📘Howard Gardening Story #14 — Azim Premji and Docendo Discimus

 

🌟 Time for another corporate “fairy tale”

Three invitations. One unusual honour.

This story comes from a personalized book I created, a few years ago, to honour Wipro’s iconic Founder, Azim Premji.

It’s a glimpse of what may happen when quiet conviction meets compassionate leadership — and when workplaces nurture not just performance, but purpose.

Here goes the summary of my fairy tale - 

In 2010, Premji received three separate Best Teacher Awards — not for himself, but on behalf of his company.

Why? Because his people weren’t just building code.

They were building classrooms.

It all started with a bold question: 

“What if our best employees taught in schools and colleges — not after they retire, but now?”

🌱 The program was called Docendo Discimus — Latin for ‘We learn when we teach.’

⭐ Premji gave employees world-class training who volunteered to teach real-world topics.

🎓 People loved it. Students learned what the curriculum never taught them.

🧠 The company coined a new term — Cub-sourcing — real project work done by students, enabling talent spotting, faster onboarding, and lower training costs.

This wasn't just CSR.

It was culture. Community. And a sustainable talent strategy.

🧑‍🏫 5,000 students were project-ready from Day 1 when they joined Wipro.

💼 Employee pride soared — with stars embossed on ID cards for every year they taught.

🏛️ And in 2010, three state Governors called this company - India’s best teacher.

Not bad for a company that never claimed to be in the business of education.

🌟 What legacy will your people leave behind — inside or outside the boardroom?

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The story above is just a glimpse. The full story lives in the book I crafted for Mr Premji. Feel free to ask him for a peek. 🙂

Howard Gardening Story #13 — Trupti’s SIP (Systematic Inner Peace)

Trupti’s week begins before dawn.

At 5 AM, she’s on the mat — flowing through yoga, anchored in breath, aligned with her purpose.

By 7 AM, she’s in the kitchen — preparing breakfast and mentally prepping her teenager for school and life.

 She’s not just managing time. She’s holding space — as a mother, a mentor, and a calm centre in the morning storm.

By 9 AM, she’s a Senior Programme Manager in a global IT firm, orchestrating digital solutions for clients across continents.

And on weekends? She becomes a guide for others. Teaching breathing techniques, meditation, and yoga — to professionals across Europe. Not to change the world, but to help them navigate their inner universe.

What’s striking is how her own leadership style is transforming — more composed, more intuitive, more resilient.

 Her wellness practice is no longer a separate part of life; it's the very core of how she leads, connects, parents, and grows.

🔎 She’s not chasing impact; she’s embodying it.

 🔎 She’s not managing work-life balance — she’s curating a rhythm of presence.

💡 What if every company noticed the “Truptis” in their workforce?

 💡 What if HR and CSR leaders nurtured these quiet superpowers?

Imagine a wellness teacher hiding in your code team.

 A therapist in your techie.

 A mother who leads not just her family, but her team — with the same care, clarity, and calm.

Not every hero wears a cape.

 Some wear track pants and carry a yoga mat to Zoom calls.

🔔 Howard Gardening invites HR and CSR Leaders to look within — and help others do the same.

 ✨ Because sometimes, the most profound transformation begins not outside,

 but in the breath between tasks… and the hand that packs a school tiffin with love.

Howard Gardening Story #12 — Anil the magician turning garbage into gold

 

After a successful stint at a leading automobile MNC in Germany, Anil returned to India.
For years, he had mastered combustion engines, supply chains, and global business strategies. But back home, a new calling emerged — quieter, yet more profound.

One morning, he had an epiphany: to dedicate his life to sustainability.

Today, Anil isn’t talking torque and horsepower. He’s teaching communities about composting, running workshops on waste segregation, and inspiring youth to rethink consumption. His venture turns everyday waste — banana peels, paper scraps, garden trimmings — into rich compost and community transformation.

What once was engineering for performance is now engineering for the planet.

It makes you wonder: what if his passion for sustainability had been noticed earlier?
Would a Mercedes be powered by kitchen waste today?
Would an Audi sprout a green conscience?

🚀 HR and CSR leaders — here’s your invitation.
Within your high performers may lie hidden crusaders — for the environment, for education, for equity. People who are waiting for a platform, not applause.

Can your talent systems spot them?
Can your engagement programs nurture them?

Anil is a reminder: great potential doesn’t always wear a label.
Sometimes it composts quietly — until it’s given sunlight.

#CSR #HowardGardening

Howard Gardening Story #11 — Christina, a seed that grew beyond our garden

 

Christina was our marcom manager. Quiet, efficient, and rarely one to speak at length.
She always got things done — no fuss, no spotlight. Just steady brilliance.

Back then, if you’d asked me whether she had a poet or author within her, I might’ve hesitated. Not because she lacked talent — but because she was so unassuming, you almost missed her sparkle.

And then, she left.

📖 Not long after, her book “I’ll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir Khan” made waves.
🌱 Christina had bloomed — not just as an author, but as a creator of impact.

She became an environmental journalist, conducted workshops for schoolchildren, and worked with startups to sharpen their brand voice.

She crafted websites, told stories that mattered, and quietly built a world of meaning.

🏆 Soon, she was recognised among India’s Top 100 brand and content custodians.

Today, she’s a global crusader — nurturing opportunities for content writers around the world. Empowering others to find their voice, just as she found hers.

Sometimes the quietest ones leave the loudest legacy.
And sometimes, we miss the treasure that was right there all along.

Christina was that hidden gem.
We’re proud she once walked among us — a seed from our garden, who grew into a tree of her own, offering shade, words, and wisdom to the world.

🌼 Dear HR and CSR leaders

We sit on a goldmine of hidden talent.
Let’s dig a little. nurture a little.
You might just uncover your next author, innovator, or change-maker.

#CSR #HowardGardening

Howard Gardening Story #10 – Ranjan and the music of Leadership

 

When Ranjan joined us as Head of a Business Unit, my first impression was:
No-nonsense. No small talk. All business.
He radiated that electric energy we often associate with high-performance leaders.

But as we got to know each other, I discovered the symphony behind the suit —
🎼 A passion for music
🍳 A flair for cooking
🌾 A fascination for Masanobu Fukuoka’s farming philosophy
💖 And a deep compassion for the underprivileged

One day, I asked him if he would oversee our music community.
He said yes instantly — and ran the club meetings like boardroom strategy sessions!

That was Ranjan — precise, passionate, and full of life.

He passed away some time ago, far too early, at just 50.
I still miss him deeply. But the joy he created through work, music, and friendship… still lingers.

Dear HR/CSR Leaders,

What if some of your senior leaders actively owned employee communities — not as a side hobby, but as part of their KPIs?

Could it boost your employer brand?
Could it help them de-stress, reconnect, rehumanise?

Maybe… the music they bring could transform your workplace.
What do you think?

🙏🏽 If there's someone from your work life who still lives in your heart — for who they really were — do share their story. 

🌿Howard Gardening Story #9 – Narendra, the VP with healing hands

 

Some say acupuncture is pseudoscience.
Some swear by it.

Narendra — my lifelong friend and ex-colleague — belonged firmly to the first group.
Back in the day, if you had whispered “acupressure” near him, he would’ve rolled his eyes all the way to Huangdi Neijing (an ancient Chinese medical text) and back. 😄

But life has a funny way of pressing the right points.

Cut to a few years later, and here was Narendra — a VP, no less — passionately talking about ancient Chinese treatments, meridians, and magical touch-points.
He had become a walking-talking wellness warrior. 🧘‍♂️

Of course, we were his guinea pigs. And were happy to be part of his new journey.
And you know what? It worked for many.
I remember a time when one colleague insisted on talking about Narendra and his magic touch in one of our all-staff meetings (Imagine that — acupressure in the middle of a business dashboard review)

This is one of his ways to connect with his team, other than his daily coffee meetings on the birthdays of his team members.

👥 Dear HR and CSR Leaders,
Would you dismiss such passions as pseudoscience?
Or explore how they could evolve into stress-relief practices at work?

I’m curious — what surprising employee passions have pressed the right buttons in your workplace?

To my friends, waiting for your call to tell me some exciting Howard Gardening stories.

Howard Gardner, the proposer of the Theory of multiple intelligences would probably put Narenra in two buckets viz. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence and Interpersonal Intelligence.

#HowardGardening #CSR

🌿Howard Gardening Story #8 – PVL and the SMART Objectives generator

 

My story today is about my techie friend PVL.

But let me start with my problem statement - In the mid-2000s, I had the responsibility for performance management in our India office. One recurring headache? Getting employees to write meaningful performance objectives in our centralised system.

Despite many workshops on SMART goals, most techies filled in random rubbish. They saw it as a pointless HR task. And honestly? It was painful to look at.

Let me now come back to PVL. PVL, a techie to the core, would drop by once in a while. We’d chat over coffee. One day, I shared my frustration with him.

He didn’t offer advice. Didn’t ask too many questions. Just nodded quietly and sipped his coffee.

Two days later, he returned.
With a solution.

He had created an online Objective Generator. Just select your role — and voila — you’d get a set of 4–5 high-quality, ready-to-use objectives.

No fanfare. No presentations. Just a simple tool that worked.

I was stunned.
I said, “PVL, this is amazing!”
He smiled, shrugged, and said, “It was easy. Anyone would have done it.”
And left.

Dear PVL, I remember you to this day — with immense love.

💬 Dear HR and CSR Leaders
Do you have such silent tech angels in your organisations? .. Those who solve real problems, even when it's not their job?.. Who expect nothing in return?

I’d love to hear your stories. Let’s celebrate them. 🌱

#HowardGardening #EmployeeEngagement #CSR