Season 3 - Episode 1 | Our Shared Vision - A Transgenerational Legacy: Poorani Thanusha (Singapore)

Welcome to Season 3 of the "Thriving in the Age of Disruption" podcast series with Dr. Ramesh! We're excited to kickstart a brand new 2024 season by welcoming a very dear guest speaker, Ms. Poorani Thanusha, who happens to not only be a Principal Consultant at Talent Leadership Crucible, but is also the sister of our podcast host, Dr. Ramesh, and they have been working together for almost thirty years.

Poorani shares her invaluable insights on the entrepreneurial mindset, crisis management strategies, and her latest role at Impact Velocity, where she is spearheading the set up of a leadership network that generates a million impact projects. In this intimate conversation, we delve into the origins of the "three P's" philosophy of People Awareness, Planet Renewal and Progress Sharing, and the profound connection between spirituality and simplicity in one's life.

Join us for a deeply meaningful dialogue that offers a rare glimpse into Dr. Ramesh's personal relationships, inviting you into a conversation that's both enriching and enlightening.

3 Key Insights from this Podcast:

1. Sustainability and Systems Awareness: Poorani delves into the "Three P's" of People-Planet-Progress, expanding the concept of sustainability beyond environmental concerns to encompass personal and organisational effectiveness, emphasising the interconnectedness of individuals within larger systems.
2. Crisis Management and Resilience: Through personal experience and also coaching others to navigate crises, Poorani highlights the importance of self-awareness, seeking support, and taking action to overcome challenges and thrive.
3. Simplicity and Effectiveness: The essence of living a simple life is not framed in terms of austerity, but as a mindset of uncluttered focus and effectiveness, aligning actions with inner purpose and contributing to collective well-being.

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

Guest Speaker: Ms. Poorani Thanusha, Principal Consultant at Talent Leadership Crucible & Co-Founder of Impact Velocity

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

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Transcript

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  00:00

Welcome to Thriving in the Age of Disruption podcast series. Today we are very excited to have a special guest. She is none other than Poorani Thanusha. And she is someone that I've grown and worked with closely for the past 50 years. She's my sister, and she plays a key role in Talent Leadership Crucible, a company that I run, which who does corporate culture change in Southeast Asia. So pretty happy to have you here, I would like to start off by having you introduce yourself to our listeners. 

Poorani Thanusha (PT)  00:30

Hi, Dr. Ramesh, thank you for having me here. Congratulations on this podcast series, I've listened to the speakers and they are really very inspiring and touching a lot of key learning. So I'm really honored to be part of your series.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

Poorani, you were also instrumental in having me do this podcast series. So, thank you for encouraging me.

PT

I'm glad it turned out, it's kept going. So I'm really happy to be here, a quick introduction of myself. I'm the Principal Consultant with Talent Leadership Crucible, a company that you founded almost 10 years ago, the focus of the work on corporate culture change is something that fits and dovetails very closely with my passion and purpose. So I've really enjoyed working on the various projects and initiatives that we've had around family business and transformation change work. I see myself really playing the role of a facilitator, coach, change agent, co-creator, in that world of cultural change, that's right.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  01:23

And more recently, Poorani, you became involved also with a new organization that we brought into existence called Impact Velocity, and can you share with the listeners what Impact Velocity does? 

PT  01:36

Yeah, so Impact Velocity is created to fulfill on the intention of creating a million impact projects. When people hear that, “Oh, my goodness, how are you going to do that?” So what impact velocity is really up to is equipping as many people as possible, whether they be in families or communities or organizations, with what we call a systems awareness, or Sustainability, success mindset, that allows them to then really be self-motivated to take on different, however big or small, impact projects. And so that's really the intention of impact velocity, and I'm one of the transgenerational council members there and known as one of the impacteers, as we call people who are participating in Impact Velocity’s vision

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  02:20

It's really great that you're here as one of the transgenerational legacy council members, because I wanted to ask you what was the origin of this entire mission around three P’s?

PT  02:33

The 3P’s - People development, planning, renewal and prosperity sharing, are another way to say this progress sharing and that 3P’s actually show up when people get awareness of themselves as a system. Impact Velocity is really the expression of a family business’ legacy. This really goes back to our work with the Nguyen family, when we first started working with them, after various conversations, aligning family members and resolving certain internal conflicts. And the founders were building the next generation, the three sons’ opportunity to take on future of the family and the business. The next generation, the three brothers really solve for themselves and the possibility of a transgenerational legacy in terms of these 3P’s, right? So for them, their legacy was not just about wealth, preservation of wealth generation, it's how their wealth would be providing, supporting and fulfilling on the 3P's.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  03:32

That's very interesting, because they look at the 3P's of People development, Planet renewal and Prosperity sharing, as part of the transgenerational legacy. 

PT  03:45

What happened, we even come to that position because they were not in that kind of a business. So one of the work that we did as facilitators and consultants with the family was to have them explore what we call various scenarios, from connecting them to the purpose of their life and then starting to see possible futures and to create the possible futures and scenarios they saw there were two key indicators. One was the side of sustainable societies and the other was the side of human potential, then we had various scenarios that will create it. So there was a scenario, high human potential and low sustainable society that was one with high sustainable society and low human potential. And then there was one with high human potential and high sustainable society, right. So as they went through that creation process of looking at what kinds of future are available in these different scenarios, it was a no brainer for them to invest themselves in the scenario in the future of strong sustainable societies and high human potential. And so inside of that scenario, the 3P's showed up as are the three pillars or the foundations or the indicators that they are on track to fulfilling that future.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  04:57

Wow, that's really inspiring. So Impact Velocity then became the vehicle for them to roll out this vision.

PT  05:05

It's almost a shared vision, right? There's nothing here that is personal to the Nguyen family, it is shared with everyone and whoever hears that and wants to participate. So it really is designed and meant to be a shared vision.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  05:16

It started off with them actually cascading it down within the company, to the 2500 employees, I presume.

PT  05:23

The 3P's from a business corporate perspective, there will be different indicators. But yes, they did take the 3P's down, and we worked with them on how that shows up in an organizational setting. And with Impact Velocity, we are looking at how that's going to show up in a societal setting. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  05:38

Great, thank you for sharing that. In this podcast series, I explore entrepreneurial mindset, versus being an entrepreneur. A lot of people want to be entrepreneurs, but obviously, then you have to have an idea. And you've got to go and start a business and run it to execute on that idea. But I personally feel that in this age of disruption, what is more critical is that we develop an entrepreneurial mindset, because then we can be resourceful because there will be always problems and we are able to identify what's the right problem, and then look for the solutions to work on those problems. Number two is that at the same time, there will be risks, and uncertainty. And we become great at being able to manage that uncertainty for ourselves. And lastly, of course, there is a need to create value. And we're not just creating value for ourselves. But we are also creating value for our stakeholders and the people around us. In my experience. You're someone I've worked with over the last 30 years. And you started your business way before I started my first business. So when you take on this definition of our entrepreneurial mindset, what can you say about an entrepreneurial mindset and being an entrepreneur? 

PT  06:55

One thing for sure, for myself I'm someone who is resourceful, meaning that I actually try the having limitations. If you just gave me a free blower or a blank canvas, sometimes that's actually difficult money, there are limitations that I am called upon to being resourceful. One of my biggest victories at one point was to create a big mega project of 2000 people attending an event in six months, where typically this company used to take three months to fill a class for 200 people. So that was a huge, huge challenge. And there were limitations, right? But I saw that with those limitations. Actually, I was pushed to being resourceful, even taking risks, to push some boundaries. And definitely creating value, of course kept me going in challenging myself and those around me. So yeah, it can see those three factors are critical. And part of what you said, the entrepreneurial mindset in getting things done, and in fulfilling what's important to you. You might call me entrepreneurial or not, I've never seen something that I do. But I guess if you say, Well, have you started a business of your own or wanting to start your own business? I would say no, that's not been of any particular column. But I do remember, when I first graduated, I did start a sole proprietorship. But the way I didn't look like I started the business, I just did that because I had to do that to a project. Right. So incorporating a business was something that I did so that I could undertake a project, definitely I do see myself as entrepreneur.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  08:15

Interesting. That was the example that you talked about working for other corporates. And when you get stuck with a lack of resources, you've got to problem solve. And that's when this mindset is really useful.

PT  08:27

Yeah, it was a successful project. And I won an award in the global level for the Entrepreneur of the Year, or Intrapreneur. They called it that was the first time they had such an award that they had to make up that award because of that project. And they got awarded that. That's clearly for me an opportunity for people inside of the corporate that they do show up with the entrepreneurial mindset and do contribute to the success and the intentions of the company. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  08:52

Now for the listeners, of course, Poorani’s my sister, and we've been working together for 30 years. But this is the first time I'm hearing that she got this award. Poorani, you never told me about this before. I didn't know.

PT  09:02

You know, that was like a year where many things happened. So maybe it was focusing on something else. But yeah, I did get that award, I feel that I can fulfill that inside an organization. So I guess that's never been for me to find on business, right? And then, of course working with you. We're constantly exploring different things.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  09:22

Great. I just wanted to also underline a key point that you have raised because in my anecdotal experience of having trained about 2000 people in how to start and run a business in early 2,001/3 of the class would have actually completed their business plan and they want to go and become a business person immediately. 1/3 of the class will say no, never. And 1/3 of the class will say yes, maybe it can be entrepreneurial at the workplace. But this is not the right time. And I guess that's the point because if you want to go and start a business and run it, you've got to have a different set of motivation. And you've also got to have a different set of skill sets. It doesn't diminish you, if you're not doing that, in fact, you can actually be very successful in life, just applying an entrepreneurial mindset. I define crisis as a setback. And usually in a crisis, if we don't take the action, we come to a turning point at that turning point, we either face death or the ability to move forward. For react, I'm sure you have faced many crises are directly or indirectly, what have you found to be important in dealing with crisis and mold? Can you share from your own personal experience with our listeners?

PT  10:42

There are many, many crisis that I've dealt with, I remember there was one crisis, when I thought, I'm going to quit a training program I started in the US, which I was supposed to commit to doing for the rest of my life, that particular crisis was saying that I don't think I'm good enough to participate in this program. Because everybody around me, my cohort was so much more experienced and so much more proficient. And so the first awareness is, of course, to know that you're in a crisis. And the second is, I think, for me, at least, then you have a sounding board, whether it's a mentor or coach, right, you cannot self reflect for yourself. At that point, I was fortunate that I could reach out to a mentor, and have a conversation to express what I was dealing with. The second thing is then being open enough at that moment, to listen to whatever the mentor is, say, right and have that actually give you a moment or a space of reflection. And then just getting back into the game of whatever you are up to, I've had to go through crisis that like this case, maybe after one day, I was done, I was over it. But I've gone through an emotional relationship crisis, which lasted at least two years. So I don't think there is a timeline, right, the key takeaway would be, we all get over it with enough time, with enough space, it is always that you have the internal and the external structures that support you to see another day, I am fortunate that they work in a view where that's what I'm telling others do to stay grounded and calm when you're in a crisis. So I guess to some extent, that has been something that I then take on for myself, just acknowledging that your inner crisis or inner space, which is not your intended self, or your committed self in that moment, that is already the beginning of the journey out of the crisis. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  12:29

In my book, which is coming out soon, I actually talk about that as the awareness stage, whereby we can start to recognize the mixture of emotions, feelings, and inner conversations that we are having about ourselves and about the situation, and are able to at least come to a point where we can start to articulate that there is something wrong, whether or not we have accepted our role in that crisis. So thank you so much for actually highlighting the first piece because it's probably the others. For most of us in any crisis. Awareness is critical. Yes. But like we all know, awareness without action cannot create transformation or the change, it's an action that is consistent with whatever that's showing up there to be done. There is no preset action that I can tell you, that awareness I can teach, right, we can all learn the action that we're going to take, that has to be based on whatever the situation is. So I think maybe that's the next level of courage or clarity that's required. Because if we are then muddled or be set in our notions of the action I can and cannot take then puts us back in the crisis. I guess that's true. And you've called that something really important. In my book, I talk about these four steps. And awareness is that piece about recognizing the crisis and acceptance is where we recognize and acknowledge that we had a role in it, whether by participating or not participating. But the third piece is really the confidence to take action, knowing that we have failed in the past that led to that crisis, is really the tough one. And sometimes even if you know the actions because we lacked the confidence it becomes difficult to take those actions and to find the courage to move ahead. And of course, as we start to take the action, then what we see at that point is that self actualization. The fourth, of a new reality emerging because now we have sort of turned around that corner, and we are starting to create that new future. So I call this the four step process to developing a crisis ready mindset. Where are you in your spiritual journey and what spirituality for you in your life?

PT  14:49

I really don't talk about spirituality much these days. Rrom a very young age, I think I was very interested in spirituality. So I spent so much of my youth and pursued that as a big point. The focus, right, I saw spirituality through meditation to yoga to a guru, to traveling to particular places of spiritual significance. So I've spent a good part of my life doing that. And right now it's kind of in the background for me. So to even articulate spirituality, I will right now he would say, I am not pursuing spirituality. And I think I see spirituality more now in the work that I do, which is fulfilling my purpose and in being connected to my contribution and others’ contribution. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  15:34

So in some sense, your journey of spirituality moved from it being that individual exploration to one of being connected with the collective and expressing that in the actions and the interactions that you are having with a larger community.

PT  15:50

Yeah. So I think that would be connected to the purpose, right, like, not my purpose, the bigger purpose, there's a quote by Swami Vivekananda, that I remember from 30 years ago, the purpose of life is living a life of purpose. So simple, but that's what it is.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  16:08

Thank you for sharing that. That's very profound. Do you think it's possible to live a simple life? And what would you define as a simple life for yourself? 

PT  16:20

Yeah, on this conversation on spirituality and what I said about purpose, and I think a simple life is just living a life that is here. Now, maybe my circumstances have been fortunate, I don't see myself having some of the commitments or family or finance that perhaps others might feel, stop them from living a simple life, or pursuing certain things I can just pursue, what is there in front of me, for me is living a simple life.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  16:46

That's interesting, because often, I find that in the roles that I play yesterday is complexity, but also in the life that we lead, there is an expectation of certain things that we have to do or not to do. Like some of our guests have said that invariably, that put us in a position where we either get compared or we have to compare. And that makes life again, complex. But all this is external, I guess what you're talking about is really the internal expression of what is the simple life. And if you're here and now and doing what is right in front of you, then nothing is complex, because all you're doing is just focusing on that.

PT  17:28

Yeah, simple life is not about whether it's an austere life, it's the frame of mind, right? Can you keep it simple and uncluttered? So that will be the simple life, however complicated or complex, the situation may be great. The state of thriving, what is it for you knowing when I'm surviving, but that's the opposite. In my experience, I only get access to training when I know I'm surviving, you know, the example we use right? Only if you know you're sitting down, he can stand up. If you don't know where you are, you can move to where you want to go, or you don't have a choice about the next day. For me, I'm very familiar and very clear about my surviving space. So when I am clear about that, then I have a choice about is this what I want to pursue continue? Or do I have an alternative, and what will try to be simply put riding is be effective in my true purpose or my true intentions, meaning the sense that there's nothing more, there's no regrets, there's no resentments, there's nothing. It goes back to that simple life being here and now and being able to give fully to what's in front of you. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  18:35

Oh, lovely, thank you. Poorani, in 2013, you had gone and done a couple of modules at the UN University in Tokyo, looking at Sustainability. And then you did a Master's in Tri Sector Collaboration. What's your definition of Sustainability? At TLC, we use a definition of the ongoing thriving of a living system. 

PT  18:59

In 2013, I decided that I'm going to start at a new page in my future and where I wanted to contribute. So I was looking at what was going on around me. And I actually was planning to go back to Sri Lanka. I was born there, then a Civil War was supposedly Oh, well, but still lots of problems there. Maybe I could do something there. And then I was told that maybe that's not the plus step. There's something else to be done first. That's family saying that to me. So then I looked around, and suddenly this thing for United Nations short courses came up. So I went there, United Nations University in Tokyo, and I spent two months there. And I actually did their pioneering program on leadership and sustainability. They had just launched it when I landed there. So I took it on. I did it. But actually, it opened up a whole world around sustainability, which I was aghast to say that up to that point, I had not paid attention to sustainability, who suddenly has it Oh, wow. There's this whole crisis. I've been talking about transformation and looking at people living the best life for the last 10 years prior and sustainability or the planet was never in that conversation. Like I don't think I've heard anyone actually speak of it. It was a whole new world that opened up. And at the same time, I also saw based on what I know about human beings and how people struggle to produce results, and there was something here to actually bring together. Sustainability is not just about the planet, it's not just about helping poor people and underdeveloped. So there was a bigger part of sustainability that I started to see. And that is what we call the system's awareness, right. And when I started to explore the way of system awareness, we started to see that actually the biggest system that all of us are inside of his life itself. And so when you put that in there, and I look at an individual, we use the term sustainable success instead of sustainability, because success is being effective, and sustainability is fine. So ultimately, it's about how we can have effective lives or be effective in life. That's the journey from sustainability and pulling together all the work on personal and organizational transformation, that I started to see that there was a new way to engage people in their lives and with the planet. And with our future.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  21:01

When we talk about Sustainability as the ongoing thriving of a living system, you're actually looking at the system at multiple levels, from the individual level all the way to the collective level. 

PT  21:15

Yeah, because ultimately, the individual is the system. When we say system awareness, if you had system awareness of yourself, then you don't see yourself as an individual as a separate, you always recognize yourself as the whole. We used one of the definitions by Alan Atkinson, where he says that Sustainability is the ability of a system to continue working and evolving over the long term. So that's really what it is when we look at the system. And if you look at human system or living systems, then the biggest system we are all referring to is life itself. And that includes you mean, the planet, the future, everything is that system.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  21:52

Of course, a lot of people look at the aspect of the ESG Sustainability, which is environment and climate crisis. But what we're also hearing from a lot of people is that whole aspect of us as an individual and how we think around Sustainability. Thank you for sharing why that is an important piece for me. Thank you very much for your time. We've enjoyed having this conversation with you. 

PT  22:18

Yes, definitely. Dr. Ramesh, thank you so much for having me here. I think this was a great time to reflect for myself, especially at the beginning of the year. So, it was wonderful to have that opportunity. And thank you so much for that. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

You're welcome.