The Cyclical Way
Siddhartha Gupta, CEO of Mercer | Mettl, cycles to get into a zen state and think more clearly
CLARITY OF THOUGHT is what makes leaders stand out. Ask Siddhartha Gupta, CEO of Mercer | Mettl, who cycles to get into a zen state. “The wee hours of the morning are the best for cycling. It’s the time to be with myself, clear my head of all the cognitive load and clutter, and think of things in a clear-headed and single-minded way.” He cycles at least five days a week, averaging around 500 km per month. He couldn’t go out for a couple of months during the early days of the pandemic, but was back on the road when the lockdown eased.
For Siddhartha, cycling — he rides a Merida Reacto bicycle — has also instilled the discipline of sleeping early and getting up early. This perseverance flows back into his professional life and helps him push the limits. “I strive to reach higher goals personally, lead my organisation to chase bigger goals and develop the habit of consistently delivering success. I push for a few km extra every day,” he adds.
MILAN GANATRA, angel investor and Founder & CEO at 1 Silverbullet, has his mind fixed on safe transfer of consumer data. But his heart is fixed on travelling. During pre-Covid days, he would go out of the country every other week. “These were mostly work trips, followed by my personal explorations. But taking two out-of-country family holidays in a year was the norm.” Ganatra has extensively travelled across Africa, Middle East and Asia, and about 10 countries in Europe. His favourite is Mauritius. “Go there in any season and it’s the same. The country is closely connected to India. They have a week-long festival during Shiv Ratri. Bhojpuri is widely spoken there,” he says.
Ganatra prefers taking public transport when travelling by himself. “I have hailed taxis even in countries like Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, which are considered unsafe.” Zambia, according to him, is an unusual place that deserves to be explored more. The next travel destination on his list is South America.