WorkYogi Diaries

13/06/2022

Podcast Episode #18

In conversation with Vidya Iyer, Founder, and CEO of Unbound Solutions ( http://unboundsolutions.net) on her mission to empower women.

Women traditionally have had to take breaks from careers due to various reasons including parenting and family priorities. Getting back to the workforce after a gap is often riddled with a lack of opportunity. This is primarily due to hiring managers having concerns about the loss of skills during the gap years.

Unbound solutions provide Agile scrum master training that's helping women come back to the workplace after gap years.

Unbound through its services is helping customers access a talented pool of professionals equipped with the latest Agile methods.

We get behind the scenes of this amazing entrepreneurial journey with a mission.

Youtube link : https://youtu.be/bff2b8pFfCg

Chapter timelines

0:00 Background and intro
2:35 Unbound Solutions' founding story
6:37 Bridging the gap on the demand side
7:35 The challenges of being agile
11:06 What is an Agile mindset
17:24 How does one develop an Agile leadership mindset
20:00 Qualifications for becoming an Agile coach
22:47 Are women more amenable to being Agile
23:25 Challenges of placement
24:55 What’s the future of Unbound Solutions
27:40 The last word

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/workyogi
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/workyogi-diaries-podcast/id1557569617

15/08/2021

Episode #17

A fascinating conversation with Udaya Kumar on the local history of Bengaluru that nobody tells you about.

Uday Kumar, an old friend and a technologist , has been passionately on a quest to document and preserve the local history of one world’s most important cities, Bengaluru .

If you thought Bengaluru is a colonial city that mushroomed into a metropolis because of industrialization and technology boom, you are in the majority

However, the truth is something more and that is Bengaluru has had a history that goes back to 1000+ years. Uday, through his passion and drive, has pulled together a citizen coalition that searches, preserve and in some cases recreates ancient inscription stones that tell a local history. This project will serve the many future generations to come .

Give this a view/Listen , share and subscribe to the channel.

https://youtu.be/9tylDL1Jr0U

CHAPTER TIMELINE

0:00 Intro and background
5:53 Flashback how did it all start
13:26 History is not always about Kings and Dynasties
18:44 How history can be made relevant
19:34 Why this is important
26:42 The evolution into a citizen initiative
28:59 Using technology to preserve
31:18 Why the Govt is not able to help
32:33 Why the Corporate social responsibility isnt able to help
33:32 The Mythic Society of India
36:38 Events and celebration for awareness
37:55 The oldest stone discovered
39:30 The Hebbala stone Mantapa
42:37 Making the project accessible
47:58 Call for action, how can people get involved
55:51 The last word, a summary message for the future

Audio podcast on all major platforms
Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

You more information please use the information below

Facebook link - https://www.facebook.com/groups/inscriptionstones
Twitter link - https://twitter.com/inscriptionblr
Sahapedia for photos of inscriptions of Bangalore - https://www.sahapedia.org/stonehunters-epigraphic-quest-bengaluru
For more information and engagement please Contact: [email protected]; Whatsapp: 919845204268

this episode, pleased to have Uday Kumar, an old friend, and a technologist, who has been passionately on a quest to document and pres...

11/07/2021

WorkYogi Diaries Podcast #16 with Lisa Sullivan on a career of Futurist and her work at Texas Su***de Prevention collaborative.

Lisa describes herself as someone who is passionate about the future. Her focus is to anticipate, strategize, activate and infuse the future into today's organizations through futures studies, foresight, strategy development, and planning.

Additionally, she applies this expertise to some of the current societal challenges, one of them is in the area of mental health and su***de prevention, through her involvement in the Texas su***de prevention collaborative.

We dwell on what got her attracted to becoming a futurist, how does one trains to become a Futurist, the importance of future planning, her choice of su***de prevention as a cause, and what's next on her horizon.

https://youtu.be/N8cXlKzByjg

You can learn more about the collaborative at https://texassu***deprevention.org/about-us/

Timeline chapters

0:00 Intro/background
3:36 What is a Futurist
13:12 A background of the consulting offering
20:44 What is the Texas Su***de Prevention Collaborative
27:45 The CPR analogy to su***de prevention
31:30 How does the community engage
36:27 Why is the funding a challenge
41:23 What's next in the Horizon
46:55 The fun Q&A round

Audio podcast available on all major platforms
Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

***deprevention Our guest today describes herself as someone who is passionate about the future. Her focus is to anticipate, strategize, activa...

04/07/2021

WorkYogi Diaries Podcast #15 with the amazing Vishwesh Bhat
, on his journey as a recreational musician that built an incredible body of work that can be a pro's envy.

With a day job as senior IT professional for over 2 decades and having lived in India and the United States, he has adroitly balanced his interests and kept the passion for music alive . He is trained in both Carnatic and Hindustani styles of music and has developed his own style of singing multiple genres seamlessly leading the Indian classical creative band, “SvarAmrita”.

We unearth the secrets to how he does it all and lives to his fullest potential.

Give this a view/listen
https://youtu.be/Mwdo9Owmbis

Chapter timelines

0:00 Opening performance and background
3:33 Flashback
9:18 The early musical training
11:28 Seeing music from beyond genres
13:41 The Memphis days, building the platform
17:58 Returning to India
19:05 The turning point
20:57 Leadership, creating new opportunities
21:00 Response to creative music
24:28 What is Kan-fusion
29:33 The upside of making the family collaborators
32:31 Finding time
41:12 Thanking friends who gave an opportunity
42:53 The Digital transformation in music
49:37 What's next in the journey
55:41 The fun Q&A round

Audio Podcast on all major platforms

Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

Bhat has been a senior IT professional for over 2 decades and has lived in India and the United States. He is also a versati...

20/06/2021

WorkYogi Diaries Podcast #14

In the house today is Magdalena Ponurska, an Executive and Leadership Coach and an AMI Montessori Administrator, founder of Zone of Genius, and co-founder of Global Montessori Network.

From her roots in Poland to arriving in America without the knowledge of English, to getting her education and then thriving in the American corporate, followed by a pivot into her passion for education and coaching, it's a dream come true.

We explore how she did it, and what gave her the courage to plunge into her passion for education and launch her own business.

https://youtu.be/PlmkGmc7htE

Chapter timelines

0:00 Background
3:34 Flashback early days
11:48 The key to learning a new language
13:20 The pivot into Montessori and what's great about it
17:35 The Global Montessori network platform
25:24 The challenges of digital adoption with teachers
29:04 How do you support the technically challenged
33:19 Tapping into kids leadership
35:50 Transformational coaching/Zone of genius
41:14 Discovering the passion/the why
42:33 Distinguishing true passion versus momentary fascination
44:40 Discovering leadership
46:17 What does it mean to be a leader
47:27 Alternative view of leadership
49:23 What is radical self-care
53:03 The fun personal Q&A round

Audio podcast on all major platforms

Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

the house today is Magdalena Ponurska, an Executive and Leadership Coach and an AMI Montessori Administrator, ...

13/06/2021

Podcast #13 in conversation with the incredibly versatile and talented Shyam Gopal , who took the plunge in pursuing his passion for Cinema after decades in a successful corporate career.

His first innings took care of his survival, the second is driven by his love and passion.

We delve into the origins of his love for acting and cinema, the courage to commit to a journey, the pitfalls of working in a less organized industry, and where he is headed next.

Shyam Gopal has to his credit movies like Hindi Medium, Bhoomi, Baazaar, Kolaigaran among many other Indian TV series and OTT platform series on NetFlix and Amazon Prime.

https://youtu.be/OP7uP0jdPMs

Audio podcast available on all major platforms

Timeline chapters

0:00 Ad showreel and background
4:53 Flashback /Corporate days
9:04 Acting brewing in the background
11:35 Committing to the acting school
16:53 What happens in an acting school
20:44 The Kannada Gabbar Singh
23:47 The post acting school life
32:52 Beginners mind/staying above pride
37:06 Performing to a script versus spontaneously
39:38 Working in the world of TV and Cinema
43:47 Role structure in the Industry
46:51 Matter of money in the film industry
49:47 The most challenging role till date
51:02 Learning mindset
55:06 What's next
56:32 The fun Q&A round

conversation with Shyam Gopal who took the plunge in pursuing his passion after decades in a successful corporate career....

24/05/2021

WorkYogi Podcast # 12 in conversation with Satish Dhanasekaran, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Keysight Technologies a fortune 1000 company thats a leader in test and measurement solutions.

We explore key topics around growth mindset, the need for system thinking to solve enterprise problems and how that is a source of growth, the need to constantly seek out challenges proactively, key tenets of leadership and working with smart people, and finally the C suite view of value creation.

We got into the weeds, dug deep into the how and why. Give this a listen.
https://youtu.be/aQI9ZZbMx-w

Audion podcast on all major platforms
Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

conversation with Satish Dhanasekaran, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Keys...

16/05/2021

WorkYogi Diaries Podcast Episode #11 in conversation with Santosh Iyer, SVP and Head of Strategic Account with a leading technology consulting company.

We explore the basic question of pros and cons of a career in sales and cover ground across important and yet complex topics that include mindsets, value creation, effective relationships, and the advent of AI in sales.

Santosh's work journey that encompasses consulting , program deliver , account management , HR and finally sales prior to his current role as a P&L head makes it a perfect topic to banter on .

Give it a view/listen.

https://youtu.be/VQGIW9sahiE

Chapter timelines

0:00 Start
5:03 The question, pros of a sales career
9:48 Do salespeople make great CEO(s)
13:39 Sales the job and selling the activity
14:49 Sales Empowerment and the cortical homunculus metaphor
21:12 The challenges in a sales career
31:17 What does adding value really mean
39:00 What an effective relationship in sales
43:34 System Thinking in sales
49:56 The Power of empathy in sales
52:04 Doctor’s metaphor for a sales role
55:06 The upside and downside of job rotation in sales
59:55 Leveraging equity to try new things
1:00:57 Importance of personal branding
1:00:39 Will Artificial Intelligence impact the sales profession
1:15:37 The Fun Q&A round

Audio podcast available on all major platforms

https://anchor.fm/workyogi

conversation with Santosh Iyer, Sr VP and Global Strategic Account Head with a leading technology consulting c...

09/05/2021

Episode #10 in conversation with Dr. Sanjay Sharma , who is currently pioneering the practise of Podiatry in India.

His journey is filled with chances taken, driven by the motto you get this once chance to get it done and make a difference .

We speak about his journey and his choices, and what makes him who he is. From studying Ayurvedic medicine to administering a troubled college in Punjab hinterland , pioneering telemedicine, and more recently pioneering podiatry in India, Sanjay lives on the edge and makes a difference.

https://youtu.be/0kuBzibZtRI

Give this a listen/view

Timeline stamps
0:00 Start and intro
4:16 The beginning of the medical journey
7:41 Difference between Ayurvedic and Modern medical education
10:46 Leadership lessons in college life
18:05 A vision for holistic medicine
23:05 Acting in the vision, Founding of Arth, Failing fast
25:40 A pattern of pioneering
28:52 The Punjab project at Purple Haze
39:24 Leadership lesson from Jindal
40:26 The politics of getting things done
42:17 Ending the Punjab Chapter
44.40 Pioneering Telemedicine with NeuroSynaptics
47.10 Learning to navigate the cultural roadblocks for Telemedicine
52:43 Interest in theatre
57:55 Meeting the legend of Podiatry, David Armstrong
60:10 Pioneering Podiatry in India
1:01:17 Why is Podiatry important
1:06:06 The risk of diabetic feet
1:08:09 Foot Secure, a pediatric chain of clinics
1:09:35 The case for AI in podiatry
1:12:54 The Fun Q&A

Audio Podcast on all major platforms

Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

guest today has crossed many milestones to get where he is today as one of the pioneers of podiat...

02/05/2021

Epidode #9

There is a common misperception about a career in food, that its a hyper creative , fun and fulfilling profession. Maybe so, but its also highly competitive and an unforgiving business. In an age of SM ratings, it only gets more challenging . Yet it's a profession that brings joy to us salivating consumers , doesn't it ?

How do these guys do it? We find out in this episode, with Chef Biju Thomas in the house . His story of migrating to America from Kerala at an early age , followed by an offbeat choice of a career is fascinating .

We talk about among other things, what triggered the choice , How he created a personal brand, diversifying into performance nutrition , creating a business around food , the dynamics of food business and whats next .

Youtube : https://youtu.be/eZ2IbNIGOH8

Audio Podcast on all major platforms
Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

Chapter timelines

0:00 start and introductions
4:09 The early days and influences
9:51 The Chef journey
10:55 Involvement with sports nutrition
12:06 The Chef career framework
14:51 Why enter the food/restaurant business
15:27 Are there enough jobs for Chefs
19:36 Building Personal brand
22:48 Starting Curry Place
24:55 Kerala influence in the menu
28:43 Curry Place journey
32:27 Categories of restaurants that survived the pandemic
33:47 What's next
36:09 Why first entrepreneur and then a job makes better sense
38:52 Pronouncing Dosha
40:41 Take on performance nutrition
50:54 The fun Q&A round

Chef Biju is a lifelong entrepreneur, cyclist, and food industry pro who has worked his way up from scrubbing floors and di...

25/04/2021

Episode #8 with the incredibly talented "artapreneur" Lavanya Challa .

Our guest today finds opportunities to recreate herself every time she sits at the canvas. Each frame captures the most authentic feelings of her life experiences

As a trained architect she grew up with sketeches of building forms; historic, contemporary and imagined. art by Joan Mitchell, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, and Monet, continues to awe her.

We explore her journey into becoming a professional artist . What did she have to learn to make her art be economically valued , what did she have to confront about her mental blocks and unleash her true spirit.

If you are new to the YouTube channel, please consider subscribng to it, hit like if you enjoyed the conversation and leave your thoughts on the comments below

https://youtu.be/F1ow2XPouT0

Timeline stamps

0:00 Intro/start
4:06 Flashback, where it all started
7:06 The push to the direction of art
9:04 Art as a profession
10:47 The 100 day daily painting project
12:58 If you can receive , a teacher will show up
14:54 Golden takeaways
17:21 Sharing with the community
18:53 Figuring the business process
19:38 Well wishing naysayers
22:19 Investing emotionally into business
24:21 Confronting ones limits to grow beyond it
33:18 How does personal emotions express in art
35:44 The myth of creating art

Audio podcast on all major platforms

Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

Background score by Pranay Iyer (Ragdoll)
Splittin' by Ragdoll on https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/oYuGxufFJHg2YguY6

finds opportunities to recreate herself every time she sits at the canvas. Each frame captures and relives th...

18/04/2021

Episode #7 , in conversation with Padmaja Nagarur, CEO of Artflute a leading online portal connecting artists and consumers who value high-quality art.

She has been featured in leading publications like the economic times, the Hindu, and Femina. She serves as the board member of dream a dream(NGO) that empowers young people from vulnerable backgrounds to overcome adversity and flourish in a fast-changing world, using a creative life skills approach.

We talk about her work journey, her decision-making approach to work(and life in general), what's lead her to leave a lucrative marketing job to start a venture of her own in art, the pro-Bono work she does with NGO dream a dream, and her vision of the future.

https://youtu.be/CqvLh6ClApA

Audio podcast on Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi, and all leading platforms.

Timeline chapters

0:00 Start
4:09 The Beginnings of work journey, making hard choices
10:44 Starting with Marketing
12:30 The Artflute backstory
13:36 Interest in Theatre
19:34 The benefit of Improv at work
22:30 The ArtFlute backstory
25:34 Whats Artflute about
29:30 Expressing through the business of art
33:05 Overcoming the value struggle as an entrepreneur
38:27 Humanizing business
39:33 The idea of business romantic
42:50 What is Doi Tzu
47:34 Rapid-fire fun Q&A

todays’ episode, we are in conversation with Padmaja Nagarur, CEO of Artflute a leading online portal connecting...

11/04/2021

WorkYogi Diaries #6 with Dr. Nishi Vishwanathan Director, Texas Health Catalyst, Dell Medical School & Asst. Professor, Univ. of Texas at Austin.

From starting with a degree in medicine followed by disillusionment in the medical practice, our guest today charters a journey that eventually brings her back to her true calling.

We discuss the key pivots and mindset that help her navigate this journey amidst big changes and life events.

Give this a listen/view and let us know if you took something away from this conversation.
https://youtu.be/hsJ7zQYL7rw

Audio podcast on

anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and other major platforms.

Chapter timelines

0:00 Start and Intros
4:12 The choice of medicine
10:30 The disillusionment
11:47 Moving to the US and then back to India
14:00 A dabble with content writing and start-ups
22:07 The MBA
28:07 The arrival home
41:29 Managing multiple commitments and career
43:44 Rapid Fire Q&A fun round

a degree in medicine followed by disillusionment in the medical practice, our guest t...

04/04/2021

WorkYogi Diaries #5 , In conversation with Hiren Modi, former Landmark Education Forum Leader and subsequently Area Director for multiple organizational transformation companies.

Consider this quote; "If we are to release the full potential of human beings, spirit and technology must exist side-by-side.". Hiren believes developing people and leaders of all ages and levels into their most powerful, unique selves is the imperative today in every culture and company. He is hard at work at that imperative and making a difference every day.

And he isn’t being casual about it, Hiren is someone who has been working with people transforming their lives. He has to his credit lead transformational programs for over 140,000 people.

He humbly acknowledges his early struggle for lack of a big degree, but seems like spent his life making a huge difference with people who had big degrees.

We had the opportunity to talk to him about his early struggle, the evolution of his life’s purpose, the jolt from personal transformation to organizational transformation, what is needed to have high performing organizations and finally what’s next for him

https://youtu.be/mrFey-JWn4w

Available also on all major podcast platforms under WorkYogi Diaries .

In conversation with Hiren Modi, former Landmark Education Forum Leader and subsequently Area Director for multiple organization transformation companies.Con...

29/03/2021

WorkYogi Diaries #4 with Sridhar Solur

My guest today is someone who has spanned a career in engineering and general management and scaled the ladder in corporate America.

He describes himself as a serial intrapreneur, business, and technology leader with a track record of incubating, building, and growing businesses in large organizations in a world wide capacity. HIs story epitomizes the American dream.

He is a Product creator and a technologist with a PASSION FOR user experience.

He has been the Founder of HP's Wearables and Cloud/Mobile Printing business,. Created 'Engineered by HP' as a sub-brand, CREATING Wearables/ for consumer lifestyle brands like HUGO BOSS, COACH, TITAN, FERRARI, and MOVADO. The former head of all products and Engg for Digital Home at Comcast. Chief Product Officer, EVP/GM at SharkNinja working on Appliances, Foodtech and Robotics. Board member IOTC

He currently heads the Robotics business for a growing company that's expected to disrupt the world as we know it in robotics and artificial intelligence

We get to talk about his journey from a humble beginning in India, how failures create new opportunities, the importance of a learning mindset, a recipe for success in corporate life, the evolution of his role into a product creator, brand marketer, and the future of AI/Robotics.

0:00 Start and intros
4:30 The beginning, going to Kashmir end engineering a destiny by choice
13:21 Rejection of US student visa and early days in Digital Equipment
18:39 Entry into Product management
23:47 Branding
30:12 The people management philosophy
34:36 Leading people smarter than you
41:08 How does one develop a system thinking competency
49:05 Where is Robotics and AI headed
57:14 Recipe for success in Corporate America
1:00:43 Rapid Fire Q&A round for fun

https://youtu.be/dKW0t3YPiZo

Audio podcast on
Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi

Spotify, Apple Podcast and other leading platforms

My guest today is someone who has spanned a career in engineering and general management and scaled the ladder in corporate America.He describes himself as a...

21/03/2021

WorkYogi Diaries #3 with Anusha Moorthy Santosh.

Anusha is a creative powerhouse. Her story is of finding self-expression through her values, and putting her passion for food, and photography to work. Through her plant-based food Instagram handle which has grown to over 37k followers, she brings joy, happiness, and ideas for people on a journey of healthy living.

We get to talk about how it all started, what got her into the plant-based lifestyle journey, what's behind its growth, challenges, and joy of being a digital creator, how does she make brand choices, and what's next on the horizon.

You can reach Anusha at https://www.yummyyatra.com/ and Instagram handle

Give it a view/listen, and if you like the content , please hit subscribe button in the YouTube video.

https://youtu.be/Ehcz7kyAFT4

Audio podcast on Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and other major platforms

Timeline stamps

0:00 start and introduction
3:37 How did animal welfare become important
8:55 The inception of Yummy yatra
14:49 The secret of great photography
17:40 Evolution of the brand
24:44 Whats changed after the success
31:05 How to turn off the always-on digital creator work life
35:10 Making brand choices for affiliation
37:36 Does a Digital creator make money
43:05 What work means
44:37 The rapid-fire question round

guest today is a creative powerhouse. Her story is of finding s...

14/03/2021

WorkYogi Diaries #2 , with Keshav Prakash .
My guest today is one of the few who followed his heart for the love of a craft.

Back in mid 80s and early 90s India, life was about survival , the obvious options were to pursue engineering or medicine, it was a sure shot to making it to the middle class life , but he traveled a road less traveled.

First as a photographer later morphing to cinematographer in Indian cinema working with big names like Kamal Hasan ,Nagesh Kukunoor and K Ravi Chandran.

Later in his second chapter , co-founded of The Vault
( http://www.vaultfinespirits.com) , a unique service in India, that offers a never before curated collection of artisanal whiskies, rums, tequilas, cognacs, gins and other spirits from across the globe.

We get to talk about what got him started on his journey of the road less traveled , the travails and the challenges, whats behind the decision to go cold turkey on one career and start one in his mind 40s, where does he derive the courage and passion and what drives him to stay in the game.
https://youtu.be/PfsX52g3yk0

You can also listen to the audio only version on Anchor:https://anchor.fm/workyogi , Spotify and other major platforms .

Timelines stamp on YouTube

0:00 start
5:41 The beginning
9:21 The inception of photography
12:43 Studying for Cinematography
17:03 The mindset of going deeper
18:09 Going to school at Maine
20:49 Becoming a cinematographer
25:12 Working for the Kamal Hasan
30:33 Why the sudden pivot into Vault
33:49 Oak Club , Inception of Vault
36:39 The mindset of changing track completely
40:52 Building the Brand Vault
46:46 Managing money during the starting
53:47 Building a fine liquor ecosystem
55:27 The rapid fire Q&A fun round

My guest today is one of the few who followed his heart for the love of a craftBack in the mid-80s and early 90s I...

09/03/2021

A short intro on why WorkYogi Diaries and a short feature on the backstory on its inception.
https://youtu.be/ty80iY9aIgU

per the book Tribal Leadership, only 2% of the workforce thinks Life is Great and operates at full self-expression. The story f...

07/03/2021

Welcome to WorkYogi Diaries . Our mission to make work cool again. We want to have conversation with people who use work to uplift themselves and those around them. They have purpose, passion , growth mindset and hunger to contribute.

In the first episode, pleased to be talking to Srinath Nagarur, currently a senior executive at a Tech major. His journey of finding himself through work is fascinating and inspiring .

Give it a view and listen.

Audio podcast on https://anchor.fm/workyogi

Vidcast on Youtube https://youtu.be/PEYW5O6I4I8

Timeline stamps on YouTube notes section

0:00 start- Why Did I need another podcast( a short intro)
7:20 What does work mean in your life
8:32 The beginning and reason for entering sales as career
17:09 The first Sale
19:10 How did the next phase evolve
23:41 The pivot into the international scene
26:11 A thing about being Competitive
27:48 The first defining moment
28:32 Moving to the US
32:00 The next defining moments
32:45 Self Reliance/Learning to get under the hood
39:02 Next defining moment, learning how the money moves
42:42 Alignment to values
46:29 The Big challenges in different phases of growth
51:05 The Sales leader challenge
53:55 How do you deal with bad days
57:25 How do you handle stress
59:43Managing balance with family
1:02:09Hobbies
1:04:37 The Rapid Fire questions round

conversation with Srinath Nagarur, currently a senior executive at a tech major.Srinath's story is that of a beginn...