. His TED talk has been viewed over 1.8 million times and he is a regular contributor […]

In this episode, we host David Burkus and talk about his latest book - Friend of a Friend. In the book he talks about the science of networks and what we can learn from them.  He shares a lot of great insights into how to use the science of networking to build a network that will help us get what we want while helping our friends get what they want. 

Who is on the show today: James “Chip” Massey is the CEO of Plowshare Communications, which advises business leaders on strategic negotiations and how to accelerate the sales process by building strong, powerful, and trust-based relationships.   Why is he on the show:    For more than two decades, Massey served as an FBI Special Agent and hostage/crisis negotiator. During his tenure, his work ranged from collaborating with the CIA to crack espionage rings to high-profile corruption cases, to post-9/11 counter-terrorism investigations at key Washington, D.C. sites. As a hostage negotiator, he worked extensively in crisis situations, including international kidnappings […]

Who is on the show today:    James “Chip” Massey is the CEO of Plowshare Communications, which advises business leaders on strategic negotiations and how to accelerate the sales process by building strong, powerful, and trust-based relationships.   Why is he on the show:    For more than two decades, Massey served as an FBI Special Agent and hostage/crisis negotiator. During his tenure, his work ranged from collaborating with the CIA to crack espionage rings to high-profile corruption cases, to post-9/11 counter-terrorism investigations at key Washington, D.C. sites. As a hostage negotiator, he worked extensively in crisis situations, including international kidnappings and fugitive apprehensions.   Within the bureau, Massey was noted for his ability to quickly build rapport, and his deep expertise interviewing both victims and criminal suspects. He spent several years coordinating the FBI's Victim-Witness Program, as well as directing the FBI Citizens Academy in Washington, D.C.   What did I learn from the conversation: Hostage negotiations are like high stake sales meetings. The skills that you need to do well in both the situations are very similar. The most important skill is the ability to build rapport & trust really quickly. The fastest way to build trust is to do the little things right. They add up quickly.    Empathy is a super-power that can propel us to success. Empathy comes from listening what the other person is saying so that we can understand what is going on in their lives. Listening is not just about listening to what is being said, but also to identify the emotions behind what is being said. IF we are able to identify & name the emotions that are being conveyed, we are already starting to empathise.  Open ended questions can help us delve and dive deeper to really understand our partner.    In stressful situation, it is better to be the emotional leader. It is in our nature to mimic the emotion that we see. So, if we are talking to someone who is angry and yelling, typically, we start feeling the anger and our tone of our voice starts to go up as well. So, if we are able to resist that and are able to stay calm and lower our voices, the person who is angry will typically follow suit. It is human nature. Also, we need to allow people to speak and vent when they are running on high emotions. Their emotions need a vent out in order for them to calm down.    When we (or someone) are in a crisis, all our senses start to get into a focused state. We will listen less, see less and think less. So, it is best to use short sentences, increase the volume of our speech and be in front and centre of the person's vision for them to see us. Some phrases to avoid - “Calm down” or “I understand”. Both only end up flaring the other person's emotions    The more we talk, the less we listen and if we want to influence someone, we need to listen more than we talk.    Books recommended:  If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?: My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating, Alan Alda The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It, Kelly McGonigal Mindset, Carol Dweck  What is so obvious, but people often miss:    - The need to listen more than we talk.    Where can you reach him:    You can find more information about Chip and his work on his website here. 

Who is on the show:  In this episode, we host Denise Lee Yohn. She is a best selling author, keynote speaker and the leading authority on building great brands and exceptional organizations. Why is she on the show: Her book "Fusion" comes out today in which she shares her insights on the importance of bringing organisational culture & the power of branding together to create an organisation that can become a powerhouse of a business.  Top 3 ideas I learnt from the conversation:  1} It is critical that we know right from the start of our business about what do we stand for. We might still take on work that is not the ideal work so as to stay in business. We still need to keep looking for the ideal business and only talk or brand ourselves as per the ideal work or look for the ideal client.  2} Organisations that are able to take their branding or promise to our customers and use that to build a culture that drives the behaviours that can enable the delivery of this promise are the one's that become exceptionally successful.  3} It is important as leaders to understand that we need to be consistent in three aspects (ideological, tactical & symbolic). This means that as leaders our actions determine the culture we create.  Resources mentioned:  1} You can find all her books (Fusion, What Great Brands Do)  2} Take the Fusion assessment here. How to connect with her:  You can find her blog here. You can connect with her on twitter @deniseleeyohn. 

Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Denise Lee Yohn. She is a best selling author, keynote speaker and the leading authority on building great brands and exceptional organizations. Why is she on the show: Her book “Fusion” comes out today in which she shares her insights on the importance of bringing organisational culture & the power of branding together to create an organisation that can become a powerhouse of a business. Top 3 ideas I learnt from the conversation: 1} It is critical that we know right from the start of our business about what do […]

Opening music credits goes to my son Yuvan Gupta. Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Dorie Clark. She is a marketing strategy consultant, professional speaker, and frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review. Recognized as a “branding expert” by the Associated Press, Fortune, and Inc. magazine, she is the author of Entrepreneurial You (Harvard Business Review Press,), Reinventing You, and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine and one of the Top 10 Business Books of the Year by Forbes. Her books have been translated into Russian, Chinese, Arabic, French, Polish, Korean, and Thai. Why is she on the show: I have been reading her blog and following her work for […]

In this epsiode, we host best selling author Dorie Clark. She has written multiple best selling books - Reinventing You, Stand Out & her latest book Entrepreneurially You.  She shares great insights on how to create a brand for yourself and also about the importance of being entrepreneurial, even if you are not an entrepreneur.  I had a great time talking to her and is an insightful conversation. 

Opening music credits goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Harold Jarche. He is focused on providing actionable insights for workplace transformation. He works with individuals, organizations, and public policy influencers to develop practical ways to adapt to the technological, demographic, and societal changes facing us today. Why is he on the show: I have been reading his blog for almost a couple of years and have learned a lot. He helped me change my approach to internalising important information that I come across through a framework that he has developed. What did I learn […]

In this episode, we host Harold Jarche. He is focused on providing actionable insights for workplace transformation. He works with individuals, organizations, and public policy influencers to develop practical ways to adapt to the technological, demographic, and societal changes facing us today.  We talk about how we can create our very own personal knowledge mastery strategy (Seek --> Sense --> Share) & how this can help us make sense of the changes that see all around us.     

In this episode, we speak to the creator of "Vycle" a vertical transportation system that she developed as a project. She rethinks and creates a new product that can help us go up and down, one that doesnt take too much space (like stairs or escalators) nor do we have to wait for a lot of time to get into a box.  The product is truly one of its kind and we try to deconstruct the process of creating this product with Elena. 

Who is on the show: In this episode we host architect and product designer Elena Larriba. She works at the intersection between art, science and design. Her curiosity leads her to investigate new concepts, technologies and techniques which she blends together in novel experiments merging engineering, design and craft. Why is she on the show: She is the designer of a vertical movement product called Vycle, which is a hybrid version of a cycle and an elevator and can be used for vertical movement. She has since this conversation gone on to create a lot more interesting products. What did I […]

In this episode, we host Jeffrey Baumgartner (again) and talk about what he calls "Imaginativefulness" and its importance in the overall creative process. 

Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Jeffrey Baumgartner. He is an entrepreneur, artist, teacher, author and an innovation consultant and not  your typical Innovation consultant. He is the author of the books, “The Way of the Innovation Master” & “The Insane Journey” He is also the creator of a new & effective creative thinking methodology called “Anti-Conventional Thinking” as an alternative to traditional brainstorming methods. He also runs the Report 103, which is one of the longest running eJournal or blog on creativity and innovation in business. Why is he on the show He is not your typical innovation […]

Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Jill Konrath. As a business-to-business sales expert, Jill's ideas and insights are ubiquitous in multiple forums, both on and offline. Jill's newsletters are read by 125,000+ sellers worldwide. Her popular blog has been syndicated on numerous business and sales websites. Why is she on the show: She was recently named one of the most influential people on sales by LinkedIn, among many other recognitions. What did i learn in this episode: As sales professionals, we are constantly busy and we are to find time on ever more busier executives so we can position ourselves as someone who can add value to them and their business. We do a lot of our work online (from checking our emails to researching our clients and their social profiles to reading more about the financial results of our customers. And some of the most brilliant minds in our era are working tirelessly to keep us hooked on their products by using findings from neuroscience research. When we add both of the above, it is extremely difficult to not get lost in the rabbit hole that is the internet. Some things that Jill recommends: No notification policy: Notifications are one of the most important way that we get distracted and sucked into rabitholes. So, the first thing to do to gain our time & focus back is to remove all notifications. I only have notification for when either my wife or my boss reaches out to me. Batch our work: She recommends that it is easier to focus and we become a lot more productive when we batch our work. Fixed time for emails. Fixed time for online research and so forth. Shut down the distractions: As sales professionals, we need to be able to think deeper and find insights. The ability to shutdown our gadgets and thinking deeply is  important to refresh our brains. We need to give our brains some rest. Focus: Think about and decide what is the one thing that we can do today/this week that will have the biggest impact and focus on accomplish that. Learn how to work in a digital world: As a species, we have not evolved to deal with the digital world. And this is not going to go down but only going to get worse. So, we need to consciously learn how to live and work in a digital world. Take a break: The higher level thinking which is required in order to connect with different thoughts, identify patterns and gain insights require that we take breaks so that we can replenish & rejuvenate our brains. Work on 50 - 10 mins bursts - 50 mins work followed by 10 mins of active break (walk, drink water, stretch, etc). Work on what matters: With the time saved by becoming more productive, we as sales professional can continue to do more high value activities and self development. Unclogging our pipeline: So much of deals or opportunities are in our pipeline because we hope that they will happen. Just like it is important to be more intentional and focused on our time, we need to be as focused and intentional about keeping our pipeline unclogged. By unclogging our pipeline, we can find common themes among the opportunities, thereby helping us address these concerns. Another high value activity. Best Prospects are the one's undergoing change: The best prospects who will be open to change are the one's that are already going through some kind of flux. This change makes them more open to challenging the status quo. Overcoming Overwhelm: By becoming more focused and productive, we can use the time we save to not only do high value activities but also help our customers by giving them information that can help them overcome their overwhelm. Best part of her job: Solving challenging, complex,  sales problems. Biggest challenge of her job: Difficulty to decide which ideas to go after. Whats on her bucket list: Iceland. Recommendation: Hidden Figures, the movie What superhero would she be:  Jill, the time master What is so obvious to her which people miss all the time: Overwhelm is the biggest problem at the root of almost every challenge. 2 action recommendation: Minimise distractions. Find out your own ways to avoid and minimise distractions. There no hacks, only lasting change. Where can you connect with her: You can find all her great work on her website - www.jillkonrath.com and on LinkedIn. You can buy her latest book here.

Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Jill Konrath. As a business-to-business sales expert, Jill’s ideas and insights are ubiquitous in multiple forums, both on and offline. Jill’s newsletters are read by 125,000+ sellers worldwide. Her popular blog has been syndicated on numerous business and sales websites. Why is she on the show: She was recently named one of the most influential people on sales by LinkedIn, among many other recognitions. What did i learn in this episode: As sales professionals, we are constantly busy and we are to find time on ever more busier executives so […]

Opening music credits goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is he on the show:    In the first episode of the new season, we host Andy Tryba. He is the CEO of Ride Austin, EngineYard and Crossover.com.    Why is he on the show: Andy has spent the last 15 years as CEO of multiple successful startups and is currently running three startups. One of them is a very interesting social experiment and has a very interesting approach to running his other two startups as well. He has built a product that already provides glimpses of how the future of work might unfold.  […]

Credits: Opening music credit goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Bernadette Jiwa. She is a best selling author of multiple books and writes one of the most popular marketing and branding blogs – The Story of Telling. Smart Company named as the top business blog in Australia of 2016. Seth Godin listed it as one of the marketing blogs he reads. Why is she on the show: She just released her most recent book – Hunch. The book talks about how we can turn our everyday insights into the next big thing. What do we talk […]

Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Bernadette Jiwa. She is a best selling author of multiple books and writes one of the most popular marketing and branding blogs - The Story of Telling. Smart Company named as the top business blog in Australia of 2016. Seth Godin listed it as one of the marketing blogs he reads. Why is she on the show: She just released her most recent book - Hunch. The book talks about how we can turn our everyday insights into the next big thing. What do we talk about: In this episode, we talk about how this particular book came about. She shares her insight about how entrepreneurs - small and large are getting deluded in the barrage of data and using it as a crutch to not decide and work on their hunches. She shares some very interesting stories about how Richard Turere (all of 12 years old) helped save his cows from Lions and in the process invented the "Lion Lights". She also shares the story of how one doctor (Dr. Ravenell) leveraged the popularity and the sense of community in a barber shop - Denny Moe's to change the lives of thousands of black men by converging healthcare and haircare. She defines Hunch as below: Hunch = Insights + Foresights Simple yet elegant way to define something extremely complicated, I must say. She also talks about the fact that in order to get these hunches, we need to look at the intersection of three things. Hunches are formed at the intersection of Curiosity, Imagination and Empathy. There are opportunities all around us if only we stop and notice them. She shares her way of getting these inspiring stories from the everyday walk of life. She says that these stories are all around us, if only we can stop and look for them, if we find them, slow down and think about them. We also discuss how important boredom is and how crucial having distraction free time for us to think about stuff that we have learnt and allow it to sink in and come up with our own perspective and a lot more. She shares how Sara Blakely founded Spanx with 5000 USD and she takes the long route to work, so that she can get some quite reflection time for herself almost everyday.  This is a short episode but one filled with a lot of insights and learnings. How can you connect with her: I strongly recommend that you buy her book - Hunch. The book is packed with a lot of such stories and also has a lot of prompts that can nudge us to practice all the three things that she talks about (curiosity, imagination and empathy) that are important for coming up with our own hunches. Also,  subscribe to her blog. She blogs every single day. Her blogs are an oasis in the middle of a barrage of blogs that dont speak to you. They are short but insightful. They speak to us in a way not many blogs do. You can also follow her on twitter @bernadetteJiwa. PS: You can watch the TED Talks by Richard & Dr. Rayenell.

Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Dave Gray. He is the founder of XPLANE and author of multiple books including Liminal Thinking. Why is he on the show: He is a visual artist and uses agile, iterative techniques like Visual Thinking, Culture Mapping, and Gamestorming to get people engaged and involved in co-creating clear, unique and executable business strategies. His latest book - Liminal Thinking, talks about a core practice for connected leaders in a complex world. What do we talk about: In a free-wheeling conversation, we speak about How did he come about writing his book "Game-storming" with Sunni Brown and James Macanufo and his experience of writing the book Empathy Map and he shares a story about a session where he used the map and how it impacts people Why is it so difficult for people to empathise with others? How did his book "Connected Company" come about and what it was all about (Digital Transformation), which led to the question about how to make the transformation? How this led him to his latest book - "Liminal Thinking" The entire conversation around belief and how critical it is for internal transformation What are some of the most simple of things that if done can have significant impact on our lives? The ability to sit back and observe oneself as a third person is a meta ability that can help us bring about significant changes in our own lives. How could one go about developing this ability? Is there a connection between being in the moment and visual thinking? Something that was surprising and interesting while researching for the book - "Liminal thinking". Who does he considers the most inspiring person and why? What is it that you see in the world that blows his mind? What is the biggest limitation of humanity? Why? What does his creative process looks like? What are his routines that support his creativity? What gives him joy or how does he rejuvenate himself? Where does he get creative ideas from ? What is his learning habits? How does he continue to evolve and grow as a person? Book Recommendation: History of Illuminated Manuscripts Making Meetings work What he thinks is obvious but people miss all the time (The answer will definitely surprise you). What is one thing he wants you to do as soon as you finish listening to this conversation? Liminal thinking talks about learning six principles and nine practices. These nine practices of liminal thinking can be summarised as three simple precepts: Get in touch with your ignorance. Seek understanding. Do something different. Here is a video where Dave explains the Pyramid of Beliefs from his book and you can find a summary of his book here. How can you connect with him: You can follow him on twitter @DaveGray and his website is http://www.xplaner.com.

Credits: Opening music credit goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Dave Gray. He is the founder of XPLANE and author of multiple books including Liminal Thinking. Why is he on the show: He is a visual artist and uses agile, iterative techniques like Visual Thinking, Culture Mapping, and Gamestorming to get people engaged and involved in co-creating clear, unique and executable business strategies. His latest book – Liminal Thinking, talks about a core practice for connected leaders in a complex world. What do we talk about: In a free-wheeling conversation, we speak about How did […]

Who is on the show today: Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. His new book for Viking/Penguin is called The Inevitable, which is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is also founding editor and co-publisher of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily since 2003. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers' Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. His books include the best-selling New Rules for the New Economy, the classic book on decentralized emergent systems, Out of Control, a graphic novel about robots and angels, The Silver Cord, an oversize catalog of the best of Cool Tools, and his summary theory of technology in What Technology Wants (2010). Why is he on the show: In his latest book "The Inevitable", he talks about 12 trends that will shape the way our society will evolve. This is already a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. What do we talk about: In this free-wheeling conversation, we talk about: His interest and curating non-fiction films. He has a curated list of some of the wonderful documentaries on his site here. The 12 trends that are directions that technology is going to move towards, that seem to be inevitable. He lists them as verbs (Becoming, Cognifying, Flowing, Screening, Accessing, Sharing, Filtering, Remixing, Interacting, Tracking, Questioning , Beginning) [bctt tweet=""Trends are inevitable, the form and function is not"" username="rmukeshgupta"] Technology vs Societal view points of view to look at the future.. How Technology has its own agenda.. Have these trends have been behaving since the time the book was written.. How Moore's law would have served you really well if you believed in it.. Artificial intelligence and how this is going to play out.. How can entrepreneurs make use of these trends and place themselves at the fore-runners when these trends play out and become mainstream How can we stay relevant in the future where these trends are becoming mainstream? What do these technologies and trends mean for us as a society and culture? How do we prepare for the future that is coming? Access vs ownership Products vs services Tangible vs intangible A 1000 true fans and how this coupled with the trends that we are talking about provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to profit from. What are some of the most important skills that we need to learn in order to stay relevant: To learn how to learn (Meta skill or the super skill). Figure out how we learn best or our own kind of learning. Learn how to ask questions. Techno-literacy and critical thinking How he learns and stays up-to-date with what he sees happening around him? What he thinks is obvious but no one sees it yet (A very surprising answer).. Documentary he recommends - Becoming Warren Buffet. You can watch the documentary below: How can you connect with him: You can find his blog here. You can subscribe to his weekly newsletter here.

Credits: Opening music credit goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is on the show today: Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. His new book for Viking/Penguin is called The Inevitable, which is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. He is also founding editor and co-publisher of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily since 2003. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ […]

Credits: Opening music credit goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is on the show: In this power packed episode, we host Jason Forrest, the CEO and the Chief Culture officer at the FPG group. As a sales professional, author, speaker, and coach, Jason’s job is to empower professionals and executives to unleash their human performance and master their leadership skills in sales, management, culture and service; for the purpose of increasing profit through people. Why is he on the show: He is a salesperson first, a behavior change expert, a national speaker and a coach who pushes organisations to become highly profitable while […]

Credits: Opening music credit goes to Riju Mukhopadhyay & Pavan Cherukumilli Who is on the show: In this episode, we host Scott Hartley. He is a venture capitalist and author of THE FUZZY AND THE TECHIE , a Financial Times business book of the month, and finalist for the Financial Times and McKinsey & Company’s Bracken Bower Prize for an author under 35. Why is he on the show: Apart from being a VC and having written a good book, he has also served as a Presidenhttp://amzn.to/2rAeUmWtial Innovation Fellow at the White House, a Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures (MDV), […]