The series began with the words of inspiration from Mr. Pramod Chaudhuri, Chairman, Praj Industries, Pune. He said that a practical approach towards life has always helped him to overcome the dissonances arising out of ethical issues.
Mr. Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Industries Ltd also gave special insight as to how he saw the Indian economy evolved through decades, to where it stands today.
Mr. Vijay Mahajan Chairman,, BASIX India had several insights into a leader’s role. He said that one doesn’t have to lead a profit making conventional organization to be hailed as a leader. Leadership is as much about following one’s convictions as it is about inspiring others.
Mr. Uday Kotak, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, is a firm believer in ethics and value system. Commenting on the current Indian scenario, Mr. Kotak stated that the Indians believe in incremental thinking. They should move towards aspirational thinking and to do that, more emphasis should be laid upon execution of plans.
Dr. Ashok Ganguly, Chairman, ICICI One Source Limited., Former Director Of Unilever Plc, Former Chairman, HLL Ltd., shared 3 things which according to his experiences were useful for any career in life. Firstly, he said that opportunity to learn should always be given. Secondly, one should accept that he doesn’t know, if he doesn’t know something. Thirdly, qualities like being thrilled about doing any work, even if the results are not immediately visible, or the goal has not been accomplished, is rare to find.
The session with Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC(India), was a stone apart from the other sessions. When asked about the challenges she faced as a woman, she expressed her concern that women often have self imposed glass ceilings and they don’t believe they can rise up. It’s often not the organization that’s hindering their success.
The telecom tycoon Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel Limited, also told the students about how he had started from scratch and has risen to the heights today. He told how innovative thinking and believing in one’s thoughts brought him a long way, and made him stand apart in the crowd.
Mr. Narayan Vaghul, Chairman, ICICI Bank, with 50 years of experience in the Financial Sector can easily be termed as the Bheeshma Pitamah of the Banking and Financial Services Industry. Even with a host of achievements under his cap, he enthralled the audience with his simplicity and words of wisdom. According to Mr. Vaghul leadership and vision is about foreseeing the future before others. He gave example of people like Sunil Mittal has who saw the future so clearly a decade ago.
Mr. Jamshyd Godrej , Chairman, Godrej & Boyce Co. Ltd attributed his inheritance for giving him an opportunity to lead a mammoth organization like Godrej & Boyce. Recollecting his early days, he remarked that he had learned a lot from his father and that too in a very interesting way. According to him, theoretical learning must always be coupled with practical insights either through projects or industrial trips, to render learning process effective.
But the awe-inspiring remark came from Dr. Kiran Bedi, IPS, Director General , Bureau of Police Research and Training. Within 5 minutes of the session, the audience had got mesmerized. She unfolded a very different aspect needed for rising up the ladder. She said that though focus towards goal is needed, it shouldn’t be overdone to the extent that we forget to enjoy. In the din and bustle of the world and our race to reach the top, we should give some time to ourselves always, to know where we stand, where we are going and how right it is for us.
Besides the insight that the series gave the students into how a leader emerges from the troughs of life, the biggest learning that came through was that a leader is one who never loses hope, and fights it out till the end. And more than any books and theories, it is the zeal within, the power to think beyond and the spirit to pursue it in all circumstances, what carves the real niche for a leader.