Nov. 5, 2025

From Engineer to Comedy Star... How Naveed Mahbub Leads with Authenticity and Wit

From Engineer to Comedy Star... How Naveed Mahbub Leads with Authenticity and Wit
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How can humor and heartfelt storytelling elevate leadership and connect across cultures?

This week, we sit down with Naveed Mahbub, award winning comedian, international speaker, and founder of Bangladesh’s first comedy club, who shares his unique journey from engineer and corporate leader to standup comic and global storyteller. 

Naveed reveals:
  • The power of humor to captivate and engage diverse audiences
  • Balancing entrepreneurial risk taking with cultural adaptation in leadership
  • Why authenticity and vulnerability build trust and impact
  • Lessons from the stage and real life that leaders can learn to inspire teams
  • How mindset shifts and resilience carry you through burnout and uncertainty
Whether you lead a team, manage a business, or want to unlock your true voice, this conversation offers fresh insights on leading with joy, authenticity, and courage.

Resources Mentioned:
  • Naveed Mahbub’s website: naveedmahbub.com
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naveedmahbub/?hl=en
  • Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/NaveedMahbub
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ComedianNaveedMahbub/
WEBVTT

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This podcast is a proud member of the Teach Better

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podcast network, Better Today, Better Tomorrow, and the podcast to

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get you there. You can find out more at Teechbetter

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dot com slash podcast.

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My comedy has to be so good that from the

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first few seconds, I grab your attention and then I

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continue to hold your attention so that I can deliver

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whatever I wanted to do.

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And the same goes to the leaders.

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If you're a leader, you're trying to galvanize your sales

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force or freaking out because they're not meeting their sales

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target at the end of the fiscal year. They're freaking out,

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and your job is to go and calm them by

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Plea's no tomorrow. In every comics, job is to make

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that person's feel special, and that means A. You make

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that person happy. B you make that person feel as

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if I'm talking to you one on one. It's not

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the quantity is the quality. So I may not end

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up spending as much time as I would have liked

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you with my kids, but whatever time I'm spending, it

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had better be the highest quality.

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Do you want to be a leader in a constantly

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changing world? Our emerging leaders look different come from various

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backgrounds and from all different age groups. Leadership is changing

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and it's hard.

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To keep up.

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But the good news you can be a leader too.

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You can be an e merging leader. Welcome to the

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Limitless Leadership Lounge, a try generational conversation for emerging leaders.

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Come spend some time with us to discuss leadership from

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three angles. The coach Jim Johnson, the professor, doctor Renumah Kareem,

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the host John Gering, a monthly guest. And you get

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in on the conversation on Facebook and Instagram, and be

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sure to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Speaker.

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So come on in and make yourself comfortable.

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Good morning, and welcome on into the Limitless Leadership Lounge.

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I am John Gary. I should say good morning and

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good evening and wherever you are in the world, because

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today our conversation and is spanning countries and we're spanning

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time zones. And that's one of the great things about

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these conversations. It's leadership looks different across the world. It's

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it's a concept that has some universal truths and some

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universal traits, but also has some cultural differences too. So

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we're excited today to go over to Bangladesh and talk

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with a contact that doctor Renuma Kareem has brought us today.

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I'm John Gerry is always joined by coach and doctor Kareem.

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So Renewma, go ahead and introduce our guest. Let's dive in.

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Thank you John. It is such a pleasure to have

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a Navid Pai, so we always call him Navid Pai,

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but mister Navid Mahbub an engineer turned award winning comic.

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He is Bangladesh pioneer of Stand Up Committee, founder of

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Navid Comedy Club and bangladesh first comedian to be featured

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in Comedy Central. Navid Pai also has a vast leadership

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experience in the corporate world, serving as the CEO of

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Nokia Siemens Network and the CEO of IBM. He performed

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over in over twenty countries and well known for turning

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everyday laugh life into laughs. So he also has his

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own late night He had his late night show in

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Bangladesh and a morning radio show. He was a Tadic

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speaker and father of three wonderful kids. They're not kids anymore,

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they're growing up fast and Nabibai, welcome to Limitless Leadership Lounge.

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It's such a pleasure to have you here today. So

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how are you doing? I know that you are now

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back in US, so what are you up to?

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Okay, first of all, thank you so much for having

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me on this show.

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I'm really honored. And yes, I am in the US.

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I don't know if I shall say back in the US.

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I am a New York City right now.

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I'm hustling the stand up comedy scene in New York,

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so that brings me here. So as of now. You

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mentioned also I've got three kids and one wife.

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Did I get that right? Sometimes?

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Yeah, my friend I get dyslexic sometime and my wife

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isn't very happy about that. So anyways, so I'm spending

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my time right now between New York City and Taka

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because Taka is where my family is, and here I am.

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This is the pretty much the epicenter of the stand

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up comedy scene, and so I'm here hustling the scene

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right now.

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So that's why I'm in New York.

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Navida. I gotta ask you because you have a very

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intriguing career and we want to try to help young

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and emerging leaders. But I got to ask you just

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tell us a little bit about your journey because you

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went up the corporal hitter and then you went to comedy.

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So it's if you could tell us a little bit

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about their journey, because lead young leaders getting in involved

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in corporations then often go off and want to do

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something around their own. It's something like you did with comedy.

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So tell us a little bit about your journey through

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the corporate letter and then how you got into comedy.

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Sure by training. I'm an electrical engineer.

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I have a bachelor's and a nast's degree, very traditional route.

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Then I worked as an engineer in the US for

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quite some time, callcom Ks, Wireless port motor company, Takata,

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and then also a California startup called wind Cast. So

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I went from the blue chip company to all the

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way done. I wouldn't sit down on the other side,

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to the startup world. And for a brief while I

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also went to business school at but I didn't finish.

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But in some when we were in California, I took

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up stand up comedy just by accident. I was working

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at Qualcom in San Diego, California, and I took up

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comedy and it was like a.

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Peril path that started.

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So one on one side, I'm a father husband, I'm

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an engineer working at caullcom but at the in parallel,

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I was a stand up comed That was my It

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was was almost like being doctor Jakil and mister Hyde.

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Nobody about this side of me except for my wife Zara,

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and I would not show up at a lot of

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the social events and whereas in Navida, oh, he's got

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a teleconference with Tokyo.

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But really I was hustling the comedy scene.

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So that started, and eventually in two thousand and seven,

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I became the best male comedian at the original Las

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Vegas Comedy Festival and some news got up. Then I say, okay, fine,

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I have to quote unquote come out of the closet.

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Which I did and everybody was pretty surprised.

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So for a while, these two paril careers continued. Then

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I quit, became a full time comic, then ran short

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of money, and then we moved back to Bangladesh, opened

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up a comedy club, had my late night show, and

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that's when I got the job opportunity to become the

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CEO of Nokia Semen's Networks in Bangladesh and then CEO.

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Of IBM in Bangladesh.

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But comedy was continuing in parallel, and then again when

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things started really taking off. My late night show was

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taken off, by morning drivetime show was taken off. My

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comedy club was keeping me busy, so I said, I

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got a quit again and then became a full time

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comic and have been a full time comic ever since.

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So that's pretty much been the journey. Peril, then solo,

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then paralleled, then again solo.

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So one key theme throughout the course of all that,

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all the twists and turns and leadership positions that you held,

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was comedy and the power of storytelling. Through comedy, tell

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us a little bit more about what a good comic

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and a good storyteller, what kinds of traits that they have,

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and how we as communicators in leadership positions can become

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more effective storytellers.

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This takes me to my first TED talk ted x Talk,

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and it was about using humor as a delivery mechanism,

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because when you're using humor good humor, you have an

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attentive audience and then you can deliver whatever message you have.

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Now, if you expend that same concept to.

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Whether John you're radio show host, or Jim your co

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which random you're a faculty, whatever, it is.

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At the end of the day, we are we have something.

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To say to an audience, and our job is to

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make sure we hold our attention and how do we

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do it? To do that, Humor is a way to

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do it, not the only way to do it. Jim,

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you're a great coach. You may have another way to

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do it. John, you're a radio host. You have to

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be very tight when you're delivering something. The whole idea

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is to figure out how am I going to hold

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the attention of the audience, and I've got very little time.

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That's why the concept of elevator pitch comes to We

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may think, oh, is that new. It's got different manifestations.

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Right now, on your radio show, I'm flipping channels. If

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I don't like John, I'm gonna flip my channel. If

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I'm I'm going through reels. On social media, everybody's going

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through ten second videos. If I don't catch your attention

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in ten seconds, I'm going to move to the next video.

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So the whole idea now, as a comic comedy, has

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to be so good that from the first few seconds,

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I grab your attention, and then I continue to hold

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your attention so that I can deliver whatever I.

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Want to deliver, and the same goes to the leaders.

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If you're a leader, you're trying to galvanize your sales

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force who are freaking out because they're not meeting their

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sales target at the end of the fiscal year.

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They're freaking out, and your job is to go and

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pump them by. There's no tomorrow, and how do you

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do that?

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You are holding their attention in whatever way you know best,

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but also being very concise, I cannot drag on forever.

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So that's the key, ye Devide.

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I got to ask you because I love comedy. I'm

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sure everybody does. Can you give us just a little

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story with some comedic background because it's always good to laugh.

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So do you want to hear a joke or some

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funny story?

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A funny story would be great, something from your life.

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Maybe that translated into.

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Those are There are so many where do I start star?

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But it's also that when you're a comedian, they're always

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expecting you to be funny. And I'm also I'm really

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I'm a practicing Muslim and many times at weddings in Banglades, Bangladesh,

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they asked me to not officiate the prayer, but say, hey,

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can you do a little prayer for the new bride

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and good groom. So I do this prayer and I

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do it in banglad then I do it in English

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because there are expats there, and they say, oh, that

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was so beautiful, that was so lovely. And then this

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one person comes says, hey, that was beautiful. That wasn't

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funny at all. I said funny in my prayers. So

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that's one funny.

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So that's like doctors. When you meet doctors in different gathering,

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you will come and ask the doctors with all the

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kind of diseases, like what should we do so all

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and comedians, everybody expects you to go bed random.

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Let me say, John and Jim.

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I think this is more of a South Asian thing

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because when over here in the West, I think people

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really frown upon getting into formal discussions at a casual setting,

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But in Bangladesh it's almost given. You bump into an

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orient and Indian Parkistan, you bump into a doctor at

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a let's say, at dinner, and then you're going to

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pull up your shirt. Oh you know what, I've got

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this mole in my back. Can you have a look

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at it? In the middle of a party, So that's

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what Random was talking about. But on the flip side, yes,

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people do ask, oh, Novid, can you tell me a joke?

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And one doctor once did ask me, I heard you're

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a doctor. I mean you're a comedian. Can you tell

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me a joke? I said, Hey, I heard you're a doctor.

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Can you do a vasectomy operation right now in front

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of me?

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Can you do that? Versus a joke?

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I have to ask you a question because I myself

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had to move away from the conventional path of being

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an academic, starting my own nonprofit, writing books and all

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these kind of thing. Now I'm not in a full

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time job anymore as an academic, and soonly brought forth.

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So people will tell me, like, why are you going

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through that uncertain path when everything you can have a

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secured life, And in our culture, you did skip that

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path of conformity, so everybody expects you to go into

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that path of confirmity. So as leaders in so many

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different because you are a leader in the field of

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stand up committee in Bangladesh, where they're those uncertainty idea

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of rinks that your mind, how did you tackle all

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those aspects of uncertainty to just go into that untraveled path.

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In our part of the world, in America and a

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western world, we could. But in that part of the

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world it is difficult. So how did you navigate through

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those uncertainty and risk?

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Difficulty is a relative definition, and from what you're saying

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in Bangladesh, it's more of a social difficulty that what

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people are.

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Going to say.

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And but the glue phenomena is that how do you

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survive in this uncertainty? So if I address both, the

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first one, I think what comes the good thing that

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comes with age is that you tend to.

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Care less about what others think.

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Because the way I look at it is that I

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respect your opinion. I know you mean, but at the

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end of the day, I will be the one responsible

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to pay my own bills. I don't think I can

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come and ask you to pay my cell phone bills.

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So for that matter, let me make my own decisions

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with all your respect. And second part is then again,

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now I go to the global phenomena phenomena, how do

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you address uncertainty and the main aspect of uncertainty's finances,

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how do you survive? So this is a global phenomena,

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even in the US that Okay, fine, I've got a

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six figure job, stable job for on K insurance, and

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I'm leaving everything and I'm becoming an.

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Entrepreneur or an artist. It's still the same route, an

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uncertain route.

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So the key here is, and this is what I did,

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I would really recommend and I'm sure many people do.

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This is to actually have a game plan. It's not

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that you just dive in blind. You have to have

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a backup plan or a sustainability plan.

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See. In other words, I'm uncertain, but I'm not.

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Going to put myself in a situation where I'm going

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to starve or have my family starve.

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So I have to have some arrangement made.

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Say, in my case, what I did, I had some

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residual income. So I said, okay, fine, I have the

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residual income. Yes, it's not going to be that I'm

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going to live a lavish lifestyle, but at least we're

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going to get by pretty well. And I was also

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fortunate that my wife, Zara is very supportive. She is

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also an earning member. Not that I'm saying that I'm

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wed have to completely rely on that. What if she

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loses her job too. I don't want the family to

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not survive. So we had that in place and that

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makes it easier to dive into the uncertainty. Now whil

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that is done, there's another step to it. You have

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to have a game plan. What is the end plan

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that Okay, I'm going to do a comedy, but am

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I just going to do it for fun or is

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it going to be fiscally sustainable? The latter is also

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very important, not from the perspective that I'm doing comedy

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to make money, but if the money comes, that is

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a manifestation of the fact that I'm doing a good

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job in delivering this service. We are service providers at

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the end of the day. And if you Jim, you

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talk about leadership, and it's still the same thing. You

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are a leader in an enterprise and you have to

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have an end goal that we have to be sustainable

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and we have to be scalable. So that really is

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how I addressed it, and I think that's the best

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way to adds and mastery.

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I think if you have that mastery over certain skill,

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then you also get that confidence from that mastery you

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have gained. If you didn't have those level of skill,

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that master then you know that things might not work

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as I have predicted from my angle like I feel

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that because I have the knowledge. I taught a class

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of nonprofit for ten plus ten plus years. I have

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the PhD. So I can venture and test the ground

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and see what's out there. So I had that confidence

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sometimes knowledge probably because you have that mastery. Also you

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had those things that gave you the courage to move forward.

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So do you think the mastery on the skill is

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also very important?

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And of course that's the premise.

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The analogy is that I just mentioned as a comedian

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or an artist, or even a sports person or even

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a radio job John, at the end of the day,

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we have either a product or a service to deliver

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to the customer. And then in my case as a comedian,

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my comedy is really a service to the customer. Just

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being a master is not enough. That means in a company,

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you have a great product, that's not enough. You also

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have to be able to sell it and the consumers

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have to be willing to buy it, And how do

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you do that? You think that that's why they call

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it show business. There's a show part, there's a business

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pot and the business pan is completely analogous to any enterprise,

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meaning that the product yes, you have to be a

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master in the product or the service, but you also

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have to be able to market it. That means I

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have to have a good social media presence. I have

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to have a lot of followers, meaning that they are

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now liking my product. That means if I do a show,

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they'll come to my show by the tickets. And then

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I'm constantly writing new materials, so I'm doing the product development.

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So it's everything is there. It's just running a business.

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Yeah, that's a brilliant point.

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Yeah, Navid, I gotta ask you because I always talk

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trying to find your passion, and I think sometimes that's overused,

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but I am curious. You started as an electrical engineer

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and now you've been well known as a comedian. So

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I got to ask you, is was comedy something that

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you grew up with and it's something or was it

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something you just said? You know what, I'd like to

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try and open mic one night on comedy tell me

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that transition because people are trying to figure out how

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they can combine something they love to do with also

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being able to make a service and project where they

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can make a living.

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Sure, I always like to.

351
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Joke around and I'd almost like to crack jokes and

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people say that I'm the life of the party.

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So it's not.

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Doing it just for the heck of making others happy.

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It also makes me happy. If I'm making somebody happy,

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I feel happy too. So it was always in a

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social setting. And I have to say give this credit

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to the United States. When I came here, and I

359
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come here at a in my mid twenties, I came

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here as a graduate student.

361
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I didn't even do my I did not do my

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undergraduate here.

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But when I came here, one good thing about the

364
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US I found out is that there are a few

365
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things that nobody's going to laugh at you if you're

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doing something different. Two people are very encouraging. Three the

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concept is it's never too late. And four it's a.

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Very enterprising environment.

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And that's why I think America has really done very

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well over the years, and now the countries are doing

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it because of this enterprise mindset that Okay, fine, I'm

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doing fun comedy, I'm doing fun. But then I started

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going to comedy clubs and I was saying, oh my god,

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these guys are on stage. You're talking for forty five minutes,

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making people laugh and We're bring a lot of money

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to see them. So this is a sustainable enterprise and

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it's also a high that you are in control of

378
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that situation. So I said, you know what, let's put

379
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these two together. And then I go and talk to

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Sandy Shore. She's a very famous comedy instructor in Los

381
00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:53.359
Angeles and her mother Midsi Shore. Have you heard of

382
00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:56.359
the Comedy Store in Hollywood. It's a very famous club.

383
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All the big names, Letterman, everybody came out of there.

384
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So Midsi Shore and Sammy, her husband, Sammy show Or

385
00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:05.279
he used to open for Elvis. They opened the club

386
00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:08.480
in the seventies and that was the big rage. And

387
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Sandy is their daughter and she's a big instructor. I

388
00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:15.519
went to her and this was two thousand and four

389
00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.359
or five, not that many South Asians were doing comedy,

390
00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:20.960
and she said, whoa, I've never seen a brown.

391
00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:21.319
Guy come in.

392
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I want to try a comedy and you're an engineer,

393
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you're different. Let's work together. So she mentored me for

394
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two months and said, you have a different story to tell,

395
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tell it on the stage. And she's got me going,

396
00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.759
and you know what, that's it never look bad after

397
00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:41.799
that So it's a combining this enterprising mindset that I

398
00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:45.319
observed in the US meeting Sandy Shore and then seeing

399
00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:48.000
that hey, if you can have a passion, you can

400
00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:51.000
actually I don't want to use the word commercialize it,

401
00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.200
but you can actually make it a profession. And that's

402
00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:58.440
really the win win situation. And this takes me to

403
00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:01.480
that vent diagram, but it did. There's a term for it.

404
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:04.799
I don't remember. There are three circles. One is that

405
00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:07.640
what you're good at doing, One is that what brings

406
00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.759
you money, and one is what you love to do.

407
00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:13.960
Now, I could be an engineer, which brings you the money.

408
00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:18.319
I could love to sing, but I that doesn't bring

409
00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:20.960
me money. But if you try and get the vandagon

410
00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.960
closer and closer, the more overlap you are have, and

411
00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.599
eventually if you have one hundred percent overlap.

412
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Now you are the best in this field.

413
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You'd love to do it, And it's bringing food to

414
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the table. That's where that's where we all try to

415
00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:40.960
figure out in life how to get.

416
00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:44.680
Yeah, and relationships are such a key piece of this too,

417
00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.000
and I think that's something that you're able to brilliantly

418
00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:51.279
do as a comedian is well you build relationships with

419
00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:53.400
those around you, that's part of the business side of things,

420
00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:56.920
But then you also build a relationship with an entire audience.

421
00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:01.359
How are you able to practice that? The art of

422
00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:06.119
making someone a good comedian, from my experience, really makes

423
00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:10.039
someone feel like the comedian is talking to them one

424
00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:12.480
on one, even if you're in a room with thousands.

425
00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:16.839
But john that's bang on target. A stand up comedy

426
00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.799
exercise is almost like being on a date. You're on

427
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:23.200
a one on one. These are this is a special

428
00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:26.799
moment for every audience member. They've paid money, they've dressed up,

429
00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:29.640
this is their time in the evening in town.

430
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:31.359
They've come to have a good time.

431
00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:35.119
And my job as a comic is in every comics

432
00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:38.440
job is to make that person feel special. And that

433
00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:42.160
means A. You make that person happy. B. You make

434
00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:44.519
that person feel as if I'm talking to you one

435
00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:48.039
on one, and in many cases we do. This is calllorrific.

436
00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:51.599
You see their comedians go on stage, they're actually interacting

437
00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.759
with the audience. They call it picking on the audience.

438
00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:57.599
Instead of making that person feel bad, you can make

439
00:22:57.640 --> 00:22:59.880
them feel good. Johnny, you're sitting in the front row.

440
00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:03.200
You see that comics of people actually talking to people

441
00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:05.720
one on one. We're sitting in the front row, so

442
00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:10.480
you're actually directly having this conversation. That person is talking back,

443
00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:14.359
you're talking back. Now, the whole idea is to make

444
00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:17.880
that a pleasant experience. Make them laugh, of course, because

445
00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:21.279
it's a comedy show, but make this person feel good.

446
00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:25.799
Many times we comedians make the mistake of crossing the

447
00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:29.279
line and making the person feel bad. I'm putting this

448
00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:33.599
person down. I'm picking on him or her, I am

449
00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:39.839
addressing or I'm talking about some drawback in that person.

450
00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:42.640
This is what Sandy Shore told me. Now, we never

451
00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:47.400
do that, Never ever put anybody down. Pull that person up.

452
00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:50.920
And once you do, that's how you connect with the audience. Now,

453
00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:52.960
the question is that how you know what kind of

454
00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.039
an audience that is. So if at a show, what

455
00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.559
we call is you take the bullet, meaning you're the

456
00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:02.279
first comic in the lineup, so you don't know how

457
00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:04.599
the audience is. But if I'm the second of the third,

458
00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:08.920
I have the luxury of observing how the audience is

459
00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:10.400
reacting to the first comic.

460
00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:12.720
So this is called reading the room.

461
00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:16.799
I'm engaging what's the mood of the audience, What is

462
00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:20.920
the demograph, What are the demographics, What is their mindset?

463
00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:24.440
Are they conservative? Are the liberal? Are they this? Are

464
00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:24.759
they that?

465
00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:27.960
Are they military? Are they corporate? Are the college kids?

466
00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:32.039
And then once you go up, you already know your

467
00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.960
audience you deliver it accordingly. So let's say, if I

468
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:37.240
see that these are all college kids, I'm not going

469
00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:39.319
to go up and say, oh, my kids are doing this.

470
00:24:39.880 --> 00:24:42.720
They don't care because their kids themselves, they don't have kids.

471
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Versus if I say, hey, when I was in college

472
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and they end up the semester.

473
00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:49.359
They're going to open up. Now, They're going to relate

474
00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:51.440
to what you're saying. So you're rereading the room.

475
00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:55.359
You deliver what matters to them, and that's how you

476
00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:58.440
draw them in and then they have the impression, hey,

477
00:24:58.599 --> 00:25:01.400
you're actually talking to me, not to somebody else.

478
00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:04.480
Yeah, that's so important in radio too, the demo, knowing

479
00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:07.599
your demographics, and the relatability to the audience. But then

480
00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:10.440
it also there's so many overlaps with leadership too, because

481
00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:15.839
as a leader sometimes we just execute our plan whatever

482
00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:18.359
it is. However it's worked in the past before with

483
00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:22.119
no regard to the people were leading. How can comedy

484
00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:25.319
sometimes actually be a life lesson when it comes to

485
00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:26.119
leadership too.

486
00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:28.880
This is extremely important.

487
00:25:28.920 --> 00:25:32.799
And I remember when I was the CEO of Nokia,

488
00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:36.279
Siemens and IBM, and I was as a comedian. I

489
00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:39.960
was always doing comedy and in stressful situations. When you're

490
00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.279
using comedy to give a message to motivate your team

491
00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:46.240
members in a relevant way, it really goes a long way.

492
00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:50.400
And I'll give you one example that this was in

493
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:57.480
twenty eleven twelve. The concept of working remotely wasn't there.

494
00:25:57.920 --> 00:25:59.079
It was someone.

495
00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:02.759
There in the West, not at all in Bangladesh. So

496
00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:05.839
anybody said I'm going to work remotely, they would say, oh,

497
00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:09.880
you're lazy. So I remember we had this this female

498
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:15.119
colleague and she's a very good sales manager and she's

499
00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.640
not working very closely with the with the with with

500
00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:21.119
one of the big cellphone operators, a very big customer,

501
00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:24.119
and her son was getting sick, and I said, to

502
00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:26.559
stay home. There's no need for you to come to work.

503
00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:29.400
Your work is really with the customer. So talk to

504
00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:31.599
the customer on the phone, but be with your son.

505
00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:35.039
That's the most important thing. And she said she was surprised,

506
00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:37.559
really yeah, because colleagues were all.

507
00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:39.079
Said, say, oh, yeah, she stays home. She's not.

508
00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.799
I said, wait a second. Her mental well being is

509
00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:45.119
the most important thing. If she's she's meant and mentally

510
00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:49.400
she's happy, then she'll be very productive and she doesn't

511
00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:51.200
really need to come to work. As long as her

512
00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.200
customer is happy, her son is happy, she's at the

513
00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:58.119
peace of mind. She's going to exhibit the best leadership there.

514
00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:01.200
And of course I did say, okay, you stay home.

515
00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:03.119
I said, you know what I and I have to

516
00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:05.359
talk about this Also that for three years I was

517
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.200
a stay home dad in California. Well, my wife was

518
00:27:08.200 --> 00:27:11.319
going to Berkeley Business School, so I knew what it

519
00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:13.720
was or I still know what it is to be

520
00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:16.640
at home with a child, and more so in the

521
00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:19.960
US that you're all for yourself. In Bangladesh, we have

522
00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:23.160
the luxury of having a nanny is they're affordable. In

523
00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.039
the US they're not unless you're super rich. Unusure, Elon

524
00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:28.880
Muss you can take your nanny to meet Donald Trump.

525
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:32.599
You're on your own. So that three years taught.

526
00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:36.400
Me, by the way to that what it really takes

527
00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:40.039
to be a parent and juggle juggle your work. So

528
00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:43.640
I knew what that female colleague was going through, and

529
00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:47.279
she said that wow, and then I could tell right

530
00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:48.599
away that her.

531
00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:51.480
Troup went through the roof. She was happy.

532
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:55.039
And then I was drawing on my anecthoughts about being

533
00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:56.599
a stay home that, oh, yeah, you know what, I

534
00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:59.319
can't sleep, So it was funny, but at the same

535
00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.359
time I motived her and the leadership went across. And

536
00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:06.759
we call this term cil Jim, you know this very

537
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:11.519
well consistency in leadership, meaning that customers at every touch

538
00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:15.960
point will experience the same level of leadership. So it

539
00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.599
doesn't matter which that she's home, maybe she's breastfeeding her kid.

540
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:21.920
I don't know, they don't know, they don't need to know,

541
00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:25.599
but they're seeing the same level of leadership and I

542
00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:26.799
think that's how it works.

543
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:30.359
And you immediately the word that comes to my mind

544
00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:35.279
in leadership world is emotional intelligence. So in while understanding

545
00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:40.960
your when you're understanding your employee that needs emotional intelligence,

546
00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:44.680
being aware of their need. And you also talked about

547
00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:48.000
understanding the crowd. When you are a stand up committee,

548
00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:51.759
you have to understand who is coming from where. So

549
00:28:51.799 --> 00:28:55.200
it is so important for leaders and also in every

550
00:28:55.400 --> 00:29:00.000
role to be emotionally tuned with the people you're working with.

551
00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:02.799
So thank you so much for bringing that out, and

552
00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:07.039
you piggybacking on the idea the work life integration. We

553
00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:11.480
talk about work life balance a lot nowadays. So you

554
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:14.759
mentioned well being in job, and we know that now

555
00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:18.960
that when well being improved, productivity increases as well. So

556
00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:22.680
I'm curious what I've heard about this term work life balance.

557
00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.000
But recently I also studied and found out that it's

558
00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:30.559
nowadays it's more like work life integration. So instead of

559
00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:32.839
trying to go for the balance, I don't know if

560
00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:35.400
it's fifty to fifty is it ever possible in work

561
00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:38.359
life balance? So what is your take on like this

562
00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:42.599
work life balance in your in your life and this

563
00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:47.400
term that is coming up, like work life integration instead

564
00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.480
of finding the balance, can we integrate all these things

565
00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.279
together in a leadership?

566
00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:55.880
Am I the best practitioner? I'm pretty sure I'm not,

567
00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:59.759
but I try my best, and these terms I don't

568
00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:02.000
know a whole lot about. But at the end of

569
00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:05.240
the day, I think it's all common sense. One premise

570
00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:08.519
I always believe in and I'm sure everybody does, is

571
00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:12.400
it's not the quantities, the quality so I may not

572
00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:15.400
end up spending as much time as I would have

573
00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:20.880
liked to with my kids. But whatever time I'm spending,

574
00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:24.839
it had better be the highest quality. So in other words,

575
00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.240
I could be I may have the luxury to be

576
00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:30.240
with my kids for four hours a day, but if

577
00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:32.559
I'm on my phone, that four hours is really not

578
00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:33.440
much quality.

579
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:35.720
You know, he's with me, but I'm not with him.

580
00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:38.920
But it could be that I have such a busy day,

581
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:42.279
but I'm only twenty minutes with my eight year old son.

582
00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:46.400
But yet twenty minutes is bang on one on one.

583
00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:49.000
His name is niam o niam, So how is your day.

584
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:52.359
I'm not talking to an eight year old. I'm talking

585
00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:55.079
to a peer, a friend. Hey, niam how was your day?

586
00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:57.880
What did you do? Oh? Really, you did this work?

587
00:30:57.920 --> 00:30:58.319
I did this.

588
00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:00.920
So we're talking as peers and he's saying, oh, Dad

589
00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:03.319
is not looking at me as a child. He's looking

590
00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:06.079
at me as a buddy. So we're talking boy talk

591
00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:07.920
or with my daughter. She said, oh, you know why

592
00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:10.319
I have a crush on this guy. Instead of reprimanding her,

593
00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:12.559
I said, oh really, you know what, Yeah, yeah, he's

594
00:31:12.599 --> 00:31:15.920
not he's cute, So it's really the quality.

595
00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:18.400
Even now I'm traveling, I'm in New York.

596
00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:20.559
My son or my kids are back home, but I

597
00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:23.839
make sure at bedtime I get on a WhatsApp video

598
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:27.960
called I'm virtually putting them to bed. So again, it's

599
00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:32.079
really not the means, not the time numbers, but the

600
00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:36.640
quality how we are doing it efficially. Like my wife's area,

601
00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:40.240
she's in Bangladesh, but she's working US times, so she's

602
00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:43.359
working late nights, but she time said that you know what,

603
00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:46.160
I'm gonna take this time off and have dinner with

604
00:31:46.200 --> 00:31:48.359
the kids, and I'm going to put the dinner at

605
00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:50.960
kids to bed or in the morning, I'm going to

606
00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:53.480
get up, make sure they go off to school. Then

607
00:31:53.480 --> 00:31:56.680
I'll take a nap. She it's how you work it out.

608
00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:00.680
It's like a jigsaw puzzle. Not how much, but what

609
00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:01.440
the quality is.

610
00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:05.000
That's the is the keys good more than priority?

611
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:07.640
Of course it's prioritizing, but at the same time, the

612
00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:08.839
quality of our quantity.

613
00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:10.720
I think that really is the key.

614
00:32:10.920 --> 00:32:13.000
Devan, let me ask you about because you ear in

615
00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:15.279
the corporate work for quite a while and you hit

616
00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:20.440
various positions, what would you recommend for somebody that's trying

617
00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:23.799
to climb the corporate ladder and get into higher level

618
00:32:23.880 --> 00:32:27.039
leadership positions like you were able to obtain. What advice

619
00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:28.759
would you give that person.

620
00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:30.240
Well, several things.

621
00:32:30.279 --> 00:32:34.160
And I draw from my learnings by doing or by

622
00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:38.279
not doing by making mistakes. A is that never shun

623
00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:41.599
any work that's given to you, because that's I'm getting

624
00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:44.720
paid to learn it. Many times we make this mistake

625
00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:48.039
that i'm and that's where we get into the silo mentality. Oh,

626
00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:50.559
I'm in accounting, I'm not going to do sales. Guess

627
00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:52.839
what if I'm in an accounting I get the opportunity

628
00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:55.480
to do sales. I'm learning a new skill set. I

629
00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:58.640
wonder if I'm an entrepreneur, I have to even go

630
00:32:58.720 --> 00:33:04.480
and clean the toyet. So the more skills I get

631
00:33:04.640 --> 00:33:07.440
the chance to learn, the better and especially if I'm

632
00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:12.680
starting off my career, I'm younger, I have less familial responsibilities,

633
00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:15.640
so I have more time. So instead of complaining, oh,

634
00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:19.000
I'm working long hours, be guess what if I'm working

635
00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:22.039
long hours, They're also paying for my meals. They may

636
00:33:22.039 --> 00:33:24.759
be giving me a bonus, So I'm getting paid to

637
00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:25.799
learn skills.

638
00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:26.559
It's a win win.

639
00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:30.799
Second is that I will have different types of people

640
00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:34.480
around me. Many times the joke is about the boss.

641
00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:39.680
My boss is something negative, but I remember my boss's

642
00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:43.720
boss used to tell me, Navid, managing your boss is

643
00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:48.279
also a very key skill set, and eventually I learned

644
00:33:48.279 --> 00:33:51.759
that was such a skill to have. You will have

645
00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:55.359
different types of people, mostly people you find very difficult

646
00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:58.359
to work with, but if you figure out how to

647
00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:03.240
work with them without losing your temper or your patients.

648
00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:06.960
As a random I was talking about, that's the other

649
00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:10.920
skill you're building. So I really would say, these are

650
00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:14.480
the things you embrace as you're going up. And the

651
00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:20.119
third is, of course, John, you mentioned about building your contacts,

652
00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:24.280
meaning your social capital. Go out meet people, and one

653
00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:26.320
thing I would do is that I would go a

654
00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:29.400
totally different department and then I say, oh, hi, how

655
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:30.000
are you doing.

656
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:32.559
So I was even socially.

657
00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:36.079
I was going to other departments getting to know them

658
00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:40.360
because engineers are different type of people, marketing people are

659
00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:42.119
a little different, sales are different.

660
00:34:42.280 --> 00:34:43.039
HR is different.

661
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:47.880
So you're also learning to appreciate and learn about different

662
00:34:47.920 --> 00:34:51.599
kinds of people. So as you're going up, you're more

663
00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:54.800
well rounded, and not only in skill set, but also

664
00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:57.920
dealing with different type of people, different type of scenarios,

665
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:01.639
different type of pressures, and event it helps. And I'm

666
00:35:01.639 --> 00:35:03.960
also going to talk draw again on these three years

667
00:35:03.960 --> 00:35:06.360
that I was a stay on dad. I quit my job,

668
00:35:06.440 --> 00:35:09.320
I was stay home dad, and when I went back,

669
00:35:09.599 --> 00:35:11.960
I thought I was a better leader because I look,

670
00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:15.800
when you're raising a child at home, you are twenty

671
00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:20.920
four seven, three sixty five doing all kinds of work

672
00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:23.960
that you don't even know that existed. So when you're

673
00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:27.880
at the workplace, you're even better equipped. And this really

674
00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:31.440
goes to women who have children in the corporate world.

675
00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:34.679
Many times they're shunned upon it is, oh, you've been

676
00:35:34.719 --> 00:35:37.280
away from the workforce three years, I don't know if

677
00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:39.360
you're going to fit in. Guess what, I think she

678
00:35:39.440 --> 00:35:42.559
will fit in better because she had this hands on MBA.

679
00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:47.559
And this brings me to this Swedish ambassador to Bangladesh.

680
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:49.239
He and I were very good friends.

681
00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:49.679
Same thing.

682
00:35:49.719 --> 00:35:52.400
He had three kids and in Sweden, I don't know

683
00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:54.920
if you know this, that both parents get.

684
00:35:54.760 --> 00:35:56.559
Twenty months off when you have a child.

685
00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:59.599
And it's not that the mom will take twenty months

686
00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:01.679
and the will say no, you know what, I won't

687
00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:04.000
take it to know. It is mandatory that at least

688
00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:06.480
one parent has to take at least eight months and

689
00:36:06.519 --> 00:36:09.000
the whole idea is that both will know what parenting is.

690
00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:12.159
And historically it's been seen that when they go back

691
00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:15.400
to the workforce they're actually better leaders. And the Swedish

692
00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:17.559
ambassador told me in a bit when I came back

693
00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:20.239
from these two years of being at home as a

694
00:36:20.280 --> 00:36:24.280
stay of dad, I was a diplomat at a whole

695
00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:28.280
different level. I was such a good diplomat. So I

696
00:36:28.280 --> 00:36:30.280
agree as I talked a lot, but I think this

697
00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:34.800
is what it is. Even embracing this experience. You take

698
00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:38.760
your time off, you become something. There's a janitor who's

699
00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:40.719
cleaning the room at the end of the day, you

700
00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:43.599
go and chit chat with him. Everything is learning experienced

701
00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:45.039
that eventually makes you better leave.

702
00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:49.519
Yeah, your tolerance level also goes up once you are

703
00:36:49.719 --> 00:36:54.679
raising kids. You know your patience, your tolerance, and another

704
00:36:54.760 --> 00:36:58.400
thing I have seen that you become more empathetic. You

705
00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:02.320
become so empathetic. I have an experience working in daycare

706
00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:07.079
while I was doing my PhD and staying from six

707
00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:11.199
m to six pm with kids. The level of tolerance

708
00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:15.840
I had to have so that is unbelievable, and I

709
00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:19.280
think those are the skill that made me more patient

710
00:37:19.440 --> 00:37:24.679
and then understanding and empathetic as a leader, understanding that plan.

711
00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:29.079
My final question, Yeah, my final question to you is

712
00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:33.599
we hear so the word success in so many angles,

713
00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:36.960
and the younger generation now measures success in so many

714
00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:42.719
different mattresses. What is success to you? How would you,

715
00:37:43.079 --> 00:37:47.000
from your personal point of view, measure success.

716
00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:50.400
As you just met randomizy. It's very multi demands, so

717
00:37:50.679 --> 00:37:53.239
it's also very subjective. Is how you look at it?

718
00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:55.079
Now? The question is how do I look at it?

719
00:37:55.119 --> 00:37:58.320
So please do bear in mind it's a very subjective response.

720
00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:03.280
Nobody should. It really has varied over time. When I

721
00:38:03.320 --> 00:38:06.960
was younger, it was recognition, it was possession, it was

722
00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:10.480
even money, And now that I'm older, I would say

723
00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:13.719
those are manifestations, but it's really boised under the fact

724
00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:17.599
that have I made a difference in somebody's life? I

725
00:38:17.639 --> 00:38:20.280
think that is the key to success. Have I made

726
00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:24.000
somebody happy? Did I make somebody move away from a

727
00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:25.679
very dire situation.

728
00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:28.280
To seeing the light? That I think is success?

729
00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:33.679
So this itself also has different manifestations. Maybe somebody is

730
00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:36.440
suicidal and I said, hey, you know what, it's not

731
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:38.320
the end of the world. There's so much for you

732
00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:40.679
to look forward to. And they say, oh yeah, a wait,

733
00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:42.960
you know what, You're right. I never knew that. Or

734
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:45.760
somebody was depressed, came to my comedy show and I've

735
00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:46.599
had this situation.

736
00:38:46.639 --> 00:38:49.239
Somebody said, I've had this loss in the family.

737
00:38:49.320 --> 00:38:52.000
I've been in mourning for the last six months, and

738
00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:54.519
this is the first time today in six months I

739
00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:55.239
actually laughed.

740
00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:58.159
Thank you so much. I feel better. So that's also success.

741
00:38:58.639 --> 00:39:03.000
And somebody who was on drugs moved away from drugs somehow.

742
00:39:03.039 --> 00:39:04.960
If I was able to do it, that success.

743
00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:07.239
And of course yes, if I say that I got

744
00:39:07.239 --> 00:39:10.840
a Netflix special, that is also success. So all these

745
00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:12.800
are successes. But at the end of the day, even

746
00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:16.480
that Netflix special, if somebody actually watches and smiles, well

747
00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:19.440
that was not really funny, that was enlightening.

748
00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:22.119
That's also success. Made my final thing.

749
00:39:22.199 --> 00:39:25.360
I got it because I love comedy. So can you

750
00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:28.519
give us just a little taste of your comedy, whether

751
00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:31.480
it be a joke or story. I need a laugh,

752
00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:32.559
So go ahead.

753
00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:36.280
You need a laugh. I think this is a true,

754
00:39:36.760 --> 00:39:40.239
fairly true story. And my kid when the second one.

755
00:39:40.320 --> 00:39:42.960
When the first one I was six years old. She's

756
00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:45.079
a daddy. I want an iPhone? I said, why, God,

757
00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:47.559
I so my friend has an iPhone. I need an iPhone.

758
00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:49.679
I said, your friend goes and jumps into the river.

759
00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:52.039
Will you jump into the river, not daddy, I'll just

760
00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:54.800
go and take his iPhone. Now that's funny, but that's

761
00:39:54.880 --> 00:39:59.360
also tells you how brutally, honest and laterally kids think.

762
00:39:59.639 --> 00:40:03.320
And so that's a funny story, and that actually applies

763
00:40:03.400 --> 00:40:04.440
to leadership.

764
00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:06.960
And then because sometimes we shun it.

765
00:40:07.320 --> 00:40:09.320
Many times we say, oh, you're young, what do you know?

766
00:40:09.599 --> 00:40:13.000
But then you'll realise that young people actually think laterally

767
00:40:13.079 --> 00:40:16.159
and you say, you know what, I never thought about that.

768
00:40:15.719 --> 00:40:16.960
That is funny.

769
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:20.440
And sometimes those six year olds can have better ideas

770
00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:22.599
than we do. That's the funny thing about that.

771
00:40:23.159 --> 00:40:25.760
Maytimes, that's why they have the same kids say the

772
00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:29.880
darnest things. And that's why I always treat my kids

773
00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:33.159
as peers, never as children. And they love that. And

774
00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:35.760
in the process, I'm also being very selfish because sometimes

775
00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:38.280
they'd say things and you, hey, man, that was a

776
00:40:38.320 --> 00:40:40.239
great idea, and I take that idea, use it to

777
00:40:40.320 --> 00:40:42.519
work at work. And they said I mean, you're brilliant,

778
00:40:42.559 --> 00:40:43.360
I say, I know.

779
00:40:43.719 --> 00:40:45.119
Actually I got it from my kids.

780
00:40:45.719 --> 00:40:48.280
We've really learned a lot from you, and we appreciate

781
00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:51.000
your time. My final question, because I think this is

782
00:40:51.239 --> 00:40:55.000
really the essence of great whether it be comedy or

783
00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:58.280
a radio show, or all of those forms of communication

784
00:40:58.760 --> 00:41:01.920
that are one too many, is this idea of preparation,

785
00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:05.559
because I see so many people in our industry struggle

786
00:41:05.639 --> 00:41:08.679
to prepare. When you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

787
00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:10.840
What are some of the key things that you do

788
00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:13.639
in preparation for anything you do, whether it be your

789
00:41:13.719 --> 00:41:16.880
TV show or your any of your comedy shows.

790
00:41:17.239 --> 00:41:19.360
Sure, one thing I try not to do is be

791
00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:23.719
too scripted, because it shows if you're If I'm too scripted,

792
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:27.159
people will know this guy. As you people were talking

793
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:31.360
about the audience. They want that personal attention. So if

794
00:41:31.400 --> 00:41:34.199
I'm on stage, if I'm scripted, the audience will know

795
00:41:34.480 --> 00:41:37.920
Navidia is not with me. Navidis with a script. His

796
00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:40.159
mind is that on a piece of paper. So one

797
00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:43.239
thing I never do is that I never be too scripted.

798
00:41:43.559 --> 00:41:46.159
And the other thing is I cannot be also because

799
00:41:46.159 --> 00:41:48.360
I've got a terrible memory. So if I try to

800
00:41:48.400 --> 00:41:50.400
remember things. It's going to just be bad.

801
00:41:50.559 --> 00:41:50.719
Now.

802
00:41:50.719 --> 00:41:53.079
What I do, of course, is that I have a

803
00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:56.199
mental preparation, but also plan B, Plan C, Plan D,

804
00:41:56.639 --> 00:41:59.880
because I don't know in comedy at least what their

805
00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:02.519
going to be receptive too. So if I have things

806
00:42:02.519 --> 00:42:04.360
that are okay today, I'm going to talk politics, and

807
00:42:04.440 --> 00:42:07.360
I go and find out they're all college kids. Politics

808
00:42:07.559 --> 00:42:09.119
is now out of the window, so I better have

809
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:11.280
something else to talk about. So I have my bag

810
00:42:11.320 --> 00:42:14.199
of tricks. Now, if you're doing a presentation, it's a

811
00:42:14.239 --> 00:42:16.519
little easier because now you know, okay, I'm going to

812
00:42:16.519 --> 00:42:20.360
give a present technical presentation on wireless communication, so I

813
00:42:20.440 --> 00:42:23.119
know the topics because now you say, okay, fine, I

814
00:42:23.199 --> 00:42:26.480
got ten minutes, so i'd better know what I'm going

815
00:42:26.519 --> 00:42:29.400
to talk in ten minutes, If not line by line,

816
00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:32.880
at least I'm going to try and address these four

817
00:42:32.920 --> 00:42:35.679
points and maybe have those four points in a bullet

818
00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:39.000
or somewhere, but at least have my eyes on the audience.

819
00:42:39.280 --> 00:42:41.840
I can be looking at my notes all the time. Okay,

820
00:42:42.039 --> 00:42:44.079
you just take a glimpse and then look and thirt

821
00:42:44.159 --> 00:42:46.400
is you time it, Because if it's a ten minute speech,

822
00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:49.159
you gotta do make it a seven minute speech, because

823
00:42:49.199 --> 00:42:51.400
if you're to make it a ten minute speech, that's

824
00:42:51.400 --> 00:42:53.840
going to spill over to fifteen minutes, and then what's happened.

825
00:42:53.880 --> 00:42:54.679
You're running the light.

826
00:42:54.800 --> 00:42:58.400
Basically, you're taking over somebody's time or you're rushing through.

827
00:42:58.519 --> 00:43:01.760
Because remember, when you're actually giving that talk in front

828
00:43:01.800 --> 00:43:04.880
of people, there will be an applause break, you're going

829
00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:07.719
to think, you're going to try and remember you're.

830
00:43:07.559 --> 00:43:08.679
Going to answer a question.

831
00:43:09.159 --> 00:43:11.440
Those ten minutes are going to flip over spill over

832
00:43:11.480 --> 00:43:14.519
the fifteen minutes. You'd better have tight seven minutes for

833
00:43:14.599 --> 00:43:17.360
a ten minute slot, okay. And the third is that

834
00:43:17.400 --> 00:43:20.760
if you forget, nobody knows what you were trying to remember, right,

835
00:43:21.119 --> 00:43:23.679
don't apologize. But at the end of the day, keep

836
00:43:23.719 --> 00:43:28.440
it precise, keep it concise, be prepared beyond time, and

837
00:43:28.559 --> 00:43:32.800
deliver in a type fashion. And however you hold your attention.

838
00:43:33.119 --> 00:43:33.639
That's the key.

839
00:43:34.159 --> 00:43:37.079
Yeah, all good things for leaders and public speakers to know,

840
00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:40.119
whether you're in comedy or any other area. Navid, we

841
00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:42.960
can't thank you enough for your time and our final moments.

842
00:43:43.079 --> 00:43:45.079
Just tell us a little bit about where we can

843
00:43:45.159 --> 00:43:47.920
find your work. If there's any places where you can

844
00:43:48.079 --> 00:43:50.880
we can watch your shows and what you have coming

845
00:43:50.920 --> 00:43:52.599
up in the future that we can look forward to

846
00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:53.519
paying attention to.

847
00:43:54.480 --> 00:43:57.960
Sure, the one stop shop is my website Navid Mahabu

848
00:43:58.079 --> 00:44:00.400
dot com. Very simple, my name and if E E

849
00:44:00.559 --> 00:44:03.280
D M E hp uv dot com. So once you

850
00:44:03.360 --> 00:44:06.000
go there, now you can pick your choice. If you

851
00:44:06.000 --> 00:44:09.000
want to follow me on Instagram, click Instagram or Facebook

852
00:44:09.159 --> 00:44:10.559
or TikTok.

853
00:44:10.280 --> 00:44:11.880
Or YouTube or LinkedIn.

854
00:44:12.480 --> 00:44:15.079
The whole nine yards everything is there and you can

855
00:44:15.079 --> 00:44:17.159
watch my clips, reels, videos over there.

856
00:44:17.639 --> 00:44:19.000
What are the big things happening?

857
00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:23.559
I'm I'm looking to resume my linatedight show, but more

858
00:44:23.719 --> 00:44:27.559
on a podcast format because now since that's very popular,

859
00:44:28.039 --> 00:44:30.920
so do look out for that. I'm may have a

860
00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:35.000
special out my Bobles Special Loud, but we'll be online somewhere,

861
00:44:35.519 --> 00:44:39.719
an English special some point when I garner some traction

862
00:44:39.880 --> 00:44:42.679
because I'm in the West, I'm trying to build an audience.

863
00:44:43.400 --> 00:44:44.440
So pretty much, that's it.

864
00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:47.400
All those links down in those show notes. Navi Baboo,

865
00:44:47.440 --> 00:44:49.519
thank you so much for your time today. We learned

866
00:44:49.559 --> 00:44:50.239
so much from you.

867
00:44:50.840 --> 00:44:54.079
Thank you, John, thank you, Jim, and thank you, thank you.

868
00:44:55.400 --> 00:44:57.880
Thank you for joining us this week at the Limitless

869
00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:00.960
Leadership Lounge. To listen to this episode again and to

870
00:45:01.039 --> 00:45:05.000
find previous episodes, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

871
00:45:05.159 --> 00:45:07.559
and spreakare. You can also get in on the conversation

872
00:45:07.800 --> 00:45:10.519
find us on Facebook and Instagram. Then tell three of

873
00:45:10.559 --> 00:45:13.800
your friends to join in as well. Coach Numa and John.

874
00:45:13.840 --> 00:45:16.800
We'll be back again next week for another try generational

875
00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:20.239
leadership discussion. We'll talk to you then on the Limitless

876
00:45:20.360 --> 00:45:22.880
Leadership Lounge