Musings

The Beginning:  We were invited to undertake leadership development for SETCO Foundation, the CSR initiative of a large Automotive ancillary major, SETCO Automotive. Meeting their President, Ms. Urja Shah, sitting in on their presentation, studying their their annual report and website gave us confidence on the passion and intent fueling the vision, ‘ to enable a community to actively ensure that every child and woman has full access to healthcare, nutrition, education and an

~ Written by Juili Dharmadhikari and Deepa Soman Mobile Breast Cancer Screening The Pink Ribbon Laleh Busheri leads Prashanti Cancer Care Mission (PCCM), Pune is a non-profit that works in the cause of breast cancer detection and treatment. At PCCM she and her Onco-surgeon husband, Dr. C. B Koppiker, provide needy patients free of cost treatment. Generous donors have helped PCCM put up world-class technology and amenities for diagnosis, biopsy, mammography, sonography, surger

Illustration by: Nisheel Shetty The Beginning Show Uma pictures of flowers in your garden, and she will ask, "why don't you grow food?". I love flowers and chose not to say anything. Uma had an ornamental garden in her balcony in Mumbai. An elderly gentleman who was visiting said, "‘So much time, effort, investment and nobody’s food’. This struck home and Uma started growing food. Uma into a discovery of an appreciation for soil and life around us; an understanding and realis

वर्तमान भारत का इतिहास भी यथार्थ में विविध संस्कृतियों के संघर्षों एवं संग्रहों का इतिहास है. -लक्ष्मणशास्त्री जोशी “The history of present day India is also a history of the struggles and compilations of varied cultures.” Lakshman Shastri Joshi Introduction Learning Monday guest speaker, Jhankar Gadkari, is a history and culture lover. Founder and Managing Consultant of AEIOU Consulting, his firm specializes in transforming human capital through the framework of Emotional In

Written By: Shruti Vishwanath and Deepa Soman Introduction: Covid turned our lives upside down. Loss and the inability to meet, grieve and mourn for our departed. Talking, telling stories of our loved ones, celebrating their lives, is what we need. When Dr. Sushama Ramchandani spoke of her mother's passing, she had stories waiting to be told, Torchbearer mother, ahead of her generation, conventional, playing her domestic roles and doing what she felt she need to do - social w

~ Shreya Basu Heartfulness Foundation invited Deepa and Milind Soman to a webinar. They chose to talk about their idea "The Grand Exchange". The idea simply is about the magic that happens when grandparents and grandchildren enable each other to grow and thrive. In May 2020, Christina Chua Wadia of the Heartfulness Foundation hosted Deepa and Milind to talk about Family Support System for Seniors. Milind and Deepa share their journey of developing and living their unique 5-I

Early lessons in observation and listening from my amateur naturalist grandmother, Nalini.

Today Gudi Padwa is on 13th April 2021. We are likely to go into lockdown again from tomorrow. Here 's a poem offering: Chaitra Twelve months of our lunar year From Chaitra begins our calendar For "chitra" or beautiful For me, nine days of Chaitra navratri Time to build up 'Shakti', strength With small acts of abstinence Tiny bursts of will and won't Of shining spirit within Gudi Padva and Ugadi greetings From Maharashtra and Karnataka Twin states of my birth Cheers to fr

In May 2010 I "found" and read Marshall Goldsmith's "What Got You Here Won't Get You There". The world's best coach gives a list of 20 behaviours to identify and fix. I have studied the book by first putting myself under the microscope. What behaviours do I need to work on in myself ? Not listening Adding too much value Winning all the time Taking disproportionate credit Excessive goal orientation Leaders and Libraries A few years ago, coach and Lumiere alumnus, Vasundhara Ja

Today is the 100th day of the year. It's also the first day of weekend lockdown in Mumbai. My father Vasant Samant (85) is in the fifteenth year of his "lockdown". Struck by a stroke seven months after his 70th birthday, five months after being among the first 25 seniors to finish the dream run. In August 2020, my husband Milind got Pa to watch a few videos on Visual Thinking by Yuri Malishenko. Milind along with three other team members, were taking Yuri's Udemy course. 'Vis

World Health Day 2021 Health + music + SMS (Sanitize|Mask|Social Distancing)

Illustration: Pixabay My taxi driver picks me up from the airport in Sydney on 6th April 2018. I sit in front for the view and chat. Danny is from Malaysia and has lived in Sydney for 33 years. I notice he hobbles, and he says he has knee replacement surgery in two weeks. "I have been to more places in Europe than in Asia", he says. Danny studied at the Royal College of Printing, London. He lived in London and in Frankfurt, where he set up offices for his company, a print maj

In today’s fast-paced world, virtual events have become a powerful platform for connection, learning, and growth. Especially for women in business, these digital gatherings offer unprecedented opportunities to break barriers, share knowledge, and build supportive networks. I’m excited to explore how virtual events for women are transforming the professional landscape and empowering us to reach new heights. The Rise of Virtual Events for Women: A New Era of Opportunity Virtual

Meenakshi Shedde, our Lumière Learning Monday guest evaluated her career choices from a utilitarian perspective. She chose to study Economics at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, India and learned actively from the extra-curricular activities. Her career path was never planned to land on becoming a film critic; “I was never hired to be a film critic ever in my life.” So how did her life circle back to being one of the most esteemed film critics nationally and globally? Deepa Soma

~ Vedashree Patankar and Deepa Soman When Deepa writes that our Learning Monday session on 28th January will be on yoga, I am a bit skeptical. Anything that purports to solve all my problems and/or relive me of my stress sounds like a myth or urban legend. The session is by Munmun Ghosh, her repertoire includes a myriad of roles. One of which is being an academic and it seeped through the session. She starts off the session by asking “What is Yoga”. “Union” quips Tanvee ma'

We book a table for 2 at Sunny’s on Residency Road, Bangalore and wend ourselves up to the first floor at a lovely seating by the open verandah. It's Thursday evening and Bangalore is our city. Its a city I first moved in on my own, worked, set up home, got pregnant and had my first child. Its a city where I took my career break and decided I'd rather be a stay at home mom. We left Bangalore when our son was four months old. Milind and I are done with our respective meetings

Image source : BEI Global We are at the 24-hour restaurant at the Royal Singi Hotel, Kathmandu. This is my third time at the hotel, and twice in the past two weeks. The hotel staff greets us warmly with a ‘welcome back’. Since the workshop venue is on the 7th floor of the hotel, some of the staff interact with us and some curiously watch us engage with team building activities. We know them by name, thanks to their name tags, and usually address the women managers and staff a

The invite: ‘You run innovation workshops, Deepa? Have you worked for ….? Call … He is our client and a wonderful person. They want to run an innovation workshop.’, texts my client-friend Zia. I have just boarded the flight to Sydney and my heart skips a beat. Its a client I’ve been eyeing since I fell in love with their advertising. My mind does a quick back flip and a few cartwheels before it lands on my mobile. I regain my stoic composure and call Zia. In a calm, steady vo

A friend in Singapore sends me an email survey. She is invited to speak at an HR Conclave and is gathering data on succession planning. I am intrigued enough to reply on a Saturday morning while on vacation: Do you think about succession planning in your company? Yes. All the time! Succession planning is indeed planning to succeed. We have a ‘succession planning’ culture and mindset that permeates everything we do. It’s really about making the organization robust with strong

Collect what you LOVE! What about WHAT we love? What we love is a clue into our natural talents. We are often unconscious about these natural talents and may take these for granted. We are often unaware of what makes us unique. Becoming aware of these ‘raw’ talents and practice over time converts these talents to strengths. According to The Gallup Organization there are 34 talent themes which play up in a unique manner. Years of research conducted suggests that the most