From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
India is conservative on the outside, but becoming more liberal inside. A lot of my stories are about the double life that younger India has to lead…. The conflict between conservatism and liberal values.
Historically, humans have evolved to be wary of the unfamiliar—a survival instinct that's served us well. Thus, the age-old "Frankenstein" narrative, wherein we birth powerful entities beyond our understanding or control, resonates deeply with our intrinsic apprehensions.
So many of the things our culture pushes us to pursue for happiness don't actually work the way we think they will. Material possessions, more money—if you're on social media, you get this strong sense that you should go after more of everything and then you'll feel better.
Culture is much bigger than that. Culture goes beyond values. I define culture is three primary parts. The first part is behaviour. It's the behaviours of your employees that get embedded into all the processes we are already doing. The second part is processes. The third piece is practices.
The first and most important part of tackling mental health challenges is to drive cultural change. If you don't change the culture around mental health- people will continue to be stigmatised, people will continue to stay silent, people will not seek the help they need.
A brand has to be authentic and be born of a personal passion. If you, its creator, doesn't want the product, no one else will. If you want it, chances are it will be wanted around the world. Desires are universal and speak in every language.
Portugal is generally perceived as a symbol of tolerance, openness to the world and ability to interact with and serve as a bridge to different societies, cultures and religions.
Artists have always been part of networks; Art history is more connected than we have believed.
What we're seeing is a global shift towards meaning and WeWork is helping achieve that on a global scale.
There are individuals within organizations who seem untouchable, be they extraordinarily successful salespeople or powerhouse CEOs. These individuals often appear to be above the rules, even above the law. They're given latitude due to the exceptional value they bring to the organization.
More than most artforms, music is the one that can't be beaten, tamed or matched. It just impacts your soul. I love producing music that gives people hope, makes them feel good, and gets them dancing and moving.
Cinema and drama are also changing perceptions in India. This certainly happened with Made in Heaven which was commercially entertaining, but had a main character who was Gay. It blew everyone away and started an important conversation which was really encouraging.