Over the past five weeks in July, I have experienced new ways to learn, absorb, assimilate and imbibe. Across three independent events in India and the US, I had the opportunity to interact with some awesome, high-energy people. In India, it was meeting new team members who recently joined us after completing their MBAs from top tier institutes. In the US, one was an exhilarating meeting with a customer’s key leadership team, whose business is going through a fundamental shift with the rapid change in the industry landscape: how a new set of digitally enabled business processes, a new mindset on culture alignment and technology roadmap can help. Also in the US, the other event attended was the PAN IIT Global Leadership Conference in Santa Clara, CA. In addition to catching up with alumni from IIT B, I met a few top industry leaders with some of the most amazing minds.
I think I gained some great learning views from across the spectrum: from a team that will create the leaders of tomorrow, another team that is dealing with real here-and-now issues in an amazingly fast-paced business environment, and a group from the PAN IIT event with some of the sharpest minds that we are fortunate to have amongst us in business, society, government and philanthropy.
Freshness always brings a new perspective and new ideas. The ability to challenge the status quo in thinking is the only way forward in the new world. Curiosity is the key to learning. When the mind is open and ready to learn – you will find the directions to the answers you seek. A conversation, I have learned, is far more an effective tool to communicate than a talk or speech. People connect much more emphatically with stories than with PPTs. It is so refreshing to meet young, fearless and ambitious souls. Their high energy is positively infectious and elevates you to fly higher.
Learning through partnering with world class business leaders, who are shaping the industry through fundamental shifts, and being in the trenches with them has its own adrenaline rush. They excel in rapid and analytical decision, and gutsy, bold moves. They bet on new trends, as much as they work very hard to ensure cultural alignment across the ecosystem. Their deep personal conviction is only the beginning; more important is ensuring that everyone goes along the journey to shape a better tomorrow – that is what the best of the best do.
Interacting and learning from some of the most curious and amazing minds in the world is awesome. These individuals have reached the pinnacle of success in their respective fields and have created massive global impact through their work in business, education, social, government, philanthropy, etc. It was a sheer joy to interact with them at the PAN IIT event and listen to them speak. Their intellect, humility, attention to details, amazing ability to focus deep, larger than life purpose and intense passion are simply a treat to observe and learn from. They are also great story tellers, and that comes with a huge amount of practice!
Learning is a continuous and ever-evolving, lifelong commitment. There is always fun and excitement in new ways to learn – it never stops.
Sandeep
Very well said. There is nothing more enriching than listening to or spending time with smart, curious minds. Also IIT alumni represent the best and brightest this world has in terms of raw talent and of course the right ecosystem like in Bay Area or Wall Street or even Bangalore allows the caterpillars to fly as butterflies.