You said that as a human being, you have your own coaching needs. How do you go about fulfilling that?
I have my own peer coach – my friend Jim, former Chief Operating Officer for Bell South, Sun Micro Systems, etc. Jim and I talk daily. We have a peer coaching process. Everyday, he asks me 24 pre-determined questions, and I ask him 17 questions. These questions relate to our values. Each question is answered with ‘yes’/ ‘no’ or a number. It takes three or four minutes a day, and it’s amazing how well it works. Sometimes, I am asked, ‘why do I need to do this, as I already know the theory?’ I know the theory; that’s why I need to do it. I know how hard it is.

What are the benefits of this approach?
To me, there are two major benefits. It helps me have a better life; it helps the people around have a better life; and the company will have a better life. Most of the problems that we have at work, we have at home, too. So, if you are stubborn and opinionated at work, you are not going to be excessively open-minded when you go home. The thing I love about what I do is, when people achieve lasting positive change in behaviour, it helps and benefits all the people around – your friends, family, co-workers, and organisation.

What would you advise leaders to set-up an effective leadership development programme?
The big weakness with most leadership

development is that it is based on an incorrect, invalid assumption – ‘if they understand, they will do’. Research shows that if leaders who go through training, don’t talk to people, don’t do follow-up, and don’t do anything when they come back to work, then they don’t get any better. They might as well have been watching sitcoms. It is very important to build in follow-up, build in measurement, and document long-term change in leadership effectiveness – not as judged by the leader, but as judged by the people around.

You have written 22 books, work with high-profile CEOs, have endless number of speaking engagements, and are constantly travelling around the globe. Yet, you are always smiling or laughing! What is the secret of your energy?
Two secrets. First, I am a Buddhist. My school of Buddhism is very simple. You can summarise it in three words – Be Happy Now. This is Heaven; this is Nirvana – it’s not outside, it’s inside. Second, I am very focussed on personal contentment and happiness. A very Western disease – which has totally infected India – is I’ll be happy when……when I get the money, when I get the status, when I get the new car, when I get the BMW, etc. To me, the secret of life is that happiness is not out there; happiness is in here. The only time we can find happiness is ‘now.’ The only place we can find happiness is ‘here.’ It is very important to make peace with what is, and find happiness where you are.