Stanford Seed Transformation Program

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲
For most of my life, I have been the one holding the chalk — or later, the marker pens. Whether at IIT Bombay, a factory floor in Vietnam, a boardroom in Mumbai, or a workshop in Berlin, I was usually the one explaining, interpreting, or provoking thoughts.
So when I enrolled in the ten-month Stanford Seed Transformation Program, the Professor inside me raised an eyebrow:
“𝐴𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑦? 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛?”

Life enjoys testing our assumptions. A week-long in-person module, another week-long Zoom sessions, a Business Transformation Advisor dissecting organizational purpose and asking: Where do you want to go? How? And why? There comes the homework, the transformation studio where we get into the famous “Stanford process”, the Leadership Labs where five fellow companies speak openly about their adaptive challenges. And at the end you go through a 360-degree evaluation of your leadership to discover yourself.
𝐼𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟.
𝐷𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒? 𝐼’𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒.
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑢𝑒.
One question stayed with me after the program ended. My Professor Friend asked:
“𝑁𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚?”
The canvas of sustainability has matured but expectations have shifted. Clients now seek depth, verification, measurable outcomes, sustainable finance, and trusted guidance — not from a consultant, but from a consul.
This is why this moment matters for EMC.
We are refining our practice areas, articulating our culture more deliberately, and preparing for a future that demands both rigour and imagination. This transition needs people drawn to responsibility rather than comfort — those who value ethics, intellectual clarity, curiosity, and empathy, and who see culture as lived practice, not as statements on a webpage.𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑆𝑒𝑒𝑑 has done its work. It has seeded a renewed vision and an implementable action plan for EMC.In time, that seed will become a tree with deep roots — one that shelters, nourishes, and invites birds and butterflies to its branches, its flowers carrying a subtle yet enduring fragrance.