Episode 199: Paving The Way For Others with 5F World’s Dr. Ganesh Natarajan & Dr. Uma Ganesh

Robin Sharma once said, “Success is not a function of the size of your title but the richness of your contribution.” It's about impact, influence and inspiration. Our guests are a perfect example of the power of sincere and selfless contribution and how it fosters true fulfilment.

Meet Dr. Ganesh Natarajan & Dr. Uma Ganesh, Co-Founders of 5F World, who share their career journeys and how their shared values of working for the good of the community and their country has inspired them to create impact and opportunity using their 5F framework – Fast, Focused, Flexible, Friendly and Fun.

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is the Executive Chairman of 5F World, a platform for Digital Start-ups, Skills and Social Ventures. He is also Chairman of Honeywell Automation India Limited and Lighthouse Communities Foundation and a Board member of the State Bank of India, Hinduja Global Solutions, Global Talent Track, Educate Girls and the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network. Ganesh is a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay and NITIE.

Dr. Uma Ganesh is the co-founder of 5F World and founder of multiple companies including Global Talent Track focused on skills development for the digital era, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, Kalzoom Advisors and Skills Alpha – the digital platform for talent development.

In this episode, Uma & Ganesh share their vision, the foundational pillars of their partnership, why learning should be a collective collaboration, and how leaders should view talent differently for the future.

Visit https://www.iambeyondbarriers.com where you will find show notes and links to all the resources in this episode, including the best way to get in touch with Dr. Ganesh Natarajan & Dr. Uma Ganesh.

Highlights: [02:54] Uma’s story [07:50] Ganesh’s story [10:21] Uma & Ganesh’s shared vision [13:46] The foundational pillar of Ganesh & Uma’s partnership [16:14] The importance of taking risks [19:25] In service of something bigger [23:48] The formation of 5F World [27:35] The future is collective collaborative learning [31:07] How leaders should be looking at talent for the future [39:09] The habits of success [45:16] Who you surround yourself with matters [48:35} Ganesh & Uma’s message to the world

Quotes: “it's not about making money for ourselves or for shareholders, it’s about doing good work for the community, the country, with people whom we love, and who we want to see succeed.” – Dr. Ganesh Natarajan “Life is a journey where you learn from failures, and you learn from successes.” – Dr. Uma Ganesh “For every negative event that takes you away from your path, I’ve always found that there are five helping hands there to support me.” – Dr. Uma Ganesh “Purpose, focus and a positive attitude will keep you going towards success.” – Dr. Uma Ganesh

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” – Dr. Ganesh Natarajan “Believe in yourself. Don’t stop, just do it.” – Dr. Uma Ganesh

“Try to make sure that everything is done in the shortest possible time and with the maximum possible impact.” - Dr. Ganesh Natarajan

About Dr. Ganesh Natarajan: Dr. Ganesh Natarajan is the Executive Chairman of 5F World, a platform for Digital Start-ups, Skills and Social Ventures in the country. He is also Chairman of Honeywell Automation India Limited and Lighthouse Communities Foundation and a Board member of the State Bank of India, Hinduja Global Solutions, Global Talent Track, Educate Girls and the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network. Ganesh is a Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Bombay and NITIE. He has been Chairman of NASSCOM and President of the HBS Club of India and led APTECH and then Zensar Technologies to global success from 1991 to 2016. Harvard Business School (HBS) has written and teaches two case studies on his work.

About Dr. Uma Ganesh:

Uma Ganesh has three decades of success in corporate and entrepreneurial ventures covering manufacturing, media, banking and IT sectors. Uma has had indepth exposure to functional areas such as marketing, product management, finance and operations through CXO/CEO positions with large organisations having their footprint in India and global markets. Her last corporate assignment was with HSBC as their Chief Corporate Development Officer for its Global Resourcing Business and previously she has been associated with Zee Education, Aptech, NIIT, Fibre Glass Pilkington and Crompton Greaves. 

Over the last decade, Uma has turned an entrepreneur founding Global Talent Track focussed on skills development for the digital era, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Analytics, Kalzoom Advisors and Skills Alpha – the digital platform for talent development. One of the noteworthy initiatives is 5F World Pvt Ltd cofounded with Dr Ganesh Natarajan which is focussed on consulting for digital transformation and investment in digital startups.

Uma’s academic credentials include MBA from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi and Phd from IIT Bombay. She has played leadership roles in several industry forums namely CII, NHRD Network, Bombay Management Association, Indian Women’s Network (IWN) to name a few. She has co-authored a book – a Tata McGraw Hill publication ‘Knowledge Force’ with Dr Ganesh Natarajan and has a regular column in the Financial Express focussed around Digital technologies.

Links: Websites: https://ganeshnatarajan.in/ http://5fworld.com/ Recent Books: RISING TO THE CHINA CHALLENGE: WINNING THROUGH STRATEGIC PATIENCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Accelerating Digital Success: Reimagining Organisations for a Post-COVID-19 World

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganeshnatarajan/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/uma-ganesh-77369217/