CEO/CXO coach. I help people move from confusion to clarity. I can help you identify what is coming in the way of your or your team's success, work on it, and realize your true potential.

I coach CEOs and senior leaders through the moments that define them.

Not the strategy decks. Not the board presentations.
The moments when everything they've built stops working. And they don't know why.

The pattern I see:

A CEO calls me. Business is growing. Numbers look good.
But something feels off.

Key people are leaving. The leadership team isn't aligned.
Decisions that used to come easy now feel heavy.
They've had coaching before. Nothing changed.

So I ask one question: "What are you not seeing?"

Silence.

That's where the real work begins.

What I do:

→ 1:1 Executive Coaching for CEOs and founders navigating blind spots, loneliness at the top, and the transition from operator to leader

→ Team Coaching for leadership teams stuck in silos, cold wars, and performative alignment

→ Group Coaching for rising leaders developing executive presence, strategic thinking, and leading through change

→ Workshops on vision, mission, business strategy, storytelling, and leadership development

→ B-School Teaching as Visiting Professor at top management institutes in India

How I work:

I don't fix leaders. I hold up a mirror.

I help them see the systems they've accidentally created. The patterns that made them successful. And now hold them back.

Most leaders who come to me are smart, successful, and stuck.
They've achieved what they were supposed to achieve.
And they're asking: "Why does it feel hollow?"

That hollowness isn't a bug. It's a signal they've outgrown their container.

Who I've worked with:

I have worked with leaders from 100+ companies, including:

→ Large companies like Adobe, Cisco, Barclays, Wells Fargo, Salesforce.com, Disney, Reliance, TVS, Indian Oil

→ Growth-stage businesses like 91mobiles.com, Finzly, River Law, Intoglo

→ Institutions like ISB, IIT, Great Lakes Institute of Management

I am also a co-founder of way2top.com, where we help mid-career professionals find clarity on who they really are. And discover opportunities aligned with their identity.

Because knowing yourself without testing it in the real world is just overthinking.
And chasing opportunities without knowing yourself is building someone else's dream.

1000+ coaching sessions. 100+ CEOs and CXOs.
One belief: Your team's dysfunction is your leadership made visible.

If that lands, let's talk.

Ramkumar R

Ravi's leader called his team member for a "quick chat."

The quick chat turned into a 40-minute call.
His leader gave the team member a completely different direction.

Nobody told Ravi.

He found out the next day when his team member said, "Oh, Meera ma'am told me to change the approach."

The approach he'd spent two weeks building.

These are the backchannel leaders.
They don't trust the middle layer but will never say it.

Instead, they build relationships directly with the layer below.

They have "informal catch-ups" with your team members.
They ask your people for updates. Directly.
They create a parallel information pipeline that doesn't include you.

And you sit in the middle, managing a team that has a direct line to your leader.

The worst part?

Your team doesn't know who to listen to.
You say one thing. 
Your leader says another. 
Directly to them. 
Without telling you.

And when there's a conflict, your leader says, 
"I was just checking in. What's the big deal?"

The big deal is this.

You can't lead a team that reports to two people.
And your leader knows this.
They just don't care.

Because the backchannel gives them something 
they value more than your authority: control.

---

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Executive coach to 100+ CEOs/CXOs | Turning leadership struggles into success stories

I turned a year older today.

And for the first time in a while, I feel like I'm just getting started.

Not because I'm bored with what I've built.
Because I just realized what's actually possible.

10 years ago, I walked away from my senior management position to become a CEO coach.

No playbook. No safety net. 
No proof anyone would hire me.

The first year was brutal.
By year three, the phone started ringing.

Since then, I've coached 100+ CEOs and CXOs.

This past year, I've been building with AI.

A small group of us, friends who genuinely care about this stuff, have been figuring it out together and teaching others as we go.

Watching my son apply what he picked up from my sessions with him was the best feeling.

Then he showed me something that seemed so unreal.

He planned his site, iterated through design phases, roasted his own work, fixed every flaw it caught, pushed to GitHub, and deployed to production.

All in a few hours.

I wasn't watching a tech tutorial play out.
I was watching my kid build something real.

I didn't think that was possible yet.

The last 10 years taught me that the right conversation can change a career.

The next 10 years will prove that the right tools can change what's possible.

Here's to the next chapter.

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Certification by IIT Madras and PeopleFirst Consultants. Guiding the development of others in a systematic way, at their ‘being’ (inner strengths and purpose) and ‘doing’ (mastering competences) levels. 

* One of four students in the batch of 343 to be awarded both the ISB Young Leaders Award and the ISB Torch Bearers Award

* Among the top 1% of alumni across batches to be featured in ISB Portraits, a book celebrating alumni achievements

Recipient of 3 Gold Medals, 2 Cash awards, 4 merit certificates and 4 scholarships

I coach high-stakes leaders (CEOs, CXOs) to shatter limiting behaviours and unlock peak leadership performance. Follow me to find out how.

Hi! I am Ramkumar. I help CEOs, CXOs, and senior management teams identify what prevents them from achieving their goals and break free to unlock peak leadership performance. 

My clients include 
* large corporations like Adobe, Cisco, L&T, Thyssenkrupp, Bosch, Barclays, Wells Fargo, Vodafone, HP, Alstom, Disney, Danfoss, Reliance Industries Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum, Salesforce.com, Sundaram Finance Group, Times Internet, TCS, and TVS
* small and medium businesses like 91mobiles.com, Anabond, Amrutanjan, Finzly, Rajaram Legal, Intoglo, SunEdison,
* prestigious educational institutions like Indian School of Business (ISB), Great Lakes Institute of Management and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
* individuals who want to work on their aspirations or overcome challenges in living their purpose. 

I am a certified Executive Coach from the Coaching Foundation of India (CFI), certified in Coaching with Depth (all three levels) from IIT Madras, certified in Advanced Team Coaching from the Coaching Foundation of India (CFI), a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner, an MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, and a gold medalist in engineering from Delhi College of Engineering. 

Music is another big part of my life. As an award-winning mridangam artist, I’ve performed in over 1000 concerts across the world. Teaching music is something I truly enjoy. I work with students from ages 3 to 80+, meeting them where they are and helping them grow at their own pace. My approach blends empathy and coaching principles with traditional music teaching, helping students not just in music but in their personal growth too.

If you’re a leader looking to grow or someone passionate about learning music, I’d love to connect. Let’s explore how we can learn and grow together.

86% of Indian professionals are planning to change jobs.

Even those who got a 20% hike.
Even those who got promoted.

The foundit Appraisal Trends Report 2025 found this.

And the reason isn't money.
74% got an increment.
They're still looking.

A hike doesn't fix the wrong career.
A promotion doesn't fix the wrong fit.
More money in the wrong direction is still wrong.

The ones who leave aren't running from bad jobs.
They're running from themselves.

They don't know who they are.
So they can't recognize what fits.

The ones who stay?
They know their identity.
They know what energizes them.
They know what drains them.

So when they look at their role, they can answer:
Does this align with who I am?

The 86% can't answer that.

They're switching jobs hoping the next one will tell them.
It won't.

You can't find the right opportunity until you know who you are.

Go to https://lnkd.in/gJhdXah6

You'll do pre-work, then we'll spend 90 minutes together where you'll walk away with complete clarity on who you are and exactly which opportunities align with your identity.

I asked a burned-out executive what was draining her.

"Everything," she said.

I pushed her to be specific.

It wasn't the workload.
It wasn't the long hours.
It wasn't even the pressure.

It was this:

Smiling in a meeting 10 minutes after her boss humiliated her in the hallway, in front of her team.

Then acting normal.

Then doing it again the next day.

That gap between what you feel and what you're allowed to show?

That's where burnout lives.

Not in your packed calendar.

In the performance of being okay when you're not.

Most leaders think burnout is about doing too much.

It's not.

It's about pretending too much.

Pretending you're fine when you're furious.
Pretending you're confident when you're confused.
Pretending you're aligned when you're screaming inside.

The exhaustion isn't from the work.

It's from the acting.

And the worst part?

You can't fix burnout by clearing your schedule if you're still performing a role that isn't real.

Discover who you are when you stop performing.

Start here →

https://lnkd.in/gZTqxjpJ

---

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Women get promoted less.
Not because they're less capable.
Because they're sponsored less.

There's a difference between a mentor and a sponsor.

A mentor says: "Here's some advice."
A sponsor says: "I'm putting your name forward for that role."

A mentor gives you their time.
A sponsor gives you their reputation.

I've coached leaders across Fortune 500 organisations.
I see it in tech, finance, consulting.
The industry changes.
The pattern doesn't.

A senior leader takes a younger man under his wing.
Brings him to meetings.
Mentions his name to the board.
Fights for his promotion.

The women on the team get mentorship groups and training programmes.

It happens because people sponsor those who look like them.
And at the top, most rooms still look the same.

Mentorship groups don't open doors the way a sponsor does.

Promotion isn't a formula.
It's a decision made in rooms where your name comes up.

And your name only comes up if someone puts it there.

If you're a woman: stop looking for more mentors.
Start focused on finding a sponsor.

If you're a senior leader: don't just mentor the women on your team.
Sponsor them.
Say their names.
Open the doors.

This Women's Day, I hope you find the person who puts your name in the room.

P.S.  And I hope you know your direction well enough to show them exactly where to point. That clarity is what way2top.com helps you build.

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She found out from her own team member.

"Rajesh already told me to change the approach."

Rajesh was her boss.
He had called her direct report. Directly.
And never told her.

This is the skip-level meddler.

A leader who goes around their direct report to the layer below.

Why does it happen?

• Impatience. They want it done now.
• Control. They love being in the details.
• Distrust. They won't say it out loud.

The fallout is immediate.

• They lose credibility with their own team.
• The team learns who the real boss is.
• They find out about their own project last.

If this is happening to you:

It's not your competence.
It's your boss's inability to let go.
Next time it happens, name it directly: "I need to be in that loop."
If they respect you, they'll adjust.
If they don't, it's time to think about your next move.

If you're the one doing it:

You're not being helpful.
You're eroding their authority.
Stop. 
Next time, send it to them first. 
Let them decide how to handle it.

You hired them to lead.
Let them lead.

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Every company I coach has two meetings.

The one on the calendar.

And the real one.

The first one looks great.

Everyone nods.
Everyone agrees.
Decision gets "made."

Then the meeting ends.

Two people by the coffee machine.
A Slack thread.
A "quick call" 20 minutes later.

By morning the decision has quietly changed.

If your team does this, it's not a them problem.

It's a you problem.

People don't feel safe disagreeing in the room.

That's literally it.

The fix isn't more meetings.

It's making the first one the real one.

People speak up when they know it's safe to disagree.

Here's what that looks like:

A VP once said "I think we're solving the wrong problem" mid-meeting.
The leader paused, said "tell me more."
The whole room shifted.

Here's how to signal that:

-> Ask "what are we not saying?" before anything is finalised
-> If nobody pushes back, people don't feel safe. That's your signal to actively invite it.
-> Stay visible after the meeting ends. That's when the real feedback comes.

Right there is your culture audit.

The best teams I work with don't agree on everything.

They fight it out in the room.

And walk out aligned.

Does your team have a "meeting after the meeting"? Be honest.

P.S. One CEO started ending meetings with "if you disagree, say it now." 
First time, silence. Third time, someone spoke up. 
That's when everything changed. 
He kept showing up the same way. That's what made it safe.

______

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I used to think CEOs were different from me.

Then I coached 100+ of them.

The brutal truth:

Before coaching Fortune 500 leaders:

• They've made it. They're fulfilled.
• They must have clarity I'm missing
• They don't question themselves like I do

After 1500+ hours in the room with them:

• They're wrestling with the same doubts
• They're just better at performing confidence
• Many feel more lost at the top than they did climbing

I stopped seeing titles and started seeing humans.

The CEO comparing himself to his board chair.
The entrepreneur wishing for the CEO's structure.
The board chair envious of the entrepreneur's freedom.

Everyone's looking up at someone else.

The founder wants the VP's team.
The VP wants the CEO's authority.
The CEO wants the founder's vision.

The mirror moment:

When you realize the person you're measuring against is doing the exact same thing.

We're all figuring it out. Some just have corner offices while they do.

That realization freed me from chasing someone else's definition of "made it."

Who are you still measuring yourself against?

---
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Your body will tell you if you're in the right career.

Close your eyes for 60 seconds.

Picture yourself five years from now.

Same role. Same company. Same routine.

How does that feel?

If the answer is "fine," you're good.

If something clenched, keep reading.

A man I coached did this in our first session.

He went silent for almost a full minute.

"I felt sick," he said.

"Not anxious. Physically sick."

He was 39. Good title. Good salary. 

But the thought of five more years made his body revolt.

The assessment showed why.

His Artistic interest was in the 95th percentile.

He craved creative work. Experimentation. Building new things.

His current role? 90% process management and compliance.

He hadn't created anything new in four years.

"My body knew before I did," he said.

He moved into a product design role.

Different industry.

The dread disappeared.

Your body knows.

Give it 20 minutes to speak.

Free assessment: https://lnkd.in/gBd-CRsY

Free personality and career reports. 
Detailed career map for INR 2,999

---

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9 out of 10 people regret rushing their career choice.

Not making the wrong choice.

Rushing it.

I've coached over 100+ CEOs and founders.
And I see the same pattern every time.

They picked a stream because their parents said so.
A company because it had a good brand.
A role because it was the only offer.

Every decision made in a hurry.
Every decision without data.

15 years later, they're sitting in a role that doesn't fit.
Wondering how they got here.

You didn't make a bad choice.
You made a fast one.

The people who feel aligned in their careers didn't get lucky.
They just slowed down long enough to see clearly.

They looked at who they actually are.
Their personality. Their values. Their interests.

Like realizing you're energized by building systems, not managing people.
Or that you value autonomy over prestige.
Small truths that change everything.

And then made a choice based on evidence.

Not speed.

This is the process we've built at way2top.com.

A few hours of pre-work you can do at your own pace.
Detailed reports about who you are and what career opportunities fit you.
A 90-minute call to identify the opportunities that actually align.

No rushing.
Just clarity.

Because the cost of speed isn't just regret.
It's 15 years in the wrong seat.

If you're ready to slow down and get clarity on who you are and where you actually fit, start here:

https://lnkd.in/ghpbK8V2

Your friend just quit their job.

Posted about their new chapter.

You liked it.
Commented "So happy for you!"

Then you closed the app.

And sat with a feeling you couldn't name.

Not jealousy.
You're genuinely happy for them.

But something else.

Like watching someone walk through a door you've been standing outside of for years.

They figured it out.
Why can't you?

Your friend didn't have more courage than you.
They had more clarity.

They knew what they were walking toward.
You're still figuring that out.

Without clarity, courage just looks like recklessness.

The assessment gives you clarity.
What actually drives you.
What you care about.
What fits your wiring.
What kind of move makes sense for YOUR wiring.

Not your friend's.
Yours.

Maybe your door isn't quitting.
Maybe it's a different role.
A side project.
A skill you need first.

20 minutes to find out what door you should be walking through.

Get your clarity -> https://lnkd.in/gteGAS5w

---

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Someone will ask you today.

"How was your weekend?"

You'll say "Good." Or "Too short."

And you'll move on.

But the real answer?

"I spent most of it dreading today."

I've coached hundreds of people who spend their weekends in survival mode.
Saturday: recovering from the week. 
Sunday: dreading the next one.

The weekend isn't a break. 
It's a holding pattern.

One client told me: 
"I wasn't living on weekends. 
I was just not-working. 
There's a difference."

She was right.

We spent time mapping what energized her versus what drained her.

She loved working with people and creating things. Her job? Spreadsheets. Compliance. Reporting.

Five days a week doing work that had nothing to do with how she was wired.

No wonder weekends felt like survival.

She moved into learning and development. 
Training design. Working with people.

Three months later: 
"My weekends are weekends now. 
Not just the space between two Mondays."

If "how was your weekend?" makes you flinch this morning, that's your answer.

You don't need more resilience. 
You need different work.

20 minutes. Free personality and career insights. 
Full career map for ₹2,999.

https://lnkd.in/gd_V7kkV

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Every idea I couldn't build before, I've built this year.
Nothing changed except one tool.

I coach CEOs for a living.
I am not a developer.

Six months ago, I couldn't tell you
the difference between a function and a variable.

That matters. Keep that in mind.

Because this year, I built a deep psychological assessment tool.
One that draws on frameworks I've spent
10 years developing in coaching rooms.
It now reaches people I'll never meet in person.

Bharani and I built core parts of way2top.com with it.
A platform helping mid-career professionals
figure out where their life is actually going
and what careers fit them best.

I built an action items tracker for my son and me.
We tried many tools in the market,
but couldn't find any we were happy with.
We would start and soon give up. 
We use the one I built every day.

I built a learning portal for him.
Not a generic app.
Something that aligns with how his mind works.

The tool that made all of this possible?
Claude Code.

Now here's what I really want to say.

I know what it feels like to have an idea
that lives in your head for years.

You can see it clearly.
You just can't build it.

Everyone you approach
either doesn't understand it,
or quotes a price you can't justify,
or hands back something that isn't quite it.

That feeling doesn't go away.
It just gets heavier.

Claude Code wasn't easy.
There were evenings I nearly gave up.
Code that broke in ways I couldn't explain.
Concepts I had to sit with for days.

The mirror moment:
Somewhere in all that frustration,
I stopped asking, "Can someone fix this?"
and started asking, "Why is this breaking?"

That's not a coding question.
That's a thinking question.
First principles thinking.

I didn't expect a tool to push me there.
But it did.

The brutal truth:
The idea in your head isn't stuck
because you lack technical skill.
It's stuck because you handed it over
before you understood it well enough yourself.

That's the real gap.
Not the code. The clarity.

💬 What's the one thing you've been waiting to build?
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Imagine it's February 2027.

One year from now.

Same role.
Same company.
Same commute.

How does that feel?

If something just tightened in your chest, that's not anxiety.

That's clarity.

Your body knows what your mind keeps negotiating with.

Another year of this has a cost.
Not financial.
Something you can't get back.

Another year of Sunday evenings with that weight.
Another year coming home with nothing left.
Another year wondering if this is it.

You've been wondering for three years now.
Maybe four.

We built an assessment that takes 20 minutes.

It shows you who you are.
What drives you.
What kind of work actually fits.

20 minutes now, or another year wondering?

Start here: https://lnkd.in/gzBvJVVt 

---

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There's a version of you that shows up on weekends.

More curious. More energetic. More present.

And then Monday comes.
And that version disappears.

This isn't a work-life balance problem.

It's an alignment problem.

The weekend version of you?
That's closer to who you actually are.

The weekday version?
That's who you've been trained to be.

The gap between those two people?
That holds your career answer.

I coached a woman who spent weekends
mentoring college students.

Weekdays, she ran procurement.

She dismissed the mentoring as a hobby.
But it was a signal.
Pointing to what she should do full-time.

Today she runs learning and development
at a mid-size firm.

Same seniority. Same salary bracket.
Completely different person on Monday morning.

Your weekends are trying to tell you something.

Not sure what they're saying?
We help you decode it.

We have a 90-minute session.
It connects who you are
to the right market opportunities.

Start here: https://lnkd.in/gfQXS6G8

What would you have done if you were Anthropic?

Pentagon demanded tweaks to AI safeguards or lose everything.

$200M contract gone.
Access to classified networks gone.
Labeled a supply chain risk.

Their crime?

Two contract lines.
No mass surveillance of Americans.
No autonomous weapons.

Anthropic CEO publicly: "We cannot in good conscience accede to their request."

Hours later, OpenAI signed the Pentagon deal.

Altman said they share the same values as Anthropic.

The market didn't buy it.

ChatGPT uninstalls surged 295% overnight.
One-star reviews spiked 775%.
Claude hit #1 US App Store.

Altman admitted the deal looked "opportunistic and sloppy."

The mirror moment:

Anthropic negotiated for months.
When final terms crossed their safeguard lines, they walked.

Not impulsive courage.
Knowing where your line is.

The brutal truth:

After 1000+ sessions coaching leaders, I see the opposite everywhere.

Smart people saying yes to things that conflict with who they claim to be.
Calling it pragmatism.
Telling themselves they'll protect values from inside.

Then wondering why their team doesn't trust them.
Why culture feels hollow.

The market has a long memory.

Customers watch what you do when it costs something.

The mirror moment isn't when opportunity knocks.

It's whether you know yourself well enough to answer correctly.

P.S. If you're struggling to answer that question, if you don't know where your line is, that's the work. At way2top.com, we help leaders get clarity on who they are and which opportunities actually fit. Pre-work, followed by a 90-minute session where it clicks.

https://lnkd.in/gr3kjyAC

When you tell friends you're thinking about a career change, you get advice.

Lots of it.

"You should start a business. You've always been entrepreneurial."

"Just take a break and figure it out."

They mean well. 

But they're advising based on their experience, their personality, their risk tolerance.

Not yours.

I coached someone whose friends kept pushing him toward a startup. He had the ideas. He had the energy when he talked about it.

But his data told a different story.

Openness at the 28th percentile. Conformity as a top value. 
He didn't want to build in chaos. 
He wanted to build within systems that already worked.

If he'd followed their advice? 
He would've burned out in six months, resenting every unpredictable day.

The right move for him wasn't a startup. 
It was a leadership role at a company where he could redesign broken processes from the inside.

His friends would never have suggested that. Because it wasn't exciting.

But it was right.

He told me later he finally felt like he could breathe. 
Like the path made sense for the first time in years.

Your friends can't see your data. But you can.

Free assessment. 20 minutes.

https://lnkd.in/gJ6gp6rD

A VP hired two directors six months apart.
Both were told they owned "growth strategy."
Neither was told the other was told the same thing.

Within three months, they were at war.

Not openly. Corporate wars are quieter than that.

Passive-aggressive CCs on emails.
Meetings where one would subtly undermine the other's proposal.
Team members caught in the crossfire, 
getting conflicting instructions from both.

The VP sat in his office wondering why his leadership team had "chemistry issues."

There were no chemistry issues.

He had created a territorial conflict and called it a hiring success.

I see this pattern all the time.

A leader hires someone for a role 
but doesn't clearly carve out where their territory ends 
and the next person's begins.

Sometimes it's laziness. 
They didn't think it through.

Sometimes it's deliberate. 
They want "creative tension."

Sometimes it's insecurity. 
If two people share the same turf, 
both stay dependent on the leader to mediate.

Whatever the reason, the outcome is the same.

Two good people who could have been allies become rivals.
Not because of personality clashes.
Because their leader didn't do the basic work of drawing lines.

If you've ever found yourself competing with a colleague 
and couldn't figure out why, 
look at who defined your roles.

The overlap was probably designed. Or worse, never designed at all.

---

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There's a military doctrine called "shock and awe."

Overwhelming force. Massive bombardment. 
Total destruction of the enemy's will to fight.

Sometimes it works. 
When the opponent's forces are fighting for something they don't believe in, they collapse quickly.

Sometimes it doesn't. 
When the other side is fighting for survival, 
for identity, for something bigger than themselves, 
the calculus changes completely.

When people are fighting for survival, for identity, for faith, 
force alone doesn't break them.

External pressure doesn't weaken resolve. 
It often strengthens it.

I see this in organisations.

A new CEO comes in. 
Restructures everything. 
Fires half the leadership team. 
Announces a "bold new vision."

Shock and awe.

Sometimes it works. 
When people were already checked out.

But when people believed in what they were building? 
When they cared about the mission? 
When their identity was tied to the work?

Shock and awe doesn't inspire them. 
It turns them into your fiercest opponents.

Before you tear something down, ask yourself one question.

Do the people inside this organisation still believe?

Because if they do, force won't break them. 
It'll unite them against you.

If you're a new leader walking into an existing team, 
pause before you tear things down.

Ask one question first: 
Do the people here still believe in what they're building?

If yes, your job isn't to demolish and rebuild. 
It's to earn the right to lead what already exists.

Force without understanding is rarely the answer.

📖 Leadership lessons from the war | Post 3

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The World Economic Forum says 40% of skills will change in 5 years.

That's not the scary part.

The scary part is what people do next.

92 million jobs will disappear.

So everyone is scrambling for answers outside themselves:

• "What industry is safe?"
• "What skills should I learn?"
• "What role should I move to?"

Wrong questions.

Because the answers keep changing.

Your core motivations don't.
Those are yours.

No job board can tell you this.

So the real question isn't "what's safe?"

It's: "What drives me?"

Because when you know what drives you:

• New industry? Pick the one that fits what you stand for.
• New skill? Pick the one that connects to what drives you.
• New role? Pick the one that honours your core motivations.

The world will keep shifting.
You don't have to shift with it.

Start there.

Not with the resume.
Not with the market.
Not with the algorithm.

With yourself.

That's not soft advice.

That's your competitive edge.

Discover what drives you and find the career path that fits → way2top.com

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Featured in FORBES | TEDx Speaker | Founder | 66th "Fastest Growing" Company | 40 Under 40 | Bio-Hacker | Investor

Thanks for stopping by my profile! I'm always down to connect and explore new opportunities.

Here's a quick snapshot about me:

A Tony Robbins enthusiast, bio-hacking aficionado, and adrenaline junkie. I'm passionate about high-altitude jumps, scuba diving, and sky-diving, alongside my interest in longevity practices like ice baths and cryotherapy.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀:
I specialize in building efficient remote teams and designing marketing campaigns that significantly increase your ROI. With a focus on effective collaboration and data-driven strategies, I aim to elevate your business's performance and success.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜 𝗗𝗼 𝗜𝘁:
The thrill of overcoming challenges and helping other entrepreneurs succeed drives me. I aim to inspire growth, improvement, and the breaking of barriers.

Over the last decade, I’ve learned this firsthand. From starting as a door-to-door salesman to leading one of Australia’s fastest-growing education platforms, I’ve discovered that sustainable success comes not from hustle alone but from rhythm, discipline, and systems.

To give back to the community, I created my free newsletter: “7 Frameworks. 7 Actions. 7 Days to Design Your 7-Figure Foundation.” It’s a simple yet powerful way to share the exact strategies I’ve used to scale teams, create focus, and engineer outcomes, so other entrepreneurs can apply them to their own journey.

In May 2017, I founded Get My Course, an education company built on the same belief: completions matter more than sign-ups. Through nationally recognised certification, and a dedicated Completions Team, we help learners accelerate careers in Childcare, Aged Care, Disability, and Education. For employers, we support workforce recognition at scale with accountability reporting and skills pipelines that prepare teams for the future.

This approach has led to milestones I’m proud of: 
→ Recognition in Forbes as a top business leader, 
→ Delivering a TEDx talk that inspired thousands, 
→ Leading Get My Course into the AFR Fast 100 list, 
→ Winning EO Accelerator of the Year, 
→ Earning a Stevie Award for Sales and Revenue Generation, 
→ Achieving the Million Dollar Award for rapid growth,  
→ Being named to the 40 Under 40 list for leadership and innovation.

If you’re building a business and want frameworks that create clarity, if you’re a learner ready to accelerate qualifications, or if you’re an employer looking to drive completion and capability at scale, let’s connect. 
My goal is to share systems that help turn starts into finishes and visions into results.

Darshan Chavan

Ideas are everywhere.

So is advice.
So is motivation.
What’s rare is action.

Thinking helps you see the path.
Talking helps you feel confident about it.
But only doing actually moves you forward.

The world isn’t changed by the best ideas in the room.
It’s changed by the people who show up when it’s uncomfortable, messy, and uncertain.

Start before you feel ready.
Act before everything is clear.
Progress follows movement, not perfection.

If this resonated, pass it on.
Someone needs the reminder today.

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Building Australia’s Fastest-Growing Education Platform | Forbes Featured Entrepreneur | TEDx Speaker | Helping CEOs Hire & Retain A-Players Through Proven Team-Building Systems| Scaled Companies to $1M+ Profit

Motivation gets you started. 
Discipline keeps you going.

Motivation is fleeting, it comes in bursts, often sparked by emotion or circumstance. But discipline? Discipline is the quiet force that shows up every day, even when motivation is nowhere to be found.

Motivation says: “I feel like working out today.”
Discipline says: “I’ll work out because I committed to it.”

The truth is, success is rarely about how motivated you feel. It’s about the habits you build, the consistency you maintain, and the promises you keep to yourself.

💡 Think of discipline as the bridge between your goals and your results. 

Motivation may light the spark, but discipline fuels the fire.

So next time motivation fades, lean on discipline. 
That’s where growth happens.

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#Discipline #Motivation #Consistency #Leadership #GrowthMindset

My 5 biggest "failures" taught me more than my wins ever did.

Someone asked me recently: "What are your five biggest failures?"
I paused.

Because honestly? I've stopped calling them failures.
Here's what I learned instead:

1. Getting low grades in school and university
This wasn't a failure; it was fuel.

While others were chasing grades, I was learning how the real world works. Those low marks taught me that traditional success metrics don't define your worth. 

📌 Your ability to solve problems, adapt, and execute does.

2. Not getting into personal development earlier
I started at 24. But I keep thinking, what if I'd discovered it at 18?
How much further ahead would I be?

📌 This "failure" taught me that time is the most expensive investment. The earlier you start working on yourself, the more compounding returns you get.

3. A failed business in 2015
We had momentum. We had clients. We had potential.

But we had too many business partners who weren't aligned, and I wasn't communicating openly. Within 12-14 months, it was over.

📌 This taught me: Partnership misalignment kills more businesses than lack of capital ever will.

4. Saying yes to too many things
As an entrepreneur, you're wired to be optimistic. Every opportunity looks golden.

📌 But saying yes to everything means saying no to focus.

5. Trying to do everything myself
For years, I believed no one could do it better than me.
So I tried to do it all: sales, operations, marketing, bookkeeping.

📌 This taught me that your ego is expensive. The moment you let go and empower others, your business multiplies.

Here's what the founder of IBM once said:
"If you want to double your rate of success, you need to double your rate of failure."

Until you fall flat on your face, get embarrassed, and lose, you don't truly learn.

The bigger the failure, bigger the lesson.

𝗣.𝗦. I've stopped using the word "failure" altogether. You either learn or you grow. There's no third option.

What's one "failure" that became your biggest teacher?

You’re not bad with money. But your habits might be.

When I consult with founders to grow their revenue, I always start with a profit audit.

Because nearly 70% of small businesses have hidden leaks they don’t even realize exist.

Most entrepreneurs believe they know their numbers.
But very few actually do.

The difference between simply getting by and truly scaling often hides in what you’re missing.

Sometimes the opportunity is already sitting inside your current revenue streams- $5,000, $10,000, or even more, just unnoticed.

One thing I strongly believe:
Profit is a MINDSET, not just a number.

When founders ignore their margins, they slowly weaken the foundation of their business.

A small leak today can sink the entire ship tomorrow.

Agree?

Every day counts.
The thoughts you entertain.

The choices you make.
The actions you take.

They aren’t just moments, they are the building blocks of who you become.
Success, character, and growth aren’t sudden; they are the sum of daily decisions.

Be intentional. Be consistent. Be conscious.
Your future self is created one day at a time.

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Your environment shapes your mindset more than you realize.
Surround yourself with people who want to see you win.

People who celebrate your progress, challenge you to grow, and push you to be better not those who doubt, distract, or drain your energy.

The right circle doesn’t just support you; it elevates you.

It turns your goals into shared victories and your struggles into lessons.
Choose your company wisely.

Your growth depends on it.

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We’ve all felt it: 
too many tasks, 
too little time. 

The truth is, time isn’t the problem. The problem is how we manage it.

The PROBLEM is-
Distractions eat up 2+ hours daily, multitasking cuts productivity by 40%, and deadlines expand to fit the time we give them (Parkinson’s Law).

The FACT is-
Science shows that aligning tasks with your circadian rhythm boosts performance by 20–30%. Mid-morning is best for focus, evenings often spark creativity.

4 things works for me:

1/4= Use the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize what truly matters. 
The Eisenhower Matrix is a powerful way to leverage time management because it forces you to separate what is urgent from what is important. By categorizing tasks into four quadrants, do now, schedule, delegate, or eliminate, you stop reacting to every demand and start acting with intention.
 
2/4= Apply the Pomodoro Technique to stay sharp with 25-min focus sprints.
Break work into focused 25-minute intervals followed by short 5-minute breaks. By committing to a single task during each “Pomodoro,” you reduce distractions and avoid multitasking, which science shows can cut productivity by up to 40%.

3/4= Try Energy Mapping. Schedule analytical work during peak alertness, creative work when your mind is freer.

4/4= Batch similar tasks to reduce context switching.
Start small. Tomorrow, block your peak energy hours for your most important work.

You’ll feel less stressed, more productive, and in control.

Without discipline, time slips away, and so do opportunities.
Time is the only resource you can’t earn back. Treat it like your most valuable currency.

#TimeManagement #Productivity #Leadership #GrowthMindset #Discipline

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Sales vs Marketing is a forever debate. But the confusion comes from mixing roles.

Marketing creates attraction.
Sales handles intention.

Marketing speaks to many.
Sales listens to one.

Marketing builds interest before the call.
Sales converts clarity into a decision.

One doesn’t replace the other.
One doesn’t work without the other.

Marketing warms.
Sales closes.

Trust connects both.
If either is weak, growth stalls. Simple as that.

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Sales or Marketing: What Should You Focus on First?

One leadership mistake breaks trust immediately.

UNKEPT promises.

Leaders say things like:

“We’ll take care of this.”
“You’ll get that promotion.”
“Hit this target, we’ll reward you.”

But when the moment comes…

Nothing happens. 
And the team notices.
Not just the person affected.

Everyone.

Because people don’t measure leaders by words. They measure them by follow-through.

Once promises stop matching actions, something shifts.

People become hesitant.
Conversations become guarded.

Trust disappears. And when trust disappears, leadership influence disappears too.

P.S. Leadership isn’t built on promises. It’s built on kept ones.

Every company wants high performers, but what do they actually deliver beyond hitting targets? 

They’re more than just numbers on a dashboard. High performers transform the DNA of an organization:

Energy & Drive – 
They raise the bar, inspiring teams to push harder and think bigger.

Innovation – 
They challenge the status quo, sparking ideas that fuel growth.

Efficiency – 
They master time management, achieving more with less.

Resilience – 
They thrive under pressure, turning challenges into opportunities.

Culture Impact – 
Their consistency creates ripple effects, shaping a culture of accountability and excellence.

The real value of a high performer isn’t just in their output, it’s in how they elevate everyone around them.

Companies that nurture and retain high performers don’t just grow. They transform.

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#Leadership #HighPerformance #GrowthMindset #Culture #Productivity

Some leaders stop growing while scaling.
The reason is rarely what they think.
Early in my journey, I hit a wall.

The business was growing. The team was growing. But I wasn’t growing fast enough as a leader.

Managing a few people is very different from managing 30.
Suddenly the challenges change:

• Decision making becomes heavier
• Communication becomes more complex
• Leadership becomes more visible

And that’s when I realised something important.
Experience alone doesn’t make you a better leader.

New stages require new skills. When leaders stop learning those skills, they often get stuck in the same place for years.

Not because they lack ambition. But because their leadership capability hasn’t evolved with their company.

The moment I started intentionally building leadership skills = learning, practising, and applying them, everything changed.

I could move to the next stage of growth.

After years of building and scaling businesses, one lesson stands out clearly:
Every stage of growth demands a new version of the leader. 

If the leader doesn’t evolve, the company eventually stops progressing too.
Companies don’t outgrow their markets.

They outgrow their leaders.
P.S. Every new stage of business demands new skills.

People give up too soon because they only see the final result.

One day of effort feels small.
One attempt seems insignificant.

But those tiny, consistent actions quietly create a huge impact over time.
Every small step you take whether anyone notices or not shapes your ability and your future.

Here’s the truth:
Big change doesn’t happen overnight.
It’s the result of small, persistent actions.

Today’s effort is the foundation for tomorrow’s success.
Keep showing up. Keep moving forward.

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The Questions You Must Ask on the First Sales Call 
(if You Want Trust and a Natural Close)

Most first calls fail for one reason:
people start selling before they start understanding.

The best first calls don’t sound like sales calls.
They sound like diagnostic conversations.

Here are the questions that actually build trust and move the client closer to a decision:

1. “What prompted you to get more information?”
This immediately shifts the dynamic. You’re not chasing them anymore, they’re telling you why they’re here.

2. “What made you look for a solution now?”
This uncovers urgency without forcing it. Timing matters more than budget.

3. “Why haven’t you already solved this?”
This question reveals:
past failures
hidden frustrations
real blockers
It separates surface problems from real ones.

4. “What result are you actually hoping for?”
Not features. Not deliverables.
Transformation. People don’t buy certificates.
They buy what life looks like after.

5. “Why do you think we might be the right fit for you?”
This is powerful. They sell themselves on the call, using their words.

6. “If this works perfectly, what changes for you?”
Now you’re anchoring the outcome emotionally, not logically.

7. “Do you feel you have everything you need to make a clear decision?”
This question replaces pressure with clarity.
If the answer is no, you now know what’s missing.
What not to ask on the first call:
“What’s your budget?”
“How much revenue do you make?”
Anything that puts them on the defensive before trust is built

Which question do you think most salespeople avoid asking on the first call?

P.S. If you’re talking more than the client on call one, you’re doing it backwards.

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___
Part 3 of my SALES SERIES- First Call Fundamentals 101
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When a client asks for a discount, most people hear resistance.
In reality, it’s usually something else: uncertainty, incomplete clarity, or unaddressed risk.

People don’t ask for discounts when they feel:
Understood
Clear about outcomes
Safe about risk

They ask when one of those is missing.
Your job isn’t to drop the price.
It’s to find what’s unresolved.

When a client asks for a discount, what do you usually assume first?

P.S. If discount conversations keep repeating, the issue is rarely the offer, it’s the conversation before the price ever came up.

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A client asking for a discount is not a pricing problem. It’s a meaning problem. In years of sales conversations, training teams, and listening to cal

They Asked for a Discount: The Psychology Behind It (and How I Respond)

Two people can go through the same struggle.
One grows from it.

The other complains about it.
The situation didn’t change.
The mindset did.

One person asks:
“What is this experience trying to teach me?”

The other keeps asking:
“Why is this happening to me?”

That small shift changes everything.
Because struggle is not just about difficulty.

It’s about interpretation.

Some people see obstacles as proof that they are not good enough.

And that’s where self-doubt starts creeping in.
But here’s the truth most people forget:
Self-doubt doesn’t mean you are incapable.

It simply means you are stepping into something bigger than your comfort zone.

Growth often feels like uncertainty.

And in those moments, what we need is not harsh self-criticism.

We need self-grace.
The ability to tell ourselves:
“I’m still learning.”
“I’m allowed to make mistakes.”
“I will figure this out.”

Mindset is not about pretending things are easy.

It’s about choosing to believe that every challenge is shaping you, not breaking you.

Same struggle.
Different mindset.
Different life.

I faced rejection after rejection after rejection when I first landed in Australia.

Zero sales background.
Zero network.
Zero plan B.

Every sales job I applied for? Rejected. The only offer I got was straight-commission door-to-door selling, no base wage, no package.

You make a sale, you eat. You don't? You starve.

November 24th, 2013 that was the last day I received money from my parents. The reality hit hard after that.

But here's what rejection taught me:
It's not about how many times you get thrown back.
It's about how many times you rise.

📌Every hung-up call taught me persistence.
📌Every "no" I heard while knocking on doors taught me resilience.
📌Every closed door taught me that success isn't given, it's earned in the trenches.

I went from $3/hour as an IT analyst in India to building a seven-figure business in Australia.​ Not because I was special. But because I refused to let rejection define me.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗮-𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆-𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆."​

I was that person. And if you're building something from scratch right now, facing rejection after rejection, you're that person too.

Don't let the "no's" stop you. Let them fuel you.
Because rejection isn't failure. It's redirection.

𝗣.𝗦. The people who told me "no" back then? They have no idea where I am today. And that's the sweetest victory.

What's one rejection that changed your life?
Do you think rejection is redirection?

Most CEOs are upskilling backwards.
More courses won't fix unclear thinking. 
The pattern I keep seeing with CEOs and their best people:

They decide to "upskill." 
So they open 12 browser tabs. 
Sign up for three courses and workshops. 

Add a certification to the roadmap.

No one stops to ask the only question that matters:
Upskill in what, exactly?

"Learn more" isn't a strategy. 
It's procrastination dressed up as productivity.

The real question is deceptively simple and most leaders can't answer it:
What does your role actually demand right now that you're not yet excellent at?

If you're a CEO, your bottleneck is almost never knowledge.

It's: → Making decisions faster with less data → Thinking three moves ahead, not one → Hiring people sharper than you → Communicating with precision under pressure

No course fixes those. Not by accident.

I've built and scaled companies to $7.8M in 24 months and one pattern holds across every high-growth leader I've worked with:

The fastest movers don't learn more. 
They learn what matters next.

Certifications don't build confidence. 
Clarity does.

So before you enroll in one more thing, 
sit with this question:

What single skill, if genuinely improved, changes everything about your performance right now?

If you can't answer that in one sentence, that's your actual problem.
Drop your answer below. 

P.S. Most people can't. Let's see who can.

We often imagine success as a straight path:
Set a goal → Work on it → Achieve it.

Easy, right?
But the reality is far from that.

You set a goal.
You start working.
You stumble along the way.

You pause.

You try again.
You improve.
You feel lost.

You grow stronger.
 
And repeat over and over until finally, you reach it.

Every setback teaches you.
Every retry shapes you.

Every small effort compounds into progress you might not even notice.

Success isn’t a single moment.

It’s the result of persistence, patience, and showing up even when it’s messy.
The journey, with all its challenges, is where real growth and true achievement happen.

Embrace the process.
Trust the grind.

Your “finally” is coming.

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After listening to 100s of sales calls, coaching teams, and watching who actually closes consistently, one thing is clear:

High-ticket closers don’t do more.
They do things differently.

Here are 8 rare habits I see in every one of them:

1. They speak last, not first
They let the client empty their thoughts before responding. Silence is a tool, not a threat.

2. They don’t rush clarity
They slow the conversation down. Because confused clients don’t buy, clear ones do.

3. They never “pitch” on call one
They diagnose. They map gaps. They share transformation, not features.

4. They’re comfortable losing the deal
This is the big one. They don’t chase maybes. That confidence alone shifts the power dynamic.

5. They answer the question behind the question
Clients ask how. Closers respond to why. That’s why their answers land deeper.

6. They repeat a value without sounding repetitive
Outcomes. Risk reversal. What changes after the decision? They communicate value 5–8 times, calmly.

7. They control the call without dominating it
Through curiosity.
Through stories.
Through pauses.
Never through force.

8. They end every call with direction
Not pressure. Direction. Next steps feel obvious, not forced.

High-ticket closing isn’t about being persuasive.
It’s about being grounded.
Confidence is not loud.
It’s consistent.

Which of these do you see the least in sales conversations today?

P.S. If your sales feel exhausting, you’re probably doing too much talking.

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8 Rare Habits I See in Every High-Ticket Closer

Excuses are easy.
Finding a way is hard.

It’s easy to blame circumstances, wait for the “perfect moment,” or explain why something can’t be done.

But every time you make an excuse, progress pauses.
Every time you find a way, growth begins.

The people who achieve more than others aren’t necessarily more talented or luckier they simply refuse to let obstacles stop them.

They ask, “How can I make this work?” instead of saying, “It’s impossible.”
Your mindset is the difference between a goal that stays a dream and a goal you actually reach.

Stop explaining why it can’t happen.
Start focusing on how it can.

Find solutions. Take action. Adapt. Persist.

Excuses slow you down. Determination moves you forward.

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