'Building Trust And Being Kind Are Important To Get Through These Tough Times', Says Prakash Iyer

They say that hope and optimism play an integral role in overcoming battles or hardships. When the world is facing unprecedented times, where uncertainty thrives, people turn to leaders for guidance and reassurance that happiness will once again flood the economy. 

Prakash Iyer talked about how even leaders at this stage don’t know what is to come, and they are also spectators to these times, however what they can do is be transparent and communicate with people. Building trust among each other is imperative, and will help overcome these hard times. 

Another key aspect he talked about when in conversation with moderator Dr. Anurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief BW Businessworld was the role of kindness. After all it is “way harder to be kind than to be clever” In todays day and age, everyone can be smart and engage in the rat race life offers, however being kind helps ease hardships. 

Labeling and attributing people as “stubborn” or “careless” is in juxtaposition to the beliefs of Praksh Iyer, who has stated that “understanding the ‘why’ of the actions of people is important”, in order to smoothly engage in a conversation. 

By using the cricket match between South Africa and Australia where 400 runs were first exceeded, as an analogy, Mr. Iyer beautifully explained the power of hope and belief. In the first innings, Australia crossed 400 runs for the first time, and everyone was blaming South Africa’s poor performance, but the optimism of one team mate helped the team get back on, and win the match. These times are like that, and “when leaders take ownership, solutions are formed”. 

However the two points he emphasised were how these times are helping people realise how little they need in life and who truly matters to them. People have started to chase happiness and dreams over earning money, which coincides with how their passion metamorphoses into their profession. My. Iyer concluded with a beautiful line of one the songs from Bollywood “kal ka kiska pata, abhi le lo maza”, which reinforces how this time is like none other, and to use it well.