Play to Potential Podcast

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we feature Sucharita Mukherjee, CEO of Kaleidofin, a FinTech company empowering millions with affordable finance. Sucharita’s story is a powerful example of resilience as transformation rather than simply bouncing back. From her early career at LSR, IIM Ahmedabad, and top-tier banks in London to navigating a personal upheaval in 2008 that led her to co-found IFMR Capital (now Northern Arc), her journey shows the depth of inner work and strategic choices. Explore how she balances incubating three startups, parenting two young daughters, and leading Kaleidofin. Her story is one of adaptability, inner strength, and true potential, as highlighted in the Play to Potential book. The Book: Play to Potential - Lead a full life, become the best you (Published by Penguin RandomHouse) is now available to order (1-30 copies) on Amazon - https://qr1.be/29Z6 Published on March 2025. ABOUT THE BOOK:  Play to Potential offers a refreshing exploration of human potential, emphasizing discovery through play rather than work. Deepak Jayaraman weaves insights from his eponymous podcast, his coaching work and his lived experience to share a powerful yet simple framework (FLAVOUR) that can act as a guide to navigate the pulls and pressures of life. This book is a guide to living a fulfilled life, integrating family, aspirations, value creation, and deep relationships. It transcends traditional career advice, providing actionable insights for personal growth and fulfillment. While there are many books that act as a North Star for people to navigate their journey, this book strives to be a torch light that can show people the way through the imperfections and the messiness to lead a full life and unlock their human potential. HOST Deepak Jayaraman's mission is to help individuals with a growth mindset play to their full potential. He works as a coach and a sounding board to growth-minded leaders on multi-year journeys as a trusted confidant and counsel. He does that by immersing himself in the full context of their lives - professional and personal. Deepak has been curating the Play to Potential Podcast since 2016, where he has distilled the wisdom of 100+ distinguished guests across disciplines (business, academics, sports, art, politics and more). Prior to setting up his independent practice in 2016, Deepak has worked across US, UK and India with KPMG Consulting, McKinsey & Co and EgonZehnder. Deepak is an alumnus of IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad and London Business School (MBA) and is a certified CEO Coach.  DISCLAIMER All content and opinions expressed in the podcast are that of the guests and are not necessarily the opinions of Deepak Jayaraman and Transition Insight Private Limited. Views expressed in comments to blog are the personal opinions of the author of the comment. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Company or the author of the blog. Participants are responsible for the content of their comments and all comments that are posted are in the public domain. The Company reserves the right to monitor, edit, and/or publish any submitted comments. Not all comments may be published. Any third-party comments published are third party information and The Company takes no responsibility and disclaims all liability. The Company reserves the right, but is not obligated to monitor and delete any comments or postings at any time without notice.

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we spotlight Soma Vajpayee, an inspiring art-based therapist whose journey exemplifies adapting and thriving through change. From being an IIMA graduate alongside her husband Bhavtosh Vajpayee to moving across various locations over the years, Soma has shown that being a 'trailing spouse' can be transformed into an empowering journey. Her story highlights embracing challenges, inner work, and navigating past demons to align passion and purpose. Discover how Soma's path brings to life the rediscovery process central to the FLAVOUR framework in the Play to Potential book. The Book: Play to Potential - Lead a full life, become the best you (Published by Penguin RandomHouse) is now available to order (1-30 copies) on Amazon - https://qr1.be/29Z6 Published on February 2025. ABOUT THE BOOK:  Play to Potential offers a refreshing exploration of human potential, emphasizing discovery through play rather than work. Deepak Jayaraman weaves insights from his eponymous podcast, his coaching work and his lived experience to share a powerful yet simple framework (FLAVOUR) that can act as a guide to navigate the pulls and pressures of life. This book is a guide to living a fulfilled life, integrating family, aspirations, value creation, and deep relationships. It transcends traditional career advice, providing actionable insights for personal growth and fulfillment. While there are many books that act as a North Star for people to navigate their journey, this book strives to be a torch light that can show people the way through the imperfections and the messiness to lead a full life and unlock their human potential. HOST Deepak Jayaraman's mission is to help individuals with a growth mindset play to their full potential. He works as a coach and a sounding board to growth-minded leaders on multi-year journeys as a trusted confidant and counsel. He does that by immersing himself in the full context of their lives - professional and personal. Deepak has been curating the Play to Potential Podcast since 2016, where he has distilled the wisdom of 100+ distinguished guests across disciplines (business, academics, sports, art, politics and more). Prior to setting up his independent practice in 2016, Deepak has worked across US, UK and India with KPMG Consulting, McKinsey & Co and EgonZehnder. Deepak is an alumnus of IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad and London Business School (MBA) and is a certified CEO Coach.  DISCLAIMER All content and opinions expressed in the podcast are that of the guests and are not necessarily the opinions of Deepak Jayaraman and Transition Insight Private Limited. Views expressed in comments to blog are the personal opinions of the author of the comment. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Company or the author of the blog. Participants are responsible for the content of their comments and all comments that are posted are in the public domain. The Company reserves the right to monitor, edit, and/or publish any submitted comments. Not all comments may be published. Any third-party comments published are third party information and The Company takes no responsibility and disclaims all liability. The Company reserves the right, but is not obligated to monitor and delete any comments or postings at any time without notice.

ABOUT THE EPISODE Midlife is a phase when we find ourselves pulled in multiple directions—across work, home, health, friendships, and hobbies. In this session, Ravi Venkatesan delves into themes from Deepak Jayaraman’s recent book, Play to Potential. The book offers a nuanced exploration of how to unlock human potential—not just professionally but holistically—by embracing life’s highs and lows. Drawing from his acclaimed Play to Potential podcast and his experiences as a coach, Deepak introduces the FLAVOUR framework, a practical guide to navigating the intricate interplay of family, aspirations, values, and relationships. Deepak emphasizes that life is a team sport, with family serving as an essential support system. He argues that personal growth and achievement are deeply intertwined with our family contexts, a perspective often overlooked in self-help literature, particularly in cultures where family plays a central role. A key insight of the book is the recognition that life unfolds in seasons, shaped by transitions—some intentional, others unexpected. Using real-life examples and case studies, Deepak illustrates how navigating these transitions thoughtfully is vital to realising our potential. This discussion will resonate with anyone in their 30s to 60s, offering valuable strategies to lead a multi-dimensional, purposeful life. A Q&A session will follow. The Book: Play to Potential - Lead a full life, become the best you (Published by Penguin RandomHouse) is now available to order (1-30 copies) on Amazon - https://qr1.be/29Z6 Published on February 2025. ABOUT THE BOOK:  Play to Potential offers a refreshing exploration of human potential, emphasizing discovery through play rather than work. Deepak Jayaraman weaves insights from his eponymous podcast, his coaching work and his lived experience to share a powerful yet simple framework (FLAVOUR) that can act as a guide to navigate the pulls and pressures of life. This book is a guide to living a fulfilled life, integrating family, aspirations, value creation, and deep relationships. It transcends traditional career advice, providing actionable insights for personal growth and fulfillment. While there are many books that act as a North Star for people to navigate their journey, this book strives to be a torch light that can show people the way through the imperfections and the messiness to lead a full life and unlock their human potential. HOST Deepak Jayaraman's mission is to help individuals with a growth mindset play to their full potential. He works as a coach and a sounding board to growth-minded leaders on multi-year journeys as a trusted confidant and counsel. He does that by immersing himself in the full context of their lives - professional and personal. Deepak has been curating the Play to Potential Podcast since 2016, where he has distilled the wisdom of 100+ distinguished guests across disciplines (business, academics, sports, art, politics and more). Prior to setting up his independent practice in 2016, Deepak has worked across US, UK and India with KPMG Consulting, McKinsey & Co and EgonZehnder. Deepak is an alumnus of IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad and London Business School (MBA) and is a certified CEO Coach.  DISCLAIMER All content and opinions expressed in the podcast are that of the guests and are not necessarily the opinions of Deepak Jayaraman and Transition Insight Private Limited. Views expressed in comments to blog are the personal opinions of the author of the comment. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Company or the author of the blog. Participants are responsible for the content of their comments and all comments that are posted are in the public domain. The Company reserves the right to monitor, edit, and/or publish any submitted comments. Not all comments may be published. Any third-party comments published are third party information and The Company takes no responsibility and disclaims all liability. The Company reserves the right, but is not obligated to monitor and delete any comments or postings at any time without notice.

GUEST: In this episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we feature Sangeeta Shahaney, an inspiring figure whose life journey exemplifies resilience and intentional living. Daughter of one of India's pioneers in Executive Search, Sangeeta initially chose the path of being a homemaker after marrying a sailor. However, the sudden loss of her husband led her to reexamine her life and navigate a transformative path that culminated in building a successful SAT coaching practice in Pune. Her story is a powerful testament to embracing reality, simplifying choices, and staying resilient. Discover her journey as highlighted in the Play to Potential book. The Book: Play to Potential - Lead a full life, become the best you (Published by Penguin RandomHouse) is now available to order (1-30 copies) on Amazon - https://qr1.be/29Z6 Published on January 2025. ABOUT THE BOOK:  Play to Potential offers a refreshing exploration of human potential, emphasizing discovery through play rather than work. Deepak Jayaraman weaves insights from his eponymous podcast, his coaching work and his lived experience to share a powerful yet simple framework (FLAVOUR) that can act as a guide to navigate the pulls and pressures of life. This book is a guide to living a fulfilled life, integrating family, aspirations, value creation, and deep relationships. It transcends traditional career advice, providing actionable insights for personal growth and fulfillment. While there are many books that act as a North Star for people to navigate their journey, this book strives to be a torch light that can show people the way through the imperfections and the messiness to lead a full life and unlock their human potential. HOST Deepak Jayaraman's mission is to help individuals with a growth mindset play to their full potential. He works as a coach and a sounding board to growth-minded leaders on multi-year journeys as a trusted confidant and counsel. He does that by immersing himself in the full context of their lives - professional and personal. Deepak has been curating the Play to Potential Podcast since 2016, where he has distilled the wisdom of 100+ distinguished guests across disciplines (business, academics, sports, art, politics and more). Prior to setting up his independent practice in 2016, Deepak has worked across US, UK and India with KPMG Consulting, McKinsey & Co and EgonZehnder. Deepak is an alumnus of IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad and London Business School (MBA) and is a certified CEO Coach.  DISCLAIMER All content and opinions expressed in the podcast are that of the guests and are not necessarily the opinions of Deepak Jayaraman and Transition Insight Private Limited. Views expressed in comments to blog are the personal opinions of the author of the comment. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Company or the author of the blog. Participants are responsible for the content of their comments and all comments that are posted are in the public domain. The Company reserves the right to monitor, edit, and/or publish any submitted comments. Not all comments may be published. Any third-party comments published are third party information and The Company takes no responsibility and disclaims all liability. The Company reserves the right, but is not obligated to monitor and delete any comments or postings at any time without notice.

GUEST: In the first episode of FLAVOUR-ful Lives, we engage with Ravishankar Iyer, a storyteller and podcast host whose journey embodies positivity, simplicity, and the pursuit of passion. Coming from an Indian middle-class background, Ravi’s love for stories began in childhood and set him on an unconventional path. Though he started traditionally—ranking 11th in CA and graduating from IIMA—he made deliberate, sometimes difficult, choices to follow his true calling. With deep inner work, he has found balance, understood ‘how much is enough,’ and crafted a life rich in meaning alongside his wife, Praveena. Ravi’s story, featured in the Play to Potential book, offers valuable insights into aligning passion with purpose." The Book: Play to Potential - Lead a full life, become the best you (Published by  Penguin RandomHouse) is now available to order (1-30 copies) on Amazon - https://qr1.be/29Z6 Published on January 2025. ABOUT THE BOOK:  Play to Potential offers a refreshing exploration of human potential, emphasizing discovery through play rather than work. Deepak Jayaraman weaves insights from his eponymous podcast, his coaching work and his lived experience to share a powerful yet simple framework (FLAVOUR) that can act as a guide to navigate the pulls and pressures of life. This book is a guide to living a fulfilled life, integrating family, aspirations, value creation, and deep relationships. It transcends traditional career advice, providing actionable insights for personal growth and fulfillment. While there are many books that act as a North Star for people to navigate their journey, this book strives to be a torch light that can show people the way through the imperfections and the messiness to lead a full life and unlock their human potential. HOST Deepak Jayaraman's mission is to help individuals with a growth mindset play to their full potential. He works as a coach and a sounding board to growth-minded leaders on multi-year journeys as a trusted confidant and counsel. He does that by immersing himself in the full context of their lives - professional and personal. Deepak has been curating the Play to Potential Podcast since 2016, where he has distilled the wisdom of 100+ distinguished guests across disciplines (business, academics, sports, art, politics and more). Prior to setting up his independent practice in 2016, Deepak has worked across US, UK and India with KPMG Consulting, McKinsey & Co and EgonZehnder. Deepak is an alumnus of IIT Madras, IIM Ahmedabad and London Business School (MBA) and is a certified CEO Coach.  DISCLAIMER All content and opinions expressed in the podcast are that of the guests and are not necessarily the opinions of Deepak Jayaraman and Transition Insight Private Limited. Views expressed in comments to blog are the personal opinions of the author of the comment. They do not necessarily reflect the views of The Company or the author of the blog. Participants are responsible for the content of their comments and all comments that are posted are in the public domain. The Company reserves the right to monitor, edit, and/or publish any submitted comments. Not all comments may be published. Any third-party comments published are third party information and The Company takes no responsibility and disclaims all liability. The Company reserves the right, but is not obligated to monitor and delete any comments or postings at any time without notice.

Ricardo Sunderland, an author and CEO transformational coach at Egon Zehnder, shares insights from his book, 'The Energy Advantage.' He emphasizes the importance of mastering energy over mere time management. Listeners will discover the seven levels of energy, from self-love to universal connection, and learn how emotional intelligence fosters effective leadership. Sunderland advocates for vulnerability and authenticity in leaders, encouraging them to understand their inner energy and its impact on creativity and relationships. Practical tips on aligning purpose with energy add depth to the conversation.

This episode of Connecting the Dots is on Parenting - something we are all winging. We go to colleges, trainings and leadership development programmes for all sorts of capabilities, but there is none for parenting. In this episode, we learn from Roger Federer’s parents, Nandan, Nilekani‘s parents and many other successful leaders who reflect on their childhood. We also learn from some of the researchers on how we can be mindful as parents. If you have a child 10 years or above, the chances are, you will find this of value. We also realise you are short on time. So I have handpicked 10 nuggets from across the various episodes on parenting that I have found of value. Members can access it at https://www.playtopotential.com/playlist/DeepakJ/djs-picks-parenting. You can stay connected with the podcast by subscribing to the Email newsletter or to the Whatsapp distribution group. Details below. Email Newsletter (~1 or 2 a month): Join ~8500 + growth-minded individuals who take a baby step towards playing to their potential with the emails from the podcast.  https://lnkd.in/d6TfFch4 Whatsapp (~1 or 2 a week): We share snippets from the podcast. With the Connecting the dots series, we will share nuggets around related topics as we move forward. Just add +91 85914 52129 (https://wa.me/8591452129) to your Phone Address book and send a message stating “Interested”. Other Info on the podcast: Podcast Archives (102 guests, 1000+ nuggets)  - www.playtopotential.com Key guests and Stats ( as of July 2023) - https://bit.ly/3NCDIlM About the Host Deepak Jayaraman - https://www.playtopotential.com/aboutdeepak

This episode of Connecting the Dots deals with Judgment - Making sound decisions amidst complexity. VUCA - (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) is a term that is used to describe the state of the world. Some people use BANI - (Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, Incomprehensible). Whatever the terminology, it is fair to say that the world has gotten more grey, nebulous and harder to predict. Sound judgment, today, is arguably more relevant than ever. Tune in as we peel the layers on this nuanced topic.  You can stay connected with the podcast by subscribing to the Email newsletter or to the Whatsapp distribution group. Details below.  Email Newsletter (~1 or 2 a month): Join ~8500 + growth-minded individuals who take a baby step towards playing to their potential with the emails from the podcast.  https://lnkd.in/d6TfFch4  Whatsapp (~1 or 2 a week): We share snippets from the podcast. With the Connecting the dots series, we will share nuggets around related topics as we move forward. Just add +91 85914 52129 (https://wa.me/8591452129) to your Phone Address book and send a message stating “Interested”.  Other Info on the podcast: Podcast Archives (102 guests, 1000+ nuggets)  - www.playtopotential.com Key guests and Stats ( as of July 2023) - https://bit.ly/3NCDIlM About the Host Deepak Jayaraman - https://www.playtopotential.com/aboutdeepak

This episode of Connecting the Dots deals with STAYING RESILIENT THROUGH QUAKES. We explore what it takes to be resilient as an individual and go on to examine what it takes to create a resilient culture in an organization. Very often, even the notion of resilience is misunderstood. We examine the nuances in what the term means. Is it “bouncing back” to something or using the quake as an opportunity to shape-shift to something else. In the fragile and brittle worlds we live in, being resilient is turning out to be a super-power. Tune into this episode to learn and grow!  You can find nuggets on resilience from various speakers here - https://www.playtopotential.com/tags/resilience  00:00:25 - Intro 00:03:04 - Roopa Kudva - Clearing IIMA twice 00:05:58 - Dheeraj Pandey - Early formative years, including retaking JEE 00:08:08 - Atul Kasbekar - Being Tenacious through the Transition 00:22:21 - Deepa Malik - Dealing with the two possible fatalities 00:29:34 - Ramesh Srinivasan - Dealing with Lifequakes 00:34:42 - Bruce Feiler - Make sense of Scars and not Wounds 00:37:57 - Matt Dixon - Need for a grieving period 00:39:55 - Dan Pink - Counter Factual Thinking 00:48:09 - Rich Fernandez - 3 Levels of Resilience 00:56:06 - Carol and David - Waypower over Willpower 01:03:38 - Bruce Feiler - Shape shifting instead of Resilience 01:08:12 - Amy Edmondson - Rituals that drive Psychological Safety 01:12:28 - Suresh Narayanan - Maggi Crisis and Decoding Resilience 01:19:01 - Dheeraj Pandey - Building an Anti-fragile culture 01:25:41 - Wrapup You can stay connected with the podcast by subscribing to the Email newsletter or to the Whatsapp distribution group. Details below.  Email Newsletter (~1 or 2 a month): Join ~8500 + growth-minded individuals who take a baby step towards playing to their potential with the emails from the podcast.  https://lnkd.in/d6TfFch4  Whatsapp (~1 or 2 a week): We share snippets from the podcast. With the Connecting the dots series, we will share nuggets around related topics as we move forward. Just add +91 85914 52129 (https://wa.me/8591452129) to your Phone Address book and send a message stating “Interested”.  Other Info on the podcast: Podcast Archives (102 guests, 1000+ nuggets)  - www.playtopotential.com Key guests and Stats ( as of July 2023) - https://bit.ly/3NCDIlM About the Host Deepak Jayaraman - https://www.playtopotential.com/aboutdeepak

This podcast explores building habits that stick and emphasizes the importance of systems over goals. They discuss how babies learn to walk and apply the concept of repetition without repetition. The power of fresh starts and moments of renewal is highlighted, along with Google's use of fresh start moments in behavior change. The challenges and opportunities of transitioning into a new role are discussed, as well as the process of untangling unwanted habits and raising awareness through 'pointing and calling'.