Gravitas WINS Radio

This episode of Gravitas WINS Conversations is a must-listen for senior technology leaders—especially CTOs—who want to scale not just systems, but themselves.

In conversation with Joseph Jude, CTO coach and author Viktor Nyblom breaks down what separates elite performers from the rest. It’s not knowledge or skill, it’s clarity, energy, and transformation.

This episode explores why even the best leaders need coaches, what human connection offers that AI can't, how to avoid burnout, and the importance of being both intense and kind.

If you're leading teams, feeling stuck, or craving...

Joseph Jude speaks with Krishna Kumar, author of *The GenAI War Room*, who has coached over 30,000 professionals and facilitated 140+ AI workshops. Together, they explore how generative AI is changing the economics of innovation and why leaders should allocate 10% of their CapEx into “optionality bets” to stay relevant, foster experimentation, and lead responsibly in an AI-native world.

What you'll listen

Companies like Zomatos and Ubers have given rise to gig economy. Gig workers have lot of flexibility - they can choose type of work and hours of work. But they lack benefits that full-time employees get. Can we marry flexibility with benefits? My guest today asks, why not?

What you'll listen

When it comes to wealth, there are lot of chatter about making wealth and growth wealth. But what about protecting it? How to ensure it gets passed to the next generation in the way you would like it to be?

One of the ways of protecting wealth is with will. To discuss how to protect your wealth with will, I have a good friend of mine and a leading lawyer, Priyanka here. We discuss everything about creating will.

What you'll listen

While we talk about entrepreneurship, most of the discussions are about success, growth, and all the glories associated with it.

It is said that we learn the best from our success and from other's failures. So here I'm talking to my friend Samson who can be rightly called as a serial entrepreneur to discuss what we should be careful about and what we should avoid in the path of entrepreneurship.

What you'll listen

Today in "Being a dad" series, KK and I are going to talk about parental anxiety from Dad's point of view.

Anxiety is part of life. We can't avoid it. But we should learn to manage it, otherwise it can damage our families. KK and I are going to talk about trigger points for anxiety and our coping mechanisms of anxiety.

Let me set some expectations here: I've two boys. KK has a son and a daughter. They are still young. Our kids are still in school going ages. They have not appeared for board...

We are living our lives on the digital space more and more. But how many of us understand digital safety? I brought in my mentor and good friend Sastry to discuss the topic. Sastry is a serial entrepreneur and a Information Security Specialist. He also dealt with an identity theft. Hope today's conversation is useful to you.

What you'll listen

Hello and welcome to Gravitas WINS conversations. KK and I are doing a series on "Being a dad".  We already talked about how we learn to be a dad, who are our role models, and how we bond with kids. In the Today we are going to talk about building a family culture.

I hope you find this actionable and insightful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send them to either of us.

Generative AI is the talk of the town. But is genAI a solution looking for a problem or can we use it to solve business problems? How can we use it to scale our business? What are its potentials for businesses?

To discuss all of this, today I'm joined by Krishna Kumar, CEO of GreenPepper. He has been using OpenAI and developed more than 20 tools on it; he conducts workshops on prompt engineering, and possibilities of GenAI for business innovation.

What you'll listen

In this series on "Being a dad", KK and I talk about everything about fatherhood. Bonding with kids is not an easy task, especially when we live in a materialistic world. There is an ongoing demand to work more, earn more, and bring home more. We can easily excuse ourselves for working more saying we are only doing that for kids.

Amidst this, today we want to talk about how we both are taking steps to bond with our kids. I hope you find this actionable and insightful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free...

English has given us enormous leverage in growing our services industry. But if India has to grow beyond the creamy layer and the metro, we need to teach the same software fundamentals in vernacular languages. If you look at Germany, Japan, and Russia they teach in their mother-tongues.

My guest today, Tamizhvendan is doing exactly that. True to his name and combining his profession, he is teaching software fundamentals in Tamil. We are discussing the challenges and impact of his teaching. If India has to grow multi-fold as we project, we need more such educators. Hope today's...

In this series on "Being a dad", KK and I talk about everything about fatherhood. On today's episode we talk about our role-models as fathers, how we learn about being a dad, and how society influences fatherhood. I hope you find this helpful in being a dad.

In this episode of Gravitas WINS Conversations, Joseph Jude interviews Major General Neeraj Bali (Retd), a SENA medal recipient and author of 'The Winning Culture.'

General Neeraj Bali talks about the importance of culture in organizations, using examples from the Indian Army and Indigo airlines to underscore his points. He emphasizes the power of culture to guide behaviors and lead to extraordinary outcomes. The discussion sheds light on how to develop a robust culture, the role of leadership in shaping culture, and the types of errors common in organizations.

The discussion includes fascinating accounts...

In this series on "Being a dad", KK and I talk about everything about fatherhood. In this first episode, we talk about our families, fathers, and everything that shapes our thought process as a dad. I hope you find this helpful in being a dad.

If India has to grow, we need lot of startups and entrepreneurs. Not all of them will be privileged to bootstrap their ideas. That is where angel investors come in. Today I have my friend and an angel investor, Manish Verma. He has been a banker, operator, and investor. So he knows all angels of running a business. We are going to discuss how to get funded from angel investors.

What you'll listen

Ruthless with strategy means having a clear understanding of the goals to achieve, resources needed to get there, and partners who will facilitate the journey. Those leaders demand data and they make data driven decisions, rather than swinging based on emotions.

Working for them is not easy. It is highly demanding. Long hours are probably required. However, in the long run employees under such bosses tend to learn more and feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Working for bosses who are ruthless with people can be frustrating. They demand that you reply back to...

With the explosive growth of generative AI, data is not just oil, it is the new art. Data scientists are the new artists. We have one such awesome artist with us today. We are going to explore how to get into data science, how to grow in it, and everything in between.

What you'll listen

There has been a lot of debate about working long hours recently in Indian social media. Narayana Murthy, celebrated founder of Infosys suggested that Indian youth should work 70 hours per week for national interest. Another entrepreneur doubled it to 140 hours. 

Here are my five points regarding hard work:
• Any worthwhile pursuit requires hard work
• It's crucial to enjoy whatever you choose to pursue
• Consider who benefits from your effort and work
• Having a support system is essential
• Know what is enough for you

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Startup founders dream of building the next big thing. At least I did when I launched a cyber-security startup. But as the statistics show majority of the startups fail and fizzle out.

Today I'm talking to Sohail who wants to change that. He has been a founder himself, not once but twice. He understands the field well. He has started The Builders club, a vibrant community to support and help startup founders and other creators in their dream journey. We are discussing why startups fail and what can be done to reduce the chance of failure.

Life is uncertain. To deal with this vastness of uncertainty, we create small pockets of certainty like safe spaces like our houses, daily routines like going to and returning from the office at a fixed time, and dependable friends. These certainties act as proof that we have successfully navigated life thus far.

However, relying solely on these established certainties can weaken our convictions. 

In this episode, I talk about how to think about the intersection of conviction and certainty. 

Getting a customer is a challenge. Relatively speaking, delighting a customer and converting them into a repeat customer is easier. That is the theme of today's conversation. I have Kavitha, a seasoned customer success manager. We are going to discuss examples, metrics, and challenges of a customer success manager. Hope you find this interview useful.

What you'll listen

I talk about my learning framework and how I find good information to learn.

Can you invest your short-term funds for a better return? Regi Thomas introduces ladder of risk so you can consider the different options for short-term investing. Join us on a journey to discover the strategies that work and the common mistakes that can hinder your success in the world of short-term investing.

Don't forget to subscribe.

What you'll listen

Learn how to identify and avoid pitfalls that can sabotage your goals. Start your injury-free path to a healthier, wealthier you.

I want to get back to a healthy weight for my age and height. So I'm taking a fat-to-fit challenge, which involves exercise, jogging, and dieting. When you talk to experts, they will advice you to avoid injuries first. Nor surprisingly, this concept of preventing injury is applicable to a wide range of other fields as well.

Technology is the beating heart of innovation and progress. As technology executives, we are at the forefront of such advancement. The same technology that helps us grow, also affects our mental health.

To discuss the connection between technology and mental health, I have invited Ruby Grace, a licensed rehabilitation psychologist. She has extensive experience in understanding the intricate relation between technology and mental health. She has helped many students and professionals navigate this complex landscape. Hope today's conversation helps you at least a little bit towards improving your mental health.

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I've used ChatGPT on and off since it came out. At first, I didn't get much success, either because I didn't know how to use it properly, or because the tool didn't work as advertised. But I kept playing with it. Over the period, as a CTO, I've added a lot of GenAI tools to my toolbox.

In this episode, I'm talking about three of those tools.

When we think about marketing, we need to use all formats of content. That includes text, images, and video. But most small businesses think it is too expensive to market via videos. Naseef, today's guest, says it is possible to have a lean video marketing setup. Let us find out.

What you'll listen

When we fuse two domains we get amazing insights. Joining me today is Arvindh, who has done exactly that. We are going to talk about gamification and how it can be used to engage your customers, creating lasting connections, and elevate your brand to a whole new level.

A request: Remember to hit the subscribe button, leave us a review, and share this episode with fellow business leaders.

What you'll listen

The internet has opened up many business models that were not available earlier. One such business model is selling on Amazon sitting in India (in fact from anywhere). Gaurav, my guest today, has being doing this business for almost 2 years successfully. Today we are going to find everything about this business model. Hope you find this conversation useful.

This is the 75th episode of Gravitas WINS Radio. Thank you for all your support in listening, commenting, and spreading the word about the podcast.

The metaphor "sell shovels during gold rush" originated during California's gold rush. The saying means that when you recognize a gold rush is happening, don't try to be the 1,000,001st person to mine for gold, because you will probably fail. Instead sell something that all the millions of gold miners need, like shovels and get rich from selling them. This mental model is so true for the current AI era too.

I have the privilege of having a seasoned digital commerce architect at Adobe as a guest. We discuss the trends that we already see and the ones that are shaping up in digital commerce. Hope you find this conversation useful.

In the '70s, leadership expert Warren Bennis predicted a future factory staffed by just a man and a dog. The man's job is to feed the dog. The dog's role is to stop the man from touching machines. This vision never materialized.

Now, with generative AI on the rise, I hear similar forecasts. These AI models can create movies, music, images – pushing humans to the sidelines of creative work. They suggest our only task will be supervising these LLM models.

I disagree for five reasons:

Whether you are an executive or an entrepreneur, you face two challenges all the time: how to solve the problems at hand or capture new opportunities. You need all the leverage that you can gain to beat the competition. Visual thinking and communication is one such leverage.

My guest today Sathya has made it his mission to help executives and entrepreneurs in using visuals as a leverage. We discuss tools, success stories, and ways you can get started. Hope the conversation is helpful to you.

Archimedes said, "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I will move the world."  I believe AI is the next lever and I'm preparing my kids to use that lever for their advantage. I share three ways I am doing that.

1. Let them be drivers first, mechanics later
2. Help them understand the inner workings of AI
3. Teach them about ethics

Read more at https://jjude.com/introduce-ai-to-kids/

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Krishna Kumar N (KK) shares how storytelling enabled him to shape sales and marketing efforts in a South African company and land him on LinkedIn's first Creator program in India.

What you'll listen

AI technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, raising questions about its impact on jobs. It's clear that new technologies disrupt some jobs; computers replaced stenographers and typists, for example. AI will undoubtedly change the job market, so it's essential to develop skills that make you valuable in an AI-driven world.

Read more at https://jjude.com/ai-economy-notes/

When you think of a leader, any leader, what images come to your mind? A great orator? Whether it is JFK or Obama or Steve Jobs, that is what we think. Today’s guest says, a great leader is someone who listens. Hmmm…let’s find out more.

What you'll listen

I constantly seek tools that enhance my productivity and enable me to deliver quality work. The current wave of AI tools has been promising, but many fail to produce consistent results. However, four tools have become an integral part of my daily routine. They are:

What AI tools are you using on a daily basis?

Low code and no code tools are finding their place in enterprises. In this episode, I talk to Jinen Dedhia, co-founder of DronaHQ about how CIOs and CTOs should go about using LCNC tools in their enterprises, success stories of such usage, and much more.

What you'll listen

AI tools will add more hours to you. Will you use it to relax? If earlier innovation cycles are any indication, we will work more.

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