Season 2 - Episode 6 | Challenging Status Quo with Creativity and Resilience: Banali Luthra Malhotra (United Arab Emirates)

Get ready to pick up some careerpreneur insights! In this episode, Dr. Ramesh introduces us to marketing maverick Banali Luthra Malhotra, who takes us on an inspiring journey of corporate dynamism and personal resilience.

Banali's brand of thriving involves achieving authenticity and balance across various aspects of life, embracing opportunities, maintaining an entrepreneurial and crisis-resilient mindset and appreciating life's simple pleasures.

Join Dr. Ramesh and dive right into valuable life lessons and practical work advice that you won't want to miss!

Top 5 Takeaways from this Podcast: 

1. Embrace Opportunities: Banali shares her willingness to embrace opportunities, even if it meant stepping out of her comfort zone to take risks and challenge the status quo.
2. Entrepreneurial Mindset: Demonstrating an entrepreneurial mindset applied within a corporate context, Banali stresses that to make an impact, one has to be creative, disruptive and ready for failure.
3. Crisis-Ready Mindset: Being willing to seek professional support, accept vulnerability and lead with empathy are key aspects of personal resilience.
4. Speak Up and Raise Your Hand: Banali encourages young professionals, especially women, to speak up for themselves and ask for what they deserve. Don't wait for promotions to come automatically and it's okay not to know everything before taking on a new role.
5. Simplicity and Spirituality: For Banali, spirituality involves accepting and trusting that life unfolds as it's meant to and aligning yourself with the bigger environment around you. Simple joys, like spending time in nature or with loved ones, bring the most happiness.

Host: Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra, Author, Podcast Host, Founder of Talent Leadership Crucible & Founder of Impact Velocity

Guest Speaker: Banali Luthra Malhotra, Advisory Board at International Women Board of Directors; Advisor - Marketing and Strategy at Network International, United Arab Emirates

Tune in, and together we'll be Thriving in the Age of Disruption. 

Thriving in the Age of Disruption with Dr. Ramesh
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Transcript

To learn more about the entrepreneurial mindset with Dr. Ramesh, get your copy of The Big Jump into Entrepreneurship 2.0 on Amazon.com or www.Dr-Ramesh.com.

If you're interested in building crisis resilience, Dr. Ramesh will be launching her new book on the crisis ready mindset - Make sure you follow Dr. Ramesh on LinkedIn so that you’ll get her new book alert!

Host: Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra, Author, Podcast Host, Founder of Talent Leadership Crucible & Founder of Impact Velocity

Guest Speaker: Banali Luthra Malhotra, Advisory Board at International Women Board of Directors; Advisor - Marketing and Strategy at Network International, United Arab Emirates

Tune in, and together we'll be Thriving in the Age of Disruption. 

#EntrepreneurialMindset #Dubai #UAE #BanaliLuthraMalhotra #Dr. RameshRamachandra #TheBigJumpintoEntrepreneurship #CrisisResilience #TalentLeadershipCrucible #ImpactVelocity #Thriving #AgeofDisruption #RAKBANK #CMO #IWBD #NetworkInternational #Marketing #AMEX

Ho Lai Yun 

Welcome to Thriving in the Age of Disruption with Dr. Ramesh. In this episode, we welcome marketing maverick Banali Luthra Malhotra, who takes us on an inspiring journey of corporate dynamism and personal resilience.

Banali's brand of thriving involves achieving authenticity and balance across various aspects of life, embracing opportunities, maintaining an entrepreneurial and crisis-resilient mindset and appreciating life's simple pleasures.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

Welcome to Thriving in the Age of Disruption podcast series, Banali.

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Thank you very much, Dr. Ramesh. And congratulations to you for creating this very interesting platform. I'm really happy to be part of it.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

I'm so excited to meet you finally, RajIv spoke so much about you. I went to grad school with Rajiv in 1990, 1991, at Monash in Melbourne, 

He moved to... 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Dubai. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

Yes.

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

So, a little bit about myself. I mean, it's probably one of the best phases in life, because I think I'm very sure of what I want. Now. I've been in the corporate world for close to three decades, I started my working career in India with American Express. And I'm very grateful to that organisation, because it really taught me a lot of what I've been able to use personally, and in a professional manner, as well. So, I worked with American Express for 12 years, I used to be based out of Delhi. And my last position, there was the head of strategic alliances for them, I moved very reluctantly to Dubai, because my husband's job required him to move. If you're a working couple, then it usually someone's got to give.  

But I have to say that while I was reluctant, I think it turned out to be anything but wonderful for me to have moved to the Middle East. I had all these apprehensions and never been here. But I think all those were dispelled very quickly after I moved here, I started working and heading marketing for a fairly small boutique bank called RAKBANK. The challenge that it offered me at that point seemed very exciting. I learned a lot in American Express, all the risk taking ability, the challenges that questioning. I felt this was my chance to try and explore and build here. And I got to say that it's been a roller coaster ride for sure. But also, one of the most fulfilling career-wise opportunities that I got trying to build the brand RAKBANK. Now I worked with them for good 16, 16 and a half year. It wasn't easy. I'll say that because coming from a multinational organisation to a local setup, the format is different. We need to understand and adapt. So, it did teach me a lot of resilience, I have to say, because sometimes what I said was not really appreciated, because I did challenge the status quo, I did want to make a difference and not copy, or not be a “me too”, I wanted to create something different. But having said that, I had the support of the management. And I'm lucky that I got that backing. And we did create something which is exciting.

Last quarter of last year is when I decided that I'd done enough. I was juggling a lot of work being a corporate wife, with my two girls in different countries. And I had a dad who needed more of my attention. 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

So, I just decided that I needed to slow down a bit. I actually thought I'd take a year off on to be honest. But that didn't last because I got these offers as soon as I quit my job. So, I've taken on advisory roles. I'm currently with Network International, as an advisor to them. And I'm helping them with their marketing and their strategy to build a robust structure I'm also on the board as an Advisor for International Women board of directors. And this is a fairly new initiative, which has got launched where we are trying to ensure the mandate, which a lot of companies and organisations are doing to try and get more women on leadership, guide them on how they should be able to train themselves, qualified themselves and then be able to participate. 

I'm also helping a nonprofit organisation to help build a brand back home in India. It helps employ about almost 5000 members. And it's eco-friendly. So that's my way of giving back to the environment and also to help other women as well. So that's been my career journey. But on a personal level, I'm a mother to two girls. My elder daughter lives in New York. So, she's pretty much off my payroll, and she's working. And my younger one goes to high school. I also have a very handsome two-year-old Cocker Spaniel, who's everybody's favourite in the house,Yeah, my husband and I met in school. So, we go back a really long way. He truly lives on a plane, he’s quite the traveller. But I guess that's what his job requires him to do.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

You have highlighted this issue of women in leadership, as you went through the journey yourself as a young woman, corporate executive, what was it that you saw then? And what is it that you see now, and what can young women do so that they can climb the corporate ladder in a more sustainable way?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

I was lucky in the first organisation, American Express, where because it's a global company, which has been in the industry for long, I didn't see too many gender biases. I got my breaks and promotions, as and when they were due. I think what is important is that you speak up and ask for them. And that's what I did. So, I would encourage anybody who's starting up, where they feel that they are ready for something bigger, they should speak up and not wait for it to happen automatically, or that their leaders should look out for them. It doesn't happen that way. You have to present yourself, you have to be confident about what you can bring, even if that's 50% of the next job, raise your hand. Very often, most women end up going through this “imposter syndrome”. 

Women think they need to know the job before they get into the job. So, I would say just raise your hand and go for it. What's the worst that can happen? You can get guidance, you can fail, build resilience to jump back, you can ask for help, but at least help yourself first. You need to have self-esteem, confidence. you're not meant to know everything before you do everything. So, I would really urge them to speak up. My second organisation that I work for, I did face a lot of challenges, to come into a multi-dimensional, multicultural and very male oriented organisation, I'll say that because many times I felt that my voice was never heard. While it was loud, it wasn't heard. But I think I plundered on and delivering and sticking to my point, and then my results started speaking for itself. So, I think speaking up is the only way that you can help yourself, be confident in what you bring to the table, manoeuvring and not taking the stress personally. It's all about how you see yourself rather than worry about how everybody else sees us. Every organisation can thrive or be successful, seeing the different and creative dimension that many women bring onto the table. Everybody wants to say that their brand has a purpose, and they want to give back and they’re ESG compliant. But actually delivering and showing measurement is another ballgame. So, it's the responsibility of the employees to question the authenticity of what we're putting out there as well. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

That's right. The key thing that you talked about in your own journey resonates with me, because I found myself in the same position. When I look back now to the time when I was working for Singapore's national shipping line. And this notion of being able to speak up and it is about, “I’m ready for taking on more responsibility” is a very huge aspect of being able to drive your career in the direction that you want to go, rather than just be a victim about it. After a year of doing one aspect of the work, I was ready to do chartering negotiation, and I went to badger my boss, like “When can I do it?” And after about six or nine months, he said, “Okay, you can do it.” Now, you don't stop, because if you stop, then you don't get the opportunity. You've also highlighted to us the harsh reality of when the leadership is one dimensional, like the boys’ club.

And being a woman, sometimes you can be loud, but you're still not heard. So how do you actually navigate that? It's really about A) Having confidence in what you do, but also in making sure that you deliver on the results. Over time, if you keep delivering, that's what they're gonna see, that you are capable and you deserve a seat there. And the third piece takes us into this conversation about sustainability and ESG. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

In our consulting practice, we take the approach that sustainability has to be from an individual mindset perspective, whereby we can see that we are all interrelated and interconnected. And that if I don't start with myself, and do it with the small things, and also start to measure the big things that we see that is going to contribute towards the ESG or sustainability course, then we're really not doing much but we're just checking off on a checkbox. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

I define entrepreneurial mindset as one whereby a person is being resourceful. That means they have a problem and they know how to define that problem correctly. Two, is that they are able to deal with risk and be with uncertainty. And number three is to create value, not just for themselves, and not just financial, but value for all their stakeholders. And when I heard you share how you had gone through your career, actually what you were demonstrating was someone using the entrepreneurial mindset, but in a corporate context. Nowadays, people define that as a career-preneur, or intrapreneur. When you look back at your career, can you share a little bit more, but from an entrepreneurial mindset perspective? 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Yeah. So, you're right. In that context, there is an entrepreneurial hat that you put on. I think the first task is that you need to be ready for failure. So, while you're ready to take risks, you should be able to see both sides of it. So, you want to challenge the status quo, but you should be ready for the kudos. And in case it doesn't work, for the brickbats as well and not take it personally. And that's a risky business sometimes. So, people want to very often not challenge status quo and go with the flow. My opinion was if you go with the flow, you're dead fish. Why would you do that? Why would you not take the opportunity to create something new and disruptive because that's what's going to be remembered? And actually, the format that I use within my team, as well was that with our marketing campaigns, we were the last entrant into the market. I don't care whether people love us or hate us, they should just not ignore us. 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

And that's literally the line, that if we are creating something, people will have opinions. As long as that gives something and this brand recall. Love us or hate us, but don't ignore us was the bottom line that I evaluated everything that was delivered with it. Yeah. And that's how it worked. A lot of people liked what we did because it was different. It was disruptive. It was risky, it was refreshing. It wasn't a “me too”. A lot of people questioned it, saying “Ha, is it apt, is it not?” Doesn't matter. It was a topic of discussion, in even social gatherings. So, I just felt that you have to take that place, if you are one of the last entrants, we were the 45th bank to launch, retail side of it. So, you can't just do the same thing. Because otherwise banking can get pretty boring, right? Everybody needs it. It’s a functional thing. How do you make the difference? You can't talk about interest rates all the time, everybody has same set of products, how you deliver your message is very important. We in fact, even coined these 4 Cs about our communication platform. And these are not the conventional 4 C's, these are the C's that how we’re mentioned and how we communicated, that it should be cheeky, it should be confident, it should be combative, and it should be clear and simple. So people understand what you're saying. We use sense of humour a lot in our campaigns, which is not something that was happening in this part of the world at all. Humour, or competitive advertising was not something that was even seen at all. Those were risky things to get into. It's not that we were the first ever, it was happening in different parts of the world that are more evolved. But in the Middle East, combative advertising, or anything with a bit of a humour or something just made you smile, or cheeky, was not the norm.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra 

You made me excited about what you did with the bank. You sold me on that whole concept of that 4C communication. The problem statement or the thesis is very important, although you have simplified it, in terms of you were the 46th or 47th brand to come into the marketplace, right? And how much can you keep talking about interest rates? So then, you had to create positioning, a brand strategy, which was going to catch people's eye and that fundamental, very simple “You don't have to love us, you don't have to hate us, but just don't ignore us.”  

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

So, we did push that envelope, and we actually tried to create a creative which was completely disruptive. It was very scary, I have to say, because it could go anyway. Because while the management was backing us, you can't control the external environment, you can't control the journalists, you can't control if you end up offending people on the basis of culture. So, I was scared, I have to say that, but we took the plunge. And I'm grateful that the organisation backed me, and we launched. Yeah, I did get these brickbats about “How could you do this? It's not culturally sensitive.” Til we said, “It wasn't being disrespectful, it was also showing that there is humour in how you convey a message.” And actually then the momentum started building and that community actually loving it. And we won many awards for it as well. But it was a risky line to go down. It paid off. It could have terribly gone wrong, but it didn't. I feel that at least we tried. 

We changed the narrative, we changed the way that typically box how Islamic products should be awkward, very stereotype very rigid, very conservative. So, we took that on, and I feel really happy and proud that we took a punt and it worked. And we got backing for it. So yeah, we won many international awards for it, as well as a very disruptive and out-of-the-box campaign. So, I think you have to question, you have to be able to see if it went the other way, would it break you down? Or your ability to jump back on, have the confidence, have a mindset that you're trying, you're being creative. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

And then, from there, you cascaded down all that campaigns. So that was very intriguing and inspiring for me because you just made marketing so easy to understand. And that's my struggle, often as a CEO of a company, when we engage branding agencies, and they come up with that whole suite of products and services that they want us to be working on. And they are not able to articulate that this is what we want to look at. What's your thesis for the marketplace? Where are you right now? And how are you going to deal with this? Is it too crowded? Is it a blue ocean space? So thank you for educating me on that.

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

And if you're passionate about it, you give it your best. So, you have to be convinced yourself before you can convince everybody else out there. And that to me, it’s very important that when you dig yourself into whatever that you're producing, you have to be passionate about it. And it can't be somebody else's dream that you're fulfilling, but you need to be onboard. And you need to ask all the questions to be convinced. And then you can be part of the journey. Because if there's reluctance either way, it won't deliver with the same enthusiasm. So, you need to ensure that you're passionate about the cause, and you're being authentic. Not because it's trending, but because it's something which is important to you. It's your passion. It can't be anybody else's that you're trying to deliver. So, I think being authentic and also having the ability to self-reflect and say, “Hey, what are my strengths? Am I working to my strengths? And where do I need to develop? What am I learning, requirements and the ability to differentiate and focus on what is required?” Those sort of mindsets will help you in whatever line of business you want to get into. I think risk-taking, adaptability, evaluating the opportunity, ready and open for feedback, it all helps, and resistance and resilience.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

You called out all those characteristics from being able to challenge the status quo but yet be ready for failure. And then, number two is to have the confidence in yourself and your ability, but also to be passionate about whatever that you take on. Because if you can't sell the concept to yourself, you're not going to be able to sell it to anyone else. And that's where the authenticity is a key piece. Also, it's important to self-reflect and learn. Because sometimes, we come up with products in the marketplace, whereby maybe it's a good response, and you want to build on that, and maybe it's not, and then you want to strengthen that. So, you have to be flexible enough to pivot. And then also the key point about how to really differentiate yourself, for sure you are someone with an entrepreneurial mindset. And if you had started a company, your business would be thriving because you can take these innate qualities to develop a product or service which can differentiate itself in the marketplace. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

I want to explore crisis-ready mindset. We have two kinds of mindset in today's disruptive world. The first one is an entrepreneurial mindset. And the second one is a crisis-ready mindset. And by crisis, I mean that it could be a failure or a setback. And the problem with most people is that when they encounter a failure or a setback, sometimes we get stuck. And we don't know how to move forward. But it may not be in all areas of our life. It could be specific in one area; We might be great at work, but we may be stuck in our personal relationships. But how can we actually have a crisis really mindset in all areas of our life? And I often found that people who have certain daily practices are actually able to navigate crisis in a better and effective way. And if you can share with us, what has been your way of dealing with crisis or failure? And how do you think that has helped you to create that resilience?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Dr. Ramesh, I think it's very important, like you said, to firstly understand when you're going through something. I'll give you a personal example, and it's related to my personal life, and I was so not ready for it. I do get emotional sharing it. During the pandemic, there was mayhem, and we were all victims and suffered in different formats. My biggest fear was if something was to happen to my parents because I was away, and unfortunately it did. I did lose my mom to Covid. Yeah, that was something I was so not ready for. It was something that came and blew me away. This crisis, and for a reason, like COVID, you're helpless. It just was something that really disrupted my world. I couldn't do anything about it. It was grief that literally sat on my chest. The biggest learning from that was that I seeked help because I knew I was not being able to manage. Because this grief had overtaken everything in my life. And I think that's a very important thing that you seek help. You look for therapists. Initially, I would not do that. I would try and do my own meditation, do my own spirituality or whatever, but till you actually seek for help, and that's where I felt that I could actually be more accepting and I’m at a much better space, is because I seeked and asked for help from a specialist.

I didn't have the answers. I didn't have any information that would have helped me be more accepting of what had happened. So I think the lesson for me is that - Don't be the super person trying to do everything. Seek help, ask for help from specialists. If you're vulnerable, there's no harm in showing that. You lead with empathy. Even with your teams, you have to lead with empathy, there's crisis happening in everybody's lives, in their personal life. So how they show up at work is always going to be a reflection on what's going on at home. So have an empathetic ear to what's going on, and then lead through that because that's when you actually will get a team which will work for you. And empathy is what was the need of the hour. Even in seeing what was going around, even in the way you market, even your products. 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

The whole world was going through crisis. So we, in fact, even built this empathy and care as another parameter for all the communication that we are sending out; it cannot be a sales-driven, or a market-driven communication. So I'm just saying that if you're real and authentic on what's going on and what you're feeling, and if you bring that out, people appreciate that. People appreciate the vulnerability, your team appreciates that. And then you are at a better space because you're being authentic. So for me, this whole thing about reaching and asking for help if you're stuck is so important. It's so important to speak up and have that self-realisation that you're not doing well. And that takes you to this thing of self-care, your mental health, your stress levels. These are all derivatives of how we try and deal with everything on our own and not speak up, not ask for help, not even realise we're going through that. Because it all eventually ends up impacting your health, or your relationships, or the people around you or your work because you haven't internalised what is going on with you. If you're overworked or if you're in a bad relationship. Or if you're stressed about your own health or someone else, and you're not talking or seeking guidance, then you're going to bottle it all up, and it will pour out in every other format of your life. And I think that's one thing in crisis, or in any situation, which comes when you're not ready or prepared for, you should be able to step back and say, “How can I help myself? How can I help the environment? How can I help people? What do I need to try and do that instead of getting consumed with it?” And very often, we get consumed and try and solve it ourselves. And that may not be the best solution.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

You’ve actually created some valuable lessons for us to take away on crisis crisis-ready mindset. And the first piece was being able to know ourselves and to understand whether we've come to perhaps a point where this particular situation is beyond our own personal resources and network or support system. Because then the next step is, “How can I get it from outside?” But more importantly also, you've got certain contexts or certain mantra almost, right? Which is really powerful, you don't have to be a super person all the time. And that also helps you to seek help and then show your vulnerability because that crisis supports you to be yourself and not to pretend to be stronger than what you're not. And the last thing was to really have an openness that, “It's okay, I may be successful, but I can seek other expert help.” Because in that particular situation, I've maxed out, and I just need someone else to support me through that. So, I think you've given us valuable ways to look at life, especially when we become more and more successful. Often, we close the door because we feel that being successful is about telling everyone that we are all put together. And that we don't have failures. And we don't have struggles. And we don't need to ask anyone anything else. And we stop learning, we stop being open there.

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

So, it's really how you put yourself out there. And if you're authentic, you will attract, people will appreciate. If you're putting up an act or not being authentic, it'll fall through sooner or later. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

What is spirituality for you and where are you in that journey?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

So, I think I went a lot more spiritual after having been faced with grief. For me it’s having beliefs that it's all happening because it's meant to happen, like this sort of thing, having the belief that you're not a victim. This is where you were meant to be. This is where you're. This is your journey. Embrace it, be more accepting, give every phase of your life its due. Embrace it. Whatever comes with it, the kudos, the big packs, or whatever is happening in your relationship, give everything that you are dealing with your 100% and then trust the universe is more than managing it. You're at this stage. You don't want to be doing. You want to be more accepting. You do what works for you. You give your best. And I think that's an authentically. It's very important for me that if I need peace, then I invest in me, to get the peace of mind, to get the wellness, to go to a Wellness Centre. Have the ability to recognise what's going on with you. And then align yourself with the bigger environment around you. How do you do that? For me, that's very important so that you are in-sync with what's going on. And everybody has their spiritual calling at different stages in life; Some are a lot more advanced. Don't be in any competition with anybody else. Your time will come when you start feeling seeking. And if meditation gives you peace, then invest time and effort in it. So, recognise what helps you, try everything. And I think self-care is very important. Because if you are at peace, you will be able to support and help in every relationship of yours. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

Yeah. Wonderful. And do you think that it's possible for us to live simple lives, and what is a simple life?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

I think the simple joys of life are so beautiful because in the end, you want to be able to sit with nature, and soak in the sun in the winter morning, and peel some oranges and not do anything, right? That's what we strive for, just simple is what gives you the maximum amount of joy. Actually, we want the bag, we want the travel, we want all of that, it's only to finally rest and enjoy what nature gives you. That's what we all seek for. It's when we realise that's what gives us the joy, family time sitting around somewhere, is wherever it is. Initially, we want to take walks, travel to Italy, travel to this place. At that stage in life, that's good to do. Because you're gathering more experiences, it's lovely. But in the end, you'll start realising what I really enjoyed was just the downtime. It's just the simple joys of sitting around a table, lie in the hammock, friends and having a good laugh or just feeling safe and secure and the environment you're in. I think that's simplicity. That's all what you need. Actually, yes, you don't need anything very much more than that.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

And then, if you've had to use three words to describe thriving, what would those three words be?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Thriving? So I think it's the balance for me, anyone who's in a balanced state with where they want to be professionally, personally, on relationships health-wise, and they're doing well on all those, then I would say that they're thriving in every aspect because you can't be single dimensional. You can't be thriving at work but ailing health-wise. You can't be thriving at a relationship but have issues on other areas. So, for me, if there is a balance of all around your relationships, your professional personal careers, and your requirements of wherever you want to go in life, and you're in balance with how much you can deliver and how your body is in sync with it as well. 

It's very important to realise that it's not a workhorse, you need downtime, you have to be aware of that. And because it will serve you as well as  you serve it. You have to listen to your body. So often, we keep putting that on the back-burner, thinking, we'll do that once we've achieved ABCD. But I think it all has to be in-sync. That's thriving, thriving on every level. Mentally, you're stable, you're sleeping well, you're eating well, you're travelling. You’re achieving your goals at work, your relationships. We all live in a society, your friends are happy with you. They have family time, it’s important. That's a lot. It's a lot. So as and when it's all in sync, I think then you're thriving, in my opinion.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

I'm going to ask you a series of questions now. Just answer the first word that comes to your mind. Okay, what's your favourite book?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

My favourite book, Catcher in the Rye.  

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

And if you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

My mom.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

Yeah, I got it. What's your favourite travel destination? 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Lake Como.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

Oh? And what's your guilty pleasure?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Chocolate. I don't even feel guilty about it. I don't feel guilty about any pleasures.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

If you could have any superpower, what would it be? 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Healing power. I feel if I could heal people, that would be wonderful.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

Yeah, I get that. And what's the best advice that you've ever received?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

I think, just be, you know, if you're passionate about things, speak up and be you.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

And what's the worst advice?

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Worst advice is “Go with the flow.” Really? I've got it so many times, they don't question. Just go with the flow, keep the peace, keep the harmony. And my answer to that is always, “I'm not dead fish.” I can go with the flow, really. And I'm not wanting to be disruptive for the reason. But I need to understand the direction of the flow. To understand if I want to swim upwards or downwards. I just can't go with the flow. You have to have an inquisitive mind; You have to be curious about what's happening. You have to ask questions, you may align and still go with the flow. But you need to know why you're going to what flow.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

That's true. I've enjoyed our chat, Banali, And I hope you have as well. 

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Yes, very much, Dr. Ramesh. I hope you got answers that you're looking for as well. I was like, “Okay, let's see if I have enough experience.” And if that helps give people any advice, then I'm so happy to share that.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra   

Thank you, Banali.

Banali  Luthra Malhotra

Take care. Bye bye.

Ho Lai Yun   

Thank you, Dr.Ramesh and Banali for sharing the valuable life lessons and practical work advice with our listeners. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, looking for inspiration to overcome the challenges in your life, or simply curious about the stories that shape the Changemakers of our world, this podcast series is your gateway to a world of insight and inspiration. Be sure to subscribe to the Thriving in the Age of Disruption podcast, or follow Dr. Ramesh on LinkedIn and other social media so you become a part of Dr. Ramesh’s thriving network.