Eightrospection – 8 Things I Learnt as CEO
Eightrospection – The Backdrop
I recently completed 8 years as CEO, probably the longest tenure for a CEO in an Indian law firm! Although 8 is not a conventional milestone year, but thanks to LinkedIn, the work anniversary message was amplified.
Suddenly, it felt a bit special and I went into introspection mode. So, here are my 8 key experiences and learning, based on my tenure as CEO, so far.
Eightrospection – 8 Points to Introspect
Do click through to read the links to articles for each of the 8 points of introspection, or Eightrospection, in the YouTube video description. In case you are feeling too lazy, just go ahead and click through to watch, Like and Subscribe:
Further Reading
However, if you would rather read, here are my 8 points of introspection, i.e. eightrospections:
1. Learning
Continuous Learning is critical. I have re-invented myself by picking up new skills. Read my article on the Rise of Autodidacts (self taught learner) in the Knowledge Economy that was published in the Human Capital magazine.
2. Change Management
Driving Change is not easy in professional service firms – this has brought about new dimensions of Change Management. For a quick flavour of the possibilities, do read 5 Lessons I learnt on Managing Change.
3. Structures
I have tweaked my own beliefs and principles to create a bespoke model for managing professional service firms. Finding the right balance and creating an environment that fosters creativity and also facilitates operational excellence is important.
4. Analytics
We live in the Information Age and are inundated with information. However, this information overload is no good, unless it is transformed into actionable insights and actions.
A lot of unseen grunt work goes in, beyond the hype. This investment in understanding and getting the data dynamics right is a must to extract value. Read about the framework I created to understand the 7 V’s of Big Data.
5. Nothing Artificial About It
I have had an unbelievable journey from learning about Artificial Intelligence from scratch with no relevant formal education or experience. The journey involved picking up programming from scratch to learning about Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing.
These technologies were put to use with a business-first and value-driven approach to develop globally recognized solutions. To use a cliche, there are no shortcuts to success.
You can start your journey with an overview of the business principles of Natural Language Processing.
6. The Future Workforce
The discussion around the millennial and the future workforce is rather hackneyed. The basic character, however, remains the same.
It has been extremely gratifying to enable team members to transform and I hope to continue the journey with the millennial workforce as well. Here is a sneak peek into what the Board results tell us about the Future Workforce.
7. Community Outreach
It has been immensely satisfying to address audiences at more than 20 platforms recently. The outreach initiatives have covered a wide range of topics and various cross-sections of audiences. I plan to do more, especially on these three fronts:
a) Technology, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence
b) Education, Training, Workshops and People – especially the impact on people in light of the disruptive technologies
c) Business and Management
8. VUCA World
Having authored around 50 articles to help people navigate the changes, I will intensify the initiatives. After all, surviving and thriving in the Volatile Uncertain Complex and Ambiguous world is not an individual sport. We need to democratAIze!
Heartfelt gratitude to all who have been part of this fun-filled journey. I look forward to deepening existing relationships and making new bonds.
Please feel free to reach me on my LinkedIn account and do not forget to subscribe to my website feed.
