Naji Gehchan: Welcome to SpreadLove in Organizations, the healthcare leadership podcast where we explore leadership with purpose.
I am Naji your host, joined today by Sekhar Naik a serial entrepreneur, business leader, aviation enthusiast, long-distance runner, and above all a community builder who believes in the innate power of authentic people-to-people connections. As the founder of MResult, Sekhar has built a foundation of ethical and empathetic commercial growth by serving as a trusted advisor to a select group of respected global brands. Sekhar is also a co-founder and investor in a variety of startups, providing them with both mentoring as well as financial support. In his commitment to pay it forward he is a major donor of YMCA Naik Family Branch in Mystic, Connecticut. Sekhar is committed to academic partnerships that explore leading edge innovation and investments in cutting edge technologies around Gen AI and Biotechnology companies.
Sekhar Naik: Naji. Thank you. So, so thank you so much for having me in your show. I’m, uh, really excited, uh, to talk more.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah, I am too. And I, I actually would love to start with your personal story from your early childhood in India to successfully being now a global, uh, leader. Uh, in, in your field, tell us a little bit more about your inspiring journey.
Sekhar Naik: Ji You know, it’s gonna be long story. We’ll have to kinda do like two podcast sessions, but, you know, I’ll try to be brief Now. One thing I think, you know, when it kinda comes to entrepreneurship and, uh, and, uh, you know, I guess, uh, success, at least for me, I think it’s all being able to kind of communicate storytelling is a very, very.
Powerful, uh, way of kinda communicating. And I think, uh, you know, uh, this is one thing that, uh, probably differentiates us as humans, you know, so, uh, humans forever, kind of even going back to 40, 50,000 years, they were storytellers. So, uh, so maybe what I’ll, uh, uh, my life story again is, is a story, is a, is my story.
Um, so, um, as, as you said, you know, again, I started off, uh, in India, grew up in India. Mostly in, uh, in, in South India. And, uh, you know, around, uh, 20 or 21 year when I was 20 or 21-year-old, I, I moved to, uh, Mumbai, which is obviously one of the biggest cities in India. So, uh, it was a major change for me, kind of coming in from a small town to kind going into this, uh, huge, massive city.
But then, you know, there are so many opportunities in Mumbai and, and you know, you, if you have the, if you actually have the, the, the drive and the hustle. The ability to embarrass yourself, you know, you can really try new things. And so, uh, uh, uh, surprisingly, you know, I got a gig in, uh, as a, as a, uh, the term would be like market breaker.
The, the right in India, the term would be jobber, but it’s really a market maker. And the, at the Bombay Stock Exchange, I was a 21-year-old kid, didn’t really know much, but it was a, it was a very exciting ti time for me, you know, uh, to, uh, to work in, uh, the stock markets, in, in finance. I was there for about, uh, two and a half years or so, and then I, uh, and I, uh, you know, I wanted to kinda move, uh, abroad and, uh, a, a good place to kinda go is, is Dubai, which is, which is, uh, a lot different than the Dubai of today.
We are talking about Dubai of 30 years back. It just started, just started actually like happening in Dubai at that point of time. And so I was in Dubai in, uh, again, in finance for around, uh, uh, for about three years or so. Um, I came to America to do my MBA. I came, uh, here at, uh, to study at University of Del.
I did my MBA in, uh, finance and in it and, uh, moved on into technology, you know, since then.
Naji Gehchan: So, shaker, thanks for sharing this, and I know you as you shared, uh, and we discussed last time. Um, I’d love to to to get more into your upbringing and those moves that you’ve done. You know, you talked about a small city.
In India to moving to, uh, to a larger one, but then Dubai than the us. You really lived across different geographies, uh, and eventually founded end result, uh, that, that became now really a super successful company. How did your early experiences and your really life experiences shape your values? Around ethical and empathetic growth in business?
Sekhar Naik: You know, I think in some ways probably, uh, I would, you know, in some ways I think my dad was a very, uh, principled person. So, uh, you know, I mean, I guess I was. A little bit of more of a wheeler dealer. And so my dad would probably kind of, you know, in some ways kind of look down because he never really kind of liked wheeling dealing.
And, but then, you know, so in India, you know, back then, uh, you know, some of those, uh, businesses, they’re very sort of like cutthroat, you know, when you kinda do business there. I think, uh, to me, I think in, in some ways it sort of like the ethical and, uh, empathic part. Probably gonna happen later in the life, especially once I kinda came to America, probably in some ways because, uh, you know, I think this is again, you know, uh, a great thing about, about America is, and of course you can actually have success in, uh, in any part of the world, in any country where people are, you can actually have success.
But I think, uh, the, what, at least this is from my perception, uh, Naji, you know, so one thing that, uh, differentiates in America, the success is really you, you can kind of do, you can actually kinda succeed within sort of like the ethical and the legal framework. You can really succeed. You don’t need to kind of, you know, so, uh, so in many places you would have to kinda have like really good connections.
There is like, uh, nepotism. There is actually, uh, sort of like corruption and things like that behind the scenes, you know, play to play. What I kind of found was in, in America, you know, certainly, like, I think, uh, a lot of it is around like innovation. A lot of it is around, uh, doing things right, you know, within the framework in some ways.
Um, you know, so, uh, to me, I think in some ways I probably kind of got into that in my, as I kind of got older and as I actually started appreciating what America has to offer, I probably, you know, uh, I probably kinda held on more and more to that and as, as I had like more, uh, success. I felt, you know, I have a, I have a, uh, higher responsibility, you know, to have empathy, you know, so, um, and now again, you know, I mean, I, I I do not judge people.
I’m not judgmental in some ways. Uh, you know, um, uh, humans by nature are selfish. Now, that said, you know, as you have, as you see more and more success, uh, you know, uh, you now have, you’re not like resource constrained. You don’t have as much insecurity. That might actually kind get you to be less selfish in some ways.
The more you have, potentially the less selfish you actually gonna become. You know, of course, you know, there are other stories of people having tremendous amount of wealth and kind of continue on, but that’s kind of a different, uh, I think, you know, obviously people sometimes do selfish things because they wanna be powerful versus they are, you know, they actually think that they don’t have, you know, two different, two different angles.
Right. Yeah. Now, the, the other part also kind of going back to the entrepreneurial, uh, journey, I think in some ways, uh, you know, uh, my dad’s story was a little bit of an inspiration to me. My dad was a, uh, my dad, my father was a very, uh, smart guy. He had, he had, uh, two engineering degrees, both in mechanical engineering and textile engineering.
And he, uh. He, you know, worked on, uh, worked on some major jobs, uh, you know, kind of, sort of like setting up these, uh, textile factories, running them, you know, employing thousands of, uh, people at the, at, uh, you know, and, and these were, some of them were like sort of like, uh, semi government type of, uh, you know, like, uh, you know, organizations.
But then, uh, what happened was, uh, in our textile industry in India, uh, and, and maybe even globally here in the US too, uh, you know, is, uh, went through like major periods of, uh, of recession. And so when that would actually happen, my dad, you know, would still be working, but would not gonna get paid for like years probably.
And so, um, uh, you know, I think that is kind of maybe one influence in my life, uh, when I felt, you know, what, uh, you know, hard work. That’s not necessarily like, you know, translate to success. You also need to really kind of pick and figure out how are you gonna apply that hard work. So, uh, to me that was more around, you know, I want to be responsible for my own destiny rather than actually, uh, someone else, uh, being responsible as in like, if you’re working for, uh, uh, for, for an organization now, you know, you have somebody else who actually, uh, in some ways, you know, your, your, you know, your destiny is like tied to that.
So perhaps that’s probably the reason why. I always wanted to start my own, uh, company, and perhaps that is a reason why I always wanted to start different, uh, businesses, perhaps, you know,
Naji Gehchan: ticker. I, I love you. You said pick where you put your hard work.
Sekhar Naik: Yes.
Naji Gehchan: And, and I, I really love, love this sentence. Can we go more about this?
Because you’re, you’re an entrepreneur by heart. You’ve built several companies. How did you pick where to put your hard work? Was it a kind of. You know, because I talk with a lot of leaders, some of it is planned. Some of it is just, you know, I, I don’t like to call it luck. ’cause I think like you kind of look for your luck in some, in some, I’d love, like how did you pick it?
Sekhar Naik: You know, I mean, it’s a, uh, it’s a great question because, you know, these days when I look at it, I don’t, I don’t even think about it, right? Because it’s actually, I’m kind of going through the process. I’m, I’m, I’m, you know, sort of like experiencing the success. But, you know, your question actually sort of like, uh.
Got me thinking, uh, uh, very briefly, and I remembered probably long time back before all of my success. Uh, you know, maybe I may have had some framework. I think vaguely, I kinda remember having some sort of like a framework on, on, you know, this very exact question, right. Very exact question. So, uh, you know, uh, you know, I guess like the thought process back then, you know, again, I don’t remember it really well because this is probably, you know, like a 25-year-old, uh, story probably.
You know, I probably, uh, I would’ve said like, you know, what do I kinda want in life? So, um, uh, you know, I think like for me back then, kind of, kind of growing up in a constrained environment, you know, I think financial success was kind of pretty big for me back then, you know, back then, uh, just for, for most of the people, right?
I mean, especially if, you know, if you, uh, if you didn’t kind of grow with a lot of money, I think financial success is kind really important, especially like, you know, if you, uh, had, uh. Sort of like, uh, you know, especially like, you know, if you, uh, family financial issues and things like that, right. So it’s, it’s kinda important.
So, uh, that was clearly in my metric. The other thing was that I wanted to sort of like, uh, you know, uh, be in control of my own destiny in some ways. Yeah. So that, that freedom to be able to kinda do stuff. When it comes to passion, you know, I don’t know if I, uh, I, I suppose, uh, you know, I don’t know because I also gonna believe in, uh, of course, you know, we all have like our natural passion, but I also gonna be believe in taking on any subject and sort of like building passion to that.
So, for example, you know, if, if, you know, I’ve never actually kind of gotten into teaching, but you know, if I were to basically, uh, get into teaching, I think I would be a passionate teacher. I mean, which again, one of the, you, you did mention earlier on in your podcast that I’m a pilot, you know, I, I am a commercially related pilot.
This is relatively a, a new, uh, uh, activity that I kinda do. I mean, I don’t, though I’m commercially related, I do not fly people commercially, as in, I don’t, uh, you know, I don’t kinda work as a pilot for an airline. Now that said, you know, again, I do it really well. Built passion to it, you know, as in like, you know, you know, I want kind of really fly well, I want to kind of learn.
So I’ve always kinda had that mindset. But kind going back to, uh, you know, the, the, the, the drivers, you know, for me, I think back then, originally it was more around, Hey, you know, whatever I’m gonna do, will it actually kinda make sure I, I have a good living, you know, kinda given, given, you know. Uh, uh, given basically some of the ins, uh, financial insecurities that I actually had early on in my, in my life, that is kinda very important.
It was also, uh, important that, uh, that I was able to chose what I want to do. And so maybe that probably might be the reason why I decided to kind of strike on, uh, the entrepreneurial path. Now, uh, come to think of it, you know, I have taken risks there, not just the risks. Not just a financial risk, you know, I mean, again, I’m a, I, I came in here as an immigrant into this country.
Um, you know, so I was working, uh, for a large, large, very large, uh, you know, pharmaceutical company as a, as a consultant, uh, slash contractor. Uh, they really liked me. They offered me, this is early on, they offered me a full-time job at, you know, at a, at a man, at a, you know, this is a, at a director level position, good pay, but the best of all.
Know, my, my green card would’ve been a, a very easy process. And, uh, you know, though it was very tempting. I, uh, made a call and I thanked them for that offer and I said, look, I want to really kind of, you know, set up my own company. I know I did not have a green card at the time, but you know, that is my initial dream.
So I did not, uh, take on, uh, you know, the path of, uh, working, uh, you know, as a director for this very large, uh, you know, pharmaceutical company. So, I mean, I did take. I suppose in some ways, you know, I mean, I, I didn’t look at it that way, but I think I actually, uh, made a choice, you know, made a choice based on, you know, what I thought I wanted and, uh, I’m glad it actually worked out.
Naji Gehchan: So, you know, taking risks, the drivers that, that got you there. I wanna now go into this company you built from. Uh, one person you
Sekhar Naik: Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: Starting with pharma? Yes. Uh, to now a thousand people, uh, company. So tell us a little bit what OL does and how you do it differently. And I would love to understand more because I know.
You are, you’re really passionate about this people to people connection. So I’d love to hear from you, how do you keep that now in a company of a thousand people with your people, do you have rituals, practices to make sure that the people to people connection remains?
Sekhar Naik: So, you know, at the core end result is a, is a, is a technology consulting company.
You know, so, uh, you know, I, I, so now that said. There, there are many technology consulting companies like, uh, you know, like Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, uh, you name it, cognizant. These are all very big companies. Uh, you know what, uh, uh, I guess in some ways what, uh, distinguishes end result is, you know, we are a large company, thousand plus people we work with.
Uh, we work on complex projects just like all these other large companies. Now that said, we are a very agile company and because of our size we are able to be agile. We are also very passionate. In some ways the company’s an extension of my personality, so you know, whatever we do, we do really, really well.
So that’s kind of probably why now EM result doesn’t have any salespeople at all. That’s probably the reason why EM result grew from a one person company to a thousand people company without any salespeople. It’s purely word of mouth. And, uh, in terms of. The actual work. We really do. We do a lot of work.
We started off, uh, you know, doing work around like data, you know, building, uh, data marts, you know, building reporting systems, building dashboards, and, uh, eventually kinda moved into, uh, analytics and then, uh, you know, as. The whole landscape progressed. I mean, if you remember Naji, you know, so, uh, you know, there was this whole move into cloud.
You know, we kind of became pretty good at, at the cloud deployment and cloud projects. And then, you know, you remember the time when it all became big data, you know, there was actually like really, really very big. And then digital became a big thing. So we, thankfully for us, we started off with a data company and you know, we were able to kind of morph, you know, sort of like morph into, into this larger and larger offerings because our landscape kind of moved, you know, more into that direction.
So around 2018 or so, uh, we had opportunities to kind of start working on AI ml. And so since then we have, we have built some very good expertise in the AI ml space. So, but at the core, uh, you know, end result really helps our clients, um, solve business problems or become more efficient by using technology, leveraging technology and, uh, leveraging and, and, and getting their operations better.
You know, that the code, that’s kinda what we do. And then I think, uh, going back to, uh, the other question on how do we, you know, continue to kind of really maintain the culture, uh, now, uh, sometimes I think, uh, uh, now this is again probably as an entrepreneur, so things are not necessarily linear. You know, I started m result in 2004 and you know, com company kind of, you know, early on I, I made a couple of, uh, I had a couple of stumbles.
Then at some point, you know, the company maybe, probably I’d say maybe about 20 10, 20 11, it became a stable company. So till about 2017, you know, it was a very stable company. But then, uh, you know, I, I kinda call around 20.
So I started seeing
started.
About how AI ML could profoundly change, you know, how we work, you know, what actually happens. And to me, in my mind, uh, suddenly I was, I was, you know, what will actually happen to all the people who have been working at M Result? They’ve been here for a long time. And then I started looking at the organization.
I realized, you know, in some ways we were like amplified, you know, we were a 14-year-old organization, but we are very atrophied. So, um, now that was, I think in some ways there was actually like a, the, you know, if I had kinda pat myself on the back, um, there is something I think I should pat myself because not only did I recognize that we had a amplified, not only did we recognize that we need to really like change, I had to convince people, convince organization.
I think we were probably close to, uh, I would say maybe about 400 hundred employees at the time, which is still, you know, significant and to kinda convince people basically that. We are a new company. We are a different company. So that’s kinda hard, right? Because people in some ways are like, you know, they’re kind of seeing it all.
They’re like, what do you mean it’s a new company? You know? Right. Cultural change is actually kinda harder in Midway. It’s very hard. So, uh, the best way that what I did was, you know, I mean, I, I, I, I had a genuine story and I was very convinced that this was a story and this is where we need to kinda go.
And I started actually really, you know, doing town halls, kind of meeting people, being, uh, open about it, asking for people for, uh, for their comments, their feedback, making investments. You know, we moved on to like a much larger office because you had to also do like all those, uh, optics as well, you know, because it’s very hard to kind of change in the middle of the process.
So we had this. We, I, you know, we made substantial investments into, into better, nicer office and, uh, better infrastructure and all of that stuff, you know, bringing in the right people. So that started paying off and people, you know, started seeing end result just themselves and say, wow, you know, this is a different company.
You know, then where we were like two years back. And to me, I think that that was a very, um, in some ways, uh, it, it is actually very, very. Very gratifying, you know, because, uh, this is some, I think it’s obviously it’s a cool thing, cool thing to kinda start a company from one person to a larger company. But it is very gratifying to recognize and, uh, say hey, you know, gee, wow, uh, I built a good company, but it is gonna amplify it and I gotta kinda change that.
And being able to change that, you know, that’s kind of hard actually, you know, in some ways. Right. Course. So that is of, uh, I think that is a cool thing. Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: Of course. Well, thanks for sharing this and yeah, congrats for you to be able, you know, not only to pivot, but to pivot, as you said, listening to people, convincing, people taking your time with you on this journey.
And basically here you are, seven years after.
Sekhar Naik: Yes.
Naji Gehchan: This pivot made you grow even more and you’re, you’re now absolutely
Sekhar Naik: helping. Absolutely. And now, you know, now I think in, uh, some ways, you know, again, we are, uh, we are in some ways like a, a fairly, uh, there, I don’t believe there are many companies our size with the over a thousand employees, you know, that’s gonna controlled, basically not controlled by a private equity or a group of partners or a publicly trade company, COE.
We are privately held. So, you know, pretty much I, we don’t have any external investors at all. It’s pretty much a homegrown company and, uh, and, you know, we work on these cutting edge problems with these, uh, very large companies. Uh, it is very gratifying. And so that’s kind of why today, you know, what kinda kept, keeps me going is, you know, I have this, uh, this, this tremendous, uh, sense of gratitude that I kinda made it.
And, you know, I feel now I have. I have, uh, you know, like greater responsibilities. You know, I think, uh, you know, as they say in Spiderman, you know, of course in, in, in any culture, right? You know, uh, not that I have great power, but you know, now you have, when with greater success gonna come, greater responsibility.
I’m gonna come, you know, change the, change the phrase, you know, with great power’s gonna come. Like, you know, I think it says great power comes great responsibilities. You know, I, I would say like, you know, with great, I think the same thing, you know, with great, uh, success. Comes greater responsibility. So I feel now, hey, you know, I, uh, I am, uh, you know, I’m very fortunate to kinda get to this point and, uh, it would be a shame now to kinda continue to kinda keep going and building and doing better.
And, uh, and, and, uh, you know, doing more.
Naji Gehchan: So Shehar, I know you’re also passionate, uh, by doing more on helping others, the community startups, you’ve invested, you mentor quite a bit of people, so I’m, I’m intrigued what traits. Do you look for, uh, in those people beyond, you know, the usual things of qualifications, like the company insights, et cetera, what, what do you look for really in the people and the leader you invest in?
Sekhar Naik: So, uh, yeah, I guess, you know, you mentioned two things, right? You mentioned basically building community and then kind of building companies and, you know, as, as you get, you know, kinda gotten older now. So as you kinda get older, you kinda become. Know, you, you, you, you start actually, uh, using your life experience and start kind of feeling people in some ways, right?
So if I am actually gonna be, uh, uh, doing, you know, helping out the community, you know, we still, you know, uh, I and my wife, we still support a number of nonprofits. So, uh, you know, what I kinda see there would be like, you know, do they have, uh, the, the passion, you know, are they, are they, are they actually in some ways.
People who are like giving, you know, are they actually willing to kinda serve other people? Do they have the passion? Are they like genuine people? Yeah. So that is what I would kinda look at, uh, if I’m gonna be supporting a nonprofit or, you know, building a community or, you know, something like that. Yeah.
On the other hand, um, you know, if I’m actually, uh, investing in a company or if I’m actually kinda co-founding, uh, you know, another company I would kinda look for, you know, like one of the key traits I look for is, uh, is this person open-minded? Open-minded because, you know, even the best business model doesn’t kind, make, doesn’t really like, make mean anything because business models kinda keep changing.
So the, the, so the, so the, the ideal entrepreneur, the most successful entrepreneur is the one who’s able to see things on the wall and being able to kind of pivot. Yeah. So, uh, and then I try to, uh, you know, look, look for that. You know, are they, are they, are they open? You know, how do they understand? How do they see the world?
Do they feel they know a lot because if they feel they know a lot, you know, that’s, to me, like in some ways that’s sort of like a red flag for me at least. Again, you know, I’m not kind of saying it may not kind of work for other people at least kind of, for me that is sort of like a red flag basically because uh, uh, you know, entrepreneur, being an entrepreneur is a very humbling thing.
The smartest entrepreneurs have failed many, many times, you know, so, uh, you gotta kinda have that humidity probably. Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: I love those, uh, shaker. So now I’m gonna move to a part where I’m gonna give you a word and I would love your first reaction to it.
Sekhar Naik: Okay. Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: The first one is leadership.
Sekhar Naik: I mean, uh, my reaction to that is it, to me it’s actually almost in some ways like a, a natural thing.
You know? I don’t know if I really kinda go back. I don’t even actually kind of, uh, read, uh, you know, of course I have an MBA degree. I’ve kind of, you know, studied things a lot. To me when it kinda comes to asset, you know, maybe my reaction would be when we talk about leadership, my instant reaction was people.
That is my instant reaction. If I had to kind of come back and say a reaction. When you said leadership, I said like people. That’s kinda what I had in my head.
Naji Gehchan: Love it. Second one is gen ai. I have to ask this, man, it’s so trendy
Sekhar Naik: when you say gen ai. You know, my uh, first reaction would be possibilities.
That’s the first reaction. Right. Second reaction would be changes.
Naji Gehchan: Oh, so, well, I have to double click on that because I know like you’ve, you’re big and this is kind of the core of what you do. Cutting edge tech, like gen AI and other things. Yes. What are, like, as you, as you look forward, what excites you most?
What are the opportunities you think? ’cause you, you used really two great words, right? Possibilities and changes.
Sekhar Naik: Yes.
Naji Gehchan: Uh, how, how do you see the world in 10 years and what are the possibilities that you see coming? For us
Sekhar Naik: at least, what the way I see the world is. You know, I know this is probably a contrarian view, you know, maybe not many people because I think there is a lot of, uh, you know, people are actually obviously like kind of concerned about all the changes kind of going on.
You know, I kinda see this, uh, slightly differently. I, you know, I’m a contrarian. In some ways. I see humanity getting better and better, or like they’re be becoming smarter and smarter because I think by nature, humans, many humans, not everybody, many humans are competitive. So now gen ai. You know, with, with, you know, more and more gen ai, you know, for humans to stay relevant, they had to be smarter.
They had to kind of, you know, learn more. They had to kinda leverage an AI to, you know, they had to leverage an AI to kinda get better themselves because again, gen AI exists at for only one purpose, which is actually for the purpose of humanity. So I kinda see the upside of it, you know, I mean, at least as an entrepreneur for fellow entrepreneurs or other people who are.
Who are act, who are like hungry. Yeah. Who are hungry. I can, you know, again, there are different people in the world and I see everybody as like a hungry person, but that may not be true now in the world. Right. But when I kinda see, uh, the world as made up of people like me, I think it’s a great thing. I think, uh, you know, uh, through gen ai you can, you can actually kind of become expert in many, many things.
You can become expert, you know, as long as you are, if you have the curiosity and if you have the passion, and if you actually have. You know, unending quest for knowledge. You know, uh, gen AI is, is great.
Naji Gehchan: Hunger, passion, curiosity. And then with gen ai, I think that it’s a great mix, you know, to, to think of and keep on building on.
It’s so, it’s so true, right? Like these days, the amplification that we can have on the knowledge and the ease of access.
Sekhar Naik: Precisely. Precisely. You know, as long as you’re hungry, you know, I mean, if you’re not hungry, then you know, you become a consumer.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah.
Sekhar Naik: Which is not a bad thing. I’m not being judgmental, you know, which is not a bad thing.
Yeah.
Naji Gehchan: Yeah. So the
Sekhar Naik: third word, once you become a, once you become a consumer, then you know, you, you can still, you still have a life, but at the point of time, you know, you’re not like, you’re just kinda consuming stuff, just living. I don’t wanna say living the life, but it becomes more passive at the point of time.
You know, it’s technology, TikTok and all of those things. I mean, or like even, you know, I mean, to an extent, I guess. I suppose. So if you’re a consumer, let’s say for a an hour, for a two, for three, that’s kind of great. But then if you become a perpetual consumer your whole day, you know, you’re sleeping and you’re kind of consuming, right?
And not necessarily like producing, then, uh, you know, I don’t know, can you still be a human? You know?
Naji Gehchan: Yeah. I,
Sekhar Naik: big question. I’m not, I’m not being judgmental Naji. I just wanna make it very clear.
Naji Gehchan: No, no. And it’s, it’s your
Sekhar Naik: Yeah,
Naji Gehchan: of course. And it, it is your point on being active. And I think it’s kind of like one of those traits with your passions where you’re always active to do impact, to do good.
And this is kind of the difference between passive and uh, and active. Right? And it’s, it’s a great framework to think of. Uh, the third one is flying.
Sekhar Naik: Yes.
Naji Gehchan: What’s your reaction to that
Sekhar Naik: flying joy. You know, joy.
Naji Gehchan: Well, I know you fly, you also do boats and like, so it’s a lot of passions. You do marathons too.
Sekhar Naik: True, true, true, true. So, you know, marathons was a huge thing around the health, basically. You know, because I have had, uh, in the past, you know, like, uh, going back to like about, you know, maybe till about like 20 years back.
Or maybe till about 18 years back, I always kind struggled with the, with the, with being overweight, you know, overweight to some ways, even to being obese. So once I kind took up running, I think that started changing. And, uh, I was very, very fortunate that I did like multiple marathons. I’ve done the Boston, sorry, I’ve done the New York Marathon, I’ve done the Philadelphia Marathon.
I did a bunch of other half marathons. Uh, so that really kind of changed my life. It also kinda gave me a lot of energy, right? Because many people are aspirational, um, they want to do stuff, but you know, I’ve kind of seen this, this is kind of firsthand, you know, from me. Um, you know, I guess 20 years back or 25 years back, or I wanted to do stuff and I may not have been able to do it because I didn’t have energy.
So taking care of yourself, you know, uh, running or other activities, uh, basically it’s really kinda gives you energy and that’s kinda really important because you need to kinda have energy, uh, for everything else. For everything else. And so, uh, now that’s, it got into flying around two and a half, three years back.
Uh, you know, I, I would say probably like part of pandemic. I never was passionate about flying, but once I started like really flying, it’s this, this was a phenomenal activity. And I was also, also, you know, what, uh, America offers, you know, there are so many of these like airports, you know, small, big airports and the whole infrastructure, the whole ecosystem.
I really, truly, truly want to, uh, uh, you know, like take advantage of that. So flying is a great activity now, boarding, uh, I live in, uh, mystic, Connecticut, and, uh, beautiful shoreline. And, uh, I got into it about, uh, I guess around 13, 14 years back and, you know, kind, uh, use it as a challenge to kind get better and better and, uh, yeah, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s a, it’s a, it’s really truly a fun activity doing boring.
Naji Gehchan: I love it. Uh, the last one is spread love in organizations.
Sekhar Naik: You know, I think ultimately that’s kind of where we are, right? You know, there has to be, going back to the scarcity, going back to, uh, a change of mindset. I mean, I guess it’s with, with scarcity, you know, you are selfish at some point of time initially, but at some point of time, once you are, once you’re full, once you’re satisfied.
At the point of time, you know, I think the best way to kind of go about, at least to me is to, uh, really make the world a better place. So spread love is really that, you know, it embodies, you know, the concept of what can we kinda give back and what would that be to making the world a better place. I mean, Naji again, you’re a very successful, uh, you know, uh, researcher, pharmaceutical executive, you know, but you know, you’re taking time to kinda do this, you know, and this is basically in some ways your way of.
Making the world a better place.
Naji Gehchan: Oh, thank you. Thank you, Shehar. It means a lot. And I’d love, uh, a final word of wisdom for healthcare leaders like you and myself, uh, around the world.
Sekhar Naik: You know, I think again, ultimately, of course, you know, we exist in a commercial ecosystem. We need to, uh, build successful companies.
But, uh, I think ultimately for humans, you know, it’s all about, uh. Uh, having a, uh, long, uh, and happy life. So he, healthcare really would, uh, is, is really a, a key, key component to that. And, and in some ways, uh, I end all the healthcare leaders are, uh, are in some ways, you know, uh, in some ways in our own little ways, responsible for making all of us, you know, live better and live longer.
Naji Gehchan: Certainly this is why we do what we do and why we’re so passionate about it. And I, I really wanna thank you so much, Sekhar, for taking the time and being with me today. It was great chat. Thank you
Sekhar Naik: Naji. Thank you so much.
Naji Gehchan: Thanks for listening to the show! For more episodes, make sure to subscribe to Spreadloveio.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let’s inspire change together and make a positive impact in healthcare, one story at a time.
Follow us on LinkedIn and connect with us on spreadloveio.com. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and feedback. Most importantly, spread love in your organizations and spread the word around you to inspire others and amplify this movement, our world so desperately needs
