Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

By Harish NarayananEducationSelf-Improvement
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Best in Class with Harish Narayanan episodes

  • Jacqueline Kapur on what we can learn from animals, her love for horses, a spirit of adventure [#15]

    Jacqueline Kapur talk to me about her love for animals, mindfulness, adventure and a lot more! 

    If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

    Timestamps coming soon. 

    Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

    45 min
  • Aditya Sehgal on personal development, prioritisation, blitzscaling, learnings from China [#14]

    Aditya Sehgal is one of the clearest thinkers I have had the pleasure of talking to; he is ex-President of Reckitt Benkiser, worked across multiple countries in top leadership roles, and the best testament to his leadership was that multiple folks I spoke to called him “the best manager / leader they ever worked for”. He has deeply thought out frameworks for career growth, personal development, decision making et al, and has honed these frameworks over decades of personal experience. I learnt a lot from this conversation and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

    Aditya’s blog is at www.adityasehgal.com. Detailed timestamps from the conversation are below.

    If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

    Timestamps:

    • 01:02 Intro
    • 02:50 Frameworks, career journey, and power of compounding. 
    • 08:04 Framework of being rich, ideas for his future, being a ‘door opener’ for others. 
    • 13:20 Personal development, managing time, prioritising family, creating new habits. 
    • 18:02 Developing teams, getting promoted, ‘gardening’ as a metaphor for building talent. 
    • 22:08 Finding purpose. “The journey is all we have”.
    • 25:50 Blitzscaling. “Be fast. Be big. Be bold.”
    • 37:18 Scaling in China. Experiments and learnings. 
    • 46:23 Learnings from the China market. Embracing the future. Hunting in packs. ‘Guanxi’.
    • 52:22 Job satisfaction model.  
    • 55:10 Quick questions.

      • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

      58 min
    • Archana Gehlot on unschooling children, living sustainably, rethinking time priorities, minimalism [#13]

      Archana Parsai Gehlot is a very unique individual. She's a mother of two wonderful 'unschooled' children, and founder of multiple initiatives such as Asmakam (www.asmakam.org, an organisation promoting self learning), Cotfoo (www.cotfoo.com, an organic nutrition startup) etc. She and her son also created a short film about the education system ('The Lost Gift', link: https://youtu.be/R4v-zOsk_nc). A chance connection on Linkedin led me to learn more about her work and eventually, to this conversation. We talk about her experience of bringing up two unschooled children, living sustainably, 'believing in emergence' and much more. 

      If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

      Timestamps:

      • 1:10 Intro.
      • 5:02 Unschooling her children and the journey that led to it.
      • 12:35 Her children’s learning journey.
      • 18:38 Usual objections / concerns from parents about unschooling.
      • 25:36 Rethinking our time priorities.
      • 34:28 Slowing down, living sustainably. “Stay in the now, believe in emergence”.
      • 41:49 Dealing with competition. “Arrival of the fittest”.
      • 47:40 Finding self-motivation.
      • 54:39 Quick questions.

        • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

        1 hr 2 min
      • Swagata Sarangi on starting up late, finding initial traction, grit, 'trying something new' [#12]

        Swagata Sarangi of Smytten (https://smytten.com/) is our guest this time! He's a serial founder, clear thinker and a prime example of how grit enables success. He has built a sampling platform for premium customers in India from scratch and this conversation is full of learnings from his journey. Timestamps and details of the conversation are below.

        If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

        Timestamps:

        • 1:23 Intro.
        • 02:30 Starting up late in career. 
        • 10:30 Early years of a startup: finding the right problem and getting to the MVP. ("Digital intent creation.")
        • 15:14 Grit ("we are all a victim of our childhood").
        • 20:44 Finding a Co-founder, building the early team. 
        • 24:24 Building product as a 'non-technical' founder.
        • 26:46 Connecting the dots, in hindsight.
        • 28:04 Mental models for hiring ("raising the bar on humility" & "choosing will over skill").
        • 31:38 What was easier than expected & tougher than expected.  
        • 34:53 Who should start a company? (And who shouldn't).
        • 37:21 Getting the first customers. Then scaling from 1K to 1M. ("Creating the right initial cohort").
        • 42:51 Quick questions: Favourite books, new learnings, key message to the world "Try something new!"

          • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

          48 min
        • Nithin Kamath on specific knowledge, scaling an ecosystem, role of capitalism, giving back [#11]

          Nithin Kamath of Zerodha is our guest this time! Nithin is the co-founder of Zerodha, TrueBeacon, Rainmatter, and is a force to reckon with in the Indian Fintech ecosystem. He and his team have reimagined fintech with their many beautifully designed customer-friendly platforms like Kite and Coin, and their investments in other upstarts like Smallcase. His journey is also a unique case study in building a bootstrapped behemoth via unwavering customer obsession, in an industry that had large encumbents. Timestamps and details of the conversation are below. 

          If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

          Timestamps:

          • 00:40 Intro.
          • 02:47 “Specific knowledge“ that made Zerodha possible. 
          • 06:57 Family background & support. 
          • 11:58 Quitting his job and startup journey (portfolio advisory -> Zerodha). 
          • 15:35 Scaling, ‘Right place right time’, 
          • 22:55 The meaning of money and how it changed over time. 
          • 27:08 The role of capitalism in today’s India.
          • 31:42 Varsity and sharing financial knowledge.
          • 34:51 Being bootstrapped, dealing with well-funded competition. 
          • 40:37 Day-to-day priorities & helping the ecosystem grow with Rainmatter.
          • 49:03 Hiring great talent, growing leaders from within.
          • 52:24: Rapidfire. “If you don’t bet you can’t win, and if you lose all your chips, you can’t bet.”

            • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

            55 min
          • Chinu Kala on resilience, celebrating small wins, loving yourself [#10]

            Chinu Kala is the founder of Rubans Jewelry (www.rubans.in). Hers is a story like none other; she left home at the age of 15, did many odd jobs, faced rejection time and time again, stayed resilient and grew her own multi-crore business. It is a simple but inspiring story of grit for any young girl / entrepreneur out there. Hope you enjoy! Timestamps and details of the conversation are below.

            If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

            Timestamps:

            • 01:05 Intro
            • 03:31 Facing struggles and building grit (“No Plan B”). 
            • 09:52 Entrepreneurial journey, learning to sell, Starting Rubans.
            • 18:24 Learn and Work. And repeat. 
            • 20:48 Building resilience by celebrating small wins. 
            • 25:32 Building Rubans, the brand and it’s products. 
            • 31:51 Scrappy scaling.
            • 35:26 Dealing with setbacks. 
            • 40:57 Support from family, friends and team. 
            • 45:30 Rapidfire. Message for the world: “Love yourself”.

              • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

              51 min
            • Rajendran Dandapani on the success of Zoho schools, getting a second chance at life, unschooling his child [#9]

              Rajendran Dandapani is the President of Zoho Schools (Zoho's meaningful alternative to conventional education, producing ~15% of Zoho's talent today). His is a life like none other; he dropped out of IIT, started his journey in Zoho 25 years ago, and has helped to transform the opportunities available in Tier-2 towns and villages in India. He also talks about his personal journey and redemption after hitting rock bottom, his experience unschooling his child (his son, who is now working at Zoho!). He has been a lifelong experimenter, optimist, and a clear orator; I hope you learn as much as I did from this conversation. 

              If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.


              Timestamps:

              • 1:11 Introduction.
              • 3:28 The model of Zoho Schools and what makes them work. (Learning by osmosis). 
              • 11:31 Genesis of the ZS model, initial years. (Scaling by experimentation). 
              • 23:46 Stepping off the beaten path. Scaling the model. 
              • 29:19 Learning to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty. 
              • 36:11 Dropping out of IIT, finding himself, finding redemption, getting into Zoho. 
              • 46:49 Unschooling his son.

                • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

                58 min
              • Arun Iyer on creativity, brand building, starting up, storytelling [#8]

                Please meet Arun Iyer (Linkedin). Arun was the National Creative Director of Lowe Lintas (best known for his "Daag ache hain" campaign for Surf Excel) and is now a founding partner at Spring Marketing Capital, where he helps build startup brands and also invests in them. He is one of India's top creative and visual storytelling minds, and in this episode we dive deep into his career journey, his thought process, the experience of starting up et al. 

                If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started. 

                Timestamps:

                • 1:07 Intro.
                • 3:06 Creativity ("Creativity is a way of expressing yourself.")
                • 8:15 Arun's career journey (and the story of how, as a junior executive, he found a way to meet with the CEO of Unilever). 
                • 17:48 Starting up and Beginner's mindset.
                • 22:00 Favourite campaigns, learnings from failure. ("Success is remembered by people, failure is remembered by you.")
                • 29:44 The creative process & mental models in brand storytelling.
                • 34:27 Brand community building and letting go of control.
                • 38:00 Starting Spring Marketing Capital, working with startups, investing. 
                • 43:52 Quick questions / Rapid-fire.


                  • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

                  49 min
                • Rajan Singh on finding a calling, meditation, focus, and a weekly digital sabbath [#7]

                  In this episode, I had the pleasure of connecting with Rajan Singh (YouTube Channel, Linkedin). Rajan is the founder of HabitStrong, where he teaches morning routines, meditation, focused work and more, through many in-depth & habit-building programs. His impressive background before starting-up (IIT, IPS, Wharton MBA, McKinsey, PE etc) also contains lots of stories to learn from. Please use the timestamps below to jump to specific topics; I would highly recommend you to listen to his views on meditation and building the focus muscle. 

                  If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

                  Timestamps:

                  • 1:00 Intro and his journey across IIT, IPS, Wharton, McKinsey, PE, Starting up. 
                  • 13:08 Risk taking framework. Regret minimisation + living with less. 
                  • 20:30 Habitstrong, starting with small experiments, building discipline, owning the morning, doing deep work. 
                  • 32:28 Meditation and making it stick as a habit. (Creating a space between stimulus and response). 
                  • 43:56 Practicing regularly vs seeking shortcuts. 
                  • 48:16 Focus and deep work. ("Intention comes before attention"). 
                  • 53:36 Going off grid on Sundays (a Digital Sabbath). 
                  • 57:36 Building focus and mindfulness in children. 

                    • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

                    1 hr 4 min
                  • Sai Srinivas on dealing with ambiguity, building a great product, fundraising, and honest feedback [#6]

                    In this episode, I had the pleasure of connecting with Sai Srinivas (@saisrinivas). Sai is the co-founder & CEO of MPL (India's largest online gaming platform). He is a rockstar product leader a no-nonsense straight talker, and has built a unicorn in under 3 years in the face of intense competition and regulatory challenges. He's a treasure trove of insights on many topics such as hiring, scaling, product strategy etc. I thoroughly enjoyed this hour long conversation with him on a wide ranging set of topics. Hope you enjoy it too. 

                    If you like this conversation, don't forget to subscribe, and please rate the podcast on Google podcasts, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to it. Thank you and let's get started.

                    Timestamps: 

                    • 0:00 Intro
                    • 2:57 Being comfortable with ambiguity 
                    • 8:58 Dealing with failure and learning from it
                    • 14:27 Finding (& keeping) great talent
                    • 20:56 Co-founder dynamics (mantra: "zero ego")
                    • 25:22 Building a great product ("copy the problem, not the solution")
                    • 32:42 Tradeoffs in features ("focus on most important outcomes")
                    • 37:00 Learning product management
                    • 39:34 Favourite fundraising story
                    • 43:17 Giving honest feedback
                    • 47:19 One key message - "Focus inward not outward"

                      • Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed during the series are solely personal and do not necessarily represent those of my company / employers.

                      49 min

                    About Best in Class with Harish Narayanan

                    From the publisher's feed

                    This podcast is an experiment in human flourishing; an excuse to connect with outstanding folks (changemakers, achievers and thinkers) across fields deep dive into what makes them unique and what makes them tick. Guests include Kunal Shah, Sridhar Vembu, Ankur Warikoo, Shradha Sharma, Nithin Kamath.