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is it past 12 all right so I can still
say good morning morning everyone so my
name is Priya chatty rajagopal and I
just realized the topic that I chose to
cover today was the power of the end and
while walking up I realized also that I
think nothing describes the way I feel
about the end as much as my name my name
is Priya that's my given name and I
believe I changed my name several times
when I was younger but that's another
story for another day
Chetty which is my maiden name and
rajagopal which is my married name so
I'm one of those terrible hyphenated
women who try to have it all I would
have JD's name as well and that they I
would agree with me that's not such a
bad thing
JD is my dog but we'll stay there so we
can talk about the power of the end have
you ever thought of the word end in any
really serious manner I haven't really I
mean to be honest with you I've I've
done stuff I have been on nodding terms
with ends I think I have spent more time
with the word or and choices in my life
then I have with end so let's move away
from this end as a concept to what does
really mean I want to go back to you
know about four five years ago I was
sitting in a meeting sort of a review
meeting in my company I used to work
with Stanton Chase at the time and my
boss was a lovely person very go getting
extremely assertive very you know wanted
the best out of everyone pushed them to
make get more results was talking to me
about the number of things I'd done I
was very lucky at that time I had years
and years of doing you know getting the
best award every year doing getting
performance you know
recognitions so yes so you were the
highest biller you were doing good work
if as far as industry was concerned
you're doing a reasonable amount in
terms of you know creating capacity so
he said you know this is great I see
that you're that time I was on the
National you don't counsel for the
indo-american I was doing something with
the CII I was doing a lot of work in the
animal welfare space I was pushing
really hard in the area of women's
leadership and I was just starting to
wake up as far as civic issues were
concerned he said you know you do so
many things I mean just imagine if you
were to focus your attention and work on
just executive search how much better
and how much more fantastically would
you do so I remember thinking to myself
at that time I said ah yeah you know you
accept these things as sort of implied
you could do better we've learnt it at
school all our lives you know pre I
could do better if she tries so you
internalize that but in my mind I don't
know whether I said it or what I thought
it but I know I said but I do well and
I'm successful at what I do and I shine
because of all the things that I am it's
because I am this I am this and this and
this and sometimes this and I think that
was my first bump up against the word
end and how much of an embrace the end
can be when you want to you want to sort
of grow in life where you just want to
be able to push boundaries
Ziya spoke so beautifully about the fact
that you wanted to you know you can take
on so many things if you allow yourself
to you have to trust in the universe I
don't think we trust enough but it's
look for just a moment at moving back to
what is and across as a philosophy
perspective as an attitude as a
situation very often situation is very
basic it's right there you know so do I
do this or do I do that
do I have bread and eggs or you know
whatever something is as silly as that
it's also on outcomes and goals and
covers that it covers a variety of
situations you're looking at business
you're looking at personal and tell me
all of us here have at some point or the
other worried about choice do I do this
or do I do that and I can't talk to you
about the power of the end unless we
quickly talk about the tyranny of the or
we've all grown up at different times
I just realized of speaking to a very
much younger demographic but let me tell
you a little bit about how perhaps most
of us of this generation were brought up
we were brought up saying you can become
a doctor engineer or a teacher you can
do medicine engineering or you can do
arts you can decide to do social work
and live your life in penury or you
decide to get into business or the IAS
and you will do well so there are
constant choices and the choices are
implied not to imply there are always
some pressures to say if you pick this
you get that you know single the linear
and that's the tyranny of the or and we
live with that and we grow with that and
in this tyranny let me just take it back
a little further to say that it also
comes from the concept or the the issue
of scarcity versus Plenty we came from a
scarcity mindset
so you went to bata to buy a pair of
shoes and you ran it for as long as you
could because there was just limited
amount of things there was a quota there
were things that you had to you know it
is not just about the money you'd and
your shirts you changed your collar you
bought fewer things you made things last
longer so your attitude your approach to
life was scarcity late right in terms of
what you did there was always that thing
of holding back but look at today I mean
do you really think about 30 brands of
shoes that we can look at or the fact
that we can eat in multiple places the
fact that we have so many choices in
public transport but yes we still get
stuck in the same traffic that isn't or
that I would really like to avoid but
there is a certain expansiveness in the
mindset that we have now which is of
plenty so think about that while we talk
about the and and the or are we sort of
episode we're just getting a little bit
more familiar about the way we look at
and and or and it affects us across
multiple things in terms of attributes
if I were to look at end what do i what
do I really see as and I see and as
being diverging adding limitless I see
or as being focused singular linear in
some ways limited am I saying
it's good or bad not really there are
times in your life when and is the only
thing that works and there are times
when or does the only decision you make
and sometimes it's about figuring out
what works for you and that's okay
think about anything during the day that
you've had today yesterday where you had
to choose and the choice has been
because of the way you've thought and
what it's going to what's where it's
going to take you but I go back to that
conversation with my boss because for me
that was a defining moment where I
realized that I wanted to be more than
nodding terms with and that had spent
too much of my life in the or I had to
spend too much of my life making choices
being the good little girl you know
deciding one or the other there is so
much of implied criticism that if you
don't choose your go to fail at multiple
things and you're not you're not doing
the right thing you're not you're not
you know you're not directing your
energy in the right place and I think
it's so limiting but that was my my
embracing the and saying hey that's who
I am that's what I want to do and I'm
going to be these multiple people and
these are my different universes that I
bring to my workplace to my home to
everywhere I go and that makes me who I
am
so when I moved on last year you're
gonna have to go from my work and I
decided to set up something of my own I
decided to do that with the end and I
remembered the fact that I came from
multiple universes and I celebrated my
multiple universes and therefore when I
set up multiversal advisory I was still
focused on the one thing I do very well
which is executive search I'm a senior
level headhunter I love doing what I do
I like the impact that it makes some
companies and I followed this through
for the last 15 years in executive
search but I knew if I wanted to do
executive search I would have to do it
the only way I knew how which is by
trying to make an impact by saying the
same thing can be done doing what I do
well making money while I do it creating
change around me
building value to community and making
an impact so that was my a key guy
moment and it worked
people joined people came and
collaborated people worked because they
felt they could do it I could give you
examples of what multiversal advisory
does where we end this celebrated but I
don't think I'll get into that all I
want you to imagine is that we have a
process that makes sure that we are
switching on as many lights in the room
as are possible for us to to bring in
our different universes I am a career
person I'm a scuba diver
I'm not but I'd like to be so I'd like
to say let's go connect so I am this and
I'm that and I'm this and I'm also that
I am and we've been doing this for years
right I want to be able to bring that in
and companies have their personalities
too they have their culture they have
their different hats that they wear
are we being respectful to them to that
so at some point bringing in multiple
universes to meet multiple universes
they can be only one thing that can
happen
magic impact if it doesn't happen okay
what we've tried and that is how at some
point in my life where I will get up
onto a table and jump up and down just
like Tom Cruise did in Oprah Winfrey
Show many many years ago and say I'm
changing the world and I'd be right all
of us could and we'd be right let's take
it up a notch - one thing that has the
fact that and can be both micro and
macro how many minutes
okay so if you look at women we've had
multiple roles all our lives right we've
done this that's mother wife and all the
stereotypes but let's move on from the
second world war where we've done we've
had to get into the workplace create
economic value be an economic being you
know create create numbers and look at
the change that has happened after that
the concept of leadership has changed
the concept because of the more
inclusive workplace that women have
created lots of things are helped that
the construct of leadership has changed
to being assertive you know I know how
stereotypical this sounds but the the
the aggressive dictatorial singular side
side of leadership today you want from
leadership or inspiring and you know
godlike and you still want accessibility
this is the ants that we are seeking and
guess what it is starting to happen in
the workplace leadership has changed it
is collaborative it is a collective it
is making a difference companies are
embracing there and they want to be make
money and they also want to they want to
also want to create value in the
community and the end remains as a
single large umbrella going across so
look at how the end as a concept in the
specific space of women making a
difference to the workplace because of
the needs that women have had and that
has impacted menos who have benefited
and it has created economic value or
cultural shift and an entire difference
in the way leadership and companies are
moving forward so micro to macro and and
it really works there
the only way that I think we can do this
and see I talked about it you mentioned
the two men Pythia is to give ourselves
the permission to fail you can never do
this and that and that and this not just
because you're greedy here because
you're stupid
and we don't have to do and just because
of the sake of it but when I choose oh I
have and if I can sit here and say this
however horrendously you know big-headed
it sounds if I want to be a person at at
workplace I am if I want to be strong in
and make a difference of the area of
animal welfare I will civic issues I
will because I choose to if I believe in
women empowerment and I want to push
that needle ahead I will that's what
makes me passionate but I am going to
fail often and if I don't have the
ability to pick myself up and say okay
what's next
I will never embrace the end I will
never be able to step forward and do all
the things that I wanted to do I will
never be able to say I wanted to be a
painter I wanted to be a Braille teacher
but I'm gonna regret the fact that I
didn't have the time or the space to be
able to do it because I was always in
the oil so when you look forward and
think integration think the call of the
universe the fact that you know you
mentioned it as well the universe
conspires to make things happen it's
when you fling yourself off something
and then things just magically start
coming together for you I'd like to look
at integration the power of the universe
and and remind you that this is not
again an either/or it's just a way of
thinking I'd like you to just think
about the power of the end and I'd like
to think what somebody was talking to me
yesterday and said you know it's
important to focus because you know we
need time for ourselves I said who the
hell cares
I remember that lovely phrase where
someone you know who said I don't look
at myself as you know a journey where I
want to come to the grave well preserved
and pristine
you know I want them
I want to come to the end of my life
used up absolutely buoyant trying
everything I possibly have you know with
you know with the chocolate one hand
with a scepter and the other wide open
eyes wide open mouth saying whoa what
all right so you decide I hope that you
will have many ends in your life and at
least you will be able to look ahead and
see when an oar comes in and hits you
that it's time to embrace the end thank
you
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