Jay Van Bavel is a Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business, Director of the NYU Center for Conflict & Cooperation. He is co-author of the award-winning book "THE POWER OF US", and an award-winning teacher and public speaker.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Prof Jay and Subbu discuss a new way to think about our identities, how bias, prejudice and discrimination work, how to dissent well, and a whole lot more.

Key topics:

• How Prof Jay got interested in the field of social psychology
• How principles of prejudice can be used to unravel team conflict
• The wine-and-cheese party that brought the co-authors together
• How our identities are shaped (it's not what you think)
• The significance of Minimal Group Studies by Henry Tajfel
• Our identities are constantly shifting
• How do we throw away parts of our identity that no longer serve us?
• How do we surface our biases and start acting on them?
• Dealing with backlash against DEI initiatives
• Is there a right way to dissent?
• Why effective leadership matters for team culture
• Engaged followership v/s Quiet Quitting
• Tyrants, but of the petty kind
• Word-ball game
• Do we over-identify with our work-selves?

Pramath Raj Sinha wears many hats – he is a serial entrepreneur, having founded organizations like Harappa, 9.9 group, Vedica Scholars Program for Women, and is President at UpGrad. He is an institution builder – he was the Founding Dean of ISB and is the Founder and Trustee of Ashoka University.

In this episode, Subbu and Pramath discuss the importance of mentorship, the value of education, how careers are transforming today, and how founders can build distinctive workplace cultures.

Key topics covered

• Pramath's reflections on building institutions
• The value of education and mentoring
• Why Pramath wrote his latest book - Learn Don't Study
• How the workplace and careers are transforming today
• Building distinctive workplace culture as a founder
• Why founders need to build self-awareness
• The word-ball game!
• Entrepreneurship is about recovering from failures
• Everyone is a leader
• The future of education and impact of AI

Jimbo Clark works across APAC with individuals, teams and organizations on achieving transformational change. He excels at meaningfully facilitating activities, games and simulations to bring new awareness of possibilities and clear actions for future improvements.

In this episode, Jim and Subbu talk about what it takes to enable meaningful change for people, and how this can be transformative for not just individuals, but also teams and organizations.

Key topics:

• Why Jimbo Clark decided to move to Taiwan from the US
• Jimbo's "Working Retirement" philosophy to life
• Busting the myth about people not wanting to change
• Why less is more
• The origin story of THE BOX
• Helping people think out of THE BOX
• Making the unconscious, conscious
• Applying THE BOX in the context of a period of transition
• The Word Ball Game!
• My experience with THE BOX

Biju is the Chief Evangelist at Fractal Analytics and Chairman at Final Mile Consulting. Biju and his colleagues have utilized Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavioral Economics and Design to develop a new research technique called Ethnolab and the communication practice of Non-Conscious Design.

Key topics covered in this conversation

• Biju's career spanning advertising to entrepreneurship
• Challenges with positively impact human behavior
• The power of the non-conscious
• Learning from neuroscience
• Working with the collective non-conscious
• How intentional rituals can help drive change
• How rice farming drives collaborative behavior
• The role of context and work environment
• Workplace flexibility matters
• The word-ball game
• Closing remarks

Andrew Barnes is an innovator, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is also the pioneer of the 4-day work week movement. His organization, Perpetual Guardian, piloted the very first version of the 4-day week many years ago, and Andrew wrote a whole book about it.

In this conversation, we learn about how Andrew came up with the 4-day week idea on a long haul flight, why we are all collectively time poor, how to setup a 4-day week trial, and a whole lot more.

Key topics

• Highlights from Andrew's career
• How Andrew stumbled upon the 4-day week idea
• The way we work hasn't evolved in the last century
• We've all become collectively time poor
• Structuring the 4-day week at Perpetual Guardian
• Will people revert back to working 5 days a week?
• Does the 4-day week require a high trust culture?
• The value of beginning with a trial
• The state of ongoing trials across the world
• Will the rise of AI accelerate the adoption of the 4-day week?
• Being time rich will afford us the time to upskill
• Does the future of work have 4 working days in it?

Aarti Kelshikar is a specialist in human capital development, an intercultural coach, an executive coach, a facilitator and an author. She has written two books on the converging themes of leadership and cultural effectiveness. Her latest book is - How Women Work: Fitting In and Standing Out in Asia.

In this episode, we discuss insights from Aarti’s research and writing. The first part of the conversation unravels the complex corporate cultures we operate in, and the second half of the conversation is focused on women leadership in Asia.

Key topics

• From compliance to culture: Aarti's fascinating work background
• The 4Ps: Purpose, Passion, Patience and Persistence
• How Aarti discovered research and writing
• Our ability to manage ambiguity and uncertainty
• The prevalence of hierarchy and what it means for org culture
• How Aarti got to writing her second book - How Women Work
• How Leadership in Asia compares to other regions
• Seeking inspiration from women leaders in Asia
• Are women held to different standards compared to men?
• Aarti's advice to aspiring women leaders
• How can men become better allies

Abhijit Bhaduri is a talent management advisor to firms. He is among the ten most sought after brand evangelists and is a coach and mentor to leaders in different stages of their careers. He is rated among the top ten learning experts globally and is a LinkedIn Top Voice. Abhijit's weekly newsletter has more than 300,000 subscribers and is a powerful voice shaping the profession.

In this conversation, Subbu and Abhijit discuss career archetypes, why we may be at an inflection point when it comes to careers, and the skills required to navigate the new world of work.

Key topics

• Abhijit's career arc spanning iconic brands
• The opportunities that lie in front of talent professionals
• How Abhijit got to writing his newest book - Career 3.0
• The "AI-Phone moment" we are experiencing today
• Blue v/s White v/s No-collar jobs
• Are directional goals better than specific goals?
• Shift in the Work-Worker-Workplace equilibrium
• Is moonlighting acceptable?
• Lifetime employment has been replaced by lifetime employability
• How can organizations leverage the creator economy?
• The implications of Careers 3.0 on Org Culture
• The six skills to navigate the Careers 3.0 world
• Stay like a green tomato!
• The Word-ball game!
• The future of careers

Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Columbia University and is the author of the book You Have More Influence Than You Think. Her research focuses broadly on social influence and the psychology of compliance and consent.

In this episode, Subbu and Prof Bohns discuss what we typically tend to get wrong about our ability to influence others, why assertiveness as a skill may be overrated, and how leaders can become better aware of the sway they hold over others.

Key Topics

• Prof Vanessa Bohns' journey into academia
• Why we hold ourselves back when complimenting others
• What we typically get wrong about our ability influence others
• The amplification of shared experiences
• The power of behavioral contagion
• Direct v/s indirect effect of our actions on others
• Assertiveness as a skill may be overrated
• Embarrassment can be a powerful motivator
• When influence turns into manipulation
• Leadership blind-spots on perspective-taking
• Taking responsibility of your positional power
• Becoming better aware of our influence over others
• The Word-ball game!
• Write a gratitude letter today