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Leadership Alchemy No. 25E - Lessons from the Blueprint: Timeless Lessons from Engineers. Turning Problems into Possibilities

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by Dr.Anupama Vaidya (h.c.) Engineering Marvels, Human Mindsets Yesterday, I made a quick trip to Pune from Mumbai. As a regular traveler on this expressway, I have long been a witness to how weekend journeys, especially on Sunday evenings, once turned into ordeals at the toll plazas. Endless queues, impatient drivers cutting lanes, tempers flaring, and precious time slipping away made chaos feel inevitable. With increasing traffic, this seemed only a multiplying problem. Yet in the last few months, something remarkable has changed. The brilliance of redesigning and reshaping the toll stretch has transformed the experience completely. What was once a dreaded bottleneck is now a smooth passage. On a Sunday evening, I now zip through instead of crawling — grateful for the out-of-the-box thinking of a few geniuses who refused to accept congestion as destiny, and solved a problem for thousands. If such ingenuity can transform an everyday inconvenience or ordinary frustrations of daily li...
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Leadership Alchemy No.25T: Timeless Lessons from Teachers

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By Dr. Anupama Vaidya (h.c.)    5th September has always been a special day since childhood. Year after year, I recollect vividly, how we would come together and put up programs to honour our teachers. Those beautiful moments remain etched in my heart. To my alma mater, and every teacher from St. Ursula’s who instilled rigor, discipline, dedication, and sincerity towards life, and then onwards at Fergusson College, Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, and throughout my professional journey - I carry deep gratitude for the many teachers and mentors who have shaped and influenced me. Each has left behind a unique imprint of character, courage, and conviction. Today, as I find myself often switching roles between being a student and being a teacher, as well as I coach leaders to embrace this duality – I realize that teaching is not merely a profession. It is a way of leadership: quiet, profound, and timeless. On this Teachers’ Day, what better tribute than to honor all my ...
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World Trainers’ Day | August 24 - A Quiet Shift. A Lasting Impact. A Spark That Endures.

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By Dr. Anupama Vaidya (hc)     I still remember my early days as a Management Trainee. One of my first key responsibilities was coordinating training programs - organizing logistics, managing sessions, ensuring everything ran smoothly, and supporting faculty with the kind of precision event management demands. That part came naturally to me. ( You know how this is often the first thing delegated to the youngest in the team - but I grabbed every opportunity. Looking back, I now know why. That phase became foundational in shaping who I am today. ) But what stayed with me, long after the name tags were packed away and feedback forms tallied - wasn’t the execution. It was what unfolded within the room. I found myself quietly observing, watching how people walked in. Some with a sense of obligation. Others with curiosity. A few with visible indifference. But they rarely left the way they came. Not many noticed the shift while it was happening. But I often did. Sometimes, i...
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Leadership Alchemy No. 9 - Beyond Freedom, Guarding the Flame of Empowerment

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By Dr. (hc) Anupama Vaidya  A  Leadership Alchemy Reflection on India’s Independence Day   A Whisper of Freedom, A Call to Responsibility I cherish this moment every year when the tricolor unfurls, the wind turns into a hymn and the very sky itself seems to glow with the sacred pride of a nation’s soul. The saffron, white, and green ripple in unison, embracing the serene blue chakra at their heart, shimmering in the morning light – not as mere threads and dye on a cloth, but as living echoes of the sacrifices endured, courage upheld and dreams that shaped the very soul of our nation. As we hoist our flag on the 15 th of August, I am filled with pride – for this moment does not belong only to 1947. It lives in every moment and decision that we make today reflecting our own sovereignty: In our saffron-hued thoughts, bold and meaningful that dare to envision and uplift; In our white-pure actions, disciplined and steadfast, that honour commitment over convenience; In our g...
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Ahilyabai Holkar: The Philosopher-Queen Who Led with Wisdom and Grace

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By Anupama Vaidya.    A few months ago, as I landed in Indore and drove toward my hotel, a striking sight caught my eye — a long, beautifully etched wall bearing the name “Ahilyabai Holkar.” It stood not just as a landmark, but as a reminder. Later that evening, in the gentle breeze of twilight, a few friends and I gathered around her statue in the heart of the city. In that moment of silent reverence, I couldn’t help but reflect on the magnitude of this woman’s legacy — a legacy carved not in conquest, but in conscience. In the records of Indian history, where the tales of kings and warriors dominate, Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar emerges as a rare exception — a ruler whose might lay in her mind, whose governance was guided by dharma, and whose leadership was rooted in humility, clarity, and service. For me, Ahilyabai’s story holds something deeply personal. My mother, an alumna of Ahilyabai High School in Pune, still speaks of her with glowing reverence. I have seen her face l...
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