Dreamers and Unicorns 2.0

When a kid is asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? Vishwanathan Anand said, "I want to be a world champion." It may have seemed out of reach to many. After all, there was no grandmaster in Chess for India until 18-year-old Vishwanathan "Vishy" Anand took up that challenge. He is a five-time world chess champion. In April 2006, Anand became the fourth player in history to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list, after Kramnik, Topalov, and Garry Kasparov. He occupied the number one position for 21 months, the sixth-longest period on record. In this episode, I speak to Vishy Anand on his view of the movie The Queen Gambit, on his love for languages (He is fluent in German and Spanish). Anand was the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honour. In 2007, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award.

According to KPMG, companies are increasingly integrating innovation efforts with strategy and transformation initiatives. Companies with more mature innovation processes were significantly more likely to have innovation activities integrated or collaborating with their strategy (81 percent vs. 56 percent), corporate development/M&A (48 percent vs. 29 percent), and corporate venture capital (62 percent vs. 30 percent) teams, versus the overall respondent pool. Companies have an opportunity to develop the right strategies and approaches to successfully scale innovation and align imperatives with other groups across the business. The legendary professor Clay Christensen was at Harvard Business School when young Scott Anthony took a class that changed his career trajectory. He is a partner at the firm INNOSIGHT that Christensen started. In the recent book ‘Eat, Sleep, Innovate’ the four co-authors document insights about how to build a culture of innovation. Listen to that conversation. 

We live in a reputation economy. Visibility creates opportunities and reputation builds trust. Submitting a resume to a job board, or cold calling randomly, will increasingly become ineffective until it simply doesn't work at all. On the other hand, building an online presence and managing your reputation (like a brand) will become increasing effective and yield strong results.Brands have to appeal to the head through the financial performance and growth graphs. They appeal to the heart by what the leaders say and do inside the organisation and outside. The brand of the organization is shaped most powerfully by the employees. Influencer marketing is more important for B2B than for B2C. After all, the average purchase size in B2B typically dwarfs that in B2C, and the impact of referrals and word of mouth are more critical to the success of the organization.Rani Mani heads Employee Advocacy for Adobe worldwide. She manages the Influencers who also amplify the Adobe brand. In this chat, she tells us why organisations need to leverage Influencers. Don't miss it.

Catch Author, Angel Investor and head of HR at Big Basket, TN Hari in conversation with Abhijit Bhaduri, author of the book Dreamers and Unicorns. They discuss how companies and individuals must pivot along with the changing times to avoid irrelevance. That means choosing strategies that support the phase of growth. Home delivery of groceries is a $600 billion business in India and soon to boom into a trillion-dollar marketplace.Here is the article by Larry Greiner that Hari refers to during the conversation https://hbr.org/1998/05/evolution-and-revolution-as-organizations-grow

Karthika VK is Publisher, Westland Publications Pvt Ltd. She started her career in publishing at Penguin Books India and was Publisher, HarperCollins India between 2006 and 2016 before joining Westland. She has published several of India’s favourite writers including Anita Nair, Amruta Patil, Anuja Chauhan, Aravind Adiga, Manu Joseph, Karthika Nair, Amrita Mahale, Josy Joseph, Manu Pillai, Rana Dasgupta, Meena Kandaswamy, Parmesh Shahani, Nisha Susan and Paul Zacharia. Disclaimer: She has also published several of Abhijit Bhaduri’s books!

PK Gulati is a serial entrepreneur, tech evangelist and start-up mentor, PK Gulati straddles his interests between India, Middle East and Silicon Valley. In this conversation with host Abhijit Bhaduri, PK talks about balancing the polarity between being curious to learn about things you may not have any immediate need to know. Yet while executing an idea you need to have deep focus. The most fascinating piece of advice: When you go to a conference, do not hang around with people you know. Listen to PK share his counter-intuitive and disruptive thoughts

Mae Thomas - presenter, podcaster, music fiend, founder of Maed in India and lover of all things weird, alternative and abnormal - uncovers with author Abhijit Bhaduri, what it means to be a 1st mover in an industry not yet properly established in a country, what it takes to further one's cause and how to always be open to change.

In this conversation with author and host Abhijit Bhaduri, our guest Lizzie Chapman, co-founder of Zestmoney opens up about her love for India, what she thinks about the Indian customer, issues she had while setting up the business. She aims to create a financial product for the next billion. She debunks myths about the Indian consumer that will leave you full of hope. Being a Dreamer is all about execution - not just dreams, says Lizzie in this must-listen episode.

In a post-COVID world where status quo changes every second, transitions are bound to catch us off guard every now and then. Whether or not the transitions are welcomed one needs to navigate their careers in a way that answer two key questions - where to play and how to win. In order to do so, a transitions coach often helps people reflect on where to go and how to grow. In light of this context, Deepak Jayaraman, in conversation with author Abhijit Bhaduri, offers significant insights about how to navigate careers in a manner where people can realize their own potential. 

Meet Joy Bhattacharjya, who remains a curious learner to this day. Discover how his interest in history, science, literature, and films informed his career in the business of sports. Also, find out how he's aiming to push his horizons beyond the game, in this spirited conversation with the author, Abhijit Bhaduri.

Once a dreamer always a dreamer! Meet Aditya Ghosh - a person whose name is synonymous with Indigo Airlines. In this candid interview with Abhijit Bhaduri, he unveils his secret to success. Shall we give you a hint? It's culture. Tune in to know how!

Who is a Dreamer? Who is a Unicorn? and Who is a Marketshaper? All these questions will be answered as Abhijit Bhaduri gives you a sneak peek into the new season of his podcast - Dreamers and Unicorns 2.0. New episode releases every Wednesday. Stay tuned!

"We are all entrepreneurs. It's not about the organisation structure, it's not about whether you get a salary or not, and it's not about the financial stakes. It's about how you navigate the world" In the season finale of Dreamers and Unicorns, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Sairee Chahal about women in workspaces. Sairee Chahal is the CEO and Founder of SHEROES, a women-only social platform created to provide support and community to women on the internet.  Dreamers & Unicorns is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.

“Policies don't make culture, it is the demonstration of behaviour on a consistent basis which go on to shape the culture of the place.”  In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Pratik Kumar about the myths, realities and what we know about the future of Industry 4.0.  Pratik Kumar is the CEO of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering. He has been with Wipro for 28 years where he spent his initial years in the IT business and then later held the position of Executive Vice President of HR.  Dreamers & Unicorns is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.

Don't define yourself in terms of a job and a predictable career and so forth. Think more in terms of experiences, and a portfolio of projects.    In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Ravi Venkatesan about what the workspaces of the future will look like.  Ravi Venketsan is the former Chairman of Microsoft India and Cummins India. He is also the founder of the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), a UNICEF Special Representative for Young People and author of Conquering the Chaos- Win In India, Win Everywhere.  Dreamers & Unicorns is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.

“Words like “unsure”, “I don't know”, “Maybe”, “let me try” they are assets in the art world.”  In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns by PeopleStrong, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Shantanu Moitra about creativity and forging a career in creative fields.  Shantanu Moitra is a music director best known for his work in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Parineeta, 3 idiots, Pink, among others. Before his foray into the music industry, he worked at an advertising agency where he created many iconic jingles.  Dreamers & Unicorns by PeopleStrong is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production.  Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome.  Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan.  Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni. 

“The human skills or the emotional skills, adaptability, resilience, curiosity, creativity, all those kinds of skills are absolutely very difficult to teach. Not only are they're difficult to teach, but they're also equally difficult to assess” In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns by PeopleStrong, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Anuj Kacker about the importance of learning new skills and vocational careers.  Anuk Kacker is the Executive Director of Aptech Ltd., a global learning solutions company that provides professional training and certificate courses in over 40 countries.   Dreamers & Unicorns is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.

Quitting your job for gig work, to be independent, is truly one of those adult decisions you get to take in life that you truly get to own.  In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Joshua Karthik about how you should prepare for quitting your day job to become a gig worker.  Joshua Karthik is Co-founder of Stories by Joseph Radhik, the popular wedding photography brand. He is also the co-founder of PEP Inc, a community initiative that aims to improve the quality of photography education.  Dreamers & Unicorns is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.

“It is the job of the founder to build a very high level of ownership in each and every employee, especially in the current context where we are living in a very, very dynamic and volatile environment.” In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns - a new code of work podcast series, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to Renuka Ramnath about creating winning teams.   Renuka Ramnath is the Founder, MD and CEO of Multiples Alternate Asset Management, a private equity fund. She started her career with the ICICI Group where she led ICICI Venture before she went on to lead the largest private equity fund in India. Dreamers & Unicorns by PeopleStrong is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan. Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.

“Don't take your business more seriously than the customer does” In this episode of Dreamers and Unicorns by PeopleStrong, Abhijit Bhaduri talks to R Balki about striking a balance between technology and creativity.  R Balki is a filmmaker and screenwriter known for movies like Cheeni Kum, Paa, Pad Man and his latest hit, Mission Mangal. Before he started his career in films, he worked in advertising as the Group Chairman of Lowe Lintas (India).    Dreamers & Unicorns is hosted by Abhijit Bhaduri, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @abhijitbhaduri. Dreamers & Unicorns – Season 1 of the New Code of Work series - is brought to you by PeopleStrong, Asia's Leading Work and #HRTech company. For more information visit www.newcodeofwork.com. This is a Maed in India production. Editorial Producers: Mae Thomas and Shaun Fanthome. Producer: Sharanya Subramaniyan.  Assistant Producer: Jaanam Dewan. Sound design and edited by Kartik Kulkarni.