Inspire Someone Today
Inspire Someone Today
E151 | The 3 Mantras from Neeraja - Reflect. Rewire . Rise - Part 2 | Neeraja Ganesh
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What makes the difference between a mediocre organization and a thriving one? The answer lies not in policies or procedures, but in a leader's ability to paint the big picture vision that connects every team member to a larger purpose.
Leadership expert Neeraja Ganesh shares a powerful insight that could transform how you lead: "If you were to get 15 minutes with the CEO of every company in the country," she explains, "I would tell them to draw out the big picture to every employee." When people understand how their individual contributions enable the organization's vision—from small tasks like filling spreadsheets to major initiatives—they'll deliver exceptional results without needing micromanagement.
But communication is only the beginning. Organizations need to foster intrapreneurship (giving people freedom to develop solutions to problems they identify) and practice genuine inclusion (not just diversity checkboxes). Neeraja illustrates this through her own experience, where an employer made accommodations that enabled her professional growth and ultimately benefited the organization.
For employees, the message is equally powerful: take ownership. Rather than quietly accepting workplace challenges or simply complaining, approach problems with solutions. "What would you do in your homes if you don't like something?" Neerja asks. "Not throw a tantrum... but try to communicate and go with a solution."
The conversation explores additional insights about community-building as leadership, developing T-shaped skills, embracing AI, and building personal visibility. Throughout runs a consistent thread: great leadership isn't about control but about creating environments where everyone can contribute their best work.
Are you ready to transform your leadership approach? Listen now and discover how to create ripples of inspiration throughout your organization.
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The Power of the Big Picture
Speaker 1I always give this example of. In those good old days we used to have this job of filling Excel sheets. Today, of course, we have, you know, a Google sheet and everyone can, you know, just fill that data. But in those days we have an Excel sheet and Neelja would be appointed as get this Excel filled by 20 people. So I'll go with that Excel to every person. Hey, fill this, fill this, fill this. Because they will use this data that is collected for some, say, off-site. You know that they are planning, or some travel some. You know how many buses do we want to transport people? Some big thing that they are planning, but they need some data.
Speaker 1First of all, I hate this job because to follow up people with people to fill the Excel sheet and nobody will look at it as a priority. Right After it, as a priority, right After 20 follow-ups, they will fill it up in some random manner, which will not even be useful. But if somebody were to tell me you know, neerja, this particular Excel sheet that I'm going to fill up is going to help me determine whether we should move from a hybrid model to fully work from office. Now I understand that there is a big impact with the data that is coming into this Excel. So impact with the data that is coming into this excel.
Speaker 1So I will look at it and I'll say I think we are missing out two fields. I'll go beyond just using it as a task. I think we need two more fields to be captured in this to be able to make that decision. So I've added my value and then when I'm presenting this to each person, they will make it the priority one to fill it. Okay. So the big picture is a very, very essential thing. So ceos have to start and then it has to kind of come down.
Speaker 2And that is mandatory inspiration in your life. I'm your host, shrikant, and I'm thrilled to be with you on this journey of inspiration. So, as we are talking all of this, neerja organizations how does the mindset shift and change? A very critical element of this, more so in current state than any other way, is the culture of organization. It means a whole lot for everybody who is part of that organization. So, given the work that you do, I have a very hypothetical question, but you'll get the gist of where I'm kind of getting to is if you were to get 15 minutes with CEO of every company in the country, what would you tell them?
Speaker 1I think it is very important for everyone to draw out the big picture to the employees of their company. Whether you have a one-person employee, you know, for entrepreneurs like us we may have an assistant. Maybe you know who's also a part-time assistant because we can't afford you know a full-time assistant. But if I were to give the big picture and CEOs of large companies having 10,000, 20,000, 100,000 people, if they can paint the big picture vision of this organization to their next layer and then the next layer can present it to their next layer, which means that the last person in the hierarchy also understands how his or her work actually is going to enable the team and then the organization towards that big picture. You don't have to then bother about anything. This person will go all out to deliver the kind of results that you want from him or her. The KPIs need not be written. The KPIs will not direct him. It is that big picture vision and most leaders don't do that. Most leaders don't do that or they are not able to communicate it in a fashion that is understood by everyone else. This is your job. Just focus on that. You don't worry about everything else. You know and I always give this example of.
Speaker 1In those good old days we used to have this job of filling Excel sheets. Today, of course, we have, you know, a Google sheet and everyone can, you know, just fill that data. But in those days we had an Excel sheet and Neelja would be appointed as get this Excel filled by 20 people. So I'll go with that Excel to every person. Hey, fill this, fill this, fill this. Because they will use this data that is collected for some, say, offsite. You know that they are planning, or some travel some. You know how many buses do we want to transport people? So big thing that they are planning, but they need some data. First of all, I hate this job Because to follow up with people to fill the Excel sheet and nobody will look at it as a priority. Right After 20 follow-ups, they will fill it up in some random manner, which will not even be useful. But if somebody were to tell me, neerja, this particular Excel sheet that I'm going to fill out is going to help me determine whether we should move from a hybrid model to fully work from office. Now I understand that there is a big impact with the data that is coming into this Excel, so I will look at it and I'll say I think we are missing out two fields. I'll go beyond just using it as a task. I think we need two more fields to be captured in this to be able to make that decision. So I've added my value and then when I'm presenting this to each person, they will make it their priority when to fill it. So the big picture is a very, very essential thing. So CEOs have to start and then it has to kind of come down and that is mandatory.
Speaker 1The second thing that I will definitely want all ceos to consider is to build intrapreneurship within the organization, and that's like the googles of the world have done that right, they give 20 of every person's time in a week to just do something that they think is needed to be done, not what projects that they want to run for themselves, but they may have identified a pain point. They may have identified a pain point. They may have identified a need for another tool which is not a requirement from the organization, but this person feels that I think we need to develop a new tool. So that's our intrapreneurship, just like how you would be an entrepreneur running your own venture. Can you give that kind of freedom for the person to try and develop something. Creativity, innovation and everything will flourish and that's when you can build products and maybe elevate your services.
Speaker 1And the third one I have to say is diversity and inclusion. And it's not necessarily only women. Diversity is of different kinds of diversity, but diversity is mostly a checkbox. I can always hire 50 women, 50 men and naked 50, 50 percent, right the gender. There's no gender gap. But for the women and the men and everybody else to thrive, inclusion is a must. Are we including everyone? I have hired you so I can give a quick story here.
Speaker 1When I was hired hired in Sonata, my first job I was still a student, I was still studying at NIIT. Now, in Sonata they made us work in shifts because those days computers were very limited. Even in companies they were limited. At home we didn't have any computers. So they put me in the morning shift from seven to three and there was someone else who came after three and took away my computer for that book, and my classes were from three to five. So I could have made this work. But you know, we didn't have computers at home, so in two hours you can't really learn anything.
Speaker 1So we used to kind of sit around in the institute trying to get a free, say, a computer which is not being used. Maybe the faculty member is absent, maybe the person is absent, you know who's going to use the lab for the two hours and then you would practice. So when this seven to three happened, I knew that I can't then go to NIH in the morning hours. Then three to five is my class. So I had to only look for some spare PC for practice from five to nine, because there were only four more hours left and maybe I will not get a spare PC in those hours, right? So I was really worried about this.
Speaker 1So I actually spoke to the senior management saying that see, I can work, that's not an issue, but I have this problem. I didn't have a solution for it and it was so, you know, not my manager, but my manager's manager. After two days she came back and told me we're going to make an exception for you. We are going to give you a dedicated computer so you don't have to work in shifts. You can come whenever, you can go whenever. So you know you find practice time, you finish that and come here and work as long as you finish the work given to you for the week by the Sunday, right. So it's up to you. You manage your time and you finish it, and it should be good quality work.
Advice for CEOs: Three Essential Elements
Speaker 1Now, why did my manager do that? That's inclusion. They wanted a bunch of students, a fresh blood in the company, so they had hired about 10, 15 of us from NIIT. But what does a student need? This particular student needed something different to the rest of the students. So, by including me, by enabling that resource for me, me, look at where I have reached today, right, so that's inclusion. Uh, and I think diversity, more inclusion, is something a ceo should keep in mind great.
Speaker 2So as you're returning from this conversation, meeting up with all the ceos, you'll also run into the colleagues or the employees of those organizations. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So if you were to take the same 15 minutes with each of those team members, what would your message to them be? I heard what your message for the CEO is. Now, for the other side of the coin, what would your message to those individuals be?
Speaker 1I think it is important for them to try to have their voices heard. So, whether the culture of the organization supports it or not, I'm hoping the CEOs would have heard me and then fix the culture. But regardless, it's not an overnight change. Right, restructure happened to me. I couldn't just quietly exit it. I could have found myself a job outside and moved out, but I decided to go and speak to the managing director, not thinking that something is going to happen because of my conversation, but I just wanted to leave some feedback with him. But it enabled me in many ways right. So it is important for everybody to think of this as their space. What would you do in your homes if you don't like something? Not throw a tantrum, which probably some of the today's generation does, but try to have a communication and try to go with the solution and fix that problem.
Speaker 2To take ownership of the problem.
Speaker 1So I would like each of the employees to take that ownership.
Speaker 2Okay, this is that part of the episode where we pause, we reflect and we take action. So, as we're listening, those were wonderful insights that Neerja has provided to the CEOs and to the employees. Question for you when can you take ownership as part of your role today? Think about it, listeners. Where can you take ownership as part of your role today? Well, if you like this episode and feel somebody else can benefit from this, do not hesitate to pass them along.
Speaker 1Now back to listening and say, okay, fine, if I see a challenge here, if I see a problem not only with me or not only for me, I'm fine. But I'm seeing that the other person sitting next to me is going through something because of you know some, some problems that he or she may be having in the family his manager, her manager or something else. Let having in the family his manager, her manager or something else Let me enable the person and try to help them out by using my voice. So that's something I would definitely encourage everyone.
Speaker 2Wonderful For listeners listening out. If you are in a position of authority, you can make a difference. Think about having that big picture, giving the big picture to the team. Think about nurturing the entrepreneurial mindset, or the entrepreneurial mindset within the organization, and appreciate diversity and inclusiveness, not just in terms of gender diversity, but overall diversity. For those of you who are team members, ownership I think it starts with you. Start taking that ownership to make that difference. And with that said, neerja, one other element is you talk very highly about community building as a leadership act. What's the structure behind it? Why do you call it that way and what's the structure behind it?
Speaker 1so I'll give a story. Okay, I'm a storyteller because I think that that impresses upon the fact you know more than data can. So in this organization that I was helping aspire for her, it is a platform for women. There are many, many different communities. The communities were built and I will kind of through this story you will understand why these communities were so important. I was driving some education initiatives to impact 5,000 people with digital skills and these people had to be either from economically weaker sections of the society or they were probably women who had lost their main breadwinner during COVID, because this program was running during COVID. So whoever had lost the main breadwinner during COVID because this program was running during COVID, so whoever had lost the main breadwinner we were kind of enabling them through these digital skills and then we were trying to help them with placements, if that was possible. So what we did was, obviously, this became a community. 5,000 is a big number, but whatever courses that we were offering, we built smaller communities. So if there was data science and there was a community of data science learners, then there was project management learners. So there were smaller communities that existed.
Speaker 1We weren't able to really fulfill our 5,000. The task was 5,000 certifications. Well, we couldn't do that. That's a different story, even if we were able to do 2,000 or 3,000, even if there were 5,000 people trying to finish the certification. But they were. They did not complete, they did only one chapter in the 10 chapter course. The beauty was that they felt a part of this community and each of them was helping the other person out, because every day on the telegram group one person will say you know, I finished this chapter and you know it's kind of showing her enthusiasm, and 10 other people would say congratulations. Then 10 others would say how did you answer this particular problem that they had given in this chapter? So then they will go ahead and have a conversation and one will teach the other, the other will kind of help out.
Speaker 1And I will narrate two stories. There is one lady who finished her project management certification and whenever certifications are over we used to give a shout out. She told me it is not about the project management expertise that I have developed, but what this has done to me is that my husband passed away a few months back me. It is not about the project management expertise that I have developed. No-transcript. This community has made me feel like a safe space. It has given me a purpose to continue to move ahead.
Speaker 1And she went ahead and found a job for herself. We didn't do it, yeah. Similarly, there was another lady who had lost her husband to COVID. She had never worked prior and she had two children. Her English was not great, but she used to come to every community meetup and she was trying to you know, work on one of those courses.
Speaker 1And I told her would you like to work for me, because there was a need for you know, a kind of a reporting person in my team and she said I've never worked before. I said it's okay, I will teach you how to do things. And she came and I have to tell you her thinking, her ability to think through when I say this is the report that I want, her ability to think through which data sources I should pick up and how I must do the joins and what kind of queries I write and whatever to build this beautiful report was amazing, amazing. And if she did make a mistake, I would point it out and say this is not to be done. One person in my life has never repeated a mistake again and though her English was not great. I also put her on the job of manning, womaning the service desk, right, so we would keep getting so many emails and I told her you should start responding. She could kind of think of the response in her native language and try to kind of translate. It wouldn't be correct. So I would help her and say okay, fine, this is the way you write polished English.
Speaker 1In the two months she had become an expert at reporting and she was an expert in terms of, you know, responding. Her English was, you know, so much better to respond to the people who were writing it. So all of this is because she also realized she's enabling someone else like herself, if she has been elevated from nobody, to learn something, to get a job not for the money but, you know, for the self-confidence that it is giving, and her children will kind of look at her and they will grow to be better people. She knows that everything that she does has an impact on every other person in the community. So me and the ceo, madhura, really didn't have to do anything as leaders. We built the community, we supported the community, they themselves became leaders, they themselves drove things, they themselves achieved everything, and hence I believe that's leadership Communities are leaderships.
Speaker 2Wonderful, Such a profound stories of inspiration and what it means like community-led leadership kind of stuff In all of this. Nizh, if you were to kind of identify an invisible factor that can make or break the culture of the community, culture of the organization, what would that one factor be?
Speaker 1I think, having hierarchies in organizations, because there is a need for hierarchy and everyone cannot be at the very top. But I'm talking about Madhura, who was the founder CEO of Aspire. For Her, I was running the education initiatives and I probably had two or three people in my team. Now, if Madhura had not empowered me, she wouldn't even ask me what are you doing? Why are you doing? How are you doing? My past 25 years of corporate experience made me do a report every week to her. I did a status report every week to her. I don't think anybody else did that for her in all her other, you know verticals, but I did it because that's me. She may not even have looked at that report because she trusted me that I'm going to do the right things for the outcome that was required.
Speaker 1Now, if there was a hierarchy which said, near ja, how can you take such decisions without asking me? You have to consult with me, I have to approve everything and, uh, you have to give me a reason for everything. Then after a while I'll also get tired of you know, getting approvals. Some things are not getting approved. Then I'll say, okay, fine, I'll do it your way, tell me your way.
Speaker 1So I think, while there is a need for a structure, I'm not saying it has to be a flat structure. There was a need for some sort of a structure. But it is very important for us to empower our people. So don't micromanage. When you have shown them the bigger picture, they will go ahead and do, but you be there to help them out in case they are struggling. And if they make a mistake, you know, don't say, oh, I empowered you and you went ahead and made a mistake, because we all have come through that. If we are somewhere today it's because we made mistakes and somebody helped us through that. So that hierarchy structure has to become a little more enabling you need to have a hierarchy but yet make it loose.
Speaker 2Empower your team members and trust I think that's the golden word that have the trust. Okay, the first of the power of three round question coming to you, neerja. Three things you believe every organization should do to stay future ready.
Speaker 1I think unlearning is very, very important. We don't do enough of that. We stick to all that we have learned. The second thing is to network. I think enable people to network, because the learning doesn't come from courses and mba schools. The learning comes from the richness of expertise that stays in every person within the organization and outside. It is absolutely important. And the third is collaboration. Not so much competition, but let's collaborate.
Speaker 2So more got to do with coming together of the team members. Absolutely so, neeljit. If you were to fast forward yourself and give your future self three pieces of advice, what would that be?
Speaker 1Believe in yourself. Definitely Number one. The second is impact more than outcomes, even if one person is impacted by what you're trying to do, but you did not meet those targets. We didn't meet 5,000, 5000 target but there were so many people who got impacted. They didn't finish certifications, but there was different kind of impact. That impact is what is going to kind of take us forward than just you know the numbers. So focus on impact, the work that you do. The third one is have some fun in life this is what you're telling me is the future.
Speaker 1Yeah, because I think I'm quite a boring person, you know, I have to tell you this. So I've stayed in the corporate space for 25 years, right, and of course I've had great friends, and those people, you know, should not beat me up when they hear me saying this, but there's a particular way we've lived the corporate life. Then now we are entrepreneurs and I have become part of many communities you know women entrepreneur communities and these people have come from very different facets of life, so their ideas and their gatherings, their parties, are very different. So now, because I'm part of that group, I attend those gatherings. So my daughter says you are getting better than you were in the past.
Speaker 2You're getting a little less boring than what you were earlier. These are three micro experiments that you practice to fight fear. It can be stage fear. It can be fear of speaking. It can be fear of talking to strangers. Whatever it is, what three micro experiments, thatperiments, did you recommend?
Community Building as Leadership
Speaker 1First of all, preparation is very, very important. You know I may sound as if I'm going on stage and I remember everything to the T and I'm delivering. No, you don't know the number of. You know rehearsals I've done previous to that, two, three, four, five, ten, and I script it. You know my daughter, again and again she says, because she's also a public speaker, I was scripted to the T. Of course I will not read it, but that scripting gives me, you know, the confidence and saying, okay, maybe I should not say this, I should say this Does it have enough time?
Speaker 1Because you have to keep time also right when you are on stages. So practice. As many number of times I have done talks on networking a zillion times. My content may be the same, the stories change depending on where I'm going and speaking, but I will do two rehearsals before that again. So you know it doesn't matter. Practice is so very important. Second, don't think you're talking to an audience of 100 or 1000. Assume that you're talking to one person, because everyone should feel that you're talking to one person, because everyone should feel that you're talking to them one-on-one. So the minute you have that in your mind, it will show on the stage also. And the third, of course, is just be yourselves. You can take inspiration from the best of the speakers, but you do it your way.
Speaker 2that's when it's going to be phenomenal so for a shy, timid conservative girl to be on the TEDx stage means a big leap of faith. What was that one confidence booster that did it for you?
Speaker 1I think I actually visualized myself. I used to like it when I was on the other side and see people on stages. And there was, you know, once I was taking pictures of, you know, when I was in an event and I was sending it to my family group and one of my cousins said, hey, are you speaking or are you attending? And I said how can you even ask me that question? And I've never spoken and I don't think I can ever speak, but that triggered something in me. How about when I'm on stage ever speak? But that triggered something in me. How about when I'm on stage? Can I be on stage?
Speaker 1And I visualized it. Okay, I visualized which conference, I visualized the topic, I visualized the sari that I was going to wear. I visualized myself, you know, climbing those steps of the stage, standing, delivering it, and you know when I was in the shower and all. I would repeat that speech again and again and again and I'm kind of visualizing. I think that's what did it. So my first few would have been like that, and now it kind of just comes now look at you, you're a pro, thank you.
Speaker 2These are three books that has influenced in your life journey so largely because I work in the space of women.
Speaker 1There is one by Sheryl Sandberg. It's called Lean In. Sheryl Sandberg was the CEO of Facebook, Normata, and she's written this book about lean in, about women who should lean in and not just kind of, you know, keep to themselves. And hence today we have lean in circles which have come so I can start a circle and I can have, you know, members in that no-transcript hold them back. The last few chapters are real good leadership principles that she has spoken about. The third one. I think this one you know the Habits is a very good book.
Speaker 2James Clear, wonderful, great. So we are done with micro experiments, we are done with books. Three life lessons that have stayed with you, such an illustrious career that you've had. What are those life lessons that have stayed with you?
Speaker 1I think humility is a big one. Be humble Whatever you have achieved, because there have been many people who have enabled this achievement. They could have been your school teachers. They are definitely your parents. There is a larger ecosystem. They could be managers in your organizations. There are subordinates and there is family that supports you. So, yes, you have achieved, but kind of ensure that you kind of stay grounded. So, humility is definitely something. Be humble.
Speaker 1The second is always I've already said it what is the impact that you can create? And even if you can impact one person, that's good enough about. You need to draw out a huge business. You know canvas map. How do I scale? It's important. Yeah, you can do that, but can we start with? Can I impact one person? Because when you impact that one person, automatically the numbers will happen through that one person, yeah. So when I started on this journey, I wanted to help one woman to restart her career after a break, because that's that's when the transformation happened. I was still in my job, in my corporate job, but I looked at these women who had taken career breaks and they were struggling to restart their careers and I said can I help even one person? That was 2016.
Speaker 1In 2018, I was walking on the road and there was one person who came on a motorbike. And the person removed the helmet. It was a woman and I've never seen her before. She said aren't you, neeraja Ganesh? I said yeah. She said I caught you, neeraja Ganesh, and I saw you on the road. I want you to come back and tell you thank you for the work that you do to help women like us. I never thought this is going to happen. Some random woman on the, I said, one person.
Speaker 1So think about the impact, which is most important, and, thirdly, life lessons. Right, it's a holistic life. There are many elements. Lead a holistic life. Don't try to. You know, the first 10 years, I'm going to run a marathon with my career and then I get burnt out, and then burnt out in such a manner that I feel awful, but I have to give it all up. So it is holistic and at every stage of your life, there will be something which will take priority, something which probably you have to pause. But it is a very long life, it's a marathon.
Speaker 2So lead a holistic life lead a holistic life, be humble and prioritize impact. Create impact.
Speaker 1Three underrated career skills that are quietly becoming game changers there is a concept you may have heard of which is called as being T-shaped. So most people focus on the vertical of the T, which is the depth of a certain skill. So if it just technology, then you know I have understood AI and I can build agents. Or it could be, you know I'm a mechanical engineer or whatever. All of us need to have that depth. But what about the horizontal? Okay, because that's what differentiates us from everybody else, and today is a very crowded market and hence everybody has all that skill. So then, why should I hire you and not you? Why should we bring Neerja on a podcast and not somebody else? Because everybody is, you know, getting involved. So the horizontal of the team determines your differentiators. It determines the different ways in which you're able to accomplish a particular job, which could be some softer aspects. You know your problem solving skills, your collaboration skills, your team skills, etc. Nobody focuses on that and there are no courses for that. That could be courses, but that's not what is going to help you. Can you just look out for opportunities which will help you build those, and it doesn't have to be in the same space as you want to grow in your career. So if you want to be a data analyst, maybe you have to go and do a social media job somewhere. Maybe you have to go and, you know, volunteer somewhere else. Each of these is building your horizontal, because you yourselves would keep building the vertical right. So I think becoming a t-shaped individual is very, very important today, and that's something that everyone needs to look at.
Speaker 1I think today is a day of AI, right? We can't do without AI. I myself was anti, I have to say it. I'm like I still find it very difficult to let go. I don't have a Calendly that does my calendar appointments. I will do it myself. How can I let go? It's a very, very difficult thing for me, but I've realized that it's going to take away. You know, if I don't do it, I'm going to stay. Nobody else is going to push me back, but everybody else is going forward than I am, you know, going to stay behind, right? So, yes, today I think we have to understand in the way we can put AI to use.
Speaker 1Third one is I think it is very, very important to be visible. You may call it personal branding, you may call it visibility, but it is important for you to be seen, not only because it will give you opportunities, but because it is important for you also to be a role model for others. Everybody is a role model to somebody else. So the minute you kind of take the limelight, you tell your stories, others take inspiration from that and you never know. You know how transformations are happening to the others. So I think um building your brand and staying visible is very, very important.
Speaker 2And that's not just limited to the social media. It can be in your own organization, it can be in your own team. That belief, that confidence, everything that you spoke about, is what you're kind of talking about being visible.
Speaker 1Exactly, social media is not equal to branding. I mean that elevates it. But I tell people I run these classes on personal branding I said can you become a mentor? The minute you become a mentor, then you are seen as a mentor and your visibility is heightened Because now they know. You know what Neeraja is a mentor and she's mentored 20 people and they have reached you know these positions because of her mentorship and automatically you know there is. So now there was no social media there. There there were 10 other people or 20 other people you impacted, which others are seeing because their managers are seeing the transformation in these 20 individuals and you suddenly become, you know, the highlight of the moment great Nisha.
Breaking Down Hierarchies
Speaker 2Thank you so much. That was the end of the power of three segment. As we check along, get closer to wrap up, one action every listener can. As we chug along, get closer to a wrap-up, one action every listener can take this week to move towards a more intentional, fulfilling career.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's a very important question because most people will come, listen and go back. They would have enjoyed the one one and a half hours, but there's no concrete action, right? So I think taking action is the action, because we touched upon so many things and you don't have to do everything. It's not possible to do everything also, but there would be one thing which is resonated and you feel this is what I want to do. It could be prioritization, or it could be, you know, building your brand, or it could be speaking up and having your voice heard, or it could be that I want to, you know, distill the big picture, speaking up and having your voice heard, or it could be that I want to, you know, distill the big picture, whatever that be, which you think you want to start doing, and it will have a big impact on yourselves and the others. But please take that action, however small. That is because over a period of time, it would have gone a long way.
Speaker 2So very well put. It's easy for everybody to kind of come listen and check the mark on one more episode heard, but what is important is taking action. Water resonates and to the ethos of this podcast, this is not about going and touching thousands of people, having thousands of downloads, even if one individual can get impacted through this. That's what we call it as creating ripples of inspiration. So, on that note, mirja, on a weekend post-lunch, you served a wonderful dessert through your insights, through your anecdotes. Before we sign off, what's your Inspire Someone Today message to all of our listeners.
Speaker 1Each of you can inspire the other person. You never know. We all think what's there in me. Ameerja and Shrikant have arrived in life and hence they can talk about it, but each of us has had a life. Wherever we are today, whatever challenges, whatever achievements, that needs to be known by the other person, we can inspire somebody else, and that's my message. Can we all be role models? Can we find opportunities to showcase what we have gone through and hence inspire the others?
Speaker 2On that lovely note, if you are listening to this conversation and you're looking for inspiration, don't look anywhere, because you are the inspiration. That's a message out there. Thank you so much, neerja, for sharing this wonderful, wonderful conversation with me and my listeners.
Speaker 1Absolute pleasure to have had this conversation.
Speaker 2Thank you for joining us on this episode of Inspire Someone today. This is Srikanth, your host, signing off. Until next time, continue to carry the repulse of inspiration, stay inspired, keep spreading the light.
