Attitude Makeover

Another week and another conversation straight from the CXO series! I’m in conversation with MJ Rakesh, The Mic Jockey or (now retired) Prof Ulfat Sultan on Bangalore radio. Switching from customer support in corporate to the world of performing arts of many kinds, Rakesh takes us through the introspection of careers, speaking from his own roller coaster journey. This episode is a masterclass on what not to miss about aligning vision with purpose.

His electric and eclectic energy comes from his personality’s core ability to internalise his value proposition. He tells how and why that can pay off in more ways than one and also reaffirms positive perspectives on money, competition and success, the kind that takes you higher without belittling others’ journeys. Talking about his Bigg Boss stint, he elaborates on his beliefs and opinions about having a career with a purpose and people's perceptions.

With self-awareness as his strength, he brings a very unique POV to the table, one that differed from mine but got me thinking with attention to the nuances. We talk about retrospection and reinvention, celebrating small wins and going beyond titles.

If you’re evaluating and questioning the need to fit in, Rakesh will get you thinking harder about breaking standards and setting your own. "There cannot be a better version of you than you yourself" - Tune in to listen to the full episode.

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Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

For episode number 39, I’ve got with me the wonderful Pooja Goyal, co-founder and COO at Avishkaar (her third company). An engineer from IIT Delhi, with an MBA from INSEAD, France, she is a serial entrepreneur, and now an angel investor and advisor to many startups and entrepreneurs.

She’s a through-and-through framework person, as I call it. Someone who strongly believes and strives to build something meaningful via sustained consistent efforts over a long period of time. In this conversation, we touch upon the frameworks of 'strategy of work' and its integration into the 'strategy of life' while discussing the nuances of emotional quotient and world dynamics.

Drawing from personal experience of failing at her first startup, we understand the dynamics of all the factors behind any career process. While on the topic of normalising squiggly careers today and generational differences, she talks about her measurement metrics with happiness and "what's important for you" topping the list. The big question we look to tackle in this episode is: Does your ‘Strategy for Work’ align with your ‘Strategy for Life’?

She interestingly delves deep into the balance of the 'Four Quadrants', design thinking, and her touch and go with the Superwoman Syndrome. We talk about time demarcation, insecurities, financial freedom, empathising with yourself and putting purpose and priority in perspectives.

As a voracious reader herself, there are a lot of Easter eggs for all your bibliophiles in this one. But beyond that, we get in the lens of self-discovery and reflection and all that could help one incorporate meaningful mindsets in the process of everyday life while embracing endless possibilities.

Frameworks can frame our big picture in the most comprehensive and achievable ways, and for all those who believe that "Stepping back and zooming out to think about what's important is very necessary sometimes." - this episode is a must for you!

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashetty

Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello and welcome to episode number 38 - my very first virtual conversation, Bombay to Bengaluru! I’m joined by Issac John, an early-stage Founder, Former Business Leader - Discovery/PUMA and a man of multiple career reboots (4 so far). An author of two books, he’s pursued screenwriting and has held multiple leadership roles in marketing in Discovery, Puma, CNBC among other reputed organisations. So, it was only fitting that our conversation revolves around ‘Career Reboot’ - preparing, surviving and thriving through it, for individuals and professionals like us.

After a turning point in his MBA days, Issac set off on a career journey that has been versatile and instinctive. With a graph that speaks for itself, he speaks to us from his experience and extensive research on career reboot, bringing unique perspectives on the ideas of reinvention, reboot, reset and its degrees, and what they all entail.

With parallel yet strikingly similar journeys, Issac and I delve deeper into voluntary and circumstantial reboots - and the concepts of finance, family support, self-discovery, survivor instinct and confidence that have immense impact on every individual’s worldview and reboot experience.

He puts forth incredibly insightful lists of prerequisites that rebooters need to keep in mind while preparing and going through their uncertain journey. We touch upon fear, rejection, clarity and the gendered notions and aspects of a reboot. With unique takes on classical exercises of networking, personal branding and organisational culture, he breaks down the complexities while highlighting the need for acceptance and normalisation of a career reboot, specifically in India.

“Being open and adaptable to situations is what an attitude makeover starts from,” Issac believes and pushes us towards in this rather refreshing and candid conversation. Don’t miss out on this one!

-- Connect with Me --

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashetty

Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of the CXO series, where I am in conversation with a range of CXOs with dynamic career journeys, who come loaded with experience and expertise to share with us.

In Episode 37, I have with me Nitish Chiniwar, a social entrepreneur and founder of Bridges of Sports. Having started his passion-led, entrepreneurial journey as a single-man army (“with friends as photographers”), his foundation continues to work to make sports more accessible to children in rural and remote places.

How can one person - you, me or anyone - make an impact with just our contributions? This is the exact question this conversation attempts to answer and Nitish takes the lead to bring us valuable insights from his own journey, choices and challenges.

With the foundation’s focus on individual sports, Nitish elaborates on the thought process, external support, and importance of data for growth. Talking about turning aspirations into achievable actions, he draws from personal experience to elucidate the need to improve the scale and excellence model at regular intervals. We also touch upon the nuances of networking, financial confidence and networking to enhance organisational and individual impact.

If you are looking to evaluate and fine-tune your approach to YOUR impact in line with a bigger picture of purpose - this episode is the one for you!

-- Connect with Me --

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashetty

Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of the CXO series, where I am in conversation with a range of CXOs with dynamic career journeys, who come loaded with experience and expertise to share with us.

Sayandeb Banerjee, co-founder and CEO of The Math Company joins me for a deep dive into the realm of behavioural economics with respect to supply and demand. Touching upon the fundamentals of behavioural economics and convergence with psychology, we discuss the tricks of the trade i.e. being human with behavioural economics, its importance, relevance, and solution-oriented processes along supply and demand.

Moving beyond technicalities and industry knowledge, he elaborates on why he relates to being a co-founder more than a CEO and that mindset needed to get the nuances of people management, communication and conflict resolution. As a fellow firm believer in merging analytics and technology with the ‘human’ element, Sayan talks about knowing the pulse and contexts of the users to add more value to decision-making.

Mastering and manoeuvring through (personal) examples, Sayan ‘the co-founder’ brings us a perspective on entrepreneurial instinct, intent and impact which reflects on both organisational structure and culture.

For him, an ‘attitude makeover’ is a journey of thought - a manifestation of an individual’s curiosity and inherent ambition that defines their success. For insights on behavioural economics, entrepreneurship and evolving as an individual-professional, tune into the full episode now!

-- Connect with Me --

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashettyVideo version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

The AttitudeMakeover CXO series is a new segment which includes interviews with a range of CXOs with dynamic career journeys, who come loaded with experience and expertise to share with us.

In this new episode, I’m joined by Sandeep Alur, Director, Microsoft Technology Center. He is my ex-colleague, dear friend and a person who has followed AttitudeMakeover from the very beginning providing me with valuable suggestions and feedback. So, this episode was enriching and validating, to say the least!

We attempt to cover the length, breadth and depth of the theme ‘Conscious work-life balance for happiness’. Sandeep – “a dreamer, learner, collaborator and musician” — simplifies jargon and complexities of a personal transformation along the way, and dives deep into the foundational shift in the work-life balance perspective and how ‘collaboration’ (at work and home) can do wonders across the board along with the top tips for the Work-Life Integration you need.

With a learner mindset in a squiggly career, he elaborates on evolving from patterns while touching upon the aspect of ‘stretch goals’ and the accountability factor. There’s constant reference to the ‘home team’ as he calls it and we talk more about carrying the professional and personal as the sum of one’s whole which needs to be carried with active input to create the future as per your big picture. He gets into the balancing act of managing the present by selectively forgetting the past (unlearning) and prioritising the present.

With interesting analogies and anecdotes, he touches upon future relevance and the road it leads us to, right from upskilling and self-discovery to time management and everyday realities, both at work and home. "I know where I'm going and I'm on my way" - the hows, whys, all of it and more in this episode, tune in now!

-- Connect with Me --Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashettyVideo version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello and welcome to a new addition to the AttitudeMakeover podcasts: the CXO series, wherein I'm going to be in conversation with a range of CXOs with dynamic career journeys, who come loaded with experience and expertise to share with us.

First up, I have with me Vidhya Srinivasan, CFO, Bata India Limited. This episode covers ALL the basics of money matters you need to know, especially if you are a woman focusing on the Do's, Don'ts and MUST-Do's for a healthy relationship with money. And there would be no one better than Vidhya to get into the nitty gritty of financial literacy, awareness and inclusion.

Coming from a humble background, she valued money from the get-go, fully aware of the power dynamics and freedom that come with having it. But a personal experience jolted her to consciously acknowledge the evolving, almost uncertain nature of money highlighting the need for individual financial control, for everyone.

In this episode, she takes us through certain non-negotiables, some must-haves and must-dos that could help people in all stages of career/life. Beyond advocating for savings, she elaborates on the importance of investments and financial advisors, writing wills and destigmatising honest conversations about money. She recommends resources, shares advice and tips for men and women.

“From anxiety, your relationship with money should become one of freedom, opportunity and independence. So start young, if not, start immediately,” says Vidhya and that’s your cue to catch the full episode!

-- Connect with Me --

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashetty

Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello everyone, and welcome to Attitude Makeover. In this episode, I have with me the supremely talented musical siblings - singer-songwriter Bindu Subramaniam and violinist-composer Ambi Subramaniam. Together they form the two-piece band SubraMania and are the founders of SaPa - Subramaniam Academy of Performing Arts.

Children of the violin maestro Dr. L Subramaniam, the duo is usually described as a ‘third-generation prodigy’. But this conversation delves into who they are, in spite and beyond assumed identities. And how they have drawn from a traditional musical legacy that runs in their family and paved their own path with self-discovery and innovation.

This conversation heavily revolves around music, of course, and also on the impact of mindfulness in thoughts and actions, and giving your 100% in the process. We touch upon the relevance of reinvention, identifying joy, and making a pleasant mental space for yourself and those around you, for a mental space to do your best each day.

It’s music, mental health and much more, packed with takeaways with which you can draw simple parallels to whichever field you identify with - be it around collaboration, culture, or personal growth. If you are a musician yourself or just a music lover like me, this episode is full of relatable revelations that connect with a rhythm - tune in now!

-- Connect with Me --

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=en

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Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello everyone! It is my absolute pleasure to host Kumudha Chandrasekaran, a beautiful dancer, teacher and choreographer associated with The Temple of Fine Arts, Bangalore. She has also pursued her research studies in Dance Education at the Royal Academy of Dance, London.

Setting the context of a dance practitioner’s personal point of view on unlearning, and how it shapes her own artistic pursuit, this conversation delves deep into the human aspect of unlearning, carried out sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously.

Calling unlearning as a direction in the creative space she shares how each one’s own journey of unlearning stems and flourishes from deep wells of learning, feeling and internalising. This conversation also extends to thinking about the multifaceted nature of being in tune with oneself.

“Unlearning is not necessarily taking out something old and fitting in a new thing. It could also be a new finding that doesn't work for you.” Kumudha’s dynamic insights also take into account the power of vulnerability, community and self-awareness when it comes to unlearning.

This treasure of an episode is an elaborate unpacking of the idea of unlearning intended to create a space that does not propagate one ideology, but rather unravel diverse perspectives and push you to evaluate yours intuitively.

-- Connect with Me --Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashetty

Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw

Hello everybody, welcome to the Attitude Makeover Show! My guest for the day has a fan in me and most of you’ll I’m sure. It was an absolute pleasure to be in conversation with Sonu Venugopal - a digital creator known for being Uncle Sheshadri, Krithika, or just a humorous mirror of everyday realities! She is also an amazing stand-up comic, improviser, and an actor in the making based out of Bengaluru.

Beyond her online persona which has changed the game for regional content creation, Sonu is a multifaceted, driven individual who is all about the various permutations and combinations that have and have not worked for her. Having taken a high-risk plunge into the creative side, she has an in-built sensor of sorts to keep a check on what’s real and worth it. With extremely relevant and refreshing takes on people management and the intrinsic impact of ego, she elaborates on her learnings about pressure, privileges, the power of listening, and placing realistic expectations for your own happiness. There's a lot to learn from her about realistically dealing with ego for your growth.

Drawing from her personal benchmarks and boundaries, she delves into the concept of a career with the heart and the head in the right place and that which adds value. For her, an Attitude Makeover means a work in progress, every single day. Tune in to hear it straight from her and take back your own ideas of what it might mean for you. Enjoy!

-- Connect with Me --

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/attitudemakeover/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sowjanyashetty

Video version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoH6BT-8HDiUsjeeVJQ0KTw