In a riveting session on building people for success and ISRO’s own journey of growth, Dr. S. Somanath, Chairman-ISRO, spoke about how the quality of organizational leadership in ISRO has contributed to both individual and institutional growth. He was speaking on the first day of the 13th edition of INSIGHT: The DNA of Success, hosted by Sadhguru Academy at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, from 21–24 November 2024.

Paying tribute to the roll call of illustrious leaders who have helmed India’s premier space exploration agency, Dr. Somanath said each of them contributed to establishing a culture of innovation, exploration and fearlessness that have enabled passionate and inspired teams to pull off some of the most spectacular space missions on bootstrapped budgets.

Speaking about one of ISRO’s most famous Chiefs, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam who was also the President of India, Dr. Somanath said, “He was working on all the people who actually built those rockets. He believed people have great strength and using that strength you can actually build anything that you want.” He also spoke about the evolution of the space agency from an idea struggling to find funding and direction, that had to earn the trust of the political system by demonstrating the benefits of space exploration for the common man to its present status as one of the most reputed and respected space agencies in the world.

Key Resource Leader Dipali Goenka, CEO & MD of Welspun Living Ltd., in conversation with program facilitator B.S. Nagesh, spoke about her journey from being a young homemaker in a traditional Marwari family to establishing Welspun Living as one of the largest home textile companies in the world. Goenka was recognized by Forbes as the 16th Most Powerful Woman in Asia after Welspun’s meteoric growth. A vocal champion of gender parity in business, Dipali has focused on increasing women participation in her own workforce. “When I came into Welspun, there were just 7% women. Today, I'm proud to say there are around 30% women. And I'm talking about a workforce of around 15,000 people at Welspun Living Ltd.” she said.

Many women participants in the audience were interested in understanding how Dipali navigated the largely patriarchal business world to find her way to the top. “I always tell everybody that when you start something, don't only look for success, enjoy that journey because it's all about that journey we are going to learn and you're not going to always succeed in something, you're going to learn in that process and evolve in that process,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Sadhguru, who is currently overseas joined Day1 proceedings online and said, “Bharat was once the largest manufacturing nation on the planet. But 250 years of occupation turned us into desperate people seeking a clerical job in Her Majesty’s service. Fortunately, this generation is dropping that mentality. We have over 100 million entrepreneurs – the highest in the world. What is needed now is our nation’s enterprise must scale up. This is why INSIGHT.”

He responded to questions about his health, reassuring the audience that he is making good progress.

The post-lunch session of Day 1 included an Indian classical dance performance by the students of Isha Samskriti, a residential school for Indian music, dance, martial arts and Yoga.

INSIGHT: The DNA of Success is a four-day residential program hosted annually by Sadhguru Academy at Isha Yoga Center Coimbatore. It is designed for entrepreneurs and business leaders and led by Sadhguru and some of India’s most iconic business leaders, exploring the science of scaling up businesses while also enhancing human beings to become more impactful leaders.