Ten years!

I joined NEXT100 journey when it was exactly halfway through—in 2015—which means I missed the excitement and uncertainties of the early days. With that the thought process that went behind the awards, the conceptualization, the iterations and all that. I surely missed a lot of good things.

Let me make one confession. While as the then editor of a well-established IT publication, I never really found any of the competitors that were coming up—and there were plenty—to be too challenging. 

But I envied NEXT100 when it was launched. I was an editor. I had no idea what business impact it would make; neither was I interested. I envied the idea. I asked myself—why couldn’t I come up with that idea myself? 

But what impressed me at that time was the idea itself. 

It is only after 3-4 years that I came to realize the profundity of it—how much impact it was making. To be able to make that kind of impact, only a good idea is never enough; it has to be executed well.

But I did not envy that part. I can never think of envying carrying something so process-oriented year after year, by myself. You know the man who has done all that all these years—including today. Giri (R Giridhar, my colleague) has been the driver of the NEXT100 selection process all these years. Even today, he goes through each and every aspect of the NEXT100 process, even as Vikas comes up with the ‘wow’ factor, the new thing, every time—including the Digital announcement for 2019 awards. But apart from Vikas, Giri, Megha (whom most NEXT100 winners know very well), Vandana and my other team members, one who have made NEXT100 what it is today, is the community.

As jury members and as supportive supervisors, senior community leaders have played a huge role in NEXT100 success.  

As for myself, I am happy sifting through the data across all these years to satisfy my own inquisitiveness and discover how the next generation leadership definition has changed over years. 

If you have been a NEXT100 winner or participant, please share your experiences with us. That will motivate us like nothing else. 

 

Read the ITNEXT Dec 2019 & Jan 2020 Combined Issue to know more about the 10-year journey and the NEXT100 2019 Process, Winners & Jury...