Maneesh Bakhle

Many leaders achieve. Few leave a legacy. Aravind Sitaraman explained the difference in one unforgettable line. At the Global CXO Accelerator Summit, Aravind, former President at Cisco, delivered a session that cut through the noise. He introduced the ACE Framework: → Aspiration Define what you truly want → Capability Build what it takes to get there → Execution Deliver with clarity, consistency, and intent But the moment that shifted the room was this: “Leadership isn’t a burden. It’s a playground.” Not because it’s easy, but because: It’s where ownership, not just responsibility, defines your impact. He went further, challenging leaders to stop chasing credentials and start chasing clarity. To understand the difference between achievement and fulfillment. And to recognize that legacy isn’t built in the highlights… It’s built in how you lead when no one’s watching. Aravind’s talk was more than strategy. It was a call to align who you are with how you lead. Because legacy isn’t something you leave behind. It’s something you build. Moment by moment, decision by decision.

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THE MATH OF GIVING FEEDBACK For days, my daughter waited to get feedback on her speech at a recent competition so that she could better understand what the panel of judges felt about her performance. And finally, it came – all the three judges had given their comments. For kids of her age, the comments were positive and encouraging, so I thought she would be happy. But she wasn’t – “How will these comments help me when they are not telling me what to improve? They are all just saying good things!” She had in her mind “feedback sandwich” which involves placing constructive criticism between two slices of positive feedback with the aim to soften the blow of negative feedback. I dwelled on this a bit and realized couple of things: 1. M: The Mode of feedback delivery matters (verbal vs written) 2. A: The Aim of feedback and intent of the individual giving it must be clear 3. T: The feedback must be Timely so that improvement / change can be done quickly 4. H: The feedback must be Honest, and it should include both negative and positive comments as applicable In the case of the feedback my daughter received, as regards (1), the judges didn’t have any option but to give written feedback. They could have used the feedback sandwich method or listed the positive / negative separately and clearly. On (2), the judges were finally volunteers and given they did provide the feedback, I have no doubts that they had the right intent. On (3), the feedback came after much delay, and it lost a bit of context by that time. On (4), it only provided positive feedback, and it seemed almost sugar coated, especially when my daughter knew there were areas of improvement. In a corporate scenario, many managers fall into the trap of giving feedback only during the annual performance cycles. This works against the principle of timeliness of the feedback and dilutes the aim of the feedback which is to result in change in behavior or attention. For me, feedback should be provided continuously, honestly, and verbally, and it shouldn’t follow the sandwich method which has many drawbacks including diluting the impact of constructive criticism making it less effective. Let’s do the MATH! #leadership #feedback

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ExecutiveRoundtable.org, Chairman’s Highlights! We catch up with Namita Jindal, Chief Information Officer at CentralSquare Technologies, a leader in public sector software solutions. Namita has been instrumental in driving innovation and operational excellence at CentralSquare, leveraging her extensive experience in business strategy and technology. Here, she shares her insights on the business climate for the rest of 2025 and the key factors influencing the industry. Namita: "At CentralSquare, we are deeply committed to enhancing the digital presence and operational efficiency of public sector agencies. Our mission-critical software solutions, ranging from Computer-aided Dispatch and Next-Generation 911 to Finance, Asset Management, and Permitting, are designed to help public agencies and their communities flourish in new ways The public sector is increasingly recognizing the value of digital transformation, and we are well-positioned to support this shift with our comprehensive suite of solutions. What excites me the most is the potential for innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence and data analytics. Our Generative AI initiatives are already showing promising results in improving our customer experience while we continue to innovate. We are investing heavily in cybersecurity and compliance to address the unique challenges of the public sector, including privacy concerns related to GAI. Ensuring that we have the right talent and resources to drive this innovation is essential. The shifting landscape of talent and staffing, especially with the rise of hybrid work, requires us to be agile and adaptive. Artificial intelligence versus human intelligence is another area of interest. While AI can significantly enhance our capabilities, it is crucial to strike a balance and ensure that human expertise remains at the core of our operations. We are committed to fostering a collaborative environment where AI and human intelligence complement each other to deliver the best outcomes for our customers. At CentralSquare, we believe in giving back to the community. Our social responsibility initiatives include volunteerism and charitable donations, and we strive to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. Personally, I am passionate about driving transformation and innovation, and I am proud to be part of a company that is making a real difference in the public sector." Namita's leadership and vision continue to drive CentralSquare's success, making it a pivotal player in the public sector software industry. Her dedication to innovation, operational excellence, and community engagement sets a high standard for the industry.

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GCCs: The New Strategic Force Behind Global Technology Leadership India is home to 1,700+ Global Capability Centers (GCCs), positioning itself as a key innovation and talent powerhouse. With the U.S. accounting for 49% of these centers, and Bangalore alone hosting ~450, India’s GCC ecosystem is thriving. These centers employ over 2.2 million professionals, with a strong presence in R&D (35%) and a dominant share of experienced talent 34% of the workforce has over 10 years of experience. Today’s Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are not just about operations — they’re becoming innovation engines for tech-driven businesses worldwide. For technology leaders, GCCs are: ✔ Accelerators of Digital Transformation AI, cloud, cybersecurity, data science — much of the heavy lifting happens through global centers of excellence. ✔ Catalysts for Scalable Innovation GCCs allow rapid experimentation, agile development, and faster go-to-market strategies across multiple regions. ✔ Hubs for Deep Technical Talent From software engineering to advanced analytics, GCCs bring together diverse, world-class tech talent. ✔ Partners in Strategic Resilience In a world of uncertainty, GCCs provide the agility and global reach to adapt, pivot, and lead. ✔Drivers of Future-Ready Business Models Tech leaders are leveraging GCCs to prototype new ideas, drive operational efficiencies, and transform customer experiences — faster than ever. ✨In short: GCCs are not just supporting technology — they are shaping the future of global technology leadership.✨ The organizations that empower their GCCs as strategic partners will be the ones that set the pace for the next decade. #GCCLeadership #TechLeadership #DigitalTransformation #Innovation #FutureOfWork #GlobalTech #TechnologyStrategy #AgileLeadership #TechTalent#leadership #culture #transformation #digital

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Just as new GCCs keep coming, every week we see another firm launching a “GCC offering”. The FOMO is real and so is the opportunity. Although the pie is large enough for many players, the GCC enablement ecosystem in India has grown far quicker than demand has caught up. Here's an alphabetical list of who’s helping GCCs in India. A mix of GCC specialists, Big 4, staffing-tech players, workspace providers, and research/intel firms that are active in India’s GCC story. A few caveats though, this is a quick, personal A-Z. Not a ranking or endorsement. The ecosystem of course is much deeper and exhaustive. Too many see the GCC market as: hire/augment people + lease office space/facilities = $$. That's not a GCC setup; that's just a staffing play. Offshoring today is very different from 15 years ago. When enterprises are choosing between offshoring and relocating capability, India's strength shouldn't be reduced to ‘talent ramp-up/ramp-down’ flexibility. In the crowded ecosystem, market assessments rarely capture the fact that very few can do everything end-to-end. Most successful GCC journeys are highly collaborative for any enterprise when it selects one player to shape the strategy and operating model, another to handle legal compliance and someone else for execution and expertise. Put together, these firms could complement each other far more than they compete. The hard part isn’t launching another GCC offering, but the challenge is creating demand: convincing global enterprises why India, why now, and why a GCC. The timing, however, couldn’t be better. With geopolitical winds in favour, if not now…when? Only wish for new entrants, invest time in understanding the model beyond talent + real estate. There’s a lot to do on building real POV, governance, value realization, and transformation.   Healthy competition benefits everyone. And, winners are those who play to their strengths, go deep, and build a genuine niche. Focus beats breadth here as well especially in a market that’s slowly moving towards consolidation. Everyone doesn’t need to be a ‘Leader’ on a quadrant to win (sponsorship budgets aside 😊). You just need to know where you belong!   This A-to-Z is a starting point, who did we miss? Tag the firms, people and help build a comprehensive list. #GCC #GBS

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CX is about the Complete Experience, combining core and ancilliary experiences. On Broadway it extends from ticket booking to post-show entertainment. I talk to Srinivas B Vijayaraghavan on Zykrr — The CX Monetization Company’s CX Monetization podcast about the challenges of creating a Complete Experience in theater shows and how brands can to be thinking about it. #cx #customerexperience #broadway

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𝐈𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲'𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 $20/𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐆𝐏𝐓 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? A new MIT NANDA report suggests the answer is a hard yes. While 80% of organizations have piloted GenAI, a staggering 95% get zero ROI from their investments. Even worse, only 5% of custom enterprise AI tools ever make it to production. This is the "𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗔𝗜 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲": a chasm between high adoption and low transformation. The report is clear: the bottleneck isn't the technology, it's the strategy. We're confusing activity with progress, and it's stalling real transformation. The 5% of firms successfully crossing this divide are executing a fundamentally different playbook. Here are their three strategic shifts: 1️⃣  𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 ➔ 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: The impulse to build a proprietary tool is tempting, but the data is brutal: internal builds fail twice as often as partnerships. Successful deployments from strategic partnerships hit a 66% success rate, while in-house efforts languish at 33%. Winning firms treat AI not as a one-off purchase, but as a co-developed capability, focusing their internal resources on integration, not reinvention. 2️⃣ 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐨𝐩-𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 ➔ 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭-𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Central innovation labs don't have all the answers. The most successful AI initiatives are sourced from frontline managers who understand the workflows intimately. They're also discovering the highest ROI isn't in flashy sales tools but in quiet back-office automation, slashing BPO spend by $2-10M annually and cutting external agency fees by 30%. 3️⃣ 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 ➔ 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬: This is the core issue. Most AI pilots stall because the tools are static. Users complain they "don't learn from our feedback" and "can't be customized to our specific workflows". Leaders, however, demand systems that adapt. They view their AI not as a depreciating software license, but as an appreciating asset. As it learns from proprietary data and processes, it becomes a true VRIN resource: valuable, rare, and inimitable: creating a durable competitive moat. The window to build this moat is closing fast. The report's consensus from IT leaders is that key vendor relationships will be locked in over the next 18 months. Soon, the advantage won't come from having an AI, but from the compounding value of a learning system deeply integrated into your core operations. The real prize on the horizon is the "𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗲𝗯": where these systems autonomously coordinate and create value. The critical question for leaders is no longer "Should we adopt AI?" It is "Are we building a static tool or a learning asset?" 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤: https://shorturl.at/rA2DI #AIStrategy #GenAI #DigitalTransformation #BusinessStrategy #Leadership #Innovation #ROI

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Leadership Learning and Development Rewind Series #51 Vijaykumar Shivpuje on AI, Human-Centered Productivity & What Founders Often Overlook On the Virtual Global Leadership Podcast, Vijaykumar brought a rare blend of clarity and depth to a conversation most leaders are still trying to navigate — how AI is shaping the future of work, what organizations must prioritize beyond technology, and what young entrepreneurs consistently overlook in their rush to build. This wasn’t speculation. It was direction. Here's what we uncovered — distilled, direct, and essential: AI & The Future of Work AI isn’t the future. It’s already here. But Vijay Kumar reframes it — not as a tech trend, but as a shift in how decisions are made, how value is created, and how human potential is either elevated or ignored depending on leadership intent. Productivity vs. Well-Being Is a False Choice Most organizations still treat productivity and employee well-being as opposing forces. Vijay challenges that completely. The real work? Designing systems where clarity, autonomy, and trust become levers for both output and wellness. Best Practices That Create Real Organizational Value He shares what works: intentional communication, consistent feedback loops, and alignment between leadership and culture. Tools don’t drive value — thoughtful implementation does. Advice for Young Entrepreneurs Move slower than the hype cycle, faster than your comfort zone. Vijay’s message: Start with structure. Be obsessed with learning, not just launching. Know your “why” — but more importantly, design your “how.” This conversation is for founders, leaders, and operators who want to build companies that don’t just grow — but evolve with relevance and resilience. Follow Vijaykumar Shivpuje Follow Patlex Business Solutions Follow Virtual Global Leadership Community & The Enabler

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