Like most Indian students of the nineties, I pursued my higher education options based on what was generally known and acceptable. Becoming an engineer and MBA was (and continues to be) popular. My first job was also in a sought after field: management consulting. What most careers - particularly, successful ones - don't reveal are the dreams that didn't materialise. The dreams that we might have had as children. Or even later during college.Is it then a failure if we don't obtain our dream jobs? I have written about my first major encounter with failure during my MBA placements. As I shared during the first episode of this podcast: 80% of young managers did not get the job that they wanted on campus and only 48% of them are satisfied with their current jobs.Are we doomed to remain dissatisfied, pining for the dream job that wasn't to be?What if the current job is your dream job... you just don't know it yet?I look back at my career journey... a roller-coaster of sorts over three decades of choices and misses. And how I learnt (from later Prof. Clayton Christensen) that the principles of strategy (deliberate vs. emergent) apply even to our careers.Do share your feedback and suggestions... write to us at programs@globalgyan.in or send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578

VALYOU: Create Personal Competitive Advantage in Your Career

How I Stumbled On My Dream Job

Nobody is interested in learning, I have often complained.But let the record show that GlobalGyan has always sought to help professionals strengthen their capabilities, through practical learning programs :) In this episode, I had a fascinating conversation with my co-founder and colleague, Sameer Kanse about the process of learning. Sameer is an intrepid learner and of course, a passionate athlete. Therefore, we discussed his learning journey of preparing for the IronMan triathlon.What Sameer shared was a simple framework for how you can pursue a learning agenda, in almost anything. There are many useful tips that you will hear; what I found compelling was the role of a coach in this pursuit. Do share your unique learning experiences and methods with us: write to programs@globalgyan.in or comment on our social media posts.And finally, in the episode, you will find reference to a new program that we are launching. All you have to do is send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578 with the details mentioned by me.

How I Almost Drowned Before I Learnt Swimming

Peter Drucker is supposed to have said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". In other variants, culture skips breakfast, and goes after strategy for lunch. Of course, there's a question mark around whether Drucker even said something like this.However, ask a question comparing Strategy with Culture or with Execution, there are multiple opinions; everyone professes that something is more important than the other. But, is that even the right question?In this conversation with Gagandeep Singh, we get into the linkages between the three, and how we ought to take a more integrated view of them. Gagan is a consultant and coach in the areas of leadership development and organisation transformation. He has written extensively on these topics and has been a partner with GlobalGyan from day 1. Not one to mince his words, Gagan shares his views on the two debates, and provides suggestions on what leaders must do, particularly during these uncertain times, to strengthen the triad of culture, strategy and execution.In case you wish to learn more about GlobalGyan's programs, do check out our website. You can sign up to the interesting programs by our faculty partners.Critical Thinking and Problem SolvingMake Presentations like a ProDesign Thinking and ElasticityBecome a Persuasive Storytellerand many others...

The Triad of Culture, Strategy and Execution

An interesting article in the Mint by Niranjan Rajadhyaksha ("Expand the ‘missing middle’ to fix our problem of job creation") talked about the need for India to create 100 million new jobs over the next 10 years. This will require 100,000 new companies (small & medium businesses) that can each employ a few hundred to be created. We need 100K new entrepreneurs.What could hold them back? The good news is that entrepreneurship (over traditional careers) has started to become acceptable to many youngsters and experienced adults. The not so good news is that entrepreneurship has been equated with the tech, VC-funded startup world. This must be expanded to include more "traditional" businesses.Secondly, our education (college) system is a colossal waste of resources. It does not prepare youngsters for jobs, and less so for entrepreneurship. We must shrink our colleges and create new ones in their place which focus on what almost every 'student' cares about: jobs.Creating 100 million jobs is not an impossible task. We must change the narrative around jobs.To learn how GlobalGyan helps students and professionals prepare for jobs and careers, do check out globalgyan.in, connect with us at programs@globalgyan.in or send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578.

In Pursuit of 100Mn Jobs

Unfortunately, yet another long break. GlobalGyan has been busy during this period with a wide variety of live programs and content. Hope this reboot will last longer. This episode brings together things that Srini has written in various posts and articles earlier. Most leaders and educators ask this question: why aren't professionals / adults learning, even though it is obvious that continuous learning is critical to just survival, forget career growth.And the sad reality is that (almost) nobody wants to learn.The issue is lack of measurability of learning. Without objective measurement of capabilities, particularly those of the "soft" variety, there is no motivation to learn.  In this episode, Srini goes into the role of our performance management culture and the way supervisors/bosses manage feedback, in developing a vicious cycle of non-learning. Can we do something about it? We suggest a (virtual) slap in the face. To learn how GlobalGyan can help you learn better, do check out globalgyan.in, connect with us at programs@globalgyan.in or send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578.

Why Nobody Wants to Learn

This podcast took an unplanned break, initially due to some health issues that I had and later, the inertia of resuming it. But this seems like a good enough time to restart the podcast.  In this period of crisis and uncertainty, the Gig-workers are the first to experience loss of business. Many people have had their projects deferred or even cancelled. When you are essentially selling your time, and nobody wants to use your time right now, your earnings dry up.  For a detailed read, I would recommend this wonderful post by Dan Schwabel on LinkedIn -- How Hourly Workers Can Make a Living During The Corona Crisis. I also refer to R Jagannathan's book, some useful pointers about the impending jobs crisis can be found in this article. What is the most important and urgent thing that you can do, if you are faced with the uncertainty of income? Nothing you do on the income side will yield you overnight results. The urgent thing that you can do is to lower your expenses. If the inflows are reduced or have become erratic, the first thing you have to do is to manage the outflows. Connect with us at programs@globalgyan.in or send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578.

Bracing for Uncertainty

Critical thinking is the ability to distinguish between various pieces of data, to be able to derive patterns… and to apply learnings across domains.  The reason we need critical thinking is because we are required to solve complex problems, amidst pressures of time, uncertainty and limited data. If you want to build critical thinking, I would just focus on the ability to connect the dots. How do we connect the dots? You need to work on both quantity and diversity of dots. What stops us from being able to build quantity and diversity of dots? The education system rots the two characteristics that mark a critical thinker. Curiosity. Creativity. I asked you to draw a picture. This is the image that most participants draw. More or less. Everyone can revive their curiosity and creativity. Requires just a bit of discipline.Here is a tracker that you can use to make sure you build the two (+1 bonus) habits. Connect with us at programs@globalgyan.in or send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578.

Revive Your Pink Moon

Our fifth, most important, skill for professionals, to future-proof one's career is Critical Thinking. To understand it better, I speak with Dr. Ashok Korwar, former Professor and PGP Chairman at the Indian Institute of Management IIM Ahmedabad and now a consultant and coach to leaders of high-growth companies. Highlights of the conversation Critical Thinking is critical because of three reasons:Too much data is availableGrowth of False newsIncreasing levels of specialisation Critical Thinking is the ability to:Distinguish between what is true / appropriate / likely, and what is notObtain insights and observe patterns from large amounts of dataApply learnings from one field to another, to solve problems It is difficult to teach critical thinking because it requires (a) us to be inherently interested in learning diverse topics, make the required investments; and (b) the teacher to have the capabilities to instil such interest over time. Unfortunately, our education system does not encourage Critical Thinking. We value Knowledge, knowing the facts… but not Understanding, how we make sense of and apply the facts. In order to develop Critical Thinking, one practical tip would be to ask the question, Why, when faced with any situation, fact or data. Asking such a question repeatedly, with the intent of seeking a solution, is bound to lead to Critical Thinking.  In future episodes, we will deep-dive into these five skills and explore more stories on how we can build competitive advantage in career.   Connect with us at programs@globalgyan.in or send a Whatsapp message to +91 892 843 9578.

One Skill To Rule Them All

Srinivasa Addepalli and all the other gurus at GlobalGyan Academy of Management Education share their secrets of how to build a successful career. Speaking from their years of experience across sectors, geographies and functions, they offer practical insights on how you can create competitive advantage for yourself. In the future of work, you will face competition from not only others like you but also talented people across the world, and even machines! Most young people believe that graduating from a well-known college with a coveted degree will set them up for life, but that is no longer a guarantor of success. Firstly, a majority of smart young people do not get admission into such colleges. And even if they do, what they learn during those few years is often meaningless compared to what they would need to do over the next 30 to 40 years. Creating competitive advantage requires us to learn new, relevant skills but that is not all; just like businesses need to think of the 4Ps (and more), individuals need to work on multiple dimensions to create their own strategy to win in the marketplace for talent. Discover how you can uniquely design and build your career, from those who have succeeded and failed at doing so.

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VALYOU: Create Personal Competitive Advantage in Your Career

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