What does it take to rise from a Graduate Trainee to a CEO? Amit Pandey beautifully shares his journey, offering deep insights into leadership, growth, and happiness. He starts by explaining how, in the early stages of a career, execution is key—doing your work well gets you noticed and promoted. But once you reach a certain level, leadership skills become essential. True leadership, he says, isn’t just about managing tasks—it’s about inspiring people. He breaks leadership down into five key skills: management skills, heart skills, soft skills, happiness skills, and social skills. Amit highlights something we often forget: as people grow in their careers, they stop laughing. They become too serious, consumed by work. He categorizes people into four groups—A Category: growing but not happy, B Category: not growing but happy, C Category: neither growing nor happy, and S Category: growing and happy, which is the ideal state. His perspective on leadership is refreshing—great leaders don’t focus on problems; they focus on solutions. They don’t just speak well; they listen to understand rather than just to reply. True leadership isn’t about being right all the time; it’s about being kind, creating a powerful and positive mindset, and filtering out negativity. He contrasts managers and leaders in a way that sticks—a manager makes you feel that they are important, while a leader makes you feel important. A manager pushes you to do things you don’t like, whereas a leader inspires you to do things you never thought you could. He then brings in a brilliant analogy using Rock, Paper, Scissors to explain personality types. The Paper personality attracts negativity, the Rock personality stands strong and positive, and Scissors represent negative influences around us. His advice? Be the rock—stay strong so no negativity can cut through you. Through humor, wisdom, and powerful storytelling, Amit Pandey leaves us with a simple but profound message—leadership isn’t just about career growth; it’s about personal growth. The real goal? To grow and be happy. Amit Pandey, the dynamic CEO of Orient Cables, is a master at transforming challenges into opportunities. Under his visionary leadership, Orient Cables has become a beacon of innovation, blending cutting-edge technology with sustainable practices. Known for his mantra, "Leadership is about inventing the future," Amit’s journey from humble beginnings to industry dominance exemplifies grit and determination. When he’s not leading a corporate revolution, he’s busy redefining how leaders think, act, and create impact. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx