Kalyan Ganguly and leadership

 

I met Kalyan the other day at the Bangalore club. We discussed Upanishads, literature and the future of AI. In the night, as I walked out of the colonial building, I thought with a little budget I could change the face of the earth. You get it. That's what I always felt after meeting him. Therein lies his best trick I suppose. He is the biggest leader I have really met and worked with. He and Joe hired me to help them with their strategy when Kalyan was the CEO of  United Breweries and Joe his SVP HR. Philosophers and happiness books keep saying we should feel gratitude. Well.. I have tried. It doesn't come easy. You work with people like Kalyan, it comes to you naturally. You really want to thank them. Great leaders in my opinion, bring the best in you. When you have done your best, you want to thank them, thank God.  Generally you meet a great leader and say, wow, what a great leader. That's great, no doubt. But…Kalyan can take leadership to the next level. He takes two steps forward. He makes you feel great about yourself. You will like yourself. At least I did. I am sure most do. Remember William Blake's poem?