SPJIMR podcasts

Past Imperfect Episode 21: Rosinka Chaudhuri on Young Bengal’s Fearless Radicalism

Past Imperfect Episode 21 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Rosinka Chaudhuri, Professor in Cultural Studies at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC) and the author of India’s First Radicals: Young Bengal and the British Empire.
 
In the early 1830s, a cohort of graduates from Calcutta’s Hindu College began transforming Indian society. Later dubbed Young Bengal, this generation embraced a range of radical and heterodox ideas, questioning everything about the world around them. Their parents were outraged by their abandonment of orthodox Hinduism. Commentators around India either thrilled at their advocacy of equality and liberty or condemned them as drunkards and beef eaters. Amidst these sparks, Young Bengal set out an agenda for fearlessly defending principles like freedom of speech, equality, liberty, and secularism. Its members condemned British colonial rule and even took a British administrator to court. Chaudhuri explains how Young Bengal upturned colonial India—often at great personal cost, but with far-reaching implications which resonate today.

Past Imperfect Episode 20: Manu S. Pillai on Missionaries, Reformers, and the Making of Modern Hinduism

Past Imperfect Episode 20 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Manu S. Pillai, author of Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity.

In a book beginning with Vasco da Gama and ending with V. D. Savarkar, Pillai looks for evidence of how modern Hindu nationalism developed. Gods, Guns and Missionaries is an account of how the interaction between Hinduism and European Christianity—mediated, on the one hand, through Western missionaries, scholars, and colonial administrators; and, on the other hand, through Hindu reformers—produced a new avatar of one of the world’s oldest faiths. Hindu leaders countered the prejudices and Eurocentrism of their colonial masters, but they also borrowed many of their religious ideas. This resulted in new interpretations of Hindu religious texts, modified practices, and, above all, a new attitude of defensiveness.

Sapience Episode 12: Thriving amidst organisational disruptions

Prof. Surya Tahora is in conversation with Neha Chatwani, an organisational psychologist. In this talk, they discuss that in a world of turbulence, it is imperative that we reassess some of the management and leadership assumptions in organisations so that we can leverage our collective intelligence with meaning and purpose, intentionally, for enabling agility through learning.

Tune in to the latest episode of the podcast series Sapience presented by SPJIMR Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Past Imperfect Episode 19: Amrita Shah on Ancestral Journeys across the Indian Ocean

Past Imperfect Episode 19 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Amrita Shah, author of The Other Mohan in Britain’s Indian Ocean Empire.

What does Mohanlal Killavala have in common with Mahatma Gandhi? Both men migrated to South Africa. Both men were Gujarati professionals who smarted at racial prejudice in the British Empire, protested against unjust laws, and spent time in jail. There were important dissimilarities as well—dissimilarities, as well—dissimilarities which add nuance to the story of the Indian diaspora. Amrita Shah’s The Other Mohan traces the story of her great-grandfather, Killavala, as he joined thousands of other Indians seeking better opportunities abroad in the early twentieth century. While reconstructing Killavala’s travels, she also tells a much more complex story of how the Indian Ocean knits together so many different people through bonds of labour, political activity, and marriage.

Past Imperfect Episode 18: Rosemary Wakeman on the Interwar Worlds of Bombay, London, and Shanghai

Past Imperfect Episode 18 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Rosemary Wakeman, Professor of History at Fordham University and author of The Worlds of Victor Sassoon.

Victor Sassoon (1881-1961) called three cities home: Bombay, London, and Shanghai. These three cities, as Rosemary Wakeman explains, best epitomised capitalism and globalisation in the 1920s and 1930s. In The Worlds of Victor Sassoon, Wakeman uses the life and fortunes of the Baghdadi Jewish businessman to tell a much larger story of cosmopolitanism and global cities. Bombay, London, and Shanghai resembled one another more than their own countries: they became international hubs of finance, technology, media, and the leisure economy. This was a world of horse races and aviation, real estate speculation and the movie industry, and art deco architecture and investment banking. Victor Sassoon stood at the centre of a much broader transformation of global capitalism, one which sprouted the roots of today’s economy.

Sapience Episode 11: An exploration of mindfulness in the context of economics, leadership and culture

The new edition of Sapience features Prof. Surya Tahora in conversation with Dr. Knut O.J. Ims, Professor Emeritus in Business Ethics at the Norwegian School of Economics, and Hege Tuen Seglem, Founder of Being Mindful. They discuss how mindfulness, defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as purposeful, present, and non-judgemental awareness, can address interconnected systemic crises in the Anthropocene, such as environmental, social, and economic challenges. It argues that mindfulness can foster conscious, value-driven choices, breaking habitual behaviours to promote sustainability and deeper connections with nature, others, and oneself.

Past Imperfect Episode 17: Jane Ohlmeyer on Ireland and India’s intertwined histories

Past Imperfect episode 17 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Jane Ohlmeyer, Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History at Trinity College Dublin and author of Making Empire.
 
Question: What unites a European island country of 5 million people and a subcontinental nation of 1.45 billion? Answer: A remarkably deep and complex history. Jane Ohlmeyer explains how the Irish—as both colonial victims and members of the colonial elite, army, and bureaucracy—shaped British India from the 1600s onwards. Ireland gave India some of its staunchest allies, such as Annie Besant, and its most recalcitrant colonial governors, like Michael O’Dwyer of Punjab. And the Irish have influenced modern India in some profoundly unexpected ways. Bombay’s second governor—the Irishman Gerald Aungier—instilled its commercial ethos and transformed the city into a cosmopolitan entrepot. India’s ‘City of Dreams’ retains several reminders of Irish inputs from nearly four centuries ago.

Sapience Episode 10: What is conscious consulting?

In this episode, Prof. Surya Tahora speaks with Christian Mayhofer, Co-founder of CCG-Conscious Consulting Group. They explore the evolving role of consulting amidst technological advancements, societal shifts, and the rise of AI. Key challenges such as intergenerational conflicts, ethical leadership, sustainability, and fostering equality and inclusion are discussed. The conversation highlights the importance of empowering organisations and tackling global issues through continuous learning, innovation, and conscious leadership.

Tune in to the latest episode of the podcast series Sapience presented by SPJIMR Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Sapience Episode 9: Inner presence and wise leadership

This edition features Prof. Surya Tahora in conversation with Mr. Sai Sambat, Co-founder, Institute of Indic Wisdom. The Institute of Indic Wisdom, promoted by INDICA, amplifies the global permeation of Indic Wisdom through partnerships, alliances, self-organising networks and eventually, an Indic Wisdom Movement.

Mr. Sambat’s journey began with intensive work at the Indian Society for Individual and Social Development in the 90s, leading to deep personal transformation and ongoing spiritual exploration.

Past Imperfect Episode 16: Ashoka Mody on a More Broken India

Past Imperfect Episode 16 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Ashoka Mody, formerly a deputy director at the International Monetary Fund and a visiting professor at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and author of India Is Broken.

When Ashoka Mody published India is Broken two years ago, it stoked fierce controversy. Instead of describing the promise of the ‘India story’—a buoyant economy, a growing middle class, and great potential for manufacturing and service sector growth—Mody portrayed a country which systematically refused to get the basics right. India, Mody argues, remains trapped in a jobs crisis, and its failure to meaningfully invest in quality education, public health, and other public goods condemns it to continued high rates of unemployment and underemployment. In this episode, Mody explains how his views have evolved in the past two years and why he believes that India is even more broken today.

Past Imperfect Episode 15: Nico Slate on Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay’s Art of Freedom

Past Imperfect Episode 15 features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with Nico Slate, a Professor in the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University. They discuss Prof. Slate’s latest book, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Art of Freedom.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was one of the most remarkable leaders of twentieth-century India, someone who was unafraid of shattering taboos, speaking her mind, and linking together campaigns for social justice around the world. Nico Slate’s new biography, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay: The Art of Freedom, traces a political career which lasted nearly seven decades. She was an outspoken advocate of women’s rights, a socialist firebrand, a global ambassador for India, and a towering personality in the world of Indian handicrafts and arts. Slate’s book investigates Kamaladevi’s multifaceted career, allowing us to better appreciate the words she lived by: “Beauty is the soul of freedom.”

Past Imperfect Episode 14: Swadeshi Steam with A.R. Venkatachalapathy

This edition features SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with A.R. Venkatachalapathy, Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies.

How did one man take on one of the world’s biggest multinational corporations of the early twentieth century? A.R. Venkatachalapathy’s Swadeshi Steam traces the life of V.O. Chidambaram Pillai, who, in 1906, founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company to break a British shipping monopoly. Swadeshi Steam was powered by both patriotism and remarkable business acumen: it canvassed shares from across India and the global Indian diaspora. And it nearly succeeded in disrupting British commercial interests—the primary reason for why Swadeshi Steam was eventually crushed by the British Indian government.

Past Imperfect Episode 13: Murali Ranganathan on Bombay and Mumbai, Past and Present

This episode features Prof. Dinyar Patel in conversation with the independent historian Murali Ranganathan. Over the past fifteen years, Murali Ranganathan has trawled archives and libraries looking for material on Mumbai’s history in Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu, and Persian. And he has assembled some remarkable finds into a series of books and articles covering everything from print history to pandemics.

His latest book, The First World War Adventures of Nariman Karkaria, is a translation from Gujarati of a Parsi soldier’s rollicking accounts of his world travels and battle experiences. And it provides a window into a broader discussion of Mumbai and its people.

How has the city changed and stayed the same over the centuries? What is the longer history of controversies over naming, identity, and belonging in the Maximum City? How do Mumbaikars understand their city’s history?

Past Imperfect Episode 12: Taylor Sherman on the myths of Nehru’s India

How much of history is mythmaking? In this episode, Taylor Sherman, author of Nehru’s India: A History in Seven Myths, tackles some shibboleths of India’s first seventeen years of independence. How nonaligned was nonalignment? Could socialist policies actually widen socioeconomic disparities? Was Nehru really the architect of modern India? The answers, Sherman discovers, are far messier and more complex than we imagine.

The inner side of leadership and coaching with Payal Nanjiani

Join Prof. Sushmita Srivastava in this engaging conversation with Executive Coach and Leadership Expert Payal Nanjiani. They discuss the impact of coaching in unlocking the full potential of an individual. With a rich experience of over a decade, Payal shares insights and anecdotes from her enriching journey and key takeaways for emerging business leaders. Tune in to this latest episode to know more!

Sapience Episode 8: Is Arthashastra relevant in modern times?

Prof. Surya Tahora is in conversation with renowned Leadership Advisor Rajesh Kamath. Mr. Kamath is a Keynote Speaker, Storyteller, Consultant, Facilitator, Columnist, Teacher, Coach and Lifelong learner. In this episode, he discusses elevating leadership and transforming organisations by adapting timeless principles from Indian wisdom, with a focus on the ancient Indian text Arthashastra.

The discussion touches on its historical context, authorship, and relevance to modern leadership. The conversation also explores specific tools and frameworks from the Arthashastra that can be applied in organisational contexts. Join us in the latest episode of Sapience to gain insights about implications and wisdom related to leadership. The series is presented by SPJIMR Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Sapience Episode 7: Transforming business and leadership

This edition features Prof. Surya Tahora in conversation with Prof. Chris Laszlo, Department of Organisational Behaviour, Weatherhead School of Management. In this engaging discussion, Prof. Laszlo reflects on the evolving role of business in society, emphasising the integration of ethical behaviour, market forces, and individual transformation. Explore the importance of personal practices and experiences in driving transformative change, drawing parallels with wisdom traditions that recognise the interconnectedness of self, others, and the world.

Tune in to the latest episode of the podcast series Sapience presented by SPJIMR Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Past Imperfect Episode 11: Toward a free economy with Aditya Balasubramanian

SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel is in conversation with Aditya Balasubramanian, Senior Lecturer in History at Australian National University

The Swatantra Party, established in 1959, briefly became India’s chief opposition party before disintegrating in the early 1970s. What explains its rise and fall? Aditya Balasubramanian’s Toward a Free Economy charts one of democratic India’s earliest experiments in viable opposition politics: how a diverse cast of political leaders articulated the need for an alternative to a dominant political party. Swatantra’s clarion call was for a ‘free economy’, one unshackled from the license-and-permit raj. But the party was equally concerned with unchecked political power, rising corruption, and the long-term health of India’s democracy.

Past Imperfect Episode 10: Ashok Gopal on the Life and Thought of B. R. Ambedkar

SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel is in conversation with Ashok Gopal

In B. R. Ambedkar, India possessed a phenomenal intellectual powerhouse. Drawing on ideas and thinkers from the subcontinent and around the world, he stirred India’s conscience, pointing to the devastating legacies of caste and untouchability while raising urgent questions about the viability of democracy in India. Ambedkar’s ideas could be unsettling and uncomfortable—and that is precisely why he remains so relevant today. In A Part Apart, Ashok Gopal has written the definitive English-language biography of Ambedkar, the product of fifteen years of close research and study. Gopal’s book charts the evolution of Ambedkar’s career and thought, from his engagement with Hindu social reform to his embrace of Buddhism as a religion truly compatible with social. democracy.

Sustainable Futures Episode 2: Conservation of India’s Privately-owned Mangroves, by Godrej & Boyce

In our new episode of the podcast series ‘Sustainable Futures’, Prabhat Pani, Executive Director, CISD, is in conversation with Anil G. Verma, Executive Director and CEO of Godrej & Boyce. In this thought-provoking podcast episode, we delve into the topic of India’s privately owned mangroves and the efforts to preserve them. Tune in now and be part of the conversation.

Past Imperfect Episode 9: Radio Across Borders with Isabel Huacuja Alonso

SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel is in conversation with Isabel Huacuja Alonso, Columbia University.

Before the internet and television, South Asia tuned in to the radio, and the radio helped South Asians forge a shared sense of belonging. Isabel Huacuja Alonso’s Radio for the Millions chronicles the history of broadcasting from the beginnings of All India Radio (AIR) in the 1930s to the heights of Radio Ceylon’s film music-powered popularity from the 1950s through the 1970s. Governments tried to use radio to project state power, but listeners regularly used their sets and transistors as tools of defiance or resistance. This was particularly the case after 1947, when film songs and Hindustani broadcasting helped bring together people divided by Partition.

Past Imperfect Episode 8: The World of Sugar with Ulbe Bosma

SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel is in conversation with Ulbe Bosma, International Institute of Social History and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

What can sugar teach us about global history? Plenty, as Ulbe Bosma demonstrates in his new book. ‘The World of Sugar’ is a sweeping narrative of how sugar emerged from India and China to conquer the world, generating both enormous riches and endemic poverty, powered by sophisticated networks of capital and technology as well as brutal labour regimes. Bosma examines how the human penchant for sweetness has shaped politics and economics for centuries, laying the foundations for modern capitalism and globalisation.

The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Past Imperfect Episode 7: Vinayak Chaturvedi on Savarkar’s Reading of History

In the latest episode of Past Imperfect, SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel discusses with Prof. Vinayak Chaturvedi, University of California, Irvine, the role of history in shaping Hindutva, including the ideas of V.D. Savarkar. Chaturvedi’s work engages with Savarkar’s ideas and perspectives, which may be viewed as innovative, controversial, or challenging. The podcast highlights the significant role of history in shaping the concept of Hindutva, and Savarkar’s insights into the account provide context for understanding this ideology.

The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Beyond the Bottomline Episode 1: Is India ready for CBDC?

Join us for our new podcast series, Beyond the Bottomline, where SPJIMR’s Prof. Varun Yadav discusses India’s readiness for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and their impact on the digital economy, securities and contingencies, and technology and design choices.

Technological advancements have enabled the creation of a new form of money, the CBDC. CBDC is the digital version of a country’s fiat currency, issued and backed by the RBI. India has a well-developed digital payments ecosystem, but CBDC requires significant infrastructure upgrades to ensure secure and efficient digital transactions. This podcast discusses potential opportunities and challenges before India fully adopts CBDC and adds to the ongoing debate among policymakers, experts, and stakeholders.

The series is produced by SPJIMR’s Centre for Financial Innovation.

Sapience Episode 6: The Wisdom Researchers and the Elephant; An Integrative Model of Wise Behaviour

Prof. Surya Tahora is in conversation with Prof. Judith Gluck, University of Klagenfurt, Austria. Prof. Gluck offers an insightful perspective on the different approaches to wisdom in the field of research, drawing parallels to the well-known fable of the blind men and the elephant. Listen in as she shares her journey towards developing a unified model of wisdom and its various interpretations. Join us for a thought-provoking and informative conversation on the latest episode of Sapience. The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Sustainable Futures, Episode 1: Tata Coffee’s Sustainable Journey

Very few corporations worldwide can claim to sequester ten times the carbon they generate in their operations. From zero depletion of groundwater in their operations, mitigating human-elephant conflict to digitally tagging its coffee bushes and scientifically assessing climate change for itself and the coffee-growing community, Tata Coffee has walked the talk on corporate sustainability. In the first episode, Mr Chacko Thomas, MD and CEO of Tata Coffee, in conversation with Prabhat Pani, Executive Director, SPJIMR Centre for Impact in Sustainable Development (CISD), discusses how Tata Coffee has raised the bar on sustainability initiatives by corporates. The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Impact in Sustainable Development (CISD).

Sapience Episode 5: Linking Wise Organisations to Wise Leadership, Job Satisfaction and Well-Being

In our latest episode of Sapience, SPJIMR Prof Surya Tahora is in conversation with Prof Monica Ardelt, University of Florida. Monica Ardelt takes us on a journey into the heart of wise organisations. Drawing from her Three-Dimensional Wisdom model, she breaks down the components of a wise organisation, from leadership and decision-making to the sharing of profits. She also explains why wise organisations are the way of the future and how they can create a better, more sustainable world for future generations.

The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Sapience Episode 4: The Science of Wisdom in a Polarised World: Knowns and Unknowns

Faculty member Surya Tahora is in conversation with Howard Nusbaum, University of Chicago. They discuss how, despite its long history, there is still much to learn about wisdom and how it can be applied in the real world. They also scrutinise how wisdom researchers from various disciplines and backgrounds can collaborate to identify commonalities in their theories and develop a more comprehensive understanding of wisdom. This understanding can then be used to assist people in making wiser decisions that consider the impact of their actions on others.

Past Imperfect Episode 6: Priya Atwal on Women Power in the Sikh Empire

Priya Atwal, Author and Professor at the University of Oxford, is in conversation with SPJIMR faculty Dinyar Patel. Women’s voices are absent from so much of South Asian history. In ‘Royals and Rebels’, Priya Atwal recovers the remarkable roles that royal women played in the affairs of the Sikh Empire (1799-1849). Ranjit Singh might have been the Sher-e-Punjab, but Atwal demonstrates that his empire owed much of its success to female power.

Sapience Episode 3: Application of wisdom research to organisations, leadership, and qualitative research methods

Faculty member Dr Surya Tahora is in conversation with Dr David Rooney, Macquarie University. They discuss whether there is a way to overcome the existential threat that young executives feel and what wisdom practices they can adopt. The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL)./p>

Past Imperfect Episode 5: Bombay Imagined with Robert Stephens

Robert Stephens, Author and Architect, RMA Architects, is in conversation with SPJIMR Prof. Dr Dinyar Patel.

The architect Charles Correa once described Bombay/Mumbai as a great city but a terrible place. In ‘Bombay Imagined’, Robert Stephens, an American-born architect at RMA Architects, chronicles several centuries of unfulfilled plans to make the city both greater and less terrible. ‘Bombay Imagined’ demonstrates that smelly sewage, awful infrastructure, paltry open space, and inadequate housing are not simply modern problems: Bombay citizens have established a long tradition of devising plans to mediate these perennial headaches, unfortunately, with limited success.

Sapience Episode 2: Advancing the science of wise reasoning in management

Faculty member Dr Surya Tahora is in conversation with Dr Justin Brienza, University of Queensland Business School.

They discuss why, despite extensive work on wisdom research, it is yet to percolate to the Organisations. They also talk about how ‘wise reasoning’ can benefit organisations where intelligence, emotional intelligence, and cognitive ability fail. The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Past Imperfect Episode 4: The Global Business World of the Sassoons with Joseph Sassoon

Author and Professor, Georgetown University, Dr Joseph Sassoon, is in conversation with SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel. Joseph Sassoon’s ‘The Global Merchants’ charts the meteoric rise and calamitous collapse of the Sassoon family, Jewish refugees from Baghdad who built a world-spanning business empire out of Bombay, London, and Shanghai. Sassoon’s book is full of fascinating characters: opium traders, horse racing aficionados who rubbed shoulders with British royalty, and perhaps the first woman to lead a global commercial enterprise.

Sapience Episode 1: Developing Leaders to Perform in Uncertainty; The Mindfulness Solution

In our new podcast series, ‘Sapience’, Faculty member Prof. Surya Tahora is in conversation with Leadership Development Advisor, Dr. Elizabeth King

They dive into the many aspects of mindfulness; does the evidence match the hype, and can we distinguish between mindfulness’s peripheral and deeper sides? They discuss the implications for organisations, what goes on in senior leadership rooms, and whether those decisions serve the greater good.

The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL).

Past Imperfect Episode 3: A Man and a (Five-Year) Plan with Nikhil Menon

Dr Nikhil Menon, Author and Professor, University of Notre Dame, is in conversation with SPJIMR Prof. Dinyar Patel.

In ‘Planning Democracy’, Nikhil Menon takes us to the summit of Nehruvian planning in the 1950s and 1960s—and what we find there might surprise us. The story of India’s first Five-Year Plans involved a genius professor, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis; deft Cold War diplomacy; and the introduction of India’s first computers. But it was also about so much more: an attempt to make planning ‘democratic’, a project which involved rural volunteers, Bollywood talent, and even sadhus.

Past Imperfect Episode 2: Thinking about Constitutions with Linda Colley

Historian and Author Linda Colley is in conversation with SPJIMR Prof. Dr Dinyar Patel.

Linda Colley’s ‘The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen’ is a wide-ranging exploration of the development of constitutions, a book which demonstrates how increasingly violent warfare led to the worldwide spread of these documents between the 18th and early 20th centuries. In this episode, Colley discusses global influences on Indian constitutional thought, the relevance of constitutions today, and why historians need to write accessible books.

‘Past Imperfect’ explores leadership from a historical perspective while bridging the past and present. The series is brought to you by SPJIMR’s Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL) and features conversations with authors of recent works of global and Indian history and explores political and economic leadership in unusual or unconventional situations.

Continued Employee Engagement is a Vaccination Against Future Crisis.

Mr Suresh Narayanan, Nestle India Limited’s Chairman and Managing Director, talks about how it was his employees who helped the company survive the Maggi crisis in India, the importance of highly engaged employees in companies at all times and his conviction that well-run companies need to invest more in building a company culture than in CAPX.

His insightful discussion about People and Leadership with SPJIMR Executive-In-Residence, noted author and corporate advisor, Mr R Gopalakrishnan also stresses on why being people sensitive is the hallmark of a true leader, the dangers of being blindsided by consumer market research and the role of a CEO in succession planning in companies.

Company culture fosters innovation.

In this episode of the podcast, Mr. Bharat Puri, Managing Director and CEO of Pidilite Industries Limited and SPJIMR Former Dean Dr. Ranjan Banerjee, talk about the links between an organization’s culture and its innovation capabilities, the importance of a leader listening to every last voice in a company and the role of an organization’s leadership in a crisis such as a pandemic.

Mr. Puri gives a comprehensive overview of how Pidilite tackled the effects of the Covid19 pandemic and lockdown on its businesses and spells out the 3 guiding principles a leader should follow while communicating during a crisis. He also compares and contrasts the operating models of MNCs and Family Managed Businesses. They end the conversation by talking about how to mentor and nurture future leaders.

The 3 Leadership Principles to Triumph over Crises.

Mr. Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director at Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in conversation with SPJIMR Executive-In-Residence, noted author and corporate advisor, Mr R Gopalakrishnan talks about how the Bhopal Gas Tragedy crisis turned him from a “boy to a man”, and how the experience helped him as a leader to navigate various other crises such as the Arab Spring in the MENA countries, the introduction of GST and Demonetization in India and the ongoing Covid19 Pandemic.

With examples from their own career, the two corporate gurus explain the principles of Corporate Leadership – ‘De-Averaging’, ‘And’, and ‘Sense-Making’ and why Sense-Making is a survival trait for leaders, managers and organizations during a crisis. They also emphasize the need to be in sync with the nuances of different cultures worldwide to be successful as an international manager. They end the conversation with a discussion on HUL’s prominent position in the global Unilever family.

Don’t wait for the storm to blow away, instead learn to dance in the rain

Mr Deepak Iyer, President of Mondelez India talks to SPJIMR Professor Dr Ashita Aggarwal about why it is important for leaders to plan well in advance of a crisis, enable an innovative and growth mindset in organizations, remain invested in brands and employees during crises and how to take advantage of a Black Swan event such as a pandemic to retool the organization.

They talk about the myth of large companies not being agile, the ‘Snacking Made Right’ principle of Mondelez, the value of comfort food in times of strife, the ‘Cadbury tree’, the three megatrends that we are likely to see during the new normal and the steps the company is taking towards sustainability. They round off the conversation by talking about the power of dreaming big and his fond memories and learnings from his days as a student at SPJIMR that helped shape his career.

Young managers should learn about the difference between a papaya and a banyan tree

Mr. Amit Jain, Managing Director of L’Oreal in conversation with Dr. Tulsi Jayakumar, Professor of Economics and Chairperson of Family Managed Business at SPJIMR, reflects on a leadership journey that has seen him helm companies across industries – paint and chemicals, soft drinks, media, cosmetics – and made him a truly fungible leader.

Growing up in various Air Force bases across the length and breadth of India has instilled in him certain qualities essential to successful business leaders – adaptability, appreciation of diversity and cultural sensitivity. In this enthralling conversation, they discuss why in critical markets like India, ‘differentiate or die’ holds true, why Indian leaders are always resilient, how every individual and corporate can play a part in the battle against climate change, and how beauty is diverse, eternal and is a sentiment. They end the conversation with Mr. Jain talking about what budding managers can learn from the movie ‘3 Idiots’ and why it is important for them to learn the difference between a papaya and a banyan tree.

Play your game as if there is room for only one

How did a talented cricketer, coached by none other than Ramakant Achrekar, start his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 23 and go on to become one of India’s most successful bankers?

Mr. Uday Kotak, Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB)in this riveting conversation with Prof. Tulsi Jayakumar, Professor of Economics and Chairperson of the Family Managed Business Programme at SPJIMR talks about his entrepreneurial journey and the human mantras that he follows that have led to his success. They discuss the 3 M’s that shaped his childhood – Maa, Maths and Mania for Cricket; how cricket shaped the future banker in Mr. Kotak; how Mr. Anand Mahindra’s name came to be part of KMB; why ‘professional entrepreneurship’ is a key term for the present and future of the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and why ‘Winner-Takes-All’ might eventually trump ‘Coopetition’.

They also talk about KMB’s JV with Goldman Sachs, the eventual parting of ways and his 7-year pursuit of ING Vysya. Mr. Kotak also shares his views on the future of banks and banking and gives advice to the layman on how to decide where to park his/her money and talks about what keeps him awake at night.

Newspapers will always remain the most credible source of news

This episode of the podcast is a conversation between Mr. Partha Sinha, President at Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited (Times of India Group) and Prof. Vineeta Dwivedi, Head Digital Communications at SPJIMR.

Mr. Sinha reflects on his journey from being a nuclear design engineer, a banker, a strategy and marketing head of media and internet companies, and an advertising strategist.

Mr. Sinha dismisses doomsday predictions for the newspaper industry. He says the importance of news and newspapers in shaping independent thought in society will stay forever as no other medium has the kind of source credibility. He also explains why Covid was the best possible management consultant for companies globally.

He also talks about the Advertising industry and why it is still underrated. Prof. Dwivedi and Mr. Sinha discuss his passion for sports, books and having an area of passion other than work. They round off the conversation by talking about data disruption and he explains why the information superhighway has turned into a ‘prejudices and biases’ superhighway.

Leader with an entrepreneurial spirit!

This episode of the podcast is a conversation between Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardee Mr. A. M. Naik, Group Chairman of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Dr. Pallavi Mody, SPJIMR’s Professor of Economics.

Mr. Naik talks about his 56-year journey at L&T where he started off as an engineer on the shop floor and went on to become the CEO of the company in 1999 and later the MD, Chairman and Group Chairman of the company.

They discuss his first 90 days as CEO of L&T, how he brought about a culture of value creation in the company and why he decided to make L&T an international organization. He emphasizes the importance of a leader to be an entrepreneur with a professional background. He speaks about how he has contested elections from the age of 6 and how that helped him be a people’s man always through his career.

They also discuss the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat, how L&T started it in 1971 by building India’s first nuclear reactor, why India needs to become a matured democracy to ensure its own growth and why every single Indian needs to contribute to the betterment of society overall. They end the chat with Mr. Naik giving a message to young budding managers as to why they need to think about their role to the country and to the society to make India a strong nation.

The best marketing strategy in the world needs great execution!

Ms. Sangeeta Talwar, Managing Partner, Flyvision Consulting; a leader behind iconic brands like Maggi and Tata Tea is in conversation with SPJIMR’s Professor of Marketing and Head, Delhi Centre, Dr Ruppal Walia Sharma.

Ms Talwar reflects on her successful career and talks about the iconic brand campaigns and emphasizes why customer centricity and consumer insights are keys to any successful business. They talk about the challenges she faced in her career journey when few women executives held senior positions – she was the first woman in the management cadre in Nestle India. They discuss how great ideas can be turned into long-term sustainable businesses and the importance of innovation, experimentation and collaboration in today’s interconnected world. Ms. Talwar signs off with some inspiring words for all budding corporate executives especially for women who want to make a mark in their careers.

Vaccines and ‘power’ brands – Leadership in the pharma industry

Mr. Rajaram Narayanan, Managing Director & Country Chair of Sanofi in India is in conversation with Prof. Vineeta Dwivedi, Head Digital Communications at SPJIMR.

Mr. Rajaram speaks about the availability of Covid vaccines in India, the challenges related to getting everybody vaccinated and what normalcy might look like in India in the next 9-12 months and sheds light on the development and manufacture of Covid vaccines by Sanofi. He also speaks about the present issues and challenges related to the current healthcare infrastructure in India and how these can be improved.

They converse about how Sanofi built power brands like Combiflam, Allegra, etc., how brand recall and trust are built in the pharmaceutical world, the role of innovation in medicines and Mr. Rajaram’s biggest learnings as a leader in these challenging times. They round off the conversation by talking about Mr. Rajaram’s successful career journey, the evolution of his managerial and leadership style over the years, his individual mantras of success, how he copes with stress and why it is essential for young managers to improve their communication skills.

How do leaders make tough decisions?

Ms. Mansi Tripathy, Regional Vice President – Asia Pacific Middle East, Shell Lubricants is in conversation with Prof. Ratika Gore, Assistant Professor- Communications and Head – Alumni Relations, SPJIMR.

They discuss how leaders are meant to and make tough decisions all the time. Ms. Tripathy talks about how having to flee Kashmir overnight during her childhood gave her a sense of perspective about the real issues in life. She explains the principles and frameworks that she follows when she makes crucial decisions in her professional and personal life, how she embraces the consequences and learns to thrive on them. She further explains the decision making in an organization during uncertain times like Covid19. They round off the conversation by talking about why managers make bad decisions, Ms. Tripathy’s keys to maintaining a healthy work-life balance and the importance of loving the work you do.

How Shaadi.com and Bigg Boss became success stories on Digital platforms!

Mr. Gourav Rakshit – Chief Operating Officer of Viacom18 Digital Ventures, is in conversation with Prof. Vineeta Dwivedi, Head – Digital Communications, SPJIMR.

Mr. Rakshit speaks about how he managed to successfully transition across different industry sectors – FMCG, IT Consulting and Entertainment – and how he decided on the choice of his jobs. He sheds light on how his experiences working for Apple as a client helped pave the way for creating a profitable internet venture in Shaadi.com and tackling the challenges that come with helming a business with a short consumer life cycle.

They discuss the phenomenon of India’s Over The Top (OTT) streaming platforms and their future, the reasons for migrating Bigg Boss to an OTT only broadcast on Voot, the digitization and monetization challenges unique to the OTT market, and the future of cable network due to the rise in OTT platforms. They also talk about Mr. Rakshit’s learnings as a leader from Covid19, his love of building successful frameworks in an organization and his passion for sports. He signs off by sharing some invaluable Guru Mantra for young management students.

Driving Value-Based Growth, the SPJIMR way

SPJIMR Dean Dr. Varun Nagaraj is in conversation with Mr. Sunil Lulla, media industry veteran and SPJIMR alum, class of 1984.

Dr. Nagaraj shares how he interprets SPJIMR’s mission to ‘Influence Practice and Promote Value-based Growth’ to different stakeholders and discusses how SPJIMR alumni can lead such growth. Mr. Lulla and Dr. Nagaraj discuss the unique role of Centers of Excellence in creating and disseminating thought leadership at scale to shape ideas, behaviours, and actions that can benefit the country on the whole.

They talk about the future of management education in India in the post-pandemic world, why education is a lifelong process, how the process of learning is vastly different from that of yesteryears, and the continued importance of an MBA even for start-ups in India. After discussing how industry practitioners could collaborate with academics, Dr. Nagaraj and Mr. Lulla wrap up by discussing the possibility of a Bollywood movie made on the SPJIMR campus!

A successful career is based on successful relationships at home.

Ms. Megha Tata, Managing Director, South Asia – Discovery, Inc is in conversation with Prof. Ratika Gore, Assistant Professor – Communications and Head – Alumni Relations, SPJIMR.

They discuss the aspect of leadership that is unique to the world of content and the role of women in the workplace. She observes that while the participation of women has increased in the workforce there are still very few CXO level positions held by women in the Media Industry.

She also shares her success mantra or as she likes to call it, ‘Megha’s five Pillars’, namely: Passion, Prioritization, PR(Networking), Perception, and Positive Attitude, that have worked for her in her career journey. They round off the conversation by talking about how digital consumption has been accelerated during the pandemic and the unique opportunities that have come along with it.

“Life is like a dashboard in a creative agency” – Making brands that people love

Mr. Dheeraj Sinha, CEO & Chief Strategy Officer, South Asia at Leo Burnett, Publicis Business & Publicis Health is in conversation with Prof. Vineeta Dwivedi, Head – Digital Communications, SPJIMR.

He speaks about how they come up with creative solutions at Leo Burnett and shares the story behind its successful campaigns like that for Spotify. He says that the notion of a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for brands is now passe. They also speak about how to make a career in advertising and marketing. Listen to this interesting conversation here.

Past Imperfect: Episode 1

In a new SPJIMR podcast series, ‘Past Imperfect’, our Faculty member Dr Dinyar Patel is in conversation with Historian Dr Ramachandra Guha.

They discuss the dearth of good biographies in India and South Asia. Dr Guha emphasises why biographies should not be written with a political agenda but draw on rich and original research as well as a perceptive frame of analysis. They talk about his new book, ‘Rebels Against the Raj’, and the insights it provides into relations between India and the West and India’s story as a country searching for its identity and liberty beyond British colonial rule.