Inspire Someone Today
Inspire Someone Today
E162 | Leading Simply, Staying Human - Leadership for a Complex Age | Rajneesh Singh
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What if the most powerful leadership tool isn’t a metric or a model, but the decision to be simply human? That’s the throughline of our conversation with Rajneesh “RS” Singh—factory-floor HR leader turned media CHRO turned co-founder of SimplyHR—who built a 15-year firm on clarity, courage, and care.
We start with RS’s three-layer career arc: a foundation forged in rigorous HR, a testing ground of plant shutdowns and M&A, and an application phase inside the daily chaos of newsrooms. From there, he shares the story of SimplyHR’s bar-napkin beginnings, why the brand’s black elephant stands for big ears and small mouth, and how a simplicity-first philosophy cuts through jargon to solve real business problems. The lesson for leaders: fall in love with chaos, then organize it into trust.
RS also maps the shift from relationship-led leadership to data-heavy dashboards and argues for a “touch and tech” balance. You’ll hear exactly what Millennials and Gen Z expect—transparency, dialogue, no surprises—and how managers can marry empathy with accountability without becoming “nice” and ineffective. For HR pros, he frames the function as a marathon: protect mental fitness, read the market, and use AI to elevate judgment, not erase humanity.
The most moving segment arrives when RS opens up about surviving stage four colon cancer. Humor, prayer, and purpose carried him through, and now he counsels others, proving that hope is a management tool. We close by looking ahead: India’s innovation mindset beyond jugaad, work-from-anywhere as a durable model, and the ethical spine that turns companies into institutions. If you lead people—or want to—this is a masterclass in building cultures that are clear, kind, and uncompromising on results.
If this conversation sparked something, follow the show, share it with a friend who leads teams, and leave a rating with one takeaway you’ll put into practice next week.
Have you purchased the copy of Inspire Someone Today, yet - Give it a go geni.us/istbook
Available on all podcast platforms, including, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify
Origin Of SimplyHR
SPEAKER_01I was a big fan of this uh Captain Gopinath who had started Deccan Airlines and who had disrupted aviation industry in this country forever. And I remember his book called Simply Fly. And that evening I told the folks, look, let's start looking for a domain called Simply. And sitting that evening, all of us started searching on the phone, and as God would have it, there was nobody with a SIPLIHR in India at least. We found somebody in the US, somebody in Australia, and we grabbed the domains, and that is where it was.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to Inspire Someone Today Podcast, a show where we dive into the stories and insights that has the power to create ripples of inspiration in your life. I'm your host, Shrikant, and I'm thrilled to be with you on this journey of inspiration. Who do we have today? From the shop floors of Ashare to the boardrooms of Network 18 and the entrepreneur leap with Simply HR. Rajneesh Singh, as he is loudly called as RS, has seen how leadership evolves and how people stay constant. In this episode, we reflect on building culture that thrives on trust, navigating the rise of AI with empathy, and what surviving life-threatening cancer is all about and his perspective on life and purpose. I can promise one thing: a thoroughly candid conversation on work, life, and why being simply human might be the most powerful leadership skill of all. On this note, Adhes, it's a joy to have you on this show of Inspire Summer today.
Three Career Layers: Foundation, Test, Application
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Srikant. Such a pleasure to be here. Thank you for reaching out. Absolutely honored.
SPEAKER_00Likewise. So, Adis, as I mentioned, you had traversed from the factory flows to boardrooms to being your own boss. If I were to kind of start right from there, what are the key lessons at each segment of this career move from Asia to Network 18 Gillette? And then finally being an entrepreneur?
Taking The Entrepreneurial Plunge
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so uh, you know, I thank God for all the wonderful opportunities that one got. Uh, not only uh the organizations that one worked with, but also the kind of people that one met along the way, you know, these three organizations which I which you clearly pointed out, and all of them have had a major bearing on my professional career. I would call Aisha as probably my foundation, and that is when a lot of things actually, from a pure HR standpoint, started taking root, as I would call it. Because it is very important in anybody's career that your foundation is solid, and that is when things are going to stay very strong for the longest time. As I moved into Chile and Duracell, I would particularly name Duracell because that was the factory I was heading HR for. I think a very different experience happened there. I felt uh this is just an aha moment. It was a small plant, but I guess the opportunity was massive to do some really interesting, pathbreaking HR kind of work. And it also gave an opportunity for a for a situation where the plant uh was shut down. And so the whole shutdown experience itself was very unique of handling emotions, of handling, you know, all kinds of uh challenges that a shutdown throws up. So I I would put Gillet and and of course then Gillet got acquired by Proctor and Gamble. And so the whole merger acquisition was a different experience. So I think in those seven years with Gillate, I had this amazing experience of a shutdown of an M ⁇ A. That I would call as the testing period of my career. So if Aisher was the foundation, here was an opportunity when it got tested. And I think at Network 18, when you were at the pinnacle, when you got a role of a group at HR of a very vibrant media organization, and you really cut away yourself from a manufacturing kind of uh life. This was a new zone. Uh very, very, I would say, uh might I use the word chaotic. And uh, you know, the day I joined the place, I knew that, you know, if I'm coming from a uh hundred-year-old stable chillet kind of organization to this place, uh, which is so full of action, one had to let go the past, you know, and and one had to just simply fall in love with chaos. And which is what I did. I thought, look, if you gotta thrive here, you gotta just embrace this day-to-day, news-breaking organization, you know, which is almost like touching million lives every day. So my my story that way would be these three layers. Uh, that there was a foundation period, there was a testing period, and network 18 is where I would say there were a lot of application happened of all the learnings that so it I would call it a very nice three-layered process.
SPEAKER_00And all of those three layers catapulted into your entrepreneur's journey.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. And and which is where, you know, one fine evening, three of my, four of my, five of my colleagues at Network Acting, we were sitting grabbing a beer in the evening after work, and and then we started discussing, okay, we've done this five years, what do we do next? And um out came a thing, let's do something of our own. And uh that we had been managing HR for such a large organization, which is multiple entities, and we thought, why not just replicate this whole model outside? And so we thought, okay, let's start a HRAM source company. And sitting at the bar, we decided, okay, what do we call that company? And uh I I was a big fan of this uh Captain Gopinath, who had started Deccan Airlines and who had disrupted aviation industry in this country forever. And I remember his book called Simply Fly. And that evening I told the folks, look, let's start looking for a domain called Simply. And sitting that evening, all of us started searching on the phone, and as God would have it, there was nobody with a Simply HR in India at least. We found somebody in the US, somebody in Australia, and we grabbed the domains, and and that is where it was. So that was, I would say, that evening, a new kind of a journey kicked off.
SPEAKER_00So, what triggered you to kind of create Simply HR? While you had experiences at different organizations, what was that aha moment saying that now is the time? This is what I would want to do.
Pride, Regrets, And Tech Gaps
SPEAKER_01So I think, like I shared, I think the diversity of the experiences that one had gathered of and also of having worked with such progressive companies, you know. At times you feel having worked in such organizations, you have seen the future. And then you feel that, you know, all this, if one can really package it pretty well, take it to the outside world, uh, can we do wonders? You know, and and that is what an entrepreneur typically would like to look at. That is there an opportunity out there. And at that time, back in 2010, uh, we felt we were at the cusp of a very interesting HR outsource story that was building up because a lot of startups, a lot of family businesses wanting to transform, and we felt this is the time to go in. I, of course, we did a lot of research. Some people were very excited, some people cautioned us, you know, Rajneesh, you're at the peak, and why are you doing this now? You know, I mean, you've got everything going for you. But then, you know, that is when when you are at the peak is when the plunge should happen, is the way I look at it. So I think, yeah, probably me having been financially far more secure. Uh, my other partners who came on board were far more, I wouldn't say really financially well, but I think they they connected with the vision that one was talking about and the opportunity. Yeah. So I think the whole market scenario is what drove us and somewhere the whole in inner confidence that that uh gave us that whole momentum.
SPEAKER_00No, no, looking back in 2025, RS, if we were to kind of look back and the decision, what are you proud of and what are you what do you regret of?
SPEAKER_01That's an interesting question. I think all four of us, all four partners, uh till this morning, you know, we keep exchanging messages on WhatsApp. I think uh even on a Sunday when you're exchanging messages, you can imagine the, you know, the whole action which is kind of it's stayed all for 15 years. So naturally there's a lot of pride that all four of us carry. I think all of us carry a lot of uh I I guess, you know, the sense of achievement that uh Simply HR, which was never there 10 2011 in January, or uh is now known to so many people. I think for having done that for a brand in the HR space, I think that itself is very, very self-uh satisfying, self-assuring. And we have truly enjoyed the entire journey of building something. Regret could have been, yes, uh, on the way, few things definitely, some self-made, uh some COVID-made. Uh so I guess two, three knocks here and there, uh, which have definitely and you know that's the beauty of uh and and I I think the other pride has been for me particularly at a personal level is that we as a partners team have stayed as a unit. Many startups led, you know, many of them. For me personally, to have you know kept this unit tight uh has been a moment of pride for me, I would say. So regret, yes, couple of I guess, investments, I would call it, couple of decisions I would call it. We could have moved faster, perhaps, especially on the tech side of things. We've been slightly slow on that. But given that our main revenues were coming from outsourcing and advisory and other verticals, that has definitely helped us to stay afloat.
Philosophy Of Simplicity And The Elephant
SPEAKER_00Right. And Alice, you are a huge, huge proponent of the term simplicity. So on your uh organization as with Simply HR. What does it mean? Why did you coin this? What does it mean to you, your leadership uh principles or on your entrepreneurial journey? Why Simplicity?
SPEAKER_01So while I mentioned about Simply Fly um and Captain Gopinath, uh, it also goes back to probably at a at a home situation, at a very personal level. And uh I see my father as my role model from a simplicity standpoint. There was a gentleman who was I mean, he was an epitome of Trugal living. And quite okay with the way things were. I mean, uh had a very we built after retirement, he built a house and for the all all his life worked in a PSU. Uh and those were the times. I mean, so many of our parents have all worked in uh PSUs. He constructed a house, very normal, simple, two-bedroom. And I would I would observe him quite a bit. A deep thinker, long works, uh, an amazing uh worldview, uh, you know, so all that I think somewhere and his own persona, even the basic dresses that he would wear, very bare net, right? I I thought those were uh images that stayed with me. So I I believe that uh a lot of things on simplicity come from our thoughts, our experiences, the kind of values that that we carry. I I think that becomes very, very critical. When we started Simply HR, the the whole it focus was that HR has become too complicated. There are huge jargons flying around. Can we simplify things, you know, and and keep HR as you know uh human as possible. You know, so that was one of the reasons why. And of course, when we came down to the logo of uh SimplyHR, if you would notice, it's a black elephant. And when we I spoke to my this uh lovely friend of mine in Mumbai, she uh runs her own design for and she came up with a couple of uh options. One was an owl and the other one was an elephant. And so I told her, look, owl will go a bit of a on a different tangent here to nane. So I thought, let's stay with HR. And uh then then we connected elephant with our elephant god Ganesh, uh, who was again a favorite lord of mine. And uh then you could see a lot of connection of an HR professional with uh an elephant uh with features, the nose, the big ears, the small mouth, all that actually then built our philosophy around simplicity.
Leadership Then And Now: Touch And Tech
SPEAKER_00Wonderful. Thank you. Thanks for sharing that uh piece of history in the making of uh simply HR. And Alice, you're somebody who has traversed, like we spoke, traversed multiple industries across the decades. So I'm sure you'd have the best seat in the room to kind of see how leadership has transitioned over time from a pre-digital age to now the AI age. What's your take on how leadership has evolved? Uh, what do you see is evolving? What do you see uh that needs to kind of need to strengthen further?
SPEAKER_01I believe in our times, I would say, and particularly the organizations that we discussed about, and I was very, very lucky to have worked with some amazing leaders in in those three organizations. And I I can name them also. I mean, uh right from in Aishare, say a person, Mr. uh Vikramlal, who was the founder of Aisher, Mr. Aninsasteir, down to Chillet, particularly Durecal, Mr. Rabhid Das, who I look up a lot. And down to Network ET, Mr. Raghab Behal, uh, whom I look up to a lot. Again, these were people who inspired a lot. And I think the inspiration would come uh largely because of their very deep involvement, I would say, in in people. Their whole people focus was very clear. You know, what they wanted to really build. And and I believe very strongly, not speaking as a HR person, but it's a given that organizations that last thrive are hugely focused on people. And and that is where all these three organizations today also are where they are. So my sense is there was a time relationships really mattered a lot. Leadership those days would focus a lot on that. They would go beyond the employee, connect with the families. I think those those were the types. But as tech came in, a different world definitely started happening. And so a lot of the BPOs coming in, and the whole landscape started changing. And a lot of things then started becoming very transactional, and and it was like a give and take. Leadership also then uh started, of course, kind of uh reimagining that how do you manage this workforce now? And and so therefore, um I think one started falling back on uh on a lot of data, and and of course, now we are into the AI uh era. But the great leaders still today are those who have maintained a fine balance uh between uh you know touching lives of their employees as well as leveraging technology as much as it can. You know, so I think it's people who are leaders who have really struck a fine balance between, as I as I've been calling it, touch and tech, uh are the people who are uh going to still uh stay relevant uh and in at the leadership level. And I feel the more tech comes in, one would be expecting leaders to be extremely human, extremely, I would say, sensitive, and and be very, very uh, I would say, somebody who is very approachable. I think those are the things that one would like to see as as AI really comes in a big way.
What Remains Irreplaceably Human
SPEAKER_00Well, just take a lead from there. What do you think will remain irreplaceably human as technology advances?
SPEAKER_01I think what will never get replaced is definitely you know the whole uh basic emotions, I would say. Right. I think those can never ever get replaced by uh AI. Um the ability to understand somebody, the ability to listen to somebody, the the ability to engage with somebody face to face. I think those are things that are never ever going to be replaced. And and the leaders who master that and who sustain that are all all going to be remembered. That when there was this wave of AI, my leader stood out and was still stayed connected.
SPEAKER_00That's very important because we are going through a phase, a dichotomy of sorts, if you s think about it Ares, is you have hundreds of friends on LinkedIn, Facebook, but you can count the number of friends you can kind of count as real. You had thousands of likes if you were to kind of look at it, but you're internally not happy. So there is a dichotomy that is prevailing, right? As much as tech is kind of connected all around, deep inside, either leaders or individuals at the workfront or home front feel disconnected.
Social Media Connection Vs. Real Bonds
SPEAKER_01I I fully agree with that. And uh I fall into that zone in some manner, in the sense that yes, you've got tons of followers on a LinkedIn, you got so many friends on a Facebook. In fact, today morning only Facebook sends a survey to me that how are you finding Facebook? And one of the questions in that was, you know, are you happy with the number of friends that you have? And I was like, for a minute, okay, I looked up the responses. I said, look, this is a very interesting question, but I know how many, like you said, you know, are are very deeply connected, you know. And and so there are, I would say, three, four layers of friends on these platforms, and and which is fair. I think that's the way you should be really looking at these platforms rather than getting too much consumed and overwhelmed with it. And so if you are if you're fairly okay in in looking at these platforms in a in a far balanced manner, these are good platforms to share ideas, thoughts, connecting, relationship management. I think those are the other key takeaways, I would say.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00And Alice, for somebody who is working so closely with the startup ecosystem, I I think the headline message is, oh the millennials, oh the Gen Z. And for all the wrong quests that they get, I I think they're also doing some fantastic uh work out there. So what does the English generation truly seek from their leaders? If we were to kind of get into their mind and say, okay, this is what the English lot is kind of looking forward to.
What Gen Z Wants From Leaders
SPEAKER_01I think so. You know, I have huge admiration for this, uh I would say the millennials and the Gen Z. And I don't I don't know why they've become such a favorite punching bag. And and the way I see all the four generations, and and we are already curating some very interesting event around it in December, talking four generations at the workplace and how they need to uh thrive together. I I feel that there has to be far more respect for these generations, uh the younger generation. I believe the leadership needs very clearly, they want a lot of transparency, if you really ask. When I say transparency, they would like to see a lot of credibility at play. That means what you say you do. Uh, and you don't say something in an open house in a town hall and do exactly the opposite the next day, you know. So on a say on a Monday, uh you said, oh, we are doing great, and on a Friday you say we are slashing thousand jobs, there is a huge problem out there. Number two, I would say the youngsters are wanting more dialogue in whatever manner you can do it. I know having a one on one dialogue or in a small group dialogue, in whatever form. They want to be listened. If I take the AI into picture here, yes, it is very easy to. Palm off this whole activity that okay, let the AI do the talking. But I I think that will be really sad if I say that. Leaders need to understand this younger generation is far more informed, far more aware, far more knowledgeable, and that's where they want to contribute a lot. So unless we strike a moments of dialogue with them, uh we are not really going to tap their real potential. Third thing I feel this is a generation because they've been brought up on an overfeed of information, they like to stay informed. You know, so don't give them surprises. I feel this is an organization which uh, you know, periodically would like to know as much as possible how are we doing. Many of them would actually be very forthcoming in helping their leaders, uh, probably uh giving ideas, you know. This is what we can do better. This we should stop. Why are we spending money on this? I I feel uh rather than just brushing them aside, we should be tapping them far more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's a lowly call out, Aris. I I think like you mentioned, a lot many times this generation of millennials or genius lot more misunderstood than understood.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00What would you recommend that leaders do, that HR leaders, business leaders do to bridge that gap, to better understand their expectations, better understand what they're seeing. For you you gave some loudly insights, they want to be respected. They would like uh to have dialogue. There's no surprise. This is basic human values at the end of the day. Communication, respect, and no surprise. Got it. How do you bridge that gap?
Bridging The Generational Gap
SPEAKER_01So the only thing is that say if you're a very large organization, and I know there are a lot of apps today which can give you instant data on on the mood of the organization today or the health of the organization today, of the employees. I believe it's it's important that you take that data very seriously. A, of course, again, leaders to understand this is very important. You introduce anything like this, you better be seen as somebody who is acting on that data that is coming to you. What other people say, avoid doing such activities for the sake of doing that, right? And which is what I was saying at the beginning that uh, you know, it's a matter of credibility, right? So this generation sees you through very, very fast. So whether you're a large organization where you're depending on a on a survey kind of a tool, or you do town halls, open houses, or if you're a mid uh mid kind of a level organization where you could still take out time to meet a bunch of employees periodically, do that as a habit, listen to them, grab whatever ideas, opportunities they are talking about. And if you are a small organization, I see no reason why you shouldn't be indulging in a one-on-one kind of a discussion. So, net net, what I would say is that unless that connect is there, these gaps can't be. You know, you can't just apply something and expect that, you know, things are going to go up, engagement is going to go up, people are going to be very excited. A lot of warp the talk, a lot of lead by example, you know, uh say what you mean, do what you mean. I think these are, I know these are very simple kind of uh, I would say, slogans, but these need to be practiced more and more in in today's time. I mean, in our times, probably, like I said, even a small I mean, I I remember uh one of the organizations, a monthly email going to the employees was good enough. You know, people were very happy that they were getting informed. Today you've got to do far more than that. So the frequency of connect, uh, I would say has to be far more. I would also, I mean, picking up my lessons from my other organizations is that, and which I said earlier on relationship, is that how do you really connect with them beyond them, you know, uh their families. Uh many, many organizations deal with them just as a pair of hands. I I don't think that is the way to really deal with this generation. This generation expects far more. Far more. I mean, so many of them just quit a job without even a job in hand, purely because they felt this is not the right place for me. Uh well, the organization might turn around and say, Oh, you were not a fit for us. But I believe mostly it's the other way around. The kids today take decisions and and they take informed decisions. And then that's why you see uh platforms like Glassdoor and all, which is available there. And and organizations are only mindful of seeing their scores on a platform like Glassdoor, how they are doing. I think leaders need to pick up data continuously. And and you know, this is like a treadmill generation. I mean, you you get onto it, you will have to keep running with that. Uh you can't have a time where you would like to kind of take a pause. So on-the-go action is is what I would expect a lot of leaders to take.
SPEAKER_00If you were to kind of slip this around, what to do tell the millennials or the Gen Cs to kind of do differently, to bridge the gap? What can they play as a part? Very good question.
Empathy And Accountability In Balance
HR As A Marathon And Future Skills
SPEAKER_01No, I I think they they also need to understand. Look, this is also in many ways, and I was looking at it when when we talked about it. Uh, and I would just put one word to all the four generations, if I may. I I find this generation, and I had four R's that I picked up, you know. This is a Gen Z is a rush generation, right? I mean, they want everything like an instant, and we have been everybody has been discussing this, which is okay. I mean, look, and and I heard this these two words also, instant gratification and and stuff like that, which is okay. I mean, we got to, you know, reorient ourselves, how do you manage a rush? A millennial, for example, is is a bunch which is because they have rushed and they're suddenly in a rust mode, right? And so they're suddenly trying to figure out, okay, uh, how do I now, whatever I have done so far for 10, 15 years, is it enough to take me to the next level? You know. The fourth one, the third one, Gen X, is very interesting. They are almost, you know, they're getting so overwhelmed with this younger generation that they can do so many things. They start young, they start companies at this age. I think mentally that's a resign generation, if I may call it. They are resigning at that age, 45, 50, they're already deciding to quit, corporate, can't handle it, or they made so much money that you know, enough. And the last one, baby boomers, people like us. I think we are in a very interesting stage of relevance. Right? So that's the fourth hour. How do people like us stay relevant? You know, and and I'm making a very, very, you know, honest, straightforward statement. And that is where when you know uh we were discussing at the intro stage, it is so important, generation on generation. I believe the word relevance has to be your cornerstone. So I think we're we're in a very interesting um era, I would say.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. I couldn't have kind of coined it better than the four hours and at a very interesting uh phase where we are. With the pace at which change is also happening, one constant question I keep getting uh from team members, from people outside the industry as well, is what is the balance between empathy and accountability? How as a leader can I strike that particular balance? If I am too soft, work doesn't get done. If I kind of push the envelope on getting stuff done, then I'm seen as rude, I'm seen as not having uh the empathy. So what is the trick there?
SPEAKER_01You know, if I just go back five minutes ago when I said striking a balance uh between touch and tech. Now, this is again a striking a balance between empathy and accountability, as as you put it rightly. And which the younger generation is where a lot of us probably presumably stra struggle with, you know, that why don't they take ownership, for example, and which is part of uh your accountability. But I believe, and that's why I was saying that to understand this generation or any other professional, it is very, very critical that you do understand the individual in and out, what he or she is bringing on the table and what are the struggles, challenges that he or she might be having. And and that is where it becomes very important that the word empathy comes into play. But we also need to be mindful, are we overempathetic? You know, that's the flip side. I mean, you if you go too soft, too light and so, yeah, there is a problem. And and I've in my workshops I keep telling people please don't be a nice manager or a nice leader. People don't uh look forward to that. They want uh managers or leaders who take tough calls, who take tough decisions, who demand work. So I and and I've seen some of the best managers who who do this beautifully. They'll take care of you, they'll ensure you are completely in sync, uh, you know, uh enjoying your work. But at the same time, they will also use the stick uh and ensure that there is 100% accountability. I think it that's that's a skill that uh managers and leaders need. And uh it it is you can learn.
SPEAKER_00I think the key word there is don't strive to be a nice leader. Perhaps be a leader who is nice but getting things done.
SPEAKER_01And and one word that I use most is be effective. And with effectiveness, you will strike the balance between the two.
SPEAKER_00Great. RS closer home, uh your fraternity, the HR's fraternity. I am of the notion that HR is just not HR's business, HR is everybody's business. With that in mind, how are you kind of seeing the whole function evolving? We did touch upon tech, we did touch upon AI. There's still need for that human uh connectedness, human centricity out there. How do you see HR shaping up? If any of our listeners are aspiring HR professionals, what would be a word of advice or two be for them to kind of get better in their trade?
India’s Opportunity Mindset Beyond Jugaad
SPEAKER_01Look, HR as a profession, and I was speaking somewhere to a young bunch of uh B school students, and I told them that HR is like a marathon, it's like a long distance running, it's not a hundred-meter dash, it's not a two hundred-meter dash. You know, uh if you're in for a long haul, then join HR because HR is not instant stuff. It's not. And you expect that you're going to do something and get some immediate results, it's not going to happen, right? So it requires investment of time, effort, energy. I believe HR guys themselves need to be supremely fit. Mentally, I would say, start with, and of course, then physically, you know. This is a very demanding profession. So as much today HR has on the agenda the employee wellness, I feel to start that whole uh journey of employees' wellness, I think the HR wellness is far the more critical, I would say. Because this is a this is a profession which is a very demanding and it is a burnout profession. People I have seen a lot of people quit HR because they just couldn't take this whole pressure of a day-to-day channel. But at the same time, I've seen a lot of people, actually non-HR people, having done beautifully in HR. They had no HR back. So I would say, like I said, I mean, one is your own wellness and a kind of staying power in the game. But I think it is also very, very critical that uh your ability to really foresee scenarios and and which means how much are you clued on with not only your company, your product, the market, but the world? I feel HR guys still operate in a very, very narrow uh kind of a frame. The more they look beyond and the more they think future, better it would be to really be seen as a very, very important business partner. And which is where if an AI is coming, uh, how much are you really leveraging AI becomes very critical. How much are you really ensuring that the business benefits out of AI? I think that that itself will be uh very, very critical. Lastly, I would say, again, going back to our uh whole focus on simplicity, that you know people are anyway stressed quite a bit. How as HR we can simplify their lives and not really burden them? I I feel they are anyways burdened with so much work pressure and what have you. HR can do a lot by simplifying things and which means not doing the thinking bit all by yourself, but by co-creating a lot of interventions. Which means you got to sit with the line guys, with the business guys. Honestly, you really, if if you really ask me why so many relationships in my life uh at a at a professional life has stayed on, is because as a HR person, it was not only HR people I was engaging with. I had to connect with tons of people right across, up, down, middle, wherever. I I believe that ability to meet, walk, engage are are things that HR guys need to be working more on.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And honestly, we are at a stage where the reimagining of each of the functions, just not HRs, the functions, reimagining each of the functions, reimagining the success metrics. No longer engagement at tissue is a metric. It is far beyond that, right? I think those are the stuff that needs to kind of come to the fore, right?
SPEAKER_01100%. 100%. HR people, like I said, um, you do it with your half energy, half heart, not going to take you long uh in your career.
SPEAKER_00And where we are as a country, as an industry, RS is a very interesting time, right? A lot of action happening. The entire world is looking up to India in terms of uh leadership. How can we as a country leaf frog? How can we kind of create this as a people innovation lab, people innovation hub? What are those two, three things that we need to do?
Surviving Stage Four Cancer: Purpose And Hope
SPEAKER_01Look, as a country, a lot needs to be done. I mean, uh this is a I would like I say, this is a problem country, right? And when I say problem country, that means if you flip it, it's an opportunity country, right? There are tons of opportunities. And that is what I tell youngsters that you know don't just just look for jobs, look to solve problems. Problems. You know, and and that is where the whole beauty of entrepreneurship comes into play. And that is where it is be top so much uh right to the school level. And I'm so glad that we're talking, starting your own business at school levels, and uh how how I wish that's done more. And we get youngsters to really imagine and and think beyond. So for India to really uh become an innovation hub, it's it's a long way off. And and one of the critical stumbling blocks is the mindset, I would say. The more we stay as a Jugar uh nation, innovation will happen, but of a very different kind, very short term, very low on quality. And that's not what is going to stand us out as a nation, honestly. And and will it really sustain us or grow us? Will always remain questionable. So for me, uh the word innovation is massive. Uh it's it's not to be taken lightly. That's why we keep discussing that Indians abroad are so brilliant, innovative, and they're working for such big, big uh organizations. But coming back home, uh yes, uh it is um it is an opportunity. We've got to get a lot of things right, right from at a very policy level to the governance level to the uh you know ground level. I still feel um the way we look at employees as as a pure um you know the working population, there's so much to be done, honestly. I mean, we we still struggle with some very basic working conditions in some of our big organizations, honestly. Our and it and it's still and I'm still staying with the word that I used at the beginning, the mindset. That requires a massive shift. I mean, even the best of the organizations are still struggling in this country to provide a very bare minimum, comfortable working place. You know. I I think the IT companies and perhaps the BPOs and all have have did bring in a different kind of a workplace, many manufacturing setups, SMEs, MSNEs, you know, your heart breaks when when you see that. But you also know, yes, they are also the backbone. But I guess it is very important for people who are leading such organizations to become great examples. Uh if not now, when? And so when larger clients of yo come from outside to do due diligence of your of your uh workplaces, of your organizations, you do cover-ups, which last just that one week of visit of that uh future client of yours. And in a week's time everything falls apart. So yeah, so you know, if if you're still operating with that mindset, there is there is a problem. So, yes, uh, we are at a huge uh you know opportunity uh times, but we gotta be mindful also that we have tons of challenges.
SPEAKER_00Can't agree more to that, uh Aris. And we are talking about a function which is filled with people, emotions, all of it. And I must say that I really appreciated the vulnerability that you kind of expressed to say that you want to talk something about your own personal moment, about resilience, about renewal. And that personal moment was how you battled yourself coming out of stage four cancer and then talking your story about a cancer survivor and how you kind of showed up uh with resilience. Walk us through that. How has it changed you as a person? How has it changed your outlook?
Living Fully And The RS Podcast
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean that that was a very, very interesting phase, and it's been now more than four years now. This was July of 2021 when I got diagnosed with uh colon cancer, stage four. Everything happened very rapidly, and then I moved into an operation theater which I had never in my life ever visited, but I thought this is all a great thing happening. Uh I took it with a pinch of humor and fun. And I guess that was the only way to really handle it. And I I knew at that moment, 10th of August 2021, when I went in the OT, I didn't know whether I'm going to come up. But I think it is uh the the learning very clearly has been that this was a good pause in in one's life. Um this was a good, I would say, kind of uh uh recalibration moment um in in my mind. And and so naturally once you came out of it or while you were battling it, and I still am in that process, I still go through six months of Pai CD scans, is that you got to s stay supremely uh strong in your mind, you know, head uh to handle such scenarios, such crisis. The other thing, of course, one realized that you know there's so much to do. Uh, and I I don't know whether I have the time now. And and that's where probably in my last four and a half years, um am I revisiting my bucket list more uh frequently? I guess so. And I feel that there's so much to do, both on the professional front, on the personal front, spend you know, tarry with family friends as much as possible. And yes, I then I also realized that uh given this scenario. Given that I was an HR person, so much deeply involved with the employees' leadership, I thought this was a personal case which should be also talked about for a very larger population. It could be families that are struggling with somebody uh struck with cancer or cancer patients themselves. And I think in these four and a half years after where I wrote my uh journal, which was called The Good Acient, uh, which went quite viral at that time, I have been counseling so many cancer patients, motivating them. So therefore, you also look at these crises as probably God's own way of telling you that you got to do far more, uh, and and there is a larger purpose. So then for me, you know, uh the whole story of HR becomes very small when you're doing this kind of a uh work, which is around life and death. So I I believe uh, you know, I I see it as a blessing, honestly. And to be using this to talk at various forums, I am very open about it whenever I'm conducting workshops, giving talks. I do close it with saying or sharing this with the with the uh audience. And naturally people are very struck because they just couldn't imagine that for the last one full day this guy has been conducting a workshop or he's been speaking for the last two hours is this guy, right? Now and and that that moment I can sense in the room there is hope that you can fight, you know. And that's the spirit that you want to leave uh with the people. And and and and that's for me is a huge, huge thing.
SPEAKER_00No, that's so wonderful. What stuck with me, uh RS was it's just not what you went through, but how you handled. It's very easy to kind of go down the slippery slope, play the victim card. How you kind of played it around, given it a very positive spin, taking it as a mission, so to say, to say that okay, let me do something about it. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01I think you use the word right word, I would uh probably yes, absolutely echo the word mission. It is.
SPEAKER_00It has become, honestly, uh Prabhupada's guru stay uh all my life. So what aided you in developing that kind of a mindset? What practices did you do? How did you even kind of get that kind of a will, that strong will, saying that you you mentioned a very beautiful point when everything paused. Even when everything paused, there are certain things that became essential. What was they?
Books, Micro-Experiments, And Future Self
SPEAKER_01So look, uh as a person pre-cancer, also, I I pro somewhere I was I was a guy who was a person full of life and uh you know, living life to the full. I mean, all of my ex-colleagues, my friends would kind of vouch for that. My family would also see me as a very, very different character. So I guess that inbuilt thing probably became a strength. You really see life as a God's gift, and uh, you know, um you got to gather as much courage inside to fight this. Like my father, I was I told you about my father, he he was also struck with cancer, but his was a case which was again a very late stage, but he just survived two months, you know, from the diagnosis to his passing away. Now, was that a reference point for me that he passed away in two months? Should I be doing two into X, whatever, and still be there? I don't know whether that played in my mind. I don't know, honestly. But I think it is largely for all the love and and all the prayers that happened for me during that. I mean, I know that day when I was in the OT, there is so many people out there who kind of just prayed. And uh Yeah, so I I I I also believe in the power of prayers, and and I believe that itself gave me so much of strength. I switched off myself while I was moved from the OT uh to the ICU to the room. For a week I didn't see my phone, and I am a phonetic because my work is around the phone. And my wife, when I told her, okay, 16th of August, you give me the phone. And I was overwhelmed by the kind of messages that I was reading. And naturally that gave me even more strength, you know, that given this, how can you slip away? You just can't.
SPEAKER_00Wonderful. So lawli. Aris, you did mention that you are a man who who had a full life, you kind of had love, passion, everything going on for you. One insight that you can share about living fully, where others can learn from it without necessarily having to go through a crisis.
SPEAKER_01So I I think my take is uh to live in the moment and and live it fully, you know. And enjoy whatever you're doing, I think. You know, whether it's a job, you know, living in a family, your kids, um, parents. I think to live in the moment is is what I would say is is very, very critical. You don't know, life has become so fragile anyway. Uh COVID even more, right? Uh every age is being struck now uh with you know unforeseen scenarios. So I I think uh the realization is that uh and I believe I mean you've got to make the most of what you have.
SPEAKER_00So true. Yeah. You did mention about checking off things on your bucket list. So one of the things that is kind of uh doing its debut in 2026 is RS Podcast. Tell us a bit about it.
The Future Of Work And Flexibility
SPEAKER_01Oh, very much. Yeah, so uh and I'm I'm glad I'm speaking about this on a podcast itself. And uh yeah, that that that I guess was a year-ago thing when one of my friends in the US he sent a clip of a very old man who does a very nice podcast there. And he meets these very unusual entrepreneurs who are not that well known, but who are doing amazing work. And he just sent it to me, he said, uh Rajneesh Chava, look at this. This is what you should be doing now, you know. And I'm sure, and he's also maybe three, four years elder to me, and of course a childhood buddy. So that night I just couldn't sleep. And I I it set me thinking, you know. And here was a scenario, my friend sitting in the US, you know, thinking like this. And I thought, okay, this is a great thought to, you know, kind of uh think over. And um, so it's it's taken a year to really shape up the whole thing. And then I started bouncing out the idea with few people, and I could see a lot of uh, you know, kind of good positive feedback coming in, and down to my wife and uh my child. And then of course I went back to the same design friend who did a logo for Simply HR, you know, and she's been doing creatives for us uh all these 15 years. So when I told her, she was absolutely thrilled that RS, this is the moment. Uh, you've got to do it now, you know. And uh so when I told her this is what uh show will be called, and she was all the more thrilled. Then I thought, okay, I have the first audience who is pretty much crude on. Then she said, okay, let me add something to that. I said, yeah, please go ahead. So and and I think that's where she wrote that little tagline of Kuch Bhakchi. And she said that keep it in English because then it will have a wider audience, or whatever. So and yeah, so that was it. And uh a month ago or so, then I uh took it to social media, and I I think it's already generated a decent amount of interest in family, friends, beyond. A lot of clients are very excited. He said, This is interesting, we want to know more about this. Some people are saying, okay, how are you going to do this? Uh so as of yesterday, because this is the first month I'm going to can the first shoot uh and we're going to do it at our home. Identified the first person also. And yesterday I was speaking with my ex-colleague who runs a production house. So I told him, Send me the list of things that I need to set up. So, yeah, this is a very important month. Uh, and like you said, 2026 is the time when we will take up some very interesting guests, interesting themes. But yes, I'll I'll take it easy.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Wishing you lots of luck. I'm sure it will do really well. I'm a firm believer of good things will happen to good people.
SPEAKER_01No, no, and and I was so happy. You know, this is what I was saying that our pattern starts developing. So when you connect it and I see your thing, inspire someone today, and I said, Man, the word inspire has stayed in my life forever. You know, uh, and and so many youngsters tell me uh this is the word they identify me with, you know, the chief, this is who you are. You are inspired, inspiration. So when I saw your, you know, I mean the platform name, I was so happy. Like this is this is it.
SPEAKER_00This is the part of the round. The first of the part of three round question RS is three books or podcasts or ideas that have shaped your philosophy.
SPEAKER_01One of the earliest books that I would have read and which is which continues to have a great impact on my life is is this book called Maverick, which was by Ricardo Sendler. And uh I think there was a man who was running an organization way ahead of its time. And for some reason, that just the title of that book is so you know ingrained here that that drives me in in so many ways. And that is what has, you know, the so the connect of that with, say, for example, when you say the word idea, and I would stay with Maverick is also the word imagine, and which is where you know an organization like Apple was born, just around that word imagine. I believe Mavericks are people who uh think and and because they think they imagine. Uh and I believe that has left an impact. That was book one. Book two, I believe along the way came uh, and I think both of came along uh together just here here and there was two books, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goldman and then Seven Habits of Uh Highly Affected People. Stephen Covey. Uh I think these three books honestly have been up there, and uh you can keep going back to them. Uh my my sense is uh for any leader, for any professional, even at a personal level, there's so much learning in all these three. Wonderful.
SPEAKER_00RS three micro experiments that any manager can adapt to lead with empathy.
Legacy Of SimplyHR And Ethics
SPEAKER_01I think it it's important to understand the meaning of empathy, what really revolves around that. And and my sense is that empathy requires time. So you've got to take out time if you've got to be seen as a person who carries tons of empathy. I think the second part of it would be that are you a person who is is credible, uh, who's genuine? Uh that that's that's a story that builds over a period of time. When people start experiencing one event after another event after another, and if they see a common thread, that is where your genuineness is is really picked. And the third one, I would call it is is uh a law of uh I would say active listening. Um because that's very, very critical. So simply put, you've got to have the time to stay. Uh if you want to build empathy, have that genuineness in you. And the third one, very important, is when you are in a dialogue built on around empathy, then you better be practicing active listening.
SPEAKER_00R is ten years out. If you were to have a conversation with RS, your future self, what three pieces of advice would you give to your current self? Okay.
Parting Message: Joy Of Being Alive
SPEAKER_01I think um to my future self would be that could I have started the could I have been an entrepreneur maybe ten years early. That is one. Also, probably could I have probably um I think one of the things that I would continue perhaps in that future self is, and and which is what has driven me so much, is to keep thinking possibilities, right? That's something that I can't let go. And that that I believe comes from the power of a brain. How much are you really using that uh is is very critical. I mean, I could be just consuming, for example, you know, reels full of songs and jokes and whatever. Uh, but I could also be actually consuming so much of knowledge, information, ideas, and those are all resources uh available to us. The third thing, I guess, which which is the learning which we discussed during the cancer story, was that the future self also should stay as alive and kicking as you know on the self. Stay the fun guy. You know, people's people who who meet also, and and that's another message after the word that I shared with you about inspiration. That there is so much warmth that one brings in the at the very first engagement. So I guess, yeah, staying alive and kicking, staying warm is is is something that I one would like to stay future self.
SPEAKER_00Wonderful. I'm sure your future self will love you for all of those things. I guess R. Is the last of the part of the round segment questions for you? If you were to kind of do a sum total of all the wonderful advice that you have received from colleagues or mentors or your ex-bosses, what three advices has stood with you that has helped you in your journey?
SPEAKER_01One of the advice which I and whenever I would for example, during my pocket career, whenever I would switch jobs, for example, switch companies, one of the leaders whom I really admire, look up to, and I would always ask his opinion, he would ask just one question. How's the opportunity to do a lot of interesting work? And that summed it up for me, you know, that that's and so whenever I talk to also young people, I say don't look at the opportunity from a monetary standpoint. Is there some exciting stuff that you're gonna do, you know, when you're get taking up this opportunity? I I believe that is something that has stayed with me. So whenever we take up even a client work today as a as a business, we we use this lens. And then whenever we feel that, you know, this is a wrong organization, that perhaps the values itself are not matching from the way a Simply HR works and the way the clients work, we've given up those assignments, right? Because that's that's the very core. I think the other thing that probably people, at least at least the colleagues could have said is to also, you know, be the person be as approachable as as you've always been.
SPEAKER_00And again, it goes back to what you mentioned earlier, that's foundation. If that foundation is so solid, hard, everything the LU do is revolving around that. How will the meaning of work evolve over the next decade? From the vantage point that you all had, how do you see this evolving?
SPEAKER_01So the model of work that is a very interesting question again. Um, and we've seen a serious disruption already with the advent of COVID. And a very small example has been people finding meaning of work. You know, how much would it really consume my 24 hours? Um, and people have started questioning that. A lot of people have, and of course, the organizations also realized, and that's where you know the whole concept of, say, a work from home, work from anywhere, all that is a buzz now. Or a hybrid model of work. This we're all unthinkable till uh March of 2020. You know, we were in a very normal era of going to office 9 to 5, whatever, you know. So I I guess the future of work will be uh even more interesting, even more disruptive. Uh with AI coming in, I believe a lot of jobs are going to be rewired. And therefore, people are going to get perhaps more time to do some interesting stuff. Organizations need to be extremely intelligent. Uh, as much as we are calling artificial intelligence, I think the organizations need to be equally intelligent to understand and see this as a fantastic opportunity of how to really convert this whole uh situation to their advantage and create future uh workplaces which are thriving on the whole the genius that a human brain brings. How are you going to tap into that? I I believe uh the manufacturing to the service and you know to the future, which is going to be even more high-tech. How we still keep the human at the centerpiece uh will be very, very critical. So I'm sure a lot of more flexibility into the work is going to come. Employees are going to demand more flexibility, I believe. Yes, uh, certain sectors you just can't touch because if certain things need to be manufactured by a machine, there's that much you can do. But a large part of the working population could be looking at a far more flexible, far more, I would say I'm uh that's why I use the word work from anywhere. It's not going to be just work from home. People who could be operating from anywhere. And that's going to be the beauty of future.
SPEAKER_00And you're seeing it in some shape and form. So it is only going to get redefined.
SPEAKER_01100%. And and look at our firm itself. I mean, we were on the verge of shifting an office in in 1st of April 2020. This office was being done up in Noida. And uh and third week of March, we get this idea. Well, it's all over. And till date, we've never felt the need of an office at all. Work is continuing.
SPEAKER_00Excellent. Adi, what legacy do you want simply HR or the simply group want to leave behind?
SPEAKER_01Very, very interesting question. And you know, one of the things that I want to definitely comment here, thank God that this was not a firm which was named, say, after me or after some individual, right? That becomes a problem, right? Because once the individual is gone, then the whole, you know, the firm legacy. I think choosing a name, Simply HR, was somewhere it meant that this was an institution in the making. Uh, and we should stay the time. And of course, uh, I think over the period of time, it's been a firm which has continuously evolved with the times. Uh, like I said, some regrets, of course, we could have done something different. But as a legacy, I think it should stay as a firm which which continuously evolves, learns, uh, unlearns, uh, look at competition even more closely. I think at some point we missed that. And yes, end of the day, we've had you know our team members, colleagues who stayed in the firm for a long, long time, purely because our own internal HR was very strong. So to create those kind of experiences would have been something that one had aspired, one would like to continue. And the last point which I would like Simply HR to continue to be is to stay ethical, because I believe that's the heart of any business uh if it has to stay solid. And and long term. And that again was a was a pure personal thing that you stay ethical, then do work coming.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Alice, when you talk to a HR professional, uh you kind of expect that you talk everything but about people. And what you have kind of shared with us is way beyond that. Your vulnerability, your going back in time and sharing some of the things that worked well, didn't work well. Really appreciate the honesty you brought into this particular conversation. Before you and I we sign off, uh this show is all about creating ripples of inspiration. As a new year is beckoning all of us, uh what's your inspiration today's message to all of our listeners?
SPEAKER_01I think um uh just just the joy of being alive um uh is is to be lived to the full, uh is what I would like there to stay and and look at amazing role models around you to stay inspired. That's what I would leave everybody.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00The joy of being alive, the joy of anticipating something nice, bigger, better can happen each and every day, and keep inspiring towards that. On that note, Ares, thank you so much for your time and wishing you the best of everything in 26 and beyond. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Inspire Someone Today. This is Srikant, your host, signing off. Until next time, continue to carry the ripples of inspiration. Stay inspired, keep spreading the light.
