Entrepreneurship – perhaps the most talked out and debated topic in current times.  When the universe conspires for us to remain in our comfort zone and maintain the status quo, leaving a corporate role to take on the entrepreneurial journey is an irrational act… an act that is driven by that X factor that each and everyone has to have – Passion!

But perhaps passion cannot be the sole driver of success even if it's the key igniter. Is passion and being a subject matter expert enough for being a successful entrepreneur? Is the energy and drive created by your unwavering belief in what you do enough to achieve the numbers or is there a more structured approach one needs to take in order to effectively channelize that passion for #commercial success?

In this episode of ARKcast, keeping in mind the entrepreneurial support ecosystem in UAE where entrepreneurship is genuinely celebrated and learning from my own journey of setting up  ARK People Solutions, I undertake a discussion with Ashwin Joshi, Head of the Dubai branch of Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, as he talks us through the process of harnessing the power of passion. For 5 years, Ashwin led the pre-investment and ecosystem development function at IIM-A's start-up #incubator and #accelerator and helped many early-stage founders.

Can #Coaching deliver instant #results?  In an environment where the appetite for quick results is super high, can coaching whet the appetite of business leaders and owners as a potential solution to address specific #development and #growth needs of their team?  Is it a solution that has been unjustifiably labeled as a soft approach that only delivers results over a longer period of time even though it may have the power to actually deliver and drive quicker yet sustainable results?

As businesses continue to #flex to adapt to a #newnorm, the role of leaders is changing.  Less of being a manager and more of being a #Coach.  However, #performance deliverables and #bottomline results remain paramount and ever important. 

Join me and our guest, Sam Eid, for the latest ARKcast where we explore the above questions and lots more.  Sam is a certified practitioner and life coach of NLP, mindscaping, access consciousness, timeline paradigm and hypnosis.  His career spans over two decades of mentoring and recruiting some of the best talents in mainstream media. 

 A key takeaway for us was just like any habit, to be successful, coaching needs to be made into a lifestyle and should become a part of our daily routine – whether at work or otherwise – it's not a switch that you can turn on and off!

Happydemic!  An intriguing and fresh take on the current challenging environment we are all facing and have been affected by – personally or at work.  The big question remains - can organizations actually adopt a “Happydemic” mindset and create an environment that is simply happy?  Or is it still considered too “soft” an approach that most organizations deter to enter into, lest it creates a culture of laid back, lackadaisical, irresponsible people especially in a market climate where every organization is trying its level best to financially survive and be viable.

 Employee happiness at the workplace has always been related to once a year engagement score – which seems to be more of a tick-box exercise to fulfill a KPI rather than actually do something about it.  A shift to regular – even daily feedback – is happening and the role that a leader plays in ensuring and creating a happy culture is paramount.  Then again, perhaps the choice to be happy or unhappy lies with us.

In the latest episode of ARKcast, I speak to Larissa Redaelli, Happiness Master Coach and an international author who recently published her book – Happydemic, which is a reflection of her personal experiences and journeys in the quest to find her happiness and in the process, has created models that enable everyone to take charge of their own happiness.  The impact on organizations is undeniable as we all know happy employees = happy customers but does it really translate into an actual part of an organization’s strategic plan?