“…while Ikigai was useful, I felt at a granular level, it did not take into account the balance sheet elements of life (health, family), it did not take into account transitions. So, I said, let me try and put something out which takes into account some of the other richness and the complexities of life.”

Welcome to the Story Rules podcast with me, Ravishankar Iyer, where we learn from some of the best storytellers in the world, find their story and unearth the secrets of their craft.

Today we speak with Deepak Jayaraman, India’s foremost expert on the topic of maximising your true potential as a leader and a human being. Deepak is the force behind the popular ‘Play to Potential’ podcast, wherein he has conducted over one hundred interviews with global luminaries such as Vishwanathan Anand, Ramachandra Guha, Daniel Pink and Stephen Covey.

Late last year, Deepak released his first book, also called Play to Potential - and it is a fascinating read. It is not just a compendium of interviews or themes – the book features some powerful original thinking by Deepak on how to approach the challenging problem of finding and journeying towards your true north as a human being.

Normally, when we speak of finding your purpose, the Japanese notion of Ikigai comes to mind. But in this book Deepak shares a breakthrough new framework called ‘FLAVOUR’ – which is a more nuanced and wholesome approach to finding your purpose and direction, as compared to Ikigai.

Having said that, in this conversation, my focus is not so much on the book’s contents, as it is about Deepak’s storytelling skills and approach. We discuss topics such as:

- How Deepak would figure out the right source material for his ideas

- His use of the Rule of three, to distil complex insights into pithy, short structures

- Deepak’s varied and stellar use of analogies to explain abstract and difficult concepts in a relatable and easy-to-remember manner. Thinking in metaphors seems to be Deepak’s natural spike as a storyteller, and I would urge you to buy the book, just to enjoy the rich analogies that he uses

- The use of vivid personal anecdotes and evocative quotes

- We also talk about the source of his unending curiosity and drive to share insights on his podcast and other platforms.

In short, in this conversation, you get a bunch of life and career advice, AND you also learn a bunch of storytelling techniques. I’m sure you’ll find it of significant value.

Let’s dive in.

Show notes:

Play to Potential book on Amazon

Deepak's website and LinkedIn page.

“Yeah, I think there's a little bit of a tyranny of "Or" that is implicit in your question, Numbers OR anecdotes, you know? As you say, in Indian spirituality, if you examine a problem deeply enough, the contradiction should vanish. So I'm often asking people that what is the story that the numbers are telling you that you're finding resonating in your anecdotes?”

Welcome to the Story Rules podcast with me, Ravishankar Iyer, where we learn from some of the best storytellers in the world, find their story and unearth the secrets of their craft.

Today we speak with Rama Bijapurkar, a leading market strategy consultant, best-selling author, teacher, and leader on several company boards.

For decades, Rama has been a keen observer and insightful commentator on the Indian consumer market. She's written several books, including her latest, ‘Lilliput Land: How Small Is Driving India's Mega Consumption Story’.

Rama's career path is fascinating. With a background in physics, she transitioned to market research and consulting, and became a highly sought-after expert on consumer behaviour and business strategy in India. Any MNC entering the Indian consumer market would have either read Rama’s books or gotten her advice on how to approach this unique and challenging space.

In this conversation, we explore Rama's fascinating perspective on the Indian consumer, her storytelling approach, and the insights she's gleaned from her research and experience.

We discuss the power of anecdotes, the importance of credibility, and the importance of analogies in storytelling.

Rama's ability to connect the dots between data, anecdotes, and real-world observations is fascinating.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone keen on understanding the Indian consumer, changing market dynamics and the power of storytelling in business.

Let's dive in.

Show Notes
Lilliput Land on Amazon
Rama Bijapurkar’s personal website and handle on X

“Storytelling is not about glibness. Storytelling is not about verbosity. Storytelling is not just about your confidence or doing it though it is an important aspect of it. Storytelling is fundamentally about the clarity of what you are saying."

That is Nitin Seth, Co-Founder and CEO of Incedo Inc. and author of the recent bestseller, 'Mastering the Data Paradox’. This 600-page tome provides leaders with a detailed blueprint for making the most of the data opportunity in the AI age.

I often say that ‘data is the new oil, storytelling is the new refinery’. Well, this book opened my eyes to the multiple layers of refining that data has to go through before it is ready for the storytelling step.

In the book, Nitin explains why managing the data explosion is so challenging and what large firms should do to win in the data-first world we live in. He proposes a ‘Unified Solutions Framework’ – a 13-point plan for success. The comprehensive framework covers several diverse aspects including customer problem definition, managing multi-source data, building your data stack, data security and quality, data culture and managing data talent.

Nitin knows what he’s talking about. After leading the Mckinsey Knowledge Centre and Fidelity International’s operations in India, he was the COO at Flipkart. Currently, as the co-founder and CEO of Incedo Inc., a Data and AI consulting firm, Nitin works with leaders of several Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies to help them navigate the data-first world.

In this conversation, we dive into three broad themes.

One, Nitin’s own journey as a storyteller. He starts with an evocative IIT-Delhi story when he roused a bunch of lazy hostelites into cheering for their badminton team (just like the movie Chichhore!). He speaks about his work convincing sceptical audiences - from union workers to board members – at large companies like Tata Steel. Nitin also shares a ‘failure story’ of when his pitch to a senior internal audience at McKinsey did not work, and what he learnt from that experience.

Two, we move on to the contents of the book itself. Data is a paradox – most organisations want more of it, but don’t know what to do with the amount they have. They are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more on data transformation projects, but the impact of the spend is questionable. Nitin cuts through all the noise and brings some clarity to this messy world of data. Some of his key insights are
- The importance of KPI Trees or Issue trees as a starting point in a data project
- The need to think of data as products you make with the user in mind and not as an asset that you have control over
- The need to connect, or integrate insights from data like a ‘sutradhar’ or narrator

Finally, we speak about the implications of the book for data professionals. Nitin speaks about the need for data professionals to develop 'T-Shaped' capabilities. Depth in one or two specific areas of data (for instance an industry like insurance or a function like CRM) and breadth in horizontal skills like problem-solving and storytelling.

Personally, I was also mighty impressed by how Nitin worked outside his main office hours from 10 pm to 1 am for 3 years to find the time to write this book.

I’m sure you’ll walk away with several rich insights and ideas after listening to this fascinating conversation.

Let’s dive in.

Further links:
- Nitin's website and LinkedIn, Twitter profiles
- The book's website
- Incedo Inc