Play to Potential Podcast

GUEST: In this episode of Crafting a Full Life , Deepak Jayaraman speaks with Nitin Paranjpe about what it means to move beyond a successful corporate career and consciously design the next chapter of life. After 37 years at Unilever, Nitin chose to step away from a full-time role and build what he describes as a portfolio of professional and personal pursuits. They explore Nitin's four-box framew...

GUEST: Amy Elizabeth Fox is the co-founder of Mobius Executive Leadership, a transformational leadership firm that works with leaders on healing, self-awareness and development. In this conversation, Amy explores how our childhood experiences and inherited beliefs shape the way we lead and live. She discusses vertical development, the importance of making peace with our past, and why lasting chang...

GUEST: Christina Wallace is a Harvard Business School faculty member, entrepreneur, author and Broadway producer who has built a career across business, technology and the arts. Her own journey has moved across seemingly different worlds, giving her a deeply personal perspective on what it means to build a career and life that does not fit neatly into a single identity. In this conversation, we ex...

GUEST: In this episode of Crafting a Full Life , Deepak Jayaraman speaks with Ramesh Mangleswaran about what it means to build a life beyond your professional identity. After more than three decades at McKinsey, Ramesh began consciously preparing for his next chapter and has since embraced what he calls a portfolio life . They explore how to create space for reflection, invest in relationships, th...

GUEST: Dr. Wendy Smith is one of the world's foremost researchers on leadership, paradox and organizational change. She is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management at the University of Delaware and co-author of the influential book Both/And Thinking , which explores how leaders navigate competing demands in an increasingly complex world. In this conversation, we explore why many of leadership's...

GUEST: Viral Doshi is one of India's pioneers in career and college counselling. Over the last two decades, he has mentored more than 30,000 students, helping them navigate educational choices, international admissions and long-term career decisions. He is widely regarded for his highly personalised approach and has consciously built a practice centred on excellence rather than scale. In this conv...

This episode of Connecting the Dots is on Journaling. Over the years, I’ve noticed an interesting contrast. Many accomplished leaders credit journaling as a practice that helped them think clearly, improve judgment, process complexity and stay grounded. At the same time, many people want to journal but don’t know where to begin or how to make the practice meaningful. This episode is for the latter...

GUEST: Hitendra Wadhwa is a professor at Columbia Business School, founder of the Mentora Institute, and author of Inner Mastery, Outer Impact. His work explores how leaders create meaningful change by first working on their inner world. In this conversation, we explore a different way to think about leadership. Instead of focusing on traits or competencies, Hitendra introduces the idea of activat...

GUEST: Jennifer Garvey Berger is a leadership thinker, author, and co-founder of Cultivating Leadership. Her work focuses on adult development and how leaders can grow their inner capacity to meet an increasingly complex world. She is the author of Changing on the Job and Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps . In this conversation, we explore why many capable leaders still feel overwhelmed, reactive, or...

GUEST: Roopa Kudva is the former Managing Director of CRISIL and the former Managing Partner at Omidyar Network India. Over the last four decades, she has worked across financial services, impact investing and company boards, and now brings those lessons together in her book Leadership Beyond the Playbook. In this conversation, we explore what she has learned from leading at scale, investing in ea...

GUEST: Bill Burnett is a designer, educator, and co-author of Designing Your Life. He has worked across toys, technology and academia, and now leads the Life Design Lab at Stanford where he helps people rethink how they build their careers and lives. In this conversation, we walk through his journey from the early days of design to his work with students and professionals who are trying to find cl...

GUEST: Jaspreet Bindra is an author, speaker, and thought leader in the areas of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.  In this conversation, we explore his journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship and his work in helping individuals and organizations build AI literacy. Jaspreet believes that understanding AI is no longer optional, it is essential for leaders who want to s...

GUEST: Neeraj is the Chair, Asia Pacific at Boston Consulting Group and a key driving force behind Plaksha University, an institution that seeks to reimagine technology education and undertake transformative research to address grand challenges. Neeraj has over 25 years of experience with clients spanning multiple sectors and has worked closely with more than 100 CEOs over the years, across geogra...

GUEST: Tanmay unpacks the idea of 'skillstacking' - the art of strategically combining our skills to shape the playground we operate in. He specifically discusses about how sketchnoting adds to his flywheel in terms of how he adds value in his work. The Book: Play to Potential - Lead a full life, become the best you (Published by Penguin RandomHouse) is now available to order (1-30 copies) on Amaz...

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we explore the multifaceted journey of Vineet Panchhi, a true exemplar of embracing multiple identities. From his early days in Hotel Management at IHM Pusa to successful careers in Sales, HR, Singing, Jingle Creation, Movie Workshop Directing, Internal Communications, and Poetry, Vineet embodies the essence of not being confined by one identity. Learn...

GUEST: In this special episode, we feature a candid and insightful conversation with Vineeta Singh, Co-Founder & CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, Mother of two young children, Shark Tank India judge, and a committed marathoner. What began as a thoughtful note of appreciation for the Play to Potential book turned into a rich dialogue on what it truly means to lead a full life. Vineeta shares how the boo...

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we dive into a compelling conversation with Sumeet Mehta, CEO and Co-Founder of LEAD, a billion-dollar ed-tech company. Known for his pivotal role in my self-awareness journey since our days at IIMA, Sumeet’s story exemplifies the power of pausing to pivot. Discover how a strategic sabbatical set him on his path and how childhood experiences can hold th...

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we feature Sucharita Mukherjee, CEO of Kaleidofin, a FinTech company empowering millions with affordable finance. Sucharita’s story is a powerful example of resilience as transformation rather than simply bouncing back. From her early career at LSR, IIM Ahmedabad, and top-tier banks in London to navigating a personal upheaval in 2008 that led her to co-...

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we spotlight Soma Vajpayee, an inspiring art-based therapist whose journey exemplifies adapting and thriving through change. From being an IIMA graduate alongside her husband Bhavtosh Vajpayee to moving across various locations over the years, Soma has shown that being a 'trailing spouse' can be transformed into an empowering journey. Her story highligh...

ABOUT THE EPISODE Midlife is a phase when we find ourselves pulled in multiple directions—across work, home, health, friendships, and hobbies. In this session, Ravi Venkatesan delves into themes from Deepak Jayaraman’s recent book, Play to Potential. The book offers a nuanced exploration of how to unlock human potential—not just professionally but holistically—by embracing life’s highs and lows. D...

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we feature Sangeeta Shahaney, an inspiring figure whose life journey exemplifies resilience and intentional living. Daughter of one of India's pioneers in Executive Search, Sangeeta initially chose the path of being a homemaker after marrying a sailor. However, the sudden loss of her husband led her to reexamine her life and navigate a transformative pa...

GUEST: In the first episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we engage with Ravishankar Iyer, a storyteller and podcast host whose journey embodies positivity, simplicity, and the pursuit of passion. Coming from an Indian middle-class background, Ravi’s love for stories began in childhood and set him on an unconventional path. Though he started traditionally—ranking 11th in CA and graduating from IIMA—he mad...

GUEST: Ricardo Sunderland is an author and a CEO Transformational Coach with Egon Zehnder, a global leadership advisory firm. In this podcast, we discuss his latest book, "The Energy Advantage, How to go from managing your time to mastering your energy," Ricardo's life’s purpose is to help leaders connect to and manage their energy to become humane leaders. He coaches senior leaders to help them b...

This episode of Connecting the Dots is on Parenting - something we are all winging. We go to colleges, trainings and leadership development programmes for all sorts of capabilities, but there is none for parenting. In this episode, we learn from Roger Federer’s parents, Nandan, Nilekani‘s parents and many other successful leaders who reflect on their childhood. We also learn from some of the resea...

This episode of Connecting the Dots deals with Judgment - Making sound decisions amidst complexity. VUCA - (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) is a term that is used to describe the state of the world. Some people use BANI - (Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, Incomprehensible). Whatever the terminology, it is fair to say that the world has gotten more grey, nebulous and harder to predict. Sound...