Leading in a Complex and Uncertain World: How to Navigate the Challenges of the 21st Century.
Namaste and welcome, everyone, to this special Leadership Talk series, brought to you by the Partha Ghosh Academy of Leadership at IIT Kharagpur. I am Pranav Patel, the Senior Executive Officer of the Academy, and today, I have the pleasure of starting our inspiring series of Leadership Talks with none other than our esteemed founder, Dr. Partha S. Ghosh. Today’s topic is both timely and transformative: “The Leadership Movement Towards an Enlightened Civilization.”
Dr. Partha S. Ghosh is a celebrated policy advisor, strategist, and innovator of business and economic models. He has been instrumental in guiding corporations, startups, and governments across technology-driven industries worldwide. With degrees rom MIT and IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Ghosh is also deeply engaged in philanthropy and public service. He is described by his peers as a modern-day Renaissance Man for his ability to connect dots across disciplines, and his belief in reimagining the basic tenets of economic and social structures to create a more enlightened world. Above all his humility and integrity are exemplary.
HOW WAS THIS BOOK WRITTEN?
This book emerged from a series of deep, one-on-one conversations between Dr. Partha S. Ghosh – a globally recognized thought leader and strategist, Dr. Partha S. Ghosh a former Partner at McKinsey & Company, renowned for his groundbreaking work on strategic problem-solving across diverse industries. With academic affiliations to prestigious institutions like MIT and Tufts University, he bridges academia and practice seamlessly. He brings a unique blend of intellectual depth and practical insight to leadership and governance, a true global thought leader, a renaissance man and myself, often conducted over video calls. These calls were scheduled early in the morning for me in India and late at night for Dr. Ghosh, a testament to his commitment to our shared vision. This dedication was reminiscent of the traditional guru-shishya
parampara—the lineage of mentor and disciple that has been a cornerstone of knowledge transfer in Indian culture, for that matter in Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Persian and Roman cultures. We embraced this spirit throughout our dialogues, aiming to distil complex ideas into actionable wisdom that readers can apply in their own leadership journeys. The book is structured as an ongoing conversation between Dr. Ghosh and myself – dynamic exchange of thoughts and reflections, blending insights from both Eastern and Western philosophies, Dr. Ghosh’s experiences of working with leaders across thirty six nations.






