The third day of the Conference was about envisioning, creating, orchestrating, implementing and finally managing change. The morning session on ‘Wisdom Perspective on Change’, was chaired by Dinesh Chandra, CEO, DNA Global Network. The distinguished speakers during the first panel were Srikumar Rao, Professor, Long Island University, London Business, and Swami Chidananda, Joint Secretary, Rajghat Education Centre, Krishnamurti Foundation India.

Professor Srikumar started the day with some inspirational words, “I have a vision for all us, that when we wake up each day, we have a deep sense of purpose, our blood singing, and we go down on our knees in deep gratitude for all that we have.” He shared that the leadership programmes that he conducts are transformative in nature, and that he borrows freely from different traditions and culture, all that which is acceptable to intelligent people in today’s world.

He spoke about the concept of “mental chatter”, that we have a tendency to ignore or suppress, and that is a cardinal mistake we make. He also elaborated on the “mental model” that we all have. “We often don’t recognize the fact that we have a model and often mistake it for reality,” he said. He also mentioned that we live in a “me-centric universe” and thus receive a more than required share of frustrations and angst. “To live a fulfilled life, align yourself to a cause greater than yourself,” he said.

Swami Chidananda took the thread from where Professor Srikumar left, and further developed it. Speaking more about the ‘mental models’, he explained that wisdom traditions all around the world delve into the same question of – ‘who am I ‘? This is in contrast to the question that science asks about ‘what is this’? “ Following the idea about who we are, we interpret the world accordingly,” he said. Change, the Swamiji elaborated, was external and internal in nature, and it could be about facing change or effecting change. “ Beyond all change is the changeless ground. It is not a passive playfield but a source of great power,” he noted. Change can hurt, and so we need to act and be brave in our action, he shared with the participants. “Be ready for tomorrow as readiness takes you away from regimed metal models,” he advised. An appropriate quote by him from the Gita summed up the session - “ They are wise who see the indestructible in the domain of change.”

The second panel deliberated on change through the lens of scientific principles. Chaired by Deepak Chandra, Associate Dean, ISB, and S Ramnarayan, Clinical Professor of Business, ISB, this session had a different format. Each table was asked to reflect on change by answering a few pointed questions like- ‘What is the leadership, innovation and change that you seek to create in your world.’ ‘Identify the top 2-3 things that you seek to understand about change’.

The queries were then addressed by the two panel members, Gary Jusela, Former CLO of Home Depot and internationally recognised designer of programmes for corporate change, and Dr HR Nagendra, Vice Chancellor, SVYASA University. Nagendra elaborated on the power of meditation and yoga . He explained how small changes can lead to a big transformation. “Just like a small conference like this can sprout into a big movement,” he noted. Nagendra also pointed out that modern day stress and stress related ailments were all grounded in a ‘matter based paradigm’, and that we need to shift to a ‘consciousness based paradigm’ in order to create an ideal social order.

Jusela said that he had to offer a more “ pragmatic perspective” about change. He said that his higher purpose was to create services, provide opportunities of employment , serve society at large by creating superior aircrafts, for example, to sustain an enterprise and leave back something for centuries .He further said that we need to be “change equipped” by staying in touch with reality - it could be by staying connected to stakeholders and customers, it could be by engaging with the world, etc,. Change, he stressed, doesn’t have to come in the face of a crisis but should be a continuous process.


The third and final panel dealt with management best practices on change. Chaired by Cherian Verghese, Secretary to Government of India, Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction, it had on the dais Jim Arena, Senior Director, Integration, Business Objects/SAP speaking on ‘ M &A Integration Principles’, and Venkataraman Nilakant Associate Professor, University of Canterbury elaborating on the success story of the Indian Railways.

Arena mentioned that mergers are unique and a particularly intense kind of change. He said that understanding the change and compiling with it, are key to successful acquisitions. “ Mergers are loaded with decision making, the stakes are high, and they often require emotional commitment.” he said Professor Nilakant took the audience through the great Rail Yatra, as he focussed on the “spectacular transformation” of the Indian Railways - from a debt-ridden organisation to a phenomenal success story. Some lessons learnt from this case, Professor Nilakant pointed out, were - the importance of self- belief to bring about change in the face of adverse situations and cynicism, to be able to identify that the barriers to change are mental models and not resources, and that during the process of change at the Indian Railways, no decisions were imposed, and no protocols were ever violated.

The three day conference came to an end with a vote of thanks from Professor Prasad Kaipa. At the end of the day participants left with a rich blend of creative and practical approaches about how to lead and manage change in their respective organisations and lives