I met Sivakumar Palaniappan last evening… and I’m still smiling as I write this.

You know how sometimes you meet someone and within the first few minutes, the conversation just flows? No posturing. No “let me impress you” pretence. Just two people talking honestly about work, life, leadership, mistakes, lessons…

Siva is incredibly warm. Friendly in a way that puts you at ease instantly. Humble… almost disarmingly so. He spoke about his journey in a matter-of-fact way… without dressing it up. Just real. And that’s endearing.

At some point during the conversation, we realised we had a common connection. Then another. And then another. We kept interrupting each other with… “Wait, you know him too?” By the end of it, we had uncovered quite a few shared friends. It felt oddly comforting… like the universe had been quietly stitching these circles together for a while.

We actually got connected through Rajesh Swaminathan… so thank you, Rajesh, for making this happen.

And yes… we exchanged books.

I gave him a copy of The Inner Game of Leadership. He handed me his book, The Leader’s Compass. It felt great… two authors, two journeys, two sets of thoughts shaped over years…

I’m really looking forward to reading The Leader’s Compass. Especially now that I’ve heard the voice and experiences behind the pages.

Siva… thanks a ton for taking the time to meet. I genuinely enjoyed every minute of our conversation. Here’s to many more…

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📌 If you’re interested, here are the links to get a copy of my book, The Inner Game of Leadership:

India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0GJ6W91GM/
Overseas: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GJ6W91GM