Mr Bagchi, along the course of the interaction read excerpts from his recently released book "Go Kiss the World" – the foundations of which he said, were laid during his commencement speech to the batch of 2006 at IIM-B. He reminded the audience, that the India of today was one where you didn't have to know somebody to be somebody; rather it was one where you had to know something to be somebody. He also stressed on the fact that today it is the Indian professional who is defining what it is like to be an Indian.
Mr Bagchi categorized an individual's life into three phases -the twenties, when he wanted to be someone, the thirties when he became someone and the forties when he moved towards what he is meant to be.
Quoting from the Upanishads, he said that a man was his deep driving desires, and goaded the audience to have a desire, drive it to a will and act on it, which he said would lead to a destination.
He also emphasized on the power to receive, rather than the ability to give. Quoting an anecdote from his visit to Japan, he recollected the Japanese emphasis on the virtue of humility – a mountain, standing tall and proud against the rains, must flatten itself into a valley to hold on to the rain water!
He also reminded the audience, that negotiations encompassed all facets of life and were not restricted to Marketing lessons or the corporate world alone. In this constant race, he also mentioned that overachievers tended to be their own enemies and goaded on the audience to watch out for moments of indiscretion that could offset any of their achievements.
Through the course of his interaction, Mr Bagchi also spoke of the virtues of traits like passion, resilience and humility.
Answering one of the audience members' questions he reiterated the fact that it was normal for an achiever to go through bouts of self doubt. Speaking of the 'Theory U', Mr Bagchi spoke about the trough that a person goes through, comparable to the trough of the letter U. At that moment the mind is calm and stillness can inspire answers.
He also emphasized on the importance of not following a path of principles, for a reward nor for a threat of a punishment, but rather for one's own sense of integrity.
To a question about how an entrepreneur should take rejection, Mr Bagchi went to the first principles of sales and mentioned that a salesman always interpreted a 'no' as 'not now', and hence resilience held the key to overcoming this situation.
Mr Bagchi also put forward his views on writing as a profession, saying that a writer was a sculptor of words and the timelessness in the heart of any many seized with an innately creative urge was what drove him.
