Eminent Indians, from Azim Premji to Anil Kumble, share their thoughts on leadership, excellence and giving back to society
Day 2 of IIMBUE 2015, the first Global Alumni Leadership Conclave of the IIMB’s Alumni Association, which was held on December 12, 2015 at the Leela Palace, Bengaluru, saw the event gaining momentum from the word go. Leaders from various fields spoke their mind on subjects close to their heart. For instance, Wipro’s Chairman Azim Premji engaged in a candid conversation with Biocon’s Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on why Indians do not give back enough to society in an hour-long discussion on the business of philanthropy; Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor listed nine tasks for India in today’s networked world; former India cricket captain Anil Kumble, ace swimmer Nisha Millet and former tennis champion Vijay Amritraj shared personal stories of what it meant to pursue sport full-time in a country that places a premium on academic achievements; and actors Kabir Bedi and Vidya Balan spoke of what it takes to become a leader in the movie business.
“If I had to write a biography on Azim, I would like to title it Giving it all,” declared Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, introducing her esteemed guest, who confessed that it was his mother’s compassion and generosity that inspired him to give back to the less privileged. “My mother, a doctor, did not practice medicine. But she founded the children’s orthopaedic hospital in Bombay, a one of its kind hospital in South East Asia, and devoted her life to raise funds to run it because government grants never came on time,” he explained.
Pointing out that it was his biggest regret that he started out “too late”, he said he believed in giving to areas like education in a country with so much poverty. “There is a strong need to uplift the quality of education in government schools.”
When asked whether India, especially Corporate India, needed sustained sensitization on philanthropy, Premji said: “I don’t think people need to be told; most people are well aware about what their social responsibilities are. Wealthy Indians are not big on philanthropy as they think they must leave all their wealth to their children.”
Warming to the theme of giving back, the Wipro Chairman said the challenges of philanthropy in India revolved around the size, scope and depth of the problem, and the fact that one had to depend on the government machinery and the slowness of change. “A sense of charity needs to be ingrained very early in life,” he remarked, sharing a few stories on how well off families could encourage children to share their birthday money with the less privileged.
It did seem like IIMBUE brought out the candid best in all the speakers. Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, as articulate and expressive as always, began his talk on ‘India in a Networked World’, declaring that the country had spent the first four-and-a-half decades after independence on subsidizing unproductivity, regulating stagnation and trying to distribute fault! “The most desi thing is suspicion of anything foreign!”
Emphasizing that there was a paradox in the forces of globalization, he argued that the forces of globalization that brought the world together also pushed it apart, and created new divisions. “However, this is the time for diversity, where leaders need to learn to imbibe change and live with contradictions; the possibilities and complications of globalization have to be accepted. The challenge is to make the world safe.”
Describing the world as “a complicated networked place”, he said: “It is time to set aside old stereotypes of who can or who can’t excel in a globalized world. The era of US/West dominance is coming to an end. Today, the country with the highest per capital income is not the United States but Singapore. Today, Americans speak of the IITs with the same reverence they use for MIT.”
Track 3 of Day 2 had former tennis champion Vijay Amritraj in conversation with former India cricket captain Anil Kumble and former international swimmer Nisha Millet on ‘Achieving Leadership in the Indian Sports Landscape’. The three sports icons shared glimpses of the prejudices and stereotypes they each encountered while choosing sports over studies, from grandmothers who demanded to know why one spent tons of money and travelled across the seas only to lose (matches) to relatives who asked their respective parents if their children were poor in studies and therefore had taken to sport! “Thankfully, the attitude towards sports and sportspersons has changed,” said Vijay Amritraj and Nisha Millet added that sports must be regarded as complementary to Math and Physics. Anil Kumble suggested that more work had to be done to strengthen sports infrastructure at the grassroots and provide good coaches in districts and towns. “While education is ingrained in the child’s psyche, sports is regarded as an extra-curricular activity. It is crucial to have sports as an integral part of education for India to become a sporting nation. We need to recognize our own icons (and not foreign ones) and start promoting them for kids to get inspired. We need a support system for children focusing on sports. Sport not only gives one an opportunity to do things, but also to give back,” he explained.
In the post-lunch session, IIMB’s Dean Administration Professor Shainesh G released a souvenir to mark the launch of IIMBUE 2015 and Shashi Tharoor received the first copy of it. The sponsors were called upon stage and felicitated. This was followed by a conversation between actors Kabir Bedi and Vidya Balan on ‘Leadership in the Creative Industry’. Describing the interplay between leadership and creativity as “a complicated relationship”, the actress said: “What tie the two together are three characteristics – instinct, vulnerability and courage.” The secret killer of innovation is shame, she said, explaining that what often held people back were thoughts that they would be laughed at. She said, “In the initial years of my career I did films that I thought I should be doing, but with time the actor in me decided to do films that challenge me, and it’s not easy”. Although she acquired the confidence to take the next challenge, she said she realised that all risks do not pay off. “Make most of opportunities, but take decisions yourself. Leadership is when you decide to be true to yourself, to pay heed to your instinct, to lead your life the way you want to. Creativity emerges, blossoms and it helps you to come into your own even more.”
Kabir Bedi defined creativity as a coming together of unusual elements to create something new. “Creativity and leadership are the heart of all successful enterprises. One has to innovate to reach fresh and new ideas. Turning ideas into projects needs leadership,” he said. The actor quoted his father’s fundamental belief that ‘disease comes from the suppression of creativity’. “It’s very important to express your creativity, both at work, and at home, and when put in a position of leadership, to use that creativity for the greater glory of yourself, your society and your country.”
After the tea-break, the evening session saw Chief Secretary Karnataka and IIMB Board Member Kaushik Mukherjee share his ideas on ‘Creating and Sustaining Excellence’, using a unique brand of humour and connecting with the audience. He described excellence as something which is usually considered out of ordinary and superior. “It is dynamic and keeps evolving. It’s about innovation, about doing mundane things in a smart manner. The dimension of cost and time are involved in the pursuit of excellence. These days, it is not possible to achieve excellence without building an ecosystem of teamwork and better communication,” he added.
Dr. Sourav Mukherji, IIMB’s Dean of Academic Programmes, conducted an interactive session with alumni Karan Bhagat, MD and CFO - IIFL; Vipul Parekh, Co-Founder - Big Basket, and Srinivas Kopllolu, CEO and MD - Tata Business Support Services. The discussions centred around entrepreneurship and the services industry.
Click here to view the photo gallery.
Eminent Indians, from Azim Premji to Anil Kumble, share their thoughts on leadership, excellence and giving back to society
Day 2 of IIMBUE 2015, the first Global Alumni Leadership Conclave of the IIMB’s Alumni Association, which was held on December 12, 2015 at the Leela Palace, Bengaluru, saw the event gaining momentum from the word go. Leaders from various fields spoke their mind on subjects close to their heart. For instance, Wipro’s Chairman Azim Premji engaged in a candid conversation with Biocon’s Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on why Indians do not give back enough to society in an hour-long discussion on the business of philanthropy; Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor listed nine tasks for India in today’s networked world; former India cricket captain Anil Kumble, ace swimmer Nisha Millet and former tennis champion Vijay Amritraj shared personal stories of what it meant to pursue sport full-time in a country that places a premium on academic achievements; and actors Kabir Bedi and Vidya Balan spoke of what it takes to become a leader in the movie business.
“If I had to write a biography on Azim, I would like to title it Giving it all,” declared Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, introducing her esteemed guest, who confessed that it was his mother’s compassion and generosity that inspired him to give back to the less privileged. “My mother, a doctor, did not practice medicine. But she founded the children’s orthopaedic hospital in Bombay, a one of its kind hospital in South East Asia, and devoted her life to raise funds to run it because government grants never came on time,” he explained.
Pointing out that it was his biggest regret that he started out “too late”, he said he believed in giving to areas like education in a country with so much poverty. “There is a strong need to uplift the quality of education in government schools.”
When asked whether India, especially Corporate India, needed sustained sensitization on philanthropy, Premji said: “I don’t think people need to be told; most people are well aware about what their social responsibilities are. Wealthy Indians are not big on philanthropy as they think they must leave all their wealth to their children.”
Warming to the theme of giving back, the Wipro Chairman said the challenges of philanthropy in India revolved around the size, scope and depth of the problem, and the fact that one had to depend on the government machinery and the slowness of change. “A sense of charity needs to be ingrained very early in life,” he remarked, sharing a few stories on how well off families could encourage children to share their birthday money with the less privileged.
It did seem like IIMBUE brought out the candid best in all the speakers. Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, as articulate and expressive as always, began his talk on ‘India in a Networked World’, declaring that the country had spent the first four-and-a-half decades after independence on subsidizing unproductivity, regulating stagnation and trying to distribute fault! “The most desi thing is suspicion of anything foreign!”
Emphasizing that there was a paradox in the forces of globalization, he argued that the forces of globalization that brought the world together also pushed it apart, and created new divisions. “However, this is the time for diversity, where leaders need to learn to imbibe change and live with contradictions; the possibilities and complications of globalization have to be accepted. The challenge is to make the world safe.”
Describing the world as “a complicated networked place”, he said: “It is time to set aside old stereotypes of who can or who can’t excel in a globalized world. The era of US/West dominance is coming to an end. Today, the country with the highest per capital income is not the United States but Singapore. Today, Americans speak of the IITs with the same reverence they use for MIT.”
Track 3 of Day 2 had former tennis champion Vijay Amritraj in conversation with former India cricket captain Anil Kumble and former international swimmer Nisha Millet on ‘Achieving Leadership in the Indian Sports Landscape’. The three sports icons shared glimpses of the prejudices and stereotypes they each encountered while choosing sports over studies, from grandmothers who demanded to know why one spent tons of money and travelled across the seas only to lose (matches) to relatives who asked their respective parents if their children were poor in studies and therefore had taken to sport! “Thankfully, the attitude towards sports and sportspersons has changed,” said Vijay Amritraj and Nisha Millet added that sports must be regarded as complementary to Math and Physics. Anil Kumble suggested that more work had to be done to strengthen sports infrastructure at the grassroots and provide good coaches in districts and towns. “While education is ingrained in the child’s psyche, sports is regarded as an extra-curricular activity. It is crucial to have sports as an integral part of education for India to become a sporting nation. We need to recognize our own icons (and not foreign ones) and start promoting them for kids to get inspired. We need a support system for children focusing on sports. Sport not only gives one an opportunity to do things, but also to give back,” he explained.
In the post-lunch session, IIMB’s Dean Administration Professor Shainesh G released a souvenir to mark the launch of IIMBUE 2015 and Shashi Tharoor received the first copy of it. The sponsors were called upon stage and felicitated. This was followed by a conversation between actors Kabir Bedi and Vidya Balan on ‘Leadership in the Creative Industry’. Describing the interplay between leadership and creativity as “a complicated relationship”, the actress said: “What tie the two together are three characteristics – instinct, vulnerability and courage.” The secret killer of innovation is shame, she said, explaining that what often held people back were thoughts that they would be laughed at. She said, “In the initial years of my career I did films that I thought I should be doing, but with time the actor in me decided to do films that challenge me, and it’s not easy”. Although she acquired the confidence to take the next challenge, she said she realised that all risks do not pay off. “Make most of opportunities, but take decisions yourself. Leadership is when you decide to be true to yourself, to pay heed to your instinct, to lead your life the way you want to. Creativity emerges, blossoms and it helps you to come into your own even more.”
Kabir Bedi defined creativity as a coming together of unusual elements to create something new. “Creativity and leadership are the heart of all successful enterprises. One has to innovate to reach fresh and new ideas. Turning ideas into projects needs leadership,” he said. The actor quoted his father’s fundamental belief that ‘disease comes from the suppression of creativity’. “It’s very important to express your creativity, both at work, and at home, and when put in a position of leadership, to use that creativity for the greater glory of yourself, your society and your country.”
After the tea-break, the evening session saw Chief Secretary Karnataka and IIMB Board Member Kaushik Mukherjee share his ideas on ‘Creating and Sustaining Excellence’, using a unique brand of humour and connecting with the audience. He described excellence as something which is usually considered out of ordinary and superior. “It is dynamic and keeps evolving. It’s about innovation, about doing mundane things in a smart manner. The dimension of cost and time are involved in the pursuit of excellence. These days, it is not possible to achieve excellence without building an ecosystem of teamwork and better communication,” he added.
Dr. Sourav Mukherji, IIMB’s Dean of Academic Programmes, conducted an interactive session with alumni Karan Bhagat, MD and CFO - IIFL; Vipul Parekh, Co-Founder - Big Basket, and Srinivas Kopllolu, CEO and MD - Tata Business Support Services. The discussions centred around entrepreneurship and the services industry.
Click here to view the photo gallery.