Growth @Rifa AI | Making AI work like your most reliable teammate | Previously @ Topmate | 30u30 IQ

AI isn’t replacing people. It’s replacing processes that slow them down.

At Rifa AI, we’re building intelligent agents that automate back-office conversations across chat, voice, email, and support without breaking ops.

The goal isn’t to sound human.
The goal is to get work done, with AI that can reason, act, and complete entire workflows across tools.

Our best users don’t even realize they’re talking to a bot.
That’s the point.

Before this, I led growth at Topmate and picked up a few hard truths:
 → Shiny doesn’t scale
 → Funnels lie
 → Speed breaks things, but it also builds them

Rifa is a tougher game. The stakes are higher.
You’re shipping into systems where mistakes cost trust, not just clicks.

That’s why I care about:
 → AI that’s functional, not performative
 → Growth that’s compound, not chaotic
 → Shipping like it’s a reflex, not an event

If you’re building at the intersection of AI, ops, and velocity, let’s chat.

Shubham Khoker

I just saw Ankit's post about Topmate hitting profitability, and I couldn’t scroll past without smiling.

To the world, "profitability" is a financial metric. To me, having been in the trenches with Ankit and Dinesh, I know it’s a badge of pure grit.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: My time as Head of Growth at topmate.io was my real MBA.

It was the most intense classroom I’ve ever stepped into. Working with both of you gave me my earliest instincts for product, growth, and just... how to operate in absolute chaos without losing clarity.

A lot of the DNA I carry today as a founder comes straight from those months. The pace, the difficult decisions, and the relentless execution.

You don’t forget teams like that.

Seeing them hit profitability is a reminder of what consistent execution looks like when most people would have given up.

Huge congratulations to Ankit, Dinesh, and the entire team.

This win is well-earned. So proud to have been a small part of this journey.

Everyone’s busy calling themselves “AI-first.”
But your customers don’t care about it. 

When we first started pitching to healthcare clients, I thought leading with “AI-powered” would make their eyes light up. Instead, it usually made them lean back in their chairs, because for most healthcare stakeholders, AI-first sounds risky.

They’re not thinking about the model you used.
They’re thinking: what happens if it fails? Will it violate compliance? Leak data? Or give the wrong answer to a patient?

So now, I start those conversations differently.
About what we’ve done to make sure AI actually works when it’s supposed to.

Every voice agent we build passes through a simple checklist before going live:
→ Does it log every interaction for audit trails?
→ Does it know when to stop and escalate to a human?
→ Does it meet every compliance protocol, even if no one’s watching?

Once that foundation is clear, then the conversation about automation begins.

AI might get you in the door, but risk management keeps you in the room.
That’s what actually builds long-term trust.

I predict AI will vanish by 2030.
And I say that as someone who spends every single day building with it.

Not literally, but in how we talk about it. 
Five years ago, AI was a buzzword.
Today, it’s a feature.
Five years from now, it’ll just be invisible infrastructure.

No one will brag about “AI-first” anymore, just like no one says “internet-first” today. Because the best technology always disappears behind the experience.

When we deploy voice agents in hospitals, no patient ever says, “Wow, this AI bot is amazing.”

They just say,
“Finally… someone actually picked up.”
That’s the direction we’re headed. AI won’t live in headlines or product launches.

It’ll live inside workflows, quietly fixing things that humans don’t have the time or patience to.

So, here’s what I’m betting on:
𝟭/ 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
We’ve hit peak hype, and the next winners won’t be the flashiest demos; they’ll be the ones that never break in production. 

𝟮/ 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁.
In healthcare, reliability is the foundation. The companies that bake guardrails in from day one will outlast the ones chasing speed.

𝟯/ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿.
Typing, clicking, searching; all of it will fade into natural conversations. Your voice will become the universal remote for how you access systems.

And maybe that’s the irony:
AI will be everywhere, precisely because it will feel like it’s nowhere.
By 2030, the best AI won’t feel like AI at all, it’ll just feel human.

If that happens, what’s one part of your workflow you hope disappears first?

Building should feel hard.
But it shouldn’t feel blurry.

Most people assume burnout happens when you work too much.
In my experience, it’s when you don’t know what you’re working towards anymore.

The chaos creeps in quietly: 
→ Too many priorities
→ Too many opinions
→ Too many half-baked “let’s just test it” plans

Suddenly your calendar’s full, your brain’s fried, and you're still not moving.
And the worst part?
You start confusing activity with progress.

I’m not anti-hustle.
I’m anti-chaos.

The only thing that’s ever pulled me out of a spiral wasn’t rest—it was clarity.
Clarity of: 
→ What problem actually needs solving
→ What to drop (even if it’s shiny)
→ What not to chase this quarter

Because burnout isn’t just about energy.
It’s about direction.

And sometimes the most productive thing you can do is… stop and think.
That’s not a “growth hack.”
That’s survival.

Tag a founder who needs to hear this.

The first time I had to let someone go, I didn’t sleep that night.

I kept replaying the conversation in my head; the silence after I said their name, the way they nodded slowly, the awkward gratitude at the end.

Nothing prepares you for that moment.
When we hired our first person at Rifa AI, it felt like validation, like someone believed in what we were building.

But when it doesn’t work out, it hits differently.
You start asking yourself if you could’ve coached better, communicated sooner, or just seen it coming.

That’s when I learned something that never makes it into startup books:
Company culture isn’t defined by how you celebrate wins. It’s defined by how you handle endings.

Hiring is about hope.
Firing, when done right, is about honesty.
Both take a piece of you.

And both, in their own way, make you a better builder — and maybe, a better human.

When you’re a non-technical founder building a technical product, impostor syndrome moves in next door, rent-free.


There have been times when the team was deep in conversation about inference speeds and vector databases, and I’d be there, nodding, jotting notes, then Googling half the terms later, only to realize I still didn’t get all of it.

However, I’ve learned that it’s part of the job.
I’m lucky to have a co-founder who lives and breathes the tech side (that’s Sameer). My role has always been to connect what we’re building to what the customer actually feels.

So I stopped pretending to understand everything and started asking the simplest questions again.

Every time I asked a “dumb” question, the conversation got clearer for everyone in the room. We stopped over-explaining to each other and started building something users could actually use.

Over time, it has become my strength. I stopped trying to sound technical and focused on what I can understand and build with.

Yeah, impostor syndrome still drops by sometimes, but I’ve learned to make peace with it.

If you’re a non-technical founder quietly sitting through a technical meeting, feeling like an outsider, you’re not behind.

You’re just seeing the problem through a different lens.
And sometimes, that’s exactly what your team needs.

Everyone says “talk to your customers.”
I’m taking that advice one notch higher, and I’ll pay you for your time.
No clickbait. Stay with me till the end.

As we explore the healthcare vertical at Rifa AI, I’ve realised something important:
You can’t automate an industry you don’t understand.
You can’t sit behind dashboards and guess how frontline workflows operate.

So before we ship anything in healthcare, I want to learn from the people who actually hold the system together. The ones who deal with chaos, patient load, insurance calls, and operational bottlenecks every single day.

That’s why I want to speak with:
→ Front desk staff at hospitals/clinics
→ Patient coordinators
→ Medical receptionists
→ Nurses who work closely with ops/patient flow

I’m not looking for confidential data. I’m looking for operational reality. I want to know where the friction is, what the "unwritten rules" of your workflow are, and what tools drive you crazy.

And yes, I’m happy to compensate for your time.
It could be a paid virtual meeting or a conversation over a coffee.

If you work in US healthcare operations and are open to a 30-minute paid chat (or know someone who fits), drop me a DM, tag them below, or share this post.

If you’re planning to build a startup, here’s the part that no MBA or mentor ever tells you.

Last week, when Anisha Jain and the HIVE team at the University of Chicago asked me to speak to their students, I said yes instantly.

Because I remembered what it felt like to be in their shoes.
Hungry to build something, unsure where to start, and confused by all the startup terms around “AI,” “product-market fit,” “fundraising,” and “the right time.”

Back then, I thought progress would be about finding the perfect idea or learning the right framework. But, once you get past the excitement and the theory, you hit the part where nothing looks linear, certainty disappears, and you have to build even when your confidence doesn’t show up with you.

That’s the phase that actually teaches you what matters, and here’s what I learned during that phase:
1. Start with a problem that keeps bothering you.
You don’t need to know how to code on Day 1. What you really need is a problem you can’t ignore... something you’re willing to think about even when no one’s watching.

2. A co-founder is someone who believes in the same future you see.
Skills can be hired, but what you can’t hire is someone who shows up on hard days with the same energy as you do.

3. Investors look for clarity more than big pitches.
If you can explain what you're building, who it helps, and why now is the right moment, the conversation changes instantly.

4. Your early job will teach you more about building a company than any “startup guide.”
For me, most of my instincts came from Topmate, the messy days, the mistakes, the adrenaline, the long nights. That’s where I learned how startups actually work.

None of this shows up in the pitch decks or the headline interviews. But it’s exactly what determines whether you ship something real or just talk about it.

So, if you’re at that stage: excited, overwhelmed, curious, questioning everything, that’s exactly where most real journeys begin.

P.S. What’s one lesson your founder journey has taught you?

I thought I knew what leadership was.
Then I became a founder.

Turns out, leading one branch of the company and leading a company are two completely different things.

When I was working as a Growth Head, it was about ownership within a structure.
We had a clear direction, a set goal, and a team to rally.

Someone had already built the walls of the house; my job was to optimize the rooms, fix the wiring, and ensure growth. There was stability, even in chaos.

At Rifa, I quickly realized leadership from the ground up is a whole different game.

There is no existing structure. You are literally building the walls while simultaneously deciding what kind of house you even want to live in.

The shift is profound, and honestly, sometimes scary.
You stop being a functional head and become the emotional backbone of the entire operation. Every product pivot, every client bet, every tough hiring call has effects that you simply cannot delegate away.
 
They need someone who can admit, "Yes, this is fog," and still be the first one to take a step forward.

That's the real leadership muscle I had to build, and that’s the part most leadership books skip:

The silence that comes with being responsible for everything, and the humility it takes to show up every day, even when you don’t have all the answers.

If you've made the jump from employee to founder, what surprised you most about leadership?

People keep asking me, "When will your AI be smart enough to replace a nurse?"

I tell them that's the wrong question.

The right question is, "How can our AI be reliable enough to handle the 5 hours of administrative work that burns a nurse out every single day?"

The goal isn't to replace our heroes, it's to give them room to be human. Isn’t it?

You don’t need a dev team or a $50K budget to build a voice agent anymore.
Hard to believe, but that’s where we are now.

I’ve seen companies spend months wiring together APIs, vendors, and compliance checks just to make a phone line “talk.” By the time it goes live, the use case has already changed.

That’s the gap we’re closing with Rifa.
Building automation shouldn’t feel like building another product; it should feel like setting one up.

With our platform, you can design, test, and deploy a compliant AI voice agent in minutes. 
You don’t need to know coding. 
You can simply drag, drop, and go live on any phone number.

And it doesn’t stop when the call ends.

→ Your CRM updates automatically.
→ Follow-ups get scheduled.
→ Issues get flagged without anyone touching a dashboard.

Because real automation shouldn’t add another layer of complexity, it should remove it. That’s what we’re betting on at Rifa: making AI powerful and practical for the people who actually use it.

If building automation were this simple, what’s the first workflow you’d hand off?

We are building an AI Voice Agent to automate phone calls. But to get our first 10 customers, I had to make hundreds of phone calls myself.

That’s the irony of building in AI today. 
Everyone wants to automate everything, including product development and GTM.

But here’s the reality I’ve seen time and again, from leading growth to now building Rifa…
AI can automate workflows, but can’t automate trust.

And when you are selling into industries where a single mistake has consequences— healthcare, finance, compliance-heavy ops—that difference matters.

These buyers aren't looking for a "cool AI tool." 
They're worried because the risk surface has expanded:

_ "What if the response is wrong?"
– “Who is liable for the model’s error?”
– “How do I explain this to an auditor?”
– “What does this break in my existing workflow?”
– “What happens if the model behaves unpredictably?”

These aren’t objections you solve with a funnel, or a case study, or an automated sequence.
These are objections that need context, interpretation, and reassurance. 

And this is where old-school GTM suddenly becomes a superpower again because it helps buyers process risk at a human pace.

That’s why the AI companies that are winning right now have strong trust-building mechanisms:
• High-context conversations
• Non-scalable onboarding
• Long-form demos
• Domain fluency
• Founder-led selling in v1
• Field intelligence from real calls

Because GTM in AI is about risk translation before efficiency or growth. 

If your product is AI-first, your early GTM must be risk-first. 
And right now, risk is still interpreted by humans, not workflows.

See, AI will eventually sell AI.
We’ll get there.

But we're in the messy middle, where technology has leapfrogged, but buyer psychology hasn’t caught up.

The biggest mistake you’re making as a founder is trying to make your GTM move as fast as your tech. While in reality, it should match the pace of your buyer’s fear.

Don't let the hype trick you into hiding behind your screen.

P.S. Are you also seeing traditional channels outperform the automated ones right now?

Standardise and elevate people experience at GSK, globally. My team and I work at the intersection of People, Process, and Technology to improve how our employees perceive services from HR. This helps GSK  fulfill its purpose unite science, technology and talent to get ahead of disease together.

GXO - Global Experience Owner | Human Resources 

DXC Technology

As global head of Operational Excellence at DXC Technology I lead a team that is committed to help DXC deliver on it's promises. 

My team helps improve and simplify DXC's delivery to client. We aim to prevent projects and engagements running into trouble and if they land there then we do what we can to recover. We also relentlessly apply Continual Improvement across the organization and establish compliance to all key quality, information security, and business continuity standards.

Director - Head of Operational Excellence 

As global head of quality at DXC, my team and I, strive to help DXC keep its quality commitments to customers. We do this with sustained focus on:

- Process, Tools, and Metrics
- Standards, Audits, and Certifications
- Business Continuity and related Compliance
- Process Improvement through Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, and Automation
- Performance reporting and workflow tools to simplify processes.

We are here to make an impact. 10x or more!

Director - Global Head of Quality and Continual Improvement

At DXC I lead the Delivery Excellence team to assure world-class delivery to clients, globally. 

DXC is the world's third largest IT Services Firm with over 100,000 employees and $20bn in annual revenues. More on DXC at https://www.dxc.technology/ 

I lead a global team to improve and simplify DXC's delivery to client. We aim to prevent projects and engagements running into trouble and if they land there then we do what we can to recover. We also relentlessly apply Continual Improvement across the organisation and establish compliance to all key quality, information security, and business continuity standards.

Global Head of Delivery Excellence

I lead a team of transformation specialists at the Global Delivery Services (GDS)  of EY. My team of 100+ is spread across locations in India, China, Philippines, Argentina, and Poland. We undertake high impact projects to significantly improve the capabilities of GDS to help EY create a better working world. 

We manage a multi level improvement projects architecture including Kaizen, Six Sigma, Lean, Automation, Robotics Process Automation (RPA) and Maturity Frameworks.

Transformation Director | Global Delivery Services | GCC Locations

HSBC

At HSBC I managed the offshore Process Re-engineering and Implementation team based in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Together we delivered large and high impact process improvement projects for the bank, globally. We delivered over $100 m in impact over 2016-17. 

As a program leader I also lead the Waste Elimination and Robotics (RPA) programs across HSBC global operations.

Head of Process Re-engineering and Implementation | GCC Locations 

Process Consulting is a part of the Global Change Delivery function at HSBC. Our team manages large high impact process improvement projects globally. I am currently leading transformation programs in Insurance and Retail Account Servicing.

Vice President - Process Consulting

ANZ Support Services

As Vice President - Business Excellence (Retail, Commercial, and Wealth), my role is to develop and deploy plans for achieving key operations excellence goals including productivity, utilization, turn-around time, accuracy, cost, and customer satisfaction. This includes programs to improve accuracy, reduce waste, cross-skill staff across teams, establish customer centricity, and improve productivity using a unique mix of Kaizen, Rapid Root Cause Analysis, Lean, and Six Sigma projects. As part of the leadership team I also lead change programs.

Achievements and Highlights 
•	Over 15 % improvement in productivity and  customer satisfaction 
•	Over 50% reduction in errors from priority teams 
•	Over 50% improvement in staff committing zero errors for a month 
•	Completed improvement projects leading to savings of over 50 staff 
•	Global trainer for ANZ's flagship operations excellence program with Cranfield University.

At ANZ I have realized my passion for leading teams to make a positive impact.

Vice President - Business Excellence | GCC Locations 

Infosys Technologies Ltd

As Principal - Quality Programs I head Infosys's Business Excellence program globally.  This includes driving beneficial change across business units and enabling functions, nurturing a global team of senior examiners, and leading over 25 assessments annually.  I also mentor select Lean Six Sigma projects.

Principal - Quality Programs

As Principal - Quality Programs and earlier Program Manager, my role was to lead a significant change program across the organization. This program, based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) of the USA, was designed to measure and improve management performance across Infosys. This included developing business excellence criteria, training and coaching examiners, conducting assessments, and presenting results to the board.

Achievements and Highlights 
•	All key units achieved a 600+ points goal during the three year program 
•	Conducted over 25 assessments annually and shared insights with senior leadership 
•	Developed a solution for to balance budget and benefits for a global marketing campaign 
•	Trainer for Six Sigma and Infosys Quality programs 
•	Managed Infosys' Customer Satisfaction Measurement and improvement program in 2007 
•	Won org-wide Excellence Award in 2007 and the best Quality program in 2008.

At Infosys I honed my passion for the Malcolm Baldrige framework for performance excellence.

Program Manager - Quality

Qimpro Consultants

As a COO, BestPrax and Business Leader, Qimpro Consultants, my role included consulting for key clients and managing the BestPrax Club.  Most client engagements were long term change (MBNQA/Deming) assignments linked to improvement in business metrics.  Others included training on quality and creativity tools. I also did business development, alliances, product development. 

Achievements and Highlights 
•	Trained over 1000 quality professionals across over 25 clients 
•	Clients included companies from the Aditya Birla, ICICI (Insurance), Reliance, and Tata groups  
•	Co-authored the International Quality Maturity Model for change management assignments 
•	Developed new businesses including Six Sigma, Best Practice insights, Courseware sales, etc.

I joined as a Consultant and rose to Principal Consultant.

Business Leader

MindaRika

Assisted in up gradation of ISO 9002 to ISO 9001.
Developed and conducted training modules on QS 9000.

Quality Assurance Engineer

Raymond Limited

Conducted several productivity improvement projects in manufacturing.
Conceived, designed, developed, and managed training for 3000 workmen in less than 100 days.
Managed stores and purchasing co-ordination including sanctioning indents.

Junior Officer

Global Head of Operational Excellence @ DXC Technology | Business Process Transformation and Mid-Career Coach ✅

With about 30 years in transformation, innovation, quality, and simplification (TIQS ✅), I work at the intersection of People, Process, and Technology to drive long term and beneficial change for large global organisations. 

I am currently the Global Experience Owner (GXO) for People Services at GSK. We aim to standardise and elevate the experience of our employees, globally. I am bringing better tools and methods including real uses of Artificial Intelligence to improve the day to day and longer term experience of our colleagues. 

Earlier as the Global Head of Operational Excellence at DXC Technology, I lead a global team to simplify and transform DXC's delivery to customers, deploying works class processes, ensuring compliance, continuity, and improvement.

I am also an ASQ Fellow since 2013, a LinkedIn Top Voice since Jan 2022, and a mid-career coach, who loves to share my knowledge and expertise with others. I have taught quality principles, methods, and tools to over 10,000 professionals, and helped my clients win several quality awards, including the Deming Prize. I have also led initiatives that generated over $250 million in benefits, focusing on composite outcomes around revenue, cost, customers, and employees. 

My mission is to make an impact and to lead people to deliver 10x results.

----
I have spoken at over 100 companies in 15+ countries, including Amdocs, ANZ Bank, Birla Group (25 Units), HDFC Bank, Hindalco, HSBC, Indian Navy, ISRO, Infosys, One.com, Reliance, Tata Management Training Centre, and more.

Also been a guest or keynote speaker at ISB, IIM Raipur, IIM Lucknow, Symbiosis, IIT Ropar, Somaiya, Christ College, GIBS, Alliance University, BITS Pilani, and many more.  I also run a LinkedIn Live show called ManageBetter, a YouTube channel, and a podcast series. The Live show is over 100 shows.

Anshuman Tiwari

Excellence and Qimpro Foundation have been inseparable since the late 1980s. And last week was one more such celebration,

On 14 November, Qimpro celebrated distinguished professionals who have made Quality happen. 

35th year in a row.

Qimpro Gold Standard 2025

Business: Saugata Gupta, Managing Director & CEO, Marico Limited

Education: Mr Nilesh Nimkar, Founder Director (CEO), Quality Education Support Trust (QUEST)

Education: Rashmi Misra, Founder President, VIDYA Integrated Development for Youth and Adults

Startups: Dr. Vaibhav Tidke, CEO and Co-Founder, S4S Technologies

Healthcare: Dr Rachita Dhurat, Organising Chairperson, Trichology Update, Professor & Head Department of Dermatology, LTM Medical College & Hospital

Qimpro Platinum Standard 2025

Education: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder & Trustee, Ashoka University

Healthcare: Dr Dr. Shekhar Bhojraj, Founder, Past President and Chief Trustee, The Spine Foundation

This mission is a lifetime of effort of Suresh Lulla, founder of Qimpro. And it was inspiration from Dr J M Juran that led to these awards to celebrate individual excellence. 

Jigisha Lulla, CEO of Qimpro Foundation manages the rigorous selection process and the event each year.

I had the honour of serving on the panel this year as a Trustee of the Foundation.

The event this year was attended by distinguished guests and past winners. Some prominent names include 

Dr Dr. Vidya Yeravdekar, Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis International University, 
I V Subramaniam, Managing Director, CEO & CIO, Quantum Advisors Pvt. Ltd., Burjis Godrej, Executive Director & COO and Head - Business Development, Godrej Agrovet Ltd, Dr Dr. Narayan Hariharan Ph.D, Faculty Mentor & Visiting Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Amrita Sadarangani, Senior Director & Head, Ashoka Global Research Alliances

Other trustees at the event included Surendra Baliga and Nita Luthria Row

A celebration of excellence.

Who would you want to see on the awards list next year? 

🏆

AI for Awesome Employee Experience | GXO - Global Experience Owner for HR @ GSK | Process and HR Transformation | GCC Leadership | 🧱 The Brick by Brick Guy 🧱

What can a 5 time World Chess Champion and a legend teach you about managing people?

Last week, I had this rare opportunity to be in the audience with the Legend Vishwanathan Anand. 

And since I had a front-row seat, Anand was sitting 2 ft away. And I remember shivering. The man who single-handedly brought down the Soviet/Russian dominance in Chess and turned India into a superpower was sitting next to me. 

He is a shy, introverted, and almost reluctant speaker. But the power of his presence and achievement is such that you listen. 

What did I learn?

1. It's your team
For a sport that seems 'individual', Anand spoke in 'team' mode. While I know a bit about Chess, the extent of it being a team sport was surprising. A lot of preparation goes into a game. 

2. Keep learning
What would a genius want to learn? Well, firstly, a Chess World Champion is not playing with us mere mortals. He is playing with other champions. And the game also keeps changing. So, keep learning.

Anand was clear that the game he plays today is vastly different from the game he started playing as a 6 yr old. The board is the same but the game is at another level. 
 
3. Humility - learn from youngsters
Anand was humility in action. Just the presence exuded a calm and serene outlook. Nothing was rushed. He told us how he assembled a world-class team twice in his career. The first time in 1998 Anand was the youngest in the group but the next time in 2007 he was the oldest. 

Computers had arrived big time by then, and the game had changed. Learning from youngsters is key. And today he is learning how esports streaming works. 

Chess is very predictable. No unknowns

But there was one more key lesson...

As I was sitting near Anand, the thing that amazed me was that he did not check his phone even once. He came, thanked the audience for the applause with a shy smile and a nod and took his seat. And sat exactly in the same position for the next half hour. No phone. No fidgeting. Just calm. 

And in that moment, I felt terribly ashamed. Anand surely has a busier life than any of us. And yet the calm he exuded was unreal. 

And to make it worse, the photographer has captured me on my phone and Anand sitting serenely. ☺ 

This one was special. I have never wanted to meet a movie star, really. I have met some but don't remember much, and can't recall what I learnt. The kind of people I want to meet are Anand, Leander, and Harsha. ☺ 

Have you ever been in a room with a legend and come back with lessons for life?

+++
Thanks much to HROne and Pulkit Joshi for the invitation. It was an event I will never get over. 

Photos - Evidence. 😂  And that one photo of Anand and me in the same frame will remain with me.

You need to be in Delhi, Mumbai, or Bangalore if you want to make it big on LinkedIn. And you should be super fluent in English. SOBO style :)

Rubbish.

Shraddha Shrivastava proves this and many others wrong. 

She has built a strong following of over 100k and a business that just keeps growing. Shraddha helps clients create a presence on LinkedIn and then grow it. Most of this for B2B founders.

Shraddha has been building for 10 years. Quietly. 

Her company, Digital Height helps clients build a presence and use digital marketing to generate leads. 

We met on the LinkedIn India Creator Accelerator Program in 2022 and have stayed in touch since then. 

If you want to see a 'quiet' building, look no further. Coming from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and with English not her first language, she has fought all odds and WON.

Much to learn from such friends.

🫡  

+++
And those who did not get what SOBO is, it is South Bombay. Now you get it? 😂

I started as average in almost everything. 

Education. Confidence. Conversations. Speaking. Relationships. Work. 

And more. But I am getting better. 

Thanks to a reading habit, pushing myself into conversations, and knowing that there is a lot to improve. 

And of these three, reading is the easiest. Start there. 

Reading helps you..

1. Build a world view beyond what you know

2. Helps you think, speak, and write better 

3. Often changes something inside you. Forever.

So do yourself a favour. Build a reading habit.

If you find it tough, start with 1 page a day. And build from there.

What am I reading these days? 

Ghaban by Munshi Premchand.

A forever classic. At par with the works of Dickens and Austen. 

What are you reading this week? 

brick by brick 🧱

The attendance and participation certificate your kids are getting in school today, are setting them up for failure at work later.

Yes. Read that again.

Attendance and Participation in events is part of a child's job. Why give out a certificate. When these children grow up they expect a reward for just showing up or doing what is expected. 

And this has messed up the workplace big time.

We can't change how schools operate but can surely teach our children and temper their expectations.

Be that parent. 

And this holds true at work later. 

Be that manager. 

🧱

Visible leadership is not about grand speeches. It is about small, daily actions your team actually sees.

You don’t earn respect by hiding behind dashboards and email threads. You earn it when your presence makes work easier for others.

You don’t need another leadership model if you

1. show up when the team is under pressure
2. take five minutes daily to check in, not check up
3. recognise good work without waiting for a formal review
4. roll up your sleeves during crunch time
5. respond even when you don’t have all the answers
6. explain the “why,” not just the “what”
7. give credit publicly and feedback privately
8. step in to remove obstacles, not create new ones
9. stay accessible, not aloof
10. keep your promises, especially the small ones.

Respect is not demanded. It is observed. Every single day.

Bonus 11th point - If you can't be with your team in their hour of grief, stay away in their joy and victory also. 

I call all of this Visible Leadership. 

What is the ONE visible leadership act that makes you follow your leader?

🧱

Life happens. And then we win. 

Be that person. 

🧱

10 Management & Leadership I recommend a lot...

Most Mondays, I share a book post.  Today, I am sharing my Top 10 recommendations for management and leadership books. 

How did I get to the list?

Mostly, top-of-the-mind recall. The first list had over 25 books.

The shortlisting was based on impact, popularity, and longevity. Some fell off the list because they focused on a single topic, such as Marketing or Quality. 

Here is the list, then. No jargon. No motivational fluff. Just practical ideas we can use from Monday morning.

1. Execution – Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan
Still the most practical book on how leaders get things done.

2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
If you manage teams, this book will save you years of trial and error.

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
Old, yes. But the principles remain bulletproof.

4. The One Thing – Gary Keller & Jay Papasan
A simple reminder: focus is a superpower.

5. The 80/20 Principle – Richard Koch
Why a few actions create most results. A must-read for mid-career professionals.

6. Managerial Breakthrough – J. M. Juran
A masterclass in problem-solving, change, and driving real performance improvement.

7. Multipliers – Liz Wiseman
Leaders who expand people vs leaders who drain them. We’ve all seen both.

8. Radical Candor – Kim Scott
Clear, caring feedback. Hard to practice, but changes teams.

9. The Practice of Management – Peter Drucker
The original management handbook. Drucker saw the workplace decades before the rest of us.

10. Winning – Jack Welch
A brutally practical playbook on leadership, performance, and building strong teams.

You will notice a lot of popular leadership books are not on the list. Mostly because I focused on Business Leadership and not Individual Leadership. The only exception I made was for 7 Habits. Why? Because it is exceptional and timeless.

I kept my favourites - Grit and Mindset also out as they are more personal/individual leadership. 

These 10 books won’t magically make us “great leaders”. 

But they will give us better judgment, better habits, and better decisions. And that is what leadership really is.

Which one would you take off the list and replace with...?

+++
As I worked on the list, I was very aware of my limited qualification to judge these classics. Who am I to have this opinion?

But I love books and lists. So it was not tough as well. :)

Leadership is a gift. From your team. 

And you have to earn it daily. 

Be that manager. 

🧱

Indra Nooyi + “Thank You” letters = Visible Leadership

During her time as CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi began a simple practice that became famous.

Every time she travelled to a country or reviewed a business unit, she wrote personal letters to the parents of her leadership team members, thanking them for raising exceptional professionals.

It took her time and effort. It was not part of any KPI.

But it was visible to the entire organisation.

People saw a leader who valued people, honoured families, and recognised contributions beyond the workplace.

That small, visible act created deep loyalty and transformed how people saw leadership at the top.

That's visible leadership for me.

++++
Photo - Me with one of the quietest and visible leaders I have seen - Chris Drumgoole of DXC. I interviewed him during last year's World Quality Month celebrations.

Why do people use a much younger photo as their display picture on LinkedIn? 

Why? 

🧱

Very proud of my friend and colleague Sumit Harwani. Such a powerhouse of HR knowledge and insights.

He was recently a panellist at the BW Businessworld HR Conclave and later spoke with Savi Khanna in a quick 2 min chat. 

This is one of those conversations where the summary is longer than the conversation. Here are some key points Sumit made.

1. Personalization and Learning Fatigue: 

The discussion highlighted how personalization is going to disrupt the ways of learning in future. A key focus within this shift is ensuring that learning becomes personalized while simultaneously avoiding the creation of learning fatigue for employees.

2. Shift to Skill-Based Taxonomy: 

A major HR trend anticipated for 2026 is the "workforce of the future". This trend involves organizations moving towards a skill-based taxonomy instead of the original role-based taxonomy.

3. Embedding AI in Skills: 

Organizations are heavily embedding a lot of AI in the mix of skills. It was noted that skills combined with AI and talent intelligence are expected to drive the future of the workforce.

4. Crucial Skill Requirements: 

To effectively balance global scalability with local talent, several skills are deemed necessary. Leadership skills are identified as being at the front and center of this mix. Additionally, change management has emerged as one of the most important drivers for the organisation, while technical skills remain essential for driving core delivery.

5. GCC Transformation Philosophy: 

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are transforming from initial support organizations or cost centers into innovation hubs. This transformation is supported by an enterprise, people, and ecosystem pillar-led philosophy, which requires the right leadership strategy, strong technical leadership, and the correct ecosystem of HR and talent processes.

Some deep insights.

I will share a link to the video in the comments. 

Where do you stand on this topic? How will AI disrupt Learning and Development?

Tag Sumit in your comments and he will share his views.

Communication is not what launches. It is what lands.

At work, we don’t get points for how much we say. We get judged by how much is understood.

You don’t need another communication workshop if you...

1. speak to impress, not to clarify
2. send long emails no one reads
3. don't check if your message landed
4. assume silence means agreement
5. communicate only when things go wrong
6. talk in jargon your team can’t decode
7. think speed matters more than clarity
8. never tailor your message to your audience
9. believe listening is optional
10. confuse broadcasting with communicating

Good communication is not about delivery. It’s about impact.

I started off as someone who did not listen well. Wanted to make my point quickly. It took some self-awareness and lot of reading and observation to figure out that my approach was not working. 

Now, I try.

I try to write crisper. Listen better. And talk in shorter sentences.

What’s one communication mistake you’ve seen the most at work?

🧱

Confidence is 90% of the game. 
Rest 10% is humility 😁
Play well. 
🧱

100 consecutive days of mini Sudoku. Getting better .

It takes time. 

🧱 by brick 🧱

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