Arun Bhatt

[Sampark Foundation @Samparkorg]

Celebrating the teachers of Jharkhand at this year’s Top Teacher Awards!

Here are moments from Ranchi and Koderma, where teachers shared their experiences and classroom practices.

Sampark works with 29,153 schools across 20 districts in the state. #TopTeacherAward #Jharkhand

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

What if “giving back” is the wrong way to think about CSR?

Last week, I was invited to deliver a 30-minute keynote at a major CSR conclave. Eight minutes into my talk, I was stopped. So I never got to finish what I had gone there to say. Let me finish it here.

My grandfather had a small shop at Jalandhar railway station. I remember my grandmother giving a few coins or some food to almost anyone who came asking for help. They were not very well off themselves, so I once asked her why. She said, “Because they need it more than we do. It is our responsibility.” 

That word stayed with me. Responsibility. My mother believed the same thing, and that is what we grew up believing too. 

I have never really understood the phrase “giving back”. Whatever position we reach in life, we don't get there alone. Parents, teachers, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and sometimes people whose names we may not even remember helped us along the way.

So when our turn comes to help somebody else, are we really giving back? I don't think so. We are simply doing for somebody what many people once did for us. We are taking our share of responsibility. And that changes how we look at CSR.

Think about our responsibility towards our children. We don't give them what is convenient for us. We try to understand what they need. We don't expect them to feel indebted to us. And hopefully we don't raise them to win the Best Parent Award.

Why should CSR be so different? If we think we are giving, the conversation can easily become about us. What should we give? How much? And how should we talk about what we have done?

But if we believe it is our responsibility, we start somewhere else. What do people really need? What will make a difference? And are we willing to stay long enough to see that difference?

Perhaps that is the real question. Not how much did we give back, but did we do enough for those who needed us? That was the thought I couldn't finish last week. I have now!

I would love to know what you think. Is there some truth in this, or am I just flying kites?

[Sampark Foundation @Samparkorg]

Leaders from 8 states brought different realities and strong views to our mid-year strategy meeting in Noida, all driven by one commitment: making teachers extraordinary and learning joyful for over 2 crore children.

#SamparkFoundation

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

What did Monet see that the rest of us couldn’t?

I kept asking myself this yesterday, standing in front of his extraordinary Water Lilies at Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.

We all see trees, water and sky.

Monet saw light, reflections, colours and shapes that perhaps the rest of us simply didn’t notice.And from them he created magic.

It made me wonder. How much is around us that we simply don’t see?

An opportunity. A connection.A possibility.

Maybe imagination begins when we see what everyone else sees, but see something more.

And perhaps there is a little Monet hiding in each one of us.

Today, the Humans First movement starts its journey in France. An interview with HBR France this morning, followed by conversations at various forums through the week.

I can’t think of a better thought with which to begin hoping each one of us find our own Water Lillies.

Humans First.

[` @wrendomx]

Vidyut Jammwal is finally getting what he has always deserved

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

France, here I come!

I have always loved France.

Maybe it started with Zidane. Mbappé certainly helped. And of course the food and wine!

But what I enjoy most are the conversations.

The French love to question, debate, disagree, and challenge you. I love that.

Maybe that is why France embraced Employees First, Customers Second like few other countries did. Some of my most memorable conversations around the book happened there.

And now I am coming back with Humans First, Machines Second.

My dear friend, Charles-Henri Besseyre des Horts has decided the best way to welcome me back is to make me work! He has lined up 13 speeches and conversations in one week.

On October 21, I will also be speaking at UNLEASH Paris.

This time, the question I am bringing with me is different.

As machines become smarter, how do we make sure humans don’t begin to feel smaller?

I can’t think of a better place to have that conversation.

France, looking forward to arguing with you again.

And hopefully finding some time between those 13 speeches for the food and wine!

À bientôt!

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

Two months ago, we started with an idea. I had no idea how far it would travel.

Six cities. Over 8,000 registrations. Nearly 3,800 people who showed up in person. And countless conversations that went far beyond the auditoriums.

I still remember wondering whether anyone would turn up when we booked those large halls. And then came the queues, the extra chairs, the questions, the laughter, and complete strangers walking up to tell me what Humans First meant to them.

And somewhere along the way, something changed.

What began as a conversation around a book became an idea that people started making their own.

Kolkata brought our India journey to a beautiful close. But what stays with me isn't the numbers. It's the people who believed in this idea, the wonderful teams who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and the thousands who gave it a life beyond anything I had imagined.

Perhaps that is how a movement really begins. Not when one person speaks, but when thousands begin to believe that the idea belongs to them.

We came together to plant a few seeds. Where they grow from here is no longer entirely in our hands. And perhaps that's the most exciting part.

Thank you, Kolkata.❤️

The India tour may have ended. The Humans First journey has only just begun.

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

Perhaps the most important conversation about AI should begin at our dining tables.

We spend so much time wondering what AI will do to our children's future. But are we spending enough time thinking about how we are preparing them for it?

For generations, we have encouraged children to memorise answers, follow instructions and avoid mistakes. Yet the world they are entering will reward something quite different.

The courage to question.
The freedom to experiment.
The imagination to attempt what has never been done before.

I believe parents have a much bigger role to play here than we realise. A child who is encouraged to ask “why not?” at home is more likely to challenge the obvious outside it.

AI can give our children answers.
But who will teach them to ask questions that have never been asked before?

That is where parenting in the age of AI must begin.

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

@timesofindia

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

Calcutta, oh Calcutta!

My first visit was in the summer of 1984.
Hot like hell. My shirt stuck to my back, the streets were overflowing with people, noise, and colour, and those yellow Ambassador taxis honked their way through impossible gaps, seemingly powered by sheer willpower. I should have wanted to escape. Instead, I wanted to explore.

Maybe there was a reason it felt strangely familiar. My family’s Calcutta story had started in the 1930s. My grandfather worked here with the government, and my father was born here. I never met my grandfather. He died when my father was just three, but I grew up hearing stories about him. They became part of our family folklore.

Two years later, I was back on work, staying at Hotel Hindusthan International near Park Street. My first experience of a five-star hotel. Or at least I thought so at the time.
That is when I began discovering my own Calcutta.

Tangra, became the go to place for Pomfret Fry and cold beer. The smell of garlic and chilli from the hot woks, huge portions arriving at the table and absolutely no possibility of stopping when you should have.

And then there were the evenings. Calcutta’s clubs with live singers, music, drinks and conversations that seemed in no hurry to end. There was something wonderfully relaxed about those nights. Nobody appeared to be rushing home.

Sunday afternoons were different. I would disappear into the old bookshops. I can still remember the smell of old paper, dusty shelves and books piled on top of each other. I would go in for a few minutes and come out hours later.

Even work was different. I would walk into an office for a meeting and the conversation would begin with football, fish, family or whatever everyone was excited about that day. Eventually somebody remembered that we had come there to work.

Over time, I realised there was something I loved about Calcutta. People were passionate about so many things beyond their jobs. Their language, books, music, food, football, and friendships. They argued loudly, laughed easily, and rarely hid how they felt. Maybe Calcutta taught me that life becomes richer when work is only one of the things you care deeply about.

Now, 42 years after that first visit, I am coming back.

Older, definitely. Wiser? Let’s not get carried away 😄

But very excited to return to a city that was part of my family’s story before it became part of mine.

Friday the 9th of October. Humans First Talk.

Calcutta, how about we meet? ❤️

Smiles,
Vineet

Apply here to get an invitation - https://t.co/mKx9HdNoF7

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

Today, 40 years ago, I was at Margherita Tea Garden in Assam.

I had no plan. No idea where life would take me. I just wanted to marry the girl I loved and earn a living so I don’t depend on my mother. Nothing else really mattered.

And somehow, through the good and the bad, things did work out okay.

I have no advice for anyone. Even after 40 years, I still don’t know how life works.

All I know is someone out there has a plan for each one of us, it will happen someday, as long as we don’t stop trying.

Just don’t give up.

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

There is a lot of noise around AI killing humanity.

I disagree.

The bigger danger may not be what AI does to us , but what we stop doing for ourselves because of AI.

I was on India Today last night, talking about exactly this.

Watch and tell me: What worries you more . AI becoming too powerful, or humans becoming less powerful?

Link to watch - https://t.co/BvhZdLEND0

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired #AI

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

600+ people walked into a hall in Bengaluru on Sunday. Somehow, by the time we left, it felt like a room full of friends.

To each of you who spent your Sunday afternoon with me, thank you.

You could have been anywhere else. Instead, you came, listened, questioned, laughed and shared your stories. You gave me something very precious: your time and your trust. I don’t take either lightly.

Seeing so many familiar faces was emotional too. Old friends, old memories and conversations that somehow started exactly where we had left them.

I went home that evening feeling energised, grateful and very lucky.

Here is a glimpse of some memories we made together.

Bengaluru, thank you.

Chennai, are you ready?

See you on 19 September.

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

[Sampark Foundation @Samparkorg]

Some of the best days in a classroom are the ones filled with new faces and new energy.

Thank you to the Citi India volunteers who joined us for a day of learning, activities, and genuine connection with our students. We are grateful for partners who choose to be part of this journey with us.

#CitiVolunteers #GlobalCommunityDay #Education #TogetherForChange

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

My Mother once taught me the power of knowing when to say

 “ENOUGH.”

Years later, I find myself thinking about that word again - this time, in a world that can’t seem to stop talking about AI.

Not because it isn’t extraordinary. It is.

But while the world keeps asking what AI will be capable of next, I’m far more curious about what we will be capable of next.

Machines will keep getting smarter.

That is inevitable.

How much further we push our own potential is up to us.

That’s a possibility worth thinking about.

Glad to see this conversation find its way into Mumbai Mirror. @mumbaimirror

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

ARE WE BUILDING THE FUTURE OR JUST IMPROVING THE PAST?

It’s been a month since Humans First, Machines Second went out into the world. And perhaps it’s time to move the conversation from reading ideas to challenging them.

Over the next few weeks, I want to take your inside on some of the Sparks from Humans First, Machines Second - not to explain what I wrote, but to provoke what you might reimagine.

Let’s start with one question:

What would you reimagine if efficiency was no longer the goal?

Tell me in the comments.

Your answer might just spark the next conversation.

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

[vinod bhatt @vinodbhatt102]

Do read the cover story in ‘The Week” out today about our Scientific and Environmental expedition to Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (1993)

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

THE STRANGEST THING ABOUT WRITING A BOOK?

People sometimes discover things in it that you never realised you had written.

You begin with an idea that has stayed with you for years.

You surround it with experiences, failures, questions, and convictions.

Then you let it go.

And something interesting happens.

Someone reads those same pages through the lens of their own experiences and discovers a meaning you may never have intended but one that feels entirely their own.

Perhaps that is one of the most fascinating things about writing a book.

Once it reaches the reader, the ideas begin a life of their own.

A new perspective on Humans First, Machines Second in Business Standard. @bsindia

For those curious to explore the pages themselves: https://t.co/SRJEW1FPQH

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

[Arun Bhatt @arunhighland]

@vinodbhatt102 Fantastic work ….kudos

[vinod bhatt @vinodbhatt102]

As an environmentalist I am presentlyChiefMentor of Atulya Ganga https://t.co/PEeSzN57kX 1993, I led a Multi Dimensional Scientific & Ecological Expedition toNandadevi Biosphere Reserve The teamsummited thepeak also found nuclear device asgarbage left behind. Please read Week👆

[Vineet Nayar @vineetnayar]

THIS TIME, NSE RANG A DIFFERENT KIND OF BELL.

Something rather unusual happened at the National Stock Exchange that evening.

A space known for celebrating milestones witnessed a different kind of moment — hundreds of people coming together to put human potential at the centre of the conversation.

If Delhi gave the Humans First Movement its first spark, Mumbai gave it momentum.

To everyone who filled that room with your energy, questions and belief — thank you for being part of a rather special first at NSE.

And this is only getting started.

#HumansFirst #HumansFirstMachinesSecond #HFMS #StayInspired

@TiEMumbai | @SHRMindia | @PenguinIndia | @NSEIndia