You won't believe it. Axis Bank CEO has the best relationship advice for Indian millennials
The best of achievers aren't always expected to be agony aunts or uncles. You are not exactly allowed to run to them with your "Dear Prudie" or "Dear Doctor" queries. They are usually above and beyond the everyday ordinariness: life's little defeats and tiniest victories, smallest of joys and biggest of sorrows are stuff of the heart, not their extraordinary grey matter.
But sometimes we are in for a beautiful surprise. And that is precisely what Axis Bank CEO and MD, Shikha Sharma, had in store for her alma mater.
The outgoing batch of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Sharma's alma mater, was happily moved when the unassuming CEO, during her address to the soon-to-graduate students, threw in a nugget of love advice. Or, what we call life's little jugaads in the biggest and toughest of fields - in the choice of a life partner.
Most of us cruise through life without quite settling on any one person, or the same or opposite sex. Our dalliances are momentary; it's their transience that usually attracts us to the source of the lure. The lure is more often than not a strong sexual attraction.
But relationships, in management terms, are also like stocks: you just need to know which one is right for you. Sharma, an IIM-A alumna, who leads the third largest private sector banks, however said something that would blow your conventional wisdom to smithereens.
"The choice of a life partner is the single most important choice you'll make in your life, much of the joy you derive in your life, does hark back to who you choose to share this journey with. A lot of what I am today are a function of the life partner I was lucky to have alongside my journey. Sanjay and I, both alumni of IIM-A, are very different people. But we are not all that different either. We have very similar core values," she said.
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| Axis Bank CEO and mD Shikha Sharma addressing IIM-A graduates. [Photo: Screengrab] |
Sharma joked that she was probably sounding like the students' mother, but she really meant to be a friend. Her advice was to find a partner who shared the same vision and lifegoals, who had the core intact, the values that form the innermost part of our human selves.
"When you are out there looking for a partner, look beyond their looks, their success, their style. The durability and strength of your relationship if not going to come from your partner's personality. It is going to come from their character, so remember to look well beneath the surface."
Her husband, Sanjaya Sharma, is the former CEO of Tata Interactive Systems.Clearly, Shikha and Sanjaya Sharma can teach the meandering millennials how to hold on and ultimately choose. More than a perfect ten, it's the perfect tenacity, of character and not looks.
Truer words weren't spoken. You can bank on them for sure.
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