It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a rickshaw rocket! The curious installation finds a place of pride at the entrance of Spanda Hall. It is a perfect symbol of India and Bharat – young and old, modern and ancient, organized and chaotic all at once but most of all, impatient and poised to fly – perhaps a reflection of Indian entrepreneurship today.

It is day 1 of Isha INSIGHT – those 4 days in a year when commerce navigates the revolving door between a carnival and a conference. Over 200 entrepreneurs with a combined work experience of more than 3000 years, united by a thirst to scale their enterprise and themselves, come together for the program. “An entrepreneur is not just running a business. He is a seeker – of solutions and possibilities. If you are not in seeking mode, you will not be in the enterprise mode,” Sadhguru tells them in an opener they have been eagerly waiting for. For many, it is their first INSIGHT and they are not sure what to expect while INSIGHT veterans have come to realize that the program is designed to be full of surprises.

For now, it is the business of business. Ashutosh Pandey, program co-host, sets the tone: This century belongs to India and INSIGHT will look at how entrepreneurs can turn a promising possibility into a reality that will make the world’s largest democracy the greatest gift to the world.

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The weight of wealth in the room is heady – not material wealth but the wealth of knowledge, experience, expertise and above all, a burning passion to build businesses that are much more than just commerce. Everyone is here seeking to know how to make their business a little bit more than just balance sheets and bottom lines, how to build people, institutions and the nation.

The opportunities are dizzying, as Thampy Koshy, the CEO of Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) knows and is excited to share. ONDC is shooting for the stars as it attempts to bring about a radical overhaul of digital commerce that will flatten the playing field of e-commerce. What the organization is creating will be an opportunity for merit to win the market and “do away with the spell of powerful branding” as Thampy puts it. In other words, it will be a place for everyone - from rickshaws to rockets and everything in between.

On the cards is a thoughtful session by Amit Kalra, a global business services leader, on leadership levers at an organization, its vulnerabilities and the secret formula for any company’s transformation. “The three pillars of a company are people, investors and customers. If the company shuts down, they should wish it came back to life,” says Amit decoding the process of transforming a company from good to great.

As the mesmerizing Adiyogi Divya Darshanam brings day 1 to a close, there is only one question on everyone’s lips: What will tomorrow hold?

Editor's Note: Isha INSIGHT is a unique business leadership intensive held at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore. The program aims to explore the science of scaling up one’s business as well as one’s self through four days of intense interactions with highly accomplished business leaders and Sadhguru. 

The 11th edition of the program is taking place from 24–27 November 2022. To know more: ishainsight.org