We can even make a small note every hour and ask ourselves what important thing we accomplished during that hour.
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
We often complain that we do not have enough time. Our days are full of meetings, messages, phone calls, emails and tasks. We move from one activity to another and, by the end of the day, feel exhausted. Being busy has become so closely associated with being productive that we rarely stop to ask a simple question: What did I actually accomplish today? I learned this lesson from an employee named Joy when I was working at Indian Express. Joy had already suffered two heart attacks. At that time, people were much more worried about the possibility of a third heart attack, so the branch manager took me aside and told me to make sure Joy did not put himself under too much pressure. I was genuinely concerned about him. I called Joy and told him that if he was not doing any work, I had no problem with that, but he should make sure that he was relaxing. A few days later, I asked him how his schedule was. His answer surprised me. He said, “Hectic.”
I decided to reduce his workload. I spoke to the sales officer and asked him to take one of Joy’s responsibilities and give it to somebody else. After a few days, I asked Joy again how his schedule was. “Hectic,” he said. So I removed another responsibility. This continued until Joy had only one small task. His work began at two in the afternoon. He had to go to the computer room, open the computer, enter a password, check a list, tick a name if necessary, and print the document. The printer was old, so occasionally it would stop working, and he would have to repeat the process. The whole task might take thirty minutes. I called Joy again and asked how his schedule was. “Hectic,” he said. I could hardly believe it. So I asked the sales officer to change Joy’s password. The next morning, Joy went to the computer room at nine o’clock, even though his work was not supposed to begin until two. He came running back and told me that something was wrong with the computer because he could not access it. I told him, “Joy, your password has been changed. Now you can relax.” A few days later, I asked him again how he was doing. His answer was the same. “Hectic.”
Finally, I decided to understand what was really happening. At around twelve o’clock one day, I called Joy and asked him to bring me a piece of paper and a pen. I asked him to sit down and write everything he had done since arriving at the office at nine o’clock. I turned back to my own work. Five minutes passed. The paper was blank. Ten minutes passed. Still nothing. Fifteen minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. Eventually, Joy stood up and said, “Sir, you told me to relax.” I told him, “No, Joy. I told you to relax. You are relaxing without knowing that you are relaxing.” That was the problem. He had become so accustomed to feeling busy that even having almost nothing to do felt like a hectic schedule. And I realized that this is not only Joy’s problem. It is a problem many of us have. We can spend an entire day moving around, checking our phones, attending meetings, answering messages, and responding to other people’s demands, yet at the end of the day struggle to identify the one meaningful thing we actually accomplished.
The same problem exists with our phones. I have benefited immensely from technology, and I cannot imagine many aspects of modern life without it. But the same instrument that helps us can also consume us. I can pick up my phone for one small reason and suddenly find myself watching reels, moving from one video to another, and losing an entire part of my day. The danger is not that we use our phones. The danger is that we stop being conscious of how we use them. That is why I sometimes deliberately switch off my phone and move on to something else. Productivity does not always mean doing more. Sometimes it means knowing what deserves your attention and deliberately refusing to give your attention to everything else. If we do not make that choice, the world will make it for us. Every message will demand a response. Every notification will demand attention. Every new piece of content will invite us to consume it. Eventually, we become busy without being productive.
Perhaps the most useful question we can ask ourselves is not, “How busy was I today?” but, “What did I actually do with my time?” We can even make a small note every hour and ask ourselves what important thing we accomplished during that hour. Was it a brick, something important that moves our life or work forward? Was it a stone, something useful but less important? Was it a pebble or sand, something that could wait? Or was it simply water filling whatever space was left? We cannot do great things every minute. But we can do small, meaningful things consistently. We can make one good decision, complete one important task, help one person, learn something, or move one step closer to an important goal. The real danger is not having a busy day. The real danger is reaching the end of a busy day and discovering that we were busy without knowing what we were doing. Do not confuse movement with progress. And do not confuse relaxation with rest when you have never consciously chosen to rest.
When you refuse to compromise your principles, your progress may look slower than that of the person who is willing to do whatever is necessary | Global TV
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
We are often told that progress is the measure of success: move faster, earn more, get promoted, build a bigger career, take the opportunity, and do not fall behind. The message is repeated so often that we begin to assume that anyone progressing slowly must be doing something wrong. But what if that is not always true? What if sometimes progress is slow because you have deliberately refused to compromise? I was reminded of this when I recently met my mentor, someone who had guided me since I was in the seventh standard. Whenever I meet him, he tells me the same thing: “You should speed up your progress.” He believes I should have achieved more by now, and perhaps, by conventional standards, he is right. But I once told him, “If my progress is low, you are responsible for that.” He asked me what I meant. I reminded him of something he had told me when I was a seventh standard student.
He used to tell me stories about the establishment, conflicts with management, and the pressures that come with working inside a system. And he had one principle that stayed with me: “I will never compromise on my values.” At that age, I did not fully understand what he was saying. But something was happening. My conscious mind may not have understood it, but my unconscious mind was listening. The message was getting absorbed. I was learning, without realizing that I was learning, what kind of person I should become. Years later, I found myself living according to that principle. That is why I told my mentor, “If my progress is slow, you are responsible. You planted these values in me without asking my permission.” It was said partly as a joke, but there was truth behind it. If I had chosen a different path, if I had been willing to compromise whenever the system offered me an advantage, perhaps my career would have looked very different. Perhaps I would have progressed faster, accumulated more, or received opportunities that I turned away. But I would also have had to become someone else.
And that is the part of the success conversation we do not discuss enough: every choice has a cost. When you choose integrity, you may lose an opportunity. When you refuse to participate in something you believe is wrong, someone else may get the promotion. When you refuse to compromise your principles, your progress may look slower than that of the person who is willing to do whatever is necessary. This can be frustrating, especially when you see people around you moving ahead. You may begin to ask yourself, “Am I being foolish? Should I have compromised? Would my life be easier if I had simply gone along with the system?” But there is another question that matters even more: “What would I have had to become in order to achieve that progress?” That question changes everything.
Progress is not simply about how far you travel. It is also about who you become while travelling. A person can build an impressive career and lose his character. A person can become financially successful and lose his peace of mind. A person can gain influence and lose the trust of the people around him. From the outside, it may look like progress. From the inside, it may be something completely different. This does not mean that every slow-moving person is principled or that everyone who progresses quickly has compromised. There are many legitimate reasons why people progress at different speeds. Circumstances are different, opportunities are different, resources are different, and timing matters.
But we should recognize another possibility: sometimes slow progress is the result of a deliberate choice. You may be saying no to dishonesty, manipulation, shortcuts, relationships that require you to betray your values, or an opportunity that comes with a price you are unwilling to pay. Those choices may not appear on your résumé. Nobody may applaud you for them. In fact, nobody may even know about them. But they shape your life. This is why mentors matter. A good mentor does not merely teach you how to get ahead. A good mentor teaches you what is worth giving up in order to get ahead and what is not worth giving up at all. My mentor may have unintentionally slowed my progress by teaching me not to compromise, but I am grateful for it. Because there is a difference between having a successful career and being able to respect the person you became while building it.
The world will always give you reasons to compromise. Someone will tell you that everybody does it. Someone will tell you that this is how the system works. Someone will tell you that you are being impractical. Someone will remind you that the person who compromised is now ahead of you. Sometimes those arguments will sound convincing. But principles are easy to talk about when there is nothing at stake. The real test comes when following your principles costs you something: money, opportunity, speed, recognition, or comfort. If you know what you stand for, you can accept that cost without feeling that you have lost yourself. That is what I learned from my mentor many years ago. Perhaps my progress could have been faster. Perhaps I could have achieved more. Perhaps there were easier routes. But I am happy with what I did. Because there are some things that should never be exchanged for progress. If moving forward requires you to abandon the person you want to be, then perhaps moving forward is not progress at all.
The person I had been protecting was now protecting me | They don’t necessarily need us to make every decision | They may need us to listen |
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
There is a habit that every generation seems to develop: we underestimate the generation that comes after us. We look at young people and remember what they were like when they were children. We continue to see the teenager who needed to be reminded to wake up, the student who needed to be told to study, or the child who needed someone to make decisions for them. Then, one day, we discover that they have grown up. But sometimes we don’t notice the change immediately. We continue to judge them by an old picture of who they were instead of paying attention to who they have become. I was reminded of this through my own two daughters. I often say that when I stand before youngsters, I have to begin by acknowledging that I take advice from two youngsters every day. I have two daughters, and both of them watch me closely. Whatever I do, whatever decision I make, whatever opinion I express, there is a good chance that one of them will have something to say about it. And I cannot simply avoid listening to them. That has taught me something important about the younger generation. We should not take them lightly. We should take them seriously. I experienced this particularly with my elder daughter.
She told me that she wanted to study in Bangalore. I resisted. I had my reasons. I knew the colleges. I knew the environment. I knew what was available closer to home. From my perspective, staying here would be easier, safer, and more convenient. But she had made up her mind. She wanted Bangalore. I resisted several times, but eventually I took her there. She started her CA Articleship and began building a life of her own. On the first day, I accompanied her to the Metro. As a parent, my natural instinct was to make sure she was safe. I remember taking hold of her and helping her as we stepped into the Metro. I was the one protecting her. A month later, I went to visit her. We were at the Metro again. But this time, something had changed. She took hold of me to make sure I was safe while stepping into the Metro. It was a small moment. But for me, it represented a major shift. The person I had been protecting was now protecting me. The child I had been making decisions for was becoming an adult capable of taking responsibility. And that is something parents sometimes struggle to accept. We spend so many years protecting our children that we forget to notice when they no longer need the same kind of protection. They still need us, but differently. They don’t necessarily need us to make every decision. They may need us to listen. They may need our experience. They may need us to warn them about mistakes we have already made. But they also need space to make their own decisions and experience the consequences of those decisions. That is not irresponsibility. That is growing up.
I noticed the same transformation in my daughters when they started working. Earlier, they were not particularly interested in getting up early. I would come home around nine in the morning and see them still getting started with their day. Then they began going to work. Suddenly, they were ready by seven. That meant they were waking up at five-thirty or six. The same young people who had appeared reluctant to wake up early were now getting themselves ready for work before most people had started their day. What changed? Responsibility. When something became genuinely theirs, they took ownership of it. This is an important lesson for parents, teachers, and institutions. Sometimes we complain that young people are not responsible enough, while simultaneously refusing to give them real responsibility. We want them to behave like adults, but we continue to treat them like children. We want them to take initiative, but we tell them exactly what to do. We want them to make good decisions, but we don’t allow them to make decisions. We want them to become independent, but we are afraid to let them experience independence.
Responsibility cannot simply be taught through lectures. Responsibility grows when responsibility is given. That is why the relationship between generations has to change. The older generation has experience that the younger generation needs. But the younger generation has something equally valuable: a different understanding of the world. They are growing up with technologies, social environments, career possibilities, and ways of communicating that many of us never experienced at their age. We don’t have to agree with everything they do. But we do have to understand them. And understanding does not mean surrendering our values. It means being willing to listen before judging.
One of the biggest mistakes an older generation can make is to assume that everything new is inferior to everything old. Every generation has its strengths and weaknesses. Our responsibility is not to produce another version of ourselves. It is to help the next generation become the best version of themselves. That requires a different kind of parenting. A different kind of teaching. A different kind of leadership.
Instead of always asking, “Why are young people like this?” perhaps we should sometimes ask, “What are young people capable of that we haven’t noticed yet?” That question changes the conversation. It makes us observers rather than critics. It makes us curious rather than dismissive. And it allows us to discover abilities that may otherwise remain hidden. Young people do not need constant applause. They need something more valuable: trust. Give them a responsibility. Let them organize something. Allow them to make a decision.
Ask for their opinion. Listen when they disagree with you. Let them solve a problem before you solve it for them. And when they succeed, give them the credit. Because eventually, every parent discovers what I discovered at the Metro. One day, the child you were protecting may be the person protecting you. One day, the student you were teaching may teach you something. One day, the young employee you were supervising may have an idea you never considered. And one day, you may realize that the generation you were worried about has been quietly preparing itself for the world you are about to hand over to them. So let us stop taking young people lightly. Let us stop assuming that youth means irresponsibility. Let us stop measuring them only by what we see on the surface. Let us give them responsibility, listen to them seriously, and allow them to surprise us. Because the goal of one generation should not be to keep the next generation dependent forever. The goal should be to prepare them so well that, one day, they can take responsibility, even for us.
We hear a wonderful speaker, see an inspiring teacher, meet a thoughtful leader, or watch someone quietly helping others, but we keep our appreciation to ourselves.
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
Over the years, I have consciously developed what I sometimes call a weakness: appreciating others. I say “weakness” because appreciation does not always come naturally to us. We are often trained to compete, to prove ourselves, to speak about our achievements and to make sure that our own contribution is noticed. Appreciation asks us to do something different. It asks us to pause, look at another person and acknowledge what they bring to the world.
I have come to believe that this is not a weakness at all. It may actually be one of the most important strengths a person can develop. Whenever we meet people who have done something well, our first instinct should not be to compare ourselves with them. It should be to recognize them. Recently, I had the opportunity to appreciate Dr. Maulya for her remarkable radio voice. Some voices are ordinary. Some voices make you stop and listen. Hers has that quality. It is powerful, distinctive, and engaging. Listening to her, you immediately feel that the voice itself has possibilities. I even joked that we should turn that voice into documentaries; it could become a business!
It was a light-hearted comment, but behind it was something serious: when someone possesses a gift, recognize it. We often notice talent but fail to acknowledge it. We hear a wonderful speaker, see an inspiring teacher, meet a thoughtful leader, or watch someone quietly helping others, but we keep our appreciation to ourselves. Why? Perhaps we think appreciation will make the other person more important than us. Perhaps we are afraid that acknowledging someone else’s strength will somehow diminish our own. It doesn’t. When you appreciate another person, you do not become smaller. You create space for someone else to become bigger.
That is why I was also thinking about Dr. Hasha and what appeared to be a small gesture. At first glance, it may seem insignificant. But small gestures are not always small. Sometimes a person steps forward, recognizes another person, and then deliberately steps back. That act communicates something powerful. It says: “You matter.” It says: “Your contribution deserves to be seen.” It says: “I trust you enough to put you at the forefront.” And perhaps most importantly, it passes responsibility to the other person. This is one of the least understood aspects of leadership.
We often think leadership means standing in front. We imagine the leader as the person holding the microphone, receiving the applause, making the decisions, and getting the credit. But sometimes leadership means doing exactly the opposite. It means recognizing somebody else and allowing them to stand in front. It means knowing when to step aside. It means giving someone else the opportunity to speak, lead, decide and receive recognition. That is not a loss of power. It is a different kind of power. A leader who constantly needs to be at the centre eventually creates dependence. A leader who deliberately puts others at the centre creates capability. This lesson becomes even more important when we talk about young people. When I stand in front of youngsters, I remind myself that I receive advice from two youngsters every single day: my two daughters. They watch what I do. They observe my decisions. And, whether I like it or not, they give me advice. I cannot simply dismiss them because they are younger. In fact, they have taught me something important about the younger generation.
We have a tendency to talk about young people as though they are irresponsible, distracted or incapable of making mature decisions. But sometimes we are simply looking at them through an outdated lens. I remember when my younger daughter decided that she wanted to study in Bangalore. I resisted. I had my reasons. I knew the colleges, I knew the environment and I thought staying closer to home would be easier. But she insisted. Eventually, I took her to Bangalore. At first, I was the one looking after her. I remember taking her to the Metro and making sure she was safe. A month later, when I visited her, we went to the Metro again. This time, she was the one making sure I was safe. That small change said a lot. The child I thought I needed to protect had become someone who was capable of protecting me.
Later, I noticed another change. My daughters had never been particularly interested in waking up early. But when they started going to work, they were ready by seven in the morning. They were getting up at five-thirty or six. The responsibility had changed them. And that is why I say to the younger generation: we should not take you lightly; we should take you seriously. Appreciation begins when we stop assuming that we already know what another person is capable of. It requires us to observe. It requires us to listen. And sometimes, it requires us to step back. Whether you are a parent, teacher, manager, mentor or colleague, there will always be moments when you can choose between taking the centre stage yourself and giving someone else the opportunity to stand there.
Choose the second more often. Tell someone that they did something well. Recognize a talent. Give credit without being asked. Introduce someone to an important person. Let a younger person make the decision. Give someone the microphone. And then step back. You may be surprised by what happens next because appreciation is not merely about making somebody feel good. It is about making people visible.
And when people feel seen, they become more willing to contribute. When they are trusted, they become more responsible. When they are recognized, they often rise to the level of that recognition. Perhaps, then, appreciating others is not a weakness after all. Perhaps it is a discipline. Perhaps it is a form of leadership. And perhaps one of the greatest things we can do in our lifetime is to notice the people around us, recognize what they can offer, and give them enough space to become what they are capable of becoming. Sometimes the best way to make a difference is not to step forward. It is to help someone else step forward.
There is a happy world and a happening world around you | Rajmohan Pillai chose the happy world, but he was never afraid to step into the happening one.
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
He entered the world of business, ambition, risk and consequence while holding on to the values that gave meaning to his personal world. The unexpected twist is that he did not allow the happening world to consume the happy world. Instead, he used everything he learned from one to protect and deepen the other. That perhaps is the most interesting way to understand the life and career of J. Rajmohan Pillai.
His professional journey stretches across more than four decades, several countries, multiple industries and some of the most demanding responsibilities in business. Yet behind the chairman, entrepreneur, director and author is a man who appears to have understood something that many successful people discover only much later: a happening life is not necessarily a happy life. The real achievement is knowing how to have both.
Choosing the World That Matters | the Courage to Tell Difficult Stories
Business is often described as a world of relentless movement. Deals are made. Markets change. Companies expand and contract. Opportunities appear and disappear. Ambition drives people forward, while risk constantly waits around the corner. Pillai entered that world early.
His career took him from Brazil to the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia. He worked across food businesses, exports, manufacturing, financial services and international commerce. He occupied boardrooms, represented industry bodies and took responsibility for organizations operating in very different markets. Yet his philosophy suggests that he never regarded business as the entirety of life.
There was another world he valued. A world of family, relationships, gratitude, personal contentment and the simple things that give achievement its meaning. He chose that world first. Then he stepped into the other. That distinction matters.
A Happening Career Without Losing the Happy Life
Pillai’s career reads almost like a map of international business. He began with an assignment as a management consultant at Iracema Indústria e Comércio de Castanhas de Caju Ltda in Brazil. He subsequently served as a Director at Nabisco in the United Kingdom and moved through a succession of increasingly significant leadership responsibilities. He became Managing Director of Pace International Ltd, promoted by Conagra Foods USA. He served as Chairman of the Board of Star Nuts and Fruits in the Netherlands and as a Director of Thai Agri Foods Public Company Limited.
His career also brought him into India’s broader business and export ecosystem. He served as a Managing Committee Member of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations and as Governor of the Export Panel of the Confederation of Indian Industry. In Australia, he served as Chairman of Wildman River Corporation in Darwin. And since 1995, he has been Chairman of Beta Group. On paper, this is a happening life.
But perhaps the more revealing part is what the paper does not show. It does not show the ability to remain grounded while moving through different worlds. It does not show the conversations after the board meetings, the relationships that survived the pressures of business, or the personal values that remained important when professional circumstances changed. A career can tell us where a person went. It does not always tell us what the person refused to lose along the way.
Three Decades at Beta Group
For more than three decades, Pillai has led Beta Group as Chairman. That longevity says something about his approach to leadership. Markets change. People change. Technology changes. Economic conditions change. Businesses have to change with them. The challenge for a leader is to adapt without becoming unrecognizable. Pillai’s leadership philosophy places considerable emphasis on collaboration, resilience, strategy, problem-solving, and sustainable growth. He speaks about empowering teams and mentoring others, rather than treating leadership simply as an exercise in authority.
This is important because the happening world rewards speed, but organizations often need something deeper. They need judgment. They need patience. They need people who can remain calm when circumstances become difficult. And they need leaders who understand that today’s success can disappear tomorrow if the people and principles supporting it are neglected.
The Happening World Has Its Price
Pillai’s life also brings him close to a much more complicated question. What happens when ambition becomes bigger than the world around it? His elder brother, Rajan Pillai, lived a very different kind of business life. His story was one of extraordinary ambition, enormous success, wealth, influence and eventually tragedy. Rajmohan Pillai became one of the people who told that story.
Together with K. Govindan Kutty, he wrote an intimate account of his elder brother, first published by Penguin in 2001. The book did not merely recount the rise and fall of a member of his family. It examined the world surrounding Rajan Pillai: business, power, influence, relationships and the darker forces that can operate beneath the surface of success. That decision to write the book adds another layer to Rajmohan Pillai’s own story. He had seen the happening world up close. He had seen what ambition could build. He had also seen what it could cost. And perhaps that experience sharpened his understanding of the difference between having a successful life and having a life worth living.
The Brother Who Chose to Tell the Story
Writing about a brother is never simply writing about a businessman. It is writing about family. It is writing about memories. It is writing about success and failure in the same narrative. And it requires the willingness to acknowledge that human beings are rarely one-dimensional. Rajan Pillai’s story contained glamour, ambition and extraordinary achievement, but it also contained vulnerability and tragedy.
Rajmohan’s decision to preserve that story in a book suggests a willingness to look at the happening world without romanticizing it. That is perhaps one of the most important distinctions in his own philosophy. He did not reject ambition. He did not reject business. He did not retreat from risk. He simply refused to believe that those things should own him.
Every Decision Has Two Sides
One of the phrases associated with Rajmohan Pillai is: “Every decision has two sides.” It is a deceptively simple thought. Every opportunity has a risk. Every victory has a responsibility. Every ambition has a consequence. Every decision that takes us toward one destination takes us away from another. The phrase becomes particularly meaningful when viewed against his career and his family experience. The happening world constantly asks people to choose.
More growth or more stability. More ambition or more time. More wealth or more freedom. More recognition or more privacy. There is rarely a perfect answer. The real wisdom lies in understanding what each choice gives you and what it asks you to surrender. Pillai’s journey suggests that he chose carefully. He entered the happening world, but he did not surrender the happy one.
Pain as a Teacher
Another message associated with Pillai captures the other side of his philosophy: “Pain is the only teacher that doesn’t lie.” There is a certain honesty in that statement. Success can be flattering. Praise can be misleading. Comfort can sometimes hide problems. Pain does not. It forces us to confront what is real.
A difficult experience can reveal weaknesses that success concealed. A failure can teach lessons that achievement never had to teach. A crisis can show us which relationships matter and which values are merely convenient. Pillai’s emphasis on resilience appears to come from this understanding. Resilience is not simply surviving difficult circumstances. It is emerging from them with greater clarity. And perhaps the greatest lesson is not how to win in the happening world, but how to return from it without losing yourself.
The Happy World Is Not a Small World
There is sometimes an assumption that choosing happiness means choosing less. Less ambition. Less achievement. Less adventure. Less risk. Pillai’s life challenges that assumption. His career demonstrates that a person can participate fully in the world of business and still value a different definition of success. The happy world does not have to be a retreat from the happening world. It can be the foundation from which we enter it. That may be the real insight behind his journey.
He did not need to choose between being ambitious and being content. He chose to make ambition serve a larger life rather than allowing ambition to become the life itself.
From Achievement to Mentorship
This may also explain his emphasis on mentoring. After decades of experience, a leader begins to understand that the greatest measure of success is not how many decisions he made, but how many capable people he helped develop. Pillai describes his leadership approach in terms of empowerment, discipline, responsibility and forward thinking. Those qualities are particularly important for younger professionals entering today’s happening world.
They will encounter more opportunities than previous generations, but also more distractions, pressure and uncertainty. The lesson from an experienced leader is therefore not simply how to succeed. It is how to succeed without losing sight of why success matters.
A Life Between Two Worlds
Perhaps the most compelling way to look at Rajmohan Pillai is as someone who has lived between two worlds. One is the world that is constantly happening. Business. Travel. Ambition. Competition. Risk. Decisions. The other is the world that makes all of those things worthwhile. Family. Friendship. Gratitude. Peace. Relationships. Personal meaning. He has experienced both.
He has not pretended that the happening world is without danger, and he has not treated the happy world as an escape from reality. Instead, he seems to have understood that the two worlds can coexist. The happening world can provide experience. The happy world can provide perspective. The happening world can test character. The happy world can remind us who we are. And when one informs the other, life becomes richer.
The Twist
Perhaps this is the real twist in Rajmohan Pillai’s story. He did not choose the happy world because he was afraid of the happening world. He chose it because he understood the happening world. He knew what ambition could create. He knew what risk could bring. He knew how quickly circumstances could change.
He had watched extraordinary success rise and fall within his own family. He had spent decades making decisions in international business. And after seeing both sides, he appears to have reached a simple conclusion: The purpose of entering the happening world is not to lose yourself in it. It is to return to the happy world with greater wisdom. That makes his story a story about proportion. About knowing when to pursue and when to pause. About understanding that achievement matters, but so do the people with whom achievement is shared. About recognizing that a full life cannot be measured only by what happens around you.
The Legacy
J. Rajmohan Pillai’s professional legacy can certainly be measured through his companies, leadership positions, international experience, and decades at Beta Group. But that may not be the most interesting measure. His more enduring legacy could be the perspective he has gathered along the way.
He has seen the boardroom and the world beyond it. He has experienced ambition without allowing it to define him. He has witnessed both success and adversity. He has written about a brother whose life became one of the most dramatic stories in Indian business. And he continues to emphasize resilience, responsibility, gratitude and the importance of developing others.
Perhaps the distinction between the happy world and the happening world is not about choosing one and rejecting the other. It is about knowing which one should be home. The happening world may give us stories. It may give us achievements. It may give us recognition. It may even give us wealth.
But the happy world gives those things meaning. Rajmohan Pillai stepped into the happening world, learned from it, contributed to it, and navigated its risks. But he never allowed it to take away the world he had chosen first. And that may be his most remarkable achievement of all. He built a life that was happy while it was happening.
GLOBAL TV 100 | Community Media & Learning Theatre Initiative | A collaborative initiative proposed by Global TV for Aries, Senior Journalists’ Forum and selected Universities
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
We propose to create a new education-to-career pathway for postgraduate journalism students by bringing together four strengths:
University education + professional journalism training + cinema-based learning + media entrepreneurship.
Selected students pursuing PG Journalism/Mass Communication in partner universities will undergo a two-year structured professional apprenticeship with Global TV, alongside their academic programme.
At the end of this journey, selected graduates will be supported to establish Community Media & Learning Theatres in their own localities. These will not be ordinary home theatres or cinemas. Each centre will function as a: Learning Theatre + Journalism Studio + Digital Newsroom + Community Media Centre + Content Production Unit.
The Vision
From Journalism Education to a Career
Instead of preparing students only to search for jobs, the programme will help them develop the skills and experience to create professional media opportunities in their own communities. The long-term vision is to develop a Teamwork of 100 such centres across selected locations.
The pathway:
PG Journalism
↓
2-Year Global TV Professional Apprenticeship
↓
Practical Media & Cinema-Based Learning
↓
Entrepreneurship & Incubation
↓
Community Media & Learning Theatre
↓
GLOBAL TV 100 Teamwork
What Each Partner Brings
Universities Academic education, faculty expertise, research and certification.
Global TV Professional journalism training, newsroom exposure, digital media, production and industry mentorship.
Aries Cinema-based learning, audiovisual technology and expertise in creating engaging learning environments.
Senior Journalists’ Forum Experienced journalists as mentors, trainers and guides in professional journalism and ethics.
What Will Happen in a Home Theatre?
A centre could host:
Educational and documentary film screenings
Journalism and media-learning programmes
Interviews and podcasts
Local news and community reporting
Documentary production
Digital content creation
Media workshops
Community discussions
Cultural programmes
Local knowledge and heritage documentation
The same facility can therefore become both a learning environment and a sustainable media enterprise.
Proposed Pilot
We do not propose to begin with 100 centres.
The first step would be a collaborative pilot involving:
2–3 Universities 30–50 PG Journalism students A structured 2-year Global TV apprenticeship 3 pilot Community Media & Learning Theatres
The pilot would be evaluated for educational value, professional outcomes, community impact and financial sustainability.
When successful, the model can gradually expand:
3 → 10 → 25 → 50 → 100 centres
Why This Could Be Different
The project brings together things that are normally separated:
University teaches.
Industry trains.
Cinema inspires.
Senior journalists mentor.
The community becomes the workplace.
Entrepreneurship creates the career.
The ultimate objective is not simply to create 100 theatres.
It is to create 100 professionally trained young media entrepreneurs who can produce meaningful journalism, serve their communities and build sustainable careers close to home.
What We Seek From the First Meeting
At this stage, we are not asking stakeholders to approve the entire 100-centre project.
We seek agreement in principle to:
Explore the concept jointly.
Nominate representatives from each institution.
Develop a detailed pilot project.
Identify 2–3 suitable universities.
Define the two-year apprenticeship framework.
Develop the first Home Theatre prototype.
Establish the academic, professional and ethical framework.
Assess the pilot before considering expansion.
The proposed first decision:
“Let us work together to develop and test this idea.”
When the stakeholders agree on that principle, the next stage can be developed collectively, with the final programme shaped by the expertise of Aries, Global TV, the Senior Journalists’ Forum and the participating universities.
Note:
“We are not proposing another journalism course. We are proposing a pathway from education to professional practice, and from professional practice to entrepreneurship; enabling young journalists to build a meaningful career where they come from.”
There is a dramatic difference between having people around us and knowing people.
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
A person may live in a city for twenty years, work in the same organisation for ten, attend hundreds of functions, travel through countless places, and still remain disconnected from the possibilities created by human relationships. The transformation begins when we make a conscious decision: No People to Know People. The challenge is not that there are no people. The challenge is that we do not make enough effort to know them.
Knowing people is not merely a social habit. It can become a powerful personal, professional and economic activity. Every person we know carries experiences, knowledge, skills, relationships, opportunities and possibilities that can contribute to our growth and to the growth of others.
That is the thinking behind Global TV Club Editions. Create simple physical spaces where people meet, ask questions, discover one another’s capabilities, and turn relationships into contribution. The starting point can be as simple as four questions. Ask them sincerely, listen carefully, and allow the conversation to move beyond introductions. 4 Questions: Global TV. The objective is not to collect visiting cards. It is to create meaningful connections. And once meaningful connections become organised, they can become an economic activity.
From Meeting People to Creating Possibilities
Most networking events are designed around speeches, presentations or exchanging contact details. People enter as strangers and leave with a handful of cards. After a few days, most of those connections disappear. Global TV Club Editions can work differently.
Imagine a breakfast meeting organised in a good hotel in a city. The format is simple. A group of people comes together, shares breakfast and spends meaningful time getting to know one another. There is an entry fee, say ₹500 per participant. The money collected creates the foundation for a small economic model. Suppose 50 people participate. The total collection is ₹25,000. If 50 percent is allocated toward direct participant related expenses, the remaining amount becomes available to the team of organisers.
This changes the nature of the meeting. It is no longer merely an event. It becomes an economic activity. The organisers are not simply spending their time arranging a gathering. They are creating value by bringing people together. Their contribution can be recognised and rewarded.
The most important feature, however, is what happens next. Participants can be invited to become organisers. A participant who enjoys the experience can say, “I can bring ten more people next time.” Another may offer a hotel connection. Someone else may help with communication. Another person may coordinate registrations. A professional may introduce a speaker.
A student may help with digital promotion. A business owner may sponsor a future edition. Slowly, the event develops its own ecosystem. The organiser is no longer a person standing outside the group. The participant becomes a contributor. That is where the growth model begins. This is the Appreciative Inquiry Meeting (AIM). Everything works when you add a purpose to it. Stop plucking the low-hanging fruit. Put efforts to promote each other. Stop giving unsolicited suggestions. Do what you can to make a difference. Be pure at heart. The rest will flow in a rhythm and fall in an order automatically; right in front of you.
From Worker to Knowledge Worker | A New Dimension of Contribution | Learn to grow better faster |
The traditional idea of work is straightforward. A worker exchanges time and effort for income. But the modern economy increasingly rewards something more powerful: knowledge, initiative, relationships, and the ability to create connections and Value. This is the movement from Worker to Knowledge Worker.
A worker may ask: “What work have I been given?” A knowledge worker asks: “What value can I create?” A worker may wait for instructions. A knowledge worker identifies an opportunity and acts. A worker may measure contribution by hours. A knowledge worker measures contribution by outcomes, ideas, solutions, relationships, and opportunities created.
Global TV Club Editions can provide a practical environment for this transition. A person who attends a breakfast meeting may initially come simply as a participant. But after experiencing the value of the teamwork, that person can begin contributing knowledge, introductions, contacts, ideas, organisational ability or professional expertise. The person has moved one step from consumer to contributor.
That transition is crucial. The future belongs increasingly to people who can connect what they know with what others need. A retired professional may possess decades of experience. A young entrepreneur may need guidance. A business owner may need customers. A student may need exposure. A professional may need collaborators. A social worker may need volunteers. A technology expert may have a solution.
A manufacturer may need a market. When these people meet meaningfully, knowledge begins to circulate. And when knowledge circulates, economic possibilities emerge. This is why “Knowing People” should not be dismissed as casual networking. It is a capability. The more people we know meaningfully, the larger our field of possibilities becomes.
Stop Conflicting. Start Contributing.
One of the biggest wastes of human potential is unnecessary conflict. People spend enormous energy proving that they are right, protecting their positions, criticising others and competing for attention. But a growing community asks a different question: “What can I contribute?” This is the cultural shift that Global TV Club Editions can encourage. Stop Conflicting. Start Contributing.
Contribution does not mean that everyone must agree with everyone else. Different opinions are valuable. Different experiences are valuable. Different professional backgrounds are valuable. The problem is not difference. The problem is when difference becomes conflict instead of collaboration.
A breakfast meeting can therefore become a small laboratory of a better social and economic culture. One person listens. Another asks. Someone introduces two people. Someone shares knowledge. Someone offers a solution. Someone identifies a business opportunity. Someone volunteers to organise the next meeting. Someone brings five new participants. The teamwork grows because people are not merely asking, “What can I get?” They are also asking: “What can I give?”
This is where the four questions become powerful. Ask the four questions first, and then ask another set of four questions. Simple questions can open doors that formal presentations cannot.
What does a person know?
What does that person need?
What can that person contribute?
Whom can that person connect with?
A conversation built around such questions can transform a room full of strangers into a community of possibilities. And the economic model strengthens as contribution increases. The organiser earns by creating the platform. The hotel earns from the meeting. Participants gain relationships and knowledge. Future organisers gain an opportunity to create their own editions. New participants enter the teamwork. The community expands. This is a small but important example of a people-powered economy.
Build a Citywide Movement of People, Knowledge and Opportunity
The real power of the Global TV Club Edition model is not one breakfast meeting. It is replication. One meeting can create ten organisers. Ten organisers can create ten more meetings. Those meetings can create hundreds of new relationships. Those relationships can create collaborations, businesses, employment opportunities, mentorships, partnerships and social initiatives.
The model can therefore move from one event to teamwork. Imagine every participant being encouraged to become an organiser. Not everyone has to organise immediately. But everyone should be given the opportunity. A simple progression could emerge:
Each stage represents a greater level of responsibility and contribution. The financial model can remain simple and transparent. For example, with a ₹500 entry fee, half can cover direct expenses related to participants. At the same time, the balance can be shared among the organising team according to the contribution model established for that edition.
The purpose is not to make the meeting expensive or complicated. The purpose is to make participation sustainable. If organisers repeatedly create value, they should have a reason to continue. If participants receive value, they should have a reason to return. If participants can become organisers, the teamwork does not depend on one central team. It becomes self-expanding. That is the real growth model.
A city can have multiple Club Editions. Every hotel can initiate multiple Club Editions. Club Editions can generate plenty of Metro-City- Village Editions. Different professions can participate. Different age groups can participate. Entrepreneurs, employees, students, professionals, retirees, creators, social workers, and business owners can sit at the same table. The common denominator is not profession. It is contribution.
The idea is simple but powerful:
Know people.
Understand people.
Connect people.
Contribute to people.
Create value with people.
A society that knows how to connect its people effectively possesses an enormous economic resource. Human relationships are not merely social capital. They can become productive capital when organised around knowledge, trust and contribution. That is the larger opportunity before Global TV Club Editions.
It can help change the mindset from “I know nobody” to “I can know people.” From “I am only a worker” to “I can become a knowledge worker.” From “What do I get?” to “What can I contribute?” From conflict to collaboration. And from an ordinary breakfast meeting to a growing economic ecosystem. The dramatic change begins with one decision: Make the effort to know people.
Because when people begin knowing people, knowledge begins moving. When knowledge begins moving, opportunities begin moving. When opportunities begin moving, people begin growing. And when people grow together, the economy grows with them.
Find Strengths Through Storytelling | Appreciative Inquiry Meeting (AIM) Clubs | Existing or Informal
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
India does not lack young people. India does not lack ideas. India does not lack stories. What India often lacks is a mechanism through which these three powerful resources can be connected with opportunity, capital and local development. Across villages, towns and communities, there are young people looking for opportunities, experienced people carrying valuable knowledge, entrepreneurs building businesses, teachers shaping lives, farmers experimenting with new ideas, artisans preserving traditions and ordinary citizens quietly solving extraordinary problems. Much of this remains disconnected and invisible. The idea of Global TV Club Editions begins with a simple question: what if young people themselves became the connecting force between media, community and development?
The vision of 7 lakh youth led Club Editions is not simply about creating seven lakh small media outlets. It is about imagining seven lakh local points of participation where media, youth and development come together. Each Club Edition could become a place where young people discover stories, document local achievements, identify challenges, connect people and create opportunities. The larger objective is to build a distributed network in which the strength of one community can become the inspiration or solution for another.
From Media to Community Development
Traditional media has largely operated through a top down model. A newsroom produces content and an audience consumes it. The Club Edition concept offers another possibility. The community itself becomes part of the media ecosystem. The young person who interviews a successful farmer is not merely producing a story. That young person may be discovering a solution that another farmer could adopt. The student who documents a local entrepreneur is not simply creating content. That story could inspire another young person to consider entrepreneurship. A village’s cultural history, local innovation or community initiative can become knowledge that travels beyond its original location.
This changes the meaning of media. Media becomes a connector. Storytelling becomes a development activity. The community becomes both the source and beneficiary of knowledge.
The Other Side of the Coin: Incremental Growth to Exponential Growth
Development is often imagined through large projects and large institutions. But there is another side of the coin. Sometimes transformation begins with thousands or millions of small actions repeated consistently. One youth team may tell ten stories. Another may mentor ten students. Another may help local businesses become visible. Another may document agricultural innovations. Individually, these activities may appear modest. But when they are multiplied across a large network of communities, their cumulative effect can become significant.
This is the logic behind moving from incremental growth to exponential growth. The power of the 7 lakh Club Edition vision would not come from making every individual edition enormous. It would come from creating a very large number of small, active and connected units. One Club Edition may be small. Seven lakh connected Club Editions represent an entirely different proposition.
Looking at Gen Z as a Solution by Themselves
Gen Z is often discussed in terms of the problems it faces. Employment uncertainty, changing careers, digital distraction, social pressures and questions about the future are frequently placed at the centre of the discussion. But there is another way to look at this generation.
Instead of seeing young people only as beneficiaries who need solutions, perhaps we should begin seeing them as participants who can create solutions.
This is a significant psychological shift. The question changes from “What can society give young people?” to “What can young people create for society?” A journalism student can become a community reporter. A technology student can help a local organisation use digital tools. A management student can organise a youth team. A design student can help local enterprises communicate better. A commerce student can document businesses and opportunities. A young person searching for a job can begin by creating value, building relationships and developing skills.
The Club Edition becomes a practical environment in which this transition can happen.
From Gen Z to a Global Solution
The ambition should go beyond creating a youth programme. It should be about creating a network of young problem solvers.
Gen Z is already comfortable with digital communication, mobile technology, video, social platforms and increasingly artificial intelligence. But technology becomes much more powerful when it is combined with local knowledge and human purpose.
Imagine a young person in one village discovering an innovative farming practice and documenting it. Another Club Edition hundreds of kilometres away could discover the story. A young entrepreneur could connect with the farmer. A researcher could study the practice. Another community could experiment with it. A local story could become a national conversation.
This is where the local can become global. A village does not have to wait for the outside world to discover it. Its young people can become the bridge.
Finding Strengths Through Storytelling
The AIM concept adds an especially interesting dimension to this vision. Find Your Strengths Through Storytelling moves storytelling away from merely reporting problems and towards discovering strengths. The approach is built around meaningful conversations, inspiring stories and experiences that help people Experience, Connect and Grow.
This could become an important philosophy for Club Editions. Every community has problems, but every community also has strengths. Appreciative storytelling asks a different question. Instead of beginning only with “What is wrong here?”, it also asks, “What is working here? Who is doing something well? What can we learn from that experience? How can that strength be shared?”
This does not mean ignoring problems. It means approaching development with a broader lens. A community that constantly sees itself only through its weaknesses can develop a culture of dependency. A community that begins identifying its strengths can develop confidence, participation and ownership.
Storytelling as Strength Discovery
The AIM idea suggests that a conversation can do more than generate content. A meaningful conversation can help a person recognise strengths that they may not have articulated before. A young person may discover a capability through telling a story. An entrepreneur may understand the real source of a business’s success by explaining it. A senior citizen may realise that decades of experience can become mentorship for a younger generation.
In this sense, storytelling becomes a form of strength discovery. The Club Edition could therefore become more than a local newsroom. It could become a place where people discover their own capabilities by sharing their experiences with others. The idea that stories have the power to connect and inquiry has the power to transform fits naturally into this model. Storytelling creates connection. Thoughtful inquiry can turn that connection into learning and action.
From Employment to Engagement
There is also an important connection between this model and the larger question of youth employment. Employment remains essential. Young people need meaningful livelihoods and economic security. But employment cannot be the only measure of participation.
Before employment comes engagement. A young person who begins interviewing local people is engaged. A student who mentors another student is engaged. A youth team that documents local businesses is engaged. A young person who helps a community organisation solve a digital problem is engaged. Engagement builds relationships, skills, confidence and knowledge. Those capabilities can eventually create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. The journey can therefore become from employment to engagement, and from engagement to opportunity creation.
From Consumer to Creator
Young people today live in a world of enormous content consumption. They watch videos, follow creators, scroll through social platforms, and consume information continuously. The Club Edition concept proposes a small but important reversal. It is about moving from being only a consumer of content to becoming a creator of knowledge.
A young person does not necessarily need to wait for a large newsroom to permit them to tell a meaningful local story. With a mobile phone, basic training, curiosity and responsibility, a young person can begin documenting the people and possibilities around them. The professional ecosystem can then grow around this activity. Journalism, photography, video production, editing, translation, design, digital marketing, research, artificial intelligence and community engagement can all become skills.
The purpose is not to suggest that every Club Edition will immediately become a commercial enterprise. The more realistic proposition is that a Club Edition can become a learning and opportunity platform from which professional capabilities gradually emerge.
Invest Capital Where There Is a Possibility of Exponential Growth
This brings us to a much larger question. If seven lakh Club Editions are to become a meaningful network, what kind of capital architecture could support them? Capital normally follows concentration. It moves towards large cities, established institutions, expensive real estate and visible markets. There are good reasons for this. Investors generally seek liquidity, infrastructure, market access and predictability.
But what if a portion of capital followed a different direction? What if capital were deliberately distributed into thousands of communities, with every individual investment remaining manageable while the combined investment became enormous? The proposition being considered here is simple in structure but extraordinary in scale. Imagine 7 lakh investment units, with an indicative capital allocation of ₹2.5 crore per unit, placed under one larger Global TV umbrella.
The ₹2.5 crore should not be understood merely as the price of ten acres of land. It is better understood as an indicative capital envelope for establishing a local Club Edition ecosystem. Depending on location and local regulations, it could include land, basic infrastructure, media facilities, training facilities, technology, utilities, working capital and other assets necessary to make the local unit productive.
The land component is an illustration of how the physical foundation could be created. The actual amount would have to be determined through professional due diligence in each location.
The Mathematics of Seven Lakh Units
Now consider the scale. If one investment unit is ₹2.5 crore, and the proposed teamwork contains 7 lakh units, the total capital requirement would be: 7,00,000 × ₹2.5 crore = ₹17,50,000 crore.
That is ₹17.5 lakh crore, equivalent to ₹175 trillion. At first glance, the number appears almost unimaginably large. This is something to be discussed about the deployment of a Sovereign Wealth Fund. There are Kingdoms with Sovereign Wealth Funds looking for such diverted investment options. But the philosophy of the proposal here is precisely that the capital is not being considered as one conventional project. It is being divided into 7 lakh manageable units and placed under one umbrella.
That distinction changes the way the idea can be understood. One ₹17.5 lakh crore project would be extraordinarily difficult to conceptualise. Seven lakh units of ₹2.5 crore each create a distributed architecture. Each unit has a local purpose. Each unit has a global teamwork. Each unit has global relationships. Each unit can learn from the others. And all of them can potentially benefit from a common technology, media, training, and knowledge platform.
Why Compare Mumbai With a Remote Village?
The purpose of comparing land in Mumbai with land in a remote village is not to suggest that the two properties are equivalent. They are not. The comparison is simply intended to make one point visible: the same amount of capital can buy radically different amounts of physical space and development potential depending on where it is deployed.
A prime urban property can consume enormous capital simply because of location. A suitable rural property located perhaps 50 kilometres from an airport or railway station could potentially offer a very different capital equation. The objective would not be to move into an inaccessible location. The objective would be to find places where land and operating costs are significantly lower while reasonable connectivity remains available.
India’s digital infrastructure makes this proposition increasingly interesting. The Department of Telecommunications reported that out of 6,44,131 villages, around 6,34,955 had mobile connectivity by the end of 2025, with about 6,31,834 having 4G connectivity. That changes the traditional relationship between physical location and economic participation.
Ten Acres as a Physical Foundation
Consider an illustrative model in which a suitable Club Edition has access to approximately 10 acres of land. The intention is not simply to build an office. Ten acres creates the possibility of thinking about a wider ecosystem. Depending on local regulations and economics, such a property could potentially accommodate media production, training, accommodation, community meetings, agricultural demonstration, renewable energy, local enterprise activity, cultural programmes and other productive uses. The visible Club Edition might be a modest facility. The larger ten-acre property could become its backend. Building a Capital Pool by inspiring people to invest further in the common good. Each incremental investment can bring exponential growth when it is done together in a large scale. This distinction is important because the objective is to create a productive ecosystem rather than a real estate holding.
The Collective Power of Spreaded Investments
This is where the collective power of spreaded investments becomes important. One large investment creates one large asset. A distributed investment can create a network of assets. One building gives an organisation a location. Thousands of strategically located centres give an organisation reach.
One central team can produce content about villages. Thousands of local teams can allow villages to produce their own stories. One institution can design a programme. Thousands of local teams can adapt it to their own circumstances. The value therefore comes not only from the individual investment. It comes from the relationships between the investments. That is the key distinction.
Seven lakh separate investments are not necessarily powerful. Seven lakh connected investments operating under a common umbrella can potentially become a completely different economic and social architecture.
What Happens With Twenty Times Growth in One Year?
Now comes the thought experiment that makes the scale particularly interesting. Suppose the initial aggregate capital base is ₹17.5 lakh crore. If, purely as a mathematical scenario, that value becomes 20 times the original value in one year, the resulting value would be:
₹17.5 lakh crore × 20 = ₹350 lakh crore. That is ₹350 lakh crore, equivalent to ₹3,500 trillion.
The increase over the original capital would be:
₹350 lakh crore minus ₹17.5 lakh crore = ₹332.5 lakh crore. In other words, a 20 times outcome would create an additional ₹332.5 lakh crore of value over the starting figure. But this calculation needs to be understood correctly. A 20 times increase in one year is an illustrative scenario, not a financial forecast or a promised return. A real investment cannot be assumed to produce such a return simply because it is distributed across seven lakh units. The purpose of the calculation is to show what happens mathematically when a relatively defined unit is multiplied at extraordinary scale. The real question is therefore not whether 20 times growth can simply be assumed. The real question is: What kind of network could potentially create exponential value when 7 lakh units operate together?
The Difference Between Growth of an Asset and Growth of a Teamwork
An individual piece of land may appreciate. A building may generate rent. A business may generate revenue. But teamwork can create something different. It can create connections. Connections can create collaborations. Collaborations can create opportunities. Opportunities can create businesses. Businesses can create employment. Employment can create consumption. Consumption can create demand.
Demand can create further businesses. And successful businesses can create new knowledge that travels back through the network. This is why the Club Edition model should not be judged only as a land investment. The land is the foundation. The network is the potential multiplier. We are just replicating developed cities by cloning them into villages.
Seven Lakh Units Under One Umbrella
The umbrella is crucial. When 7 lakh units operate independently, each unit has to solve its own problems. Training becomes fragmented. Technology becomes fragmented. Branding becomes fragmented. Knowledge remains local. Successful ideas may not travel. Under one umbrella, the situation changes.
A common technology platform could be created. A common training system could be created. A common content ecosystem could be created. A common knowledge repository could be created. A common brand could be created. A common AI layer could be created. A common mentorship teamwork could be created. A successful innovation in one location could be made visible to thousands of other locations. The umbrella therefore creates teamwork value.
Seven Lakh Physical Foundations and Millions of Human Connections
When every unit were to have approximately ten acres, the total physical land requirement would be approximately 70 lakh acres. That is an enormous physical footprint. But again, the point is not to suggest that every unit must necessarily acquire ten acres or that all units should have identical infrastructure.
The ten-acre concept is an illustrative model for understanding the potential scale of physical infrastructure. The real ambition is the human teamwork. Seven lakh Club Editions could potentially involve many millions of young people, mentors, entrepreneurs, professionals, students, creators and community members. Every Hotel turns into a Storytelling Hub. The physical investment provides a place. The youth provide energy. The technology provides connectivity. The media provides visibility. The teamwork provides multiplication.
Seven Lakh Laboratories of Learning
One of the most interesting possibilities of a large Club Edition network is that the editions do not have to be identical. One community may become known for agriculture. Another may focus on tourism. Another may specialise in education. Another may document traditional crafts. Another may focus on entrepreneurship. Another may preserve local history. Each edition becomes a small laboratory of learning. The larger network then becomes a mechanism for sharing what works. A successful experiment in one place does not have to remain local. Another community can learn from it, adapt it and perhaps improve it. In this model, the teamwork itself becomes a learning system. But the difference in the system is very unique. Present hierarchical systems are tying people with one another. We just release the cages and allow the birds to fly in the sky. Each one will come back with something that everyone can benefit from.
From Centralised Capital to Distributed Capital
India has historically seen enormous economic concentration around major cities. There are obvious reasons for this. Cities offer infrastructure, markets, skilled labour, institutions and connectivity.
But digital connectivity changes the equation. A young person does not necessarily need to live in Mumbai to produce high-quality media. A researcher does not necessarily need a metropolitan office to conduct valuable research. A designer does not necessarily need to sit in a corporate tower.
A journalist can report from a village. An entrepreneur can operate from a smaller town. A digital team can collaborate across states. This creates a possibility that previous generations did not have at the same scale. Physical capital can be distributed while digital connectivity keeps the network integrated.
From One Expensive Address to Thousands of Productive Addresses
The comparison between Mumbai and a remote village is therefore useful only as an illustration of capital efficiency. One expensive urban address can provide visibility and prestige. A large number of appropriately selected rural addresses could provide reach. One building can host a team.
A distributed network can mobilise a generation. One city office can produce content about villages. Village based Club Editions can allow villages to produce their own stories. One central organisation can design programmes. Thousands of local teams can adapt them to local realities. The investment philosophy therefore changes from: “How large should our headquarters become?” to: “How many productive communities can we connect?”
Capital Should Follow Possibility
The larger lesson is not that Mumbai should be ignored or that rural land is automatically a better investment. The lesson is that capital should follow possibility. If the objective is simply to own scarce urban real estate, concentration may make sense. When the objective is to create thousands of development ecosystems, the calculation may be different. Capital can buy land. But land alone does not create development. People create development. Knowledge creates development. Skills create development. Entrepreneurship creates development. Connections create development. The role of capital is to create the conditions in which these forces can operate.
AI Can Accelerate the Network, But Humans Must Lead It
Artificial intelligence can make this vision considerably more practical. AI can assist young people with transcription, translation, research, editing, summarisation, design, distribution and knowledge management. A small youth team can potentially accomplish work that once required much larger resources. But technology should remain the enabler, not the purpose.
The most valuable element of a Club Edition is still the human conversation. AI can process an interview. It cannot automatically create trust between two people. It can summarise a story. It cannot replace the relationship between a mentor and a young person. It can help distribute information. It cannot substitute for community participation. The Club Edition should therefore be human-led and technology-enabled.
From Employment to Engagement and From Engagement to Opportunity
There is a deeper connection here with the question of youth employment. Employment remains essential. But perhaps the sequence should be reconsidered. First comes participation. Then engagement. Then skill development. Then relationships. Then opportunity. Then entrepreneurship and employment.
A Club Edition can become the environment through which this progression occurs. A young person begins by telling stories. The young person develops communication skills. The young person meets entrepreneurs. The young person learns digital tools. The young person discovers a local problem. The young person develops a solution. The young person starts a venture. Another young person joins. A small activity becomes a larger enterprise. This is how an apparently small media activity can become part of a much larger economic ecosystem.
Every Village Has a Story and Every Story Has Potential
The real wealth of India is not contained only in its cities. It exists in its communities. Every village contains knowledge. Every family contains experience. Every occupation contains skills. Every successful individual contains lessons. Every difficult problem contains an opportunity for innovation. The challenge is visibility and connectivity. Who documents these experiences? Who connects the people?
Who converts scattered knowledge into organised knowledge? Who helps one successful experiment travel from one place to another? A Club Edition can become a local answer to these questions. It can become a community knowledge centre in digital form. The journalist becomes a connector. The storyteller becomes a knowledge worker. The student becomes a researcher. The mentor becomes a multiplier. The community becomes both the source and beneficiary of knowledge.
Connecting Villages Through Stories
The phrase “connecting villages” should not be understood merely as connecting places through technology. The deeper objective is to connect people, knowledge, experience and opportunity. A village may have a solution that another village needs. A young person may have a skill that another organisation needs. An entrepreneur may need a collaborator. A student may need a mentor. A community may have a cultural asset that the outside world should know about. The Club Edition can become the point where these connections begin.
From Village Stories to Global Stories
The word “Global” becomes meaningful when local stories can travel. A village story does not have to remain a village story. A local innovation can become a national example. A traditional craft can reach an international audience. A community tourism initiative can attract visitors. A young entrepreneur can find collaborators elsewhere. The internet has already connected geography. The next opportunity is to connect human potential. Global TV Club Editions can potentially become part of that process by creating a network in which every local community has the ability to tell its story and learn from the stories of others.
The Real Transformation: People Becoming Contributors
Perhaps the deepest change is psychological. For a long time, people have been encouraged to ask, “Who will solve this problem?” A new generation can learn to ask, “What can I contribute?” That shift turns spectators into participants, consumers into creators and critics into contributors. It also changes the role of media. Media no longer remains simply a channel through which information travels from the centre to the community. It becomes a teamwork through which people discover one another.
What Could 7 Lakh Really Mean?
The number 7 lakh should therefore not be seen merely as a target for counting editions. Its significance lies in what each edition represents. Seven lakh youth-led Club Editions would mean an ambitious attempt to create seven lakh local points where young people can tell stories, discover strengths, connect people, develop skills and explore opportunities. The number is large. The idea behind it is actually simple. One young person can make a difference. One team can create momentum. One community can inspire another. And millions of such small actions can change the scale of what is possible.
The Investment Proposition: Small Units, Extraordinary Scale
The investment proposition follows the same philosophy. Instead of asking one investor to think only about one enormous project, the model asks investors to consider a standardised unit that can be replicated. ₹2.5 crore per unit.7 lakh units.One umbrella.One technology ecosystem.One media team.One youth network.One knowledge network.
The ₹2.5 crore unit is not being presented as a guaranteed financial return. It is a conceptual capital unit around which land, infrastructure, people, technology and productive activities can be organised. The power comes from multiplication. Seven lakh small units under one umbrella can become more than the sum of the individual units because the units can exchange knowledge, talent, content, opportunities and customers. That is the collective power of distributed capital.
What Happens When Capital Meets Youth at Scale?
Capital without people can become infrastructure. People without capital can remain constrained by lack of resources. Technology without purpose can become consumption. Media without participation can become broadcasting. But when capital, youth, technology, media and community development are combined, a different possibility emerges.
Capital creates the platform. Youth create the activity. Media creates visibility. Technology creates connectivity. Community creates relevance. The network creates multiplication. That is the architecture behind the Club Edition idea.
From Incremental Investment to Exponential Possibility
The central proposition can now be stated simply. Do not ask only how much one investment can grow. Ask what happens when the investment becomes a repeatable unit. Do not ask only what one Club Edition can accomplish. Ask what happens when the model reaches thousands. Do not ask only what one young person can do. Ask what happens when millions become active contributors.
Do not ask only what one village can produce. Ask what happens when villages begin exchanging knowledge and resources with one another. This is the shift from incremental thinking to exponential thinking.
The Question We Should Be Asking
The 7 lakh Club Edition vision is therefore ultimately a question about how India wants to organise its next phase of growth. Do we continue to concentrate opportunity in a few large centres? Or can we build a distributed architecture in which smaller communities become productive, connected and visible?
Can capital be placed where the possibility of multiplication is greater? Can Gen Z become not merely the generation asking for opportunities, but the generation creating them? Can storytelling become more than content? Can it become a method for discovering strengths? Can media become more than broadcasting? Can it become a mechanism for connecting people?
Can land become more than an asset? Can it become the physical foundation for a local development ecosystem? Can seven lakh units become more powerful because they operate under one umbrella? These are bigger questions than the creation of a media franchise.
A Network of People Who Connect People
Ultimately, the future of Global TV need not be defined only by the number of viewers, screens or platforms it reaches. It could also be defined by the number of people it helps connect. The 7 lakh Club Edition vision is ambitious because the challenge itself is ambitious. But its strength lies precisely in its distributed nature. It does not ask one institution to solve everything. It asks millions of young people to contribute something.
The ₹2.5 crore unit is simply a possible building block. The ten acre concept is simply a possible physical foundation. The Club Edition is the local platform at a Global Scale. The Global TV umbrella is the Teamwork. Gen Z is the potential human engine. Storytelling is the connecting mechanism. Technology is the multiplier. Capital is the enabler. And the collective teamwork is where exponential possibilities may emerge.
Perhaps the most important question is therefore not whether we can create solutions for Gen Z. It is whether we can create the conditions in which Gen Z becomes a generation of solutions. When young people can discover their strengths through storytelling, connect through meaningful conversations, learn from one another and turn local knowledge into local action, then the village is no longer at the edge of the global network. The village becomes part of the global teamwork. And Global TV, in that vision, is not merely a television network. It becomes a teamwork of people who connect people. This is what I told in the year 2002 when the idea evolved within. Global TV is not Global Television. Global TV is Tele Village. 7 Lakhs Globally Connected Villages.
The future of any organization, community, or society depends on the quality of its people. Every individual carries unique potential, experiences, talents, and possibilities. However, transforming potential into performance requires guidance, encouragement, and a structured pathway for personal growth.
The First Circle is a Personality Development Mentor initiative designed to create a human development ecosystem where individuals receive personalized coaching, leadership guidance, and continuous support to become confident, capable, and future-ready.
The First Circle represents the beginning of personal transformation. It focuses on developing individuals before developing organizations, because strong people create strong teams, and strong teams create sustainable growth.
The Philosophy of The First Circle
The First Circle is based on the belief that every person has untapped strengths and capabilities. With the right mentoring, individuals can overcome limitations, develop confidence, improve their communication, and discover their ability to lead.
The purpose of The First Circle is not only personality improvement. It is about creating a transformation journey where individuals develop the mindset, skills, and character required to contribute meaningfully to their families, organizations, communities, and society.
Personality Development Mentors: The Foundation of Transformation
The First Circle develops and empowers Personality Development Mentors (PDM) who serve as coaches, guides, and facilitators of human growth. A Personality Development Mentor works closely with individuals through one-to-one coaching and team leadership development. The mentor helps people understand their strengths, identify opportunities for improvement, build confidence, and create a clear pathway toward personal and professional success. The role of a PDM is to bring out the best in people by creating awareness, motivation, discipline, and continuous growth.
One-to-One Coaching Journey
The core strength of The First Circle is personalized mentoring. Every individual has a different background, personality, ambition, and learning journey. Therefore, development must be personal and meaningful. Through one-to-one coaching, Personality Development Mentors support individuals in areas such as self-awareness, confidence building, communication excellence, emotional intelligence, goal setting, and leadership development. The mentor creates a safe and encouraging environment where individuals can reflect, learn, improve, and take responsibility for their own growth.
Transforming Mindsets Through NLP
The First Circle incorporates Neuro Linguistic Programming as a powerful tool for mindset transformation. NLP helps individuals understand how their thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and communication patterns influence their behaviour and results. Through NLP-based mentoring, individuals learn to develop positive thinking patterns, overcome limiting beliefs, improve confidence, manage emotions, and communicate more effectively. The objective is to help individuals create an empowering mindset that supports personal excellence and leadership growth.
Appreciative Inquiry: Building From Strengths
The First Circle follows the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, which focuses on discovering and expanding strengths rather than concentrating only on problems. Every individual has experiences of success, creativity, courage, and achievement. Appreciative Inquiry helps people recognize these positive experiences and use them as a foundation for future growth. The process encourages individuals to discover their strengths, dream about possibilities, design their future direction, and take action toward achieving their goals. This creates a positive development approach based on confidence, possibility, and continuous improvement.
Developing Future Leaders
The First Circle is designed not only for personal development but also for leadership development. Future leaders require more than technical knowledge. They need communication skills, emotional intelligence, creativity, decision-making ability, collaboration skills, and the confidence to inspire others. Personality Development Mentors help individuals develop these qualities and prepare them to become responsible contributors and leaders in their respective fields. Leadership begins with self-leadership. When individuals learn to manage their thoughts, actions, and relationships effectively, they become capable of leading others.
Team Leadership Development
Along with individual coaching, The First Circle focuses on developing stronger teams. Personality Development Mentors facilitate team development by improving communication, trust, collaboration, and shared responsibility. Teams learn to appreciate diversity, understand different perspectives, resolve challenges, and work together toward common objectives. Through this approach, The First Circle helps create environments where individuals and teams grow together.
Creating a Teamwork of Personality Development Mentors
The vision of The First Circle is to create a growing teamwork of trained Personality Development Mentors who can positively impact thousands of individuals. Mentors are developed with knowledge and skills in coaching, NLP, Appreciative Inquiry, leadership development, communication, and human behaviour. This creates a multiplying effect where one mentor can transform many individuals, and transformed individuals can contribute to creating stronger communities and organizations.
The Impact of The First Circle
The First Circle creates measurable transformation by helping individuals become:
More confident in their abilities
More effective in communication
More aware of their strengths
More capable of leadership
More responsible in their actions
More prepared for future opportunities
The initiative creates a culture of learning, growth, and contribution where every individual is encouraged to become the best version of themselves. The First Circle is a movement dedicated to human transformation through Personality Development Mentors. It recognizes that the foundation of every future success story is a developed individual with confidence, clarity, capability, and character.
By combining one-to-one coaching, NLP, Appreciative Inquiry, and leadership development, The First Circle creates a pathway for individuals to discover their potential and prepare themselves for the future. The future belongs to those who are ready to grow, learn, lead, and create positive impact. The First Circle is the beginning of that journey.
