What does it really mean to act on your values at work? Most of us think speaking up means confrontation—blowing the whistle, telling your boss they're wrong, or risking your career. But what if there's a better way?

In this episode, Senthil talks with Mary Gentile, creator of Giving Voice to Values, about how to navigate ethical conflicts with skill, strategy, and authenticity. Mary spent decades studying how leaders actually speak up—not through preaching or confrontation, but through practical tactics grounded in who they are. We explore what values really are, why we freeze when facing conflicts, and how you can prepare yourself to act on what matters most—even in cultures where speaking up feels impossible.

Link to Mary Gentile's book: Giving Voice to Values

Please visit our website, www.businessandsociety.net, for more inspiration.

What does business owe society? And what does society owe business in return? These aren't abstract questions—they're survival questions. As climate change accelerates, democracies falter, and mission-driven companies struggle to stay afloat, we need a new conversation about what capitalism can actually do. This week, we sit down with Rebecca Henderson to explore the real constraints, the hidden power of the private sector, and why this moment might be more hopeful than it seems.

Rebecca Henderson is one of 25 University Professors at Harvard and author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire. We talk about climate commitments, investor power, the future of democracy, and what it takes to build a business that lasts. If you're a founder, a leader, or simply trying to understand how we got here and where we go next, this conversation is for you.

More about Rebecca's work and research: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=12345

Please visit our website, www.businessandsociety.net, for more inspiration.

What does it mean to live a full life — not just a successful one? Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Procter & Gamble India and one of the subcontinent's most celebrated public intellectuals, has spent a lifetime asking exactly that. In this conversation, he reflects on his memoir Another Sort of Freedom, tracing a life shaped by restlessness, curiosity, and the classical Indian framework of the four aims — Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. From being fired on his first day in business to navigating the ethical minefield of the License Raj, from quitting the corporate world at fifty to write and think, to walking into the offices of Sonia Gandhi and L.K. Advani and finding no political home — his journey is as unlikely as it is instructive.

Along the way, Gurcharan shares the idea he considers the most original in the Bhagavad Gita — Nishkam Karma, acting for the sake of the work itself, without attachment to personal reward — and why he believes it remains one of the most underappreciated gifts to modern leadership. He also offers a frank assessment of India's economic journey: what liberalisation delivered, what it failed to, and why he remains cautiously optimistic about the road ahead. A rich, wide-ranging conversation about business, philosophy, and the art of making a life.

Link to Gurcharan's website: https://gurcharandas.org/

Please visit our website, www.businessandsociety.net, for more inspiration.