I begin at least one day a week listening to a talk on TED.com. Irrespective of the topic or speakers, the talks are brilliantly produced. They are succinct, to-the-point and, as a listener, it rejuvenates your mind to work laterally.

Earlier this month, I listened to the venture capitalist John Doerr deliver a talk on “Why the Secret to Success is Setting the Right Goals.” To begin with, it was a topic that didn’t attract my attention. Considering it was by Doerr, the Chairman of KPCB and celebrated Silicon Valley investor, I decided to give it a listen anyway.

And, I will admit here that in less than seven minutes, Doerr’s talk had already impacted my business (and my life) in remarkable ways. The speech was about his recently launched book ‘Measure what Matters’ and how Andy Grove’s system of measuring Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) can do wonders for whatever one is trying to achieve. Of course, while the concept of OKRs is reasonably straightforward and, if I may add, just common sense, the talk I listened to was a “nudge.” It triggered an important action, and I now have a “daily process” I consistently follow to improve progress at work.

As if a bonus, this whole experience gave me an idea. I realized that we often underestimate the concept of leadership or leading. It is a job of bringing together multiple people, multiple teams, and various processes. It is a job of thinking, sharing, learning, giving and most importantly, following. It is about decision-making; it is about working with people; it is about taking on responsibility; it is also about delegating responsibility; it is about delivering results and keeping promises; it is about compromise; it is as much about reward and success as it is about purpose.

And, I could go on and on.

But, let me jump straight to the point. The talk by Doerr and the impact it had on me as an entrepreneur and as a person was tremendous. It got me thinking about how we don’t talk enough about the concept of leadership. Hence, we decided to launch Leadership Unplugged by Smart CEO, an event + YouTube Web Series that brings back the focus on the fine art and science of leadership.

The event will be held in Chennai in early September, and the YouTube series will launch in October. Overall, we plan to invite 40+ business leaders to deliver memorable, powerful and purposeful talks on leadership. Stay tuned to this space for more details regarding the event and YouTube Series.

If you’d like to speak at the event, do write to poornima@growthmechanics.in or prem@growthmechanics.in with a brief profile and a topic idea. It needs to be a 15-minute talk filled with anecdotes, narrated with a genuine purpose to share your learning as a leader.

For sponsorship opportunities for the event & the digital YouTube series, please write to prabhu@growthmechanics.in.

Hope you enjoy reading this edition.