TED@BCG Mumbai
Ipsita Dasgupta: To challenge the status quo, find a "co-conspirator"
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In a complex and changing world, how can we make sure unconventional people and their ideas thrive? Business executive Ipsita Dasgupta introduces the concept of "co-conspirators" -- people willing to bend or break the rules to challenge the status quo -- and shows how they can help create new ways of thinking, acting and being.
Ipsita Dasgupta - Business executive, "co-conspirator"
Ipsita Dasgupta drives the consumption of entertainment and sports at an over-the-top media service. Full bio
Ipsita Dasgupta drives the consumption of entertainment and sports at an over-the-top media service. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
So I've been thinking about
how to explain this concept to you,
how to explain this concept to you,
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and I've decided I'm just going to start
with something we all understand.
with something we all understand.
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To achieve great heights
or change the world,
or change the world,
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no matter how smart we are,
we all need people.
we all need people.
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And for conventional people,
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the universe seems to conspire
to make them successful.
to make them successful.
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For the unconventional,
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I think we need something
that I like to call "co-conspirators."
that I like to call "co-conspirators."
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Co-conspirators are different
not because they're different themselves,
not because they're different themselves,
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but because of the people who need them.
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They tend to be people
who are willing to bend the rules --
who are willing to bend the rules --
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actually even break them sometimes --
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and challenge the status quo
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to stand beside someone
who is going against societal norms.
who is going against societal norms.
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I'm actually going to describe
an experience that I had
an experience that I had
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that first crystallized the idea
of co-conspirators in my mind.
of co-conspirators in my mind.
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In 2014,
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I was a corporate executive
with an American multinational in India,
with an American multinational in India,
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and we were actually faced
with an interesting problem:
with an interesting problem:
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we didn't have enough
women in the workforce.
women in the workforce.
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And just to give you some context,
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27 percent of women work in India.
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If you look at most of Asia,
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that number is around 48 percent.
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So we knew the numbers were deplorable,
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and it was manifesting itself
in our own organization.
in our own organization.
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So we decided -- actually,
I'll just give you a quick example
I'll just give you a quick example
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of a young engineer, a 25-year-old woman,
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who told us a great story
about her daily life,
about her daily life,
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to just exemplify it for us.
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She said, "As I walk out
of the house in the morning,
of the house in the morning,
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I am running around
doing a bunch of chores,
doing a bunch of chores,
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and my mother-in-law --
I live with my in-laws --
I live with my in-laws --
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is starting to get a little bit irritated,
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because she's going to be left
with all the housework to do.
with all the housework to do.
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And then, as I get
back home in the evening,
back home in the evening,
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I've overshot the time I'm going
to be home by an hour or two at least,
to be home by an hour or two at least,
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and by then, two of my biggest champions,
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my father-in-law and my husband,
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are also starting to get
a little bit irritated.
a little bit irritated.
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And my mother-in-law is furious,
because she's taken care of everything
because she's taken care of everything
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that needs to be done.
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And through the middle of the day,
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I'm actually surrounded by men my age,
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and there's only one expectation
from them by society.
from them by society.
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It's to achieve in their careers
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and provide for
their families financially.
their families financially.
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How do you expect me
to bring this same level of enthusiasm,
to bring this same level of enthusiasm,
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excitement and passion to the workplace?"
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And she was right.
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And I thought the women's
network volunteers
network volunteers
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came up with a great idea.
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They instituted a "bring your
mother-in-law to work" day.
mother-in-law to work" day.
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So we heralded a group of mothers-in-law
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and a few mothers into the office,
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and we took them to our R and D labs.
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We took them to the medical equipment
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that their daughters-in-law
were creating and building.
were creating and building.
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And as we did, we described to them
what their daughters-in-law actually did:
what their daughters-in-law actually did:
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they impacted maternal mortality rates
and infant mortality rates.
and infant mortality rates.
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They brought them down.
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They identified complex diseases
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early enough to be able
to prevent and cure them.
to prevent and cure them.
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And then we took them to lunch.
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We gave them a lavish lunch
and thanked them for the role they played
and thanked them for the role they played
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for freeing up a young woman
to work shoulder to shoulder with us
to work shoulder to shoulder with us
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to literally change the world.
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There wasn't a dry eye in the room.
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Every one of these women
were grateful and proud.
were grateful and proud.
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They were proud of who
their daughters-in-law were,
their daughters-in-law were,
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but they were grateful to be included
as part of the conversation.
as part of the conversation.
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And I wondered at the time
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whether what we'd done
was just a great touchy-feely moment
was just a great touchy-feely moment
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and was cute
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but really wasn't going to have
long-term impact.
long-term impact.
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And a couple of days later,
one of my mentees swung by my office,
one of my mentees swung by my office,
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and she was super excited.
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She said, "I went home
from work yesterday,
from work yesterday,
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and I was bracing myself,
because I was really late,
because I was really late,
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and I was bracing myself for a lecture,
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and my mother-in-law
turned to my husband and said,
turned to my husband and said,
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'Can you please get up
and make her a cup of tea?
and make her a cup of tea?
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She's exhausted.
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She's saving lives. You work at a bank.'"
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(Laughter)
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And there you had it.
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You had the perfect co-conspirator,
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someone that we don't always
recognize or value,
recognize or value,
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but was changing the way somebody else
could challenge the status quo,
could challenge the status quo,
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by standing beside her
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and questioning the societal norms
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and making a difference.
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The next example I'm going to use will be
closer to almost everyone in this room.
closer to almost everyone in this room.
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When I graduated from business school
and started working in a company,
and started working in a company,
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a group of us, my peers and I,
were asked to work on a strategy
were asked to work on a strategy
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for a business that hadn't
been doing too well over the last decade
been doing too well over the last decade
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and was being neglected.
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We put our hearts and souls into it,
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and we did a lot of analysis
on our nights and weekends
on our nights and weekends
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and put together what we thought
was a good strategy.
was a good strategy.
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And after presenting it
to a number of people
to a number of people
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that we were getting buy-in with,
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we were actually asked to present
to the global CEO
to the global CEO
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at his annual strategy meet
that happened over a week.
that happened over a week.
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And we were both excited and apprehensive
as we flew into headquarters.
as we flew into headquarters.
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We were excited
because this was an opportunity
because this was an opportunity
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to show how much we had learned.
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But we were also nervous because,
though a brilliant, dynamic man,
though a brilliant, dynamic man,
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he had a fiery temper and wasn't really
the easiest person to present to.
the easiest person to present to.
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Five or six hours before our presentation,
a senior colleague pulled us aside
a senior colleague pulled us aside
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and sat down and gave us a front-seat view
of what had happened all week.
of what had happened all week.
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We knew about people
who had bombed their presentations.
who had bombed their presentations.
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We knew about people who had almost
been instantaneously promoted in the room.
been instantaneously promoted in the room.
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We knew what was keeping
the CEO up at night
the CEO up at night
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and what he thought
were tailwinds to the business.
were tailwinds to the business.
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And when we walked into
that presentation later in the day,
that presentation later in the day,
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we actually got buy-in with both the CEO
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and his senior staff.
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And it wasn't just because
of our analysis or our strategy.
of our analysis or our strategy.
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It was because we were prepped
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to be able to communicate in a way
that the team could absorb.
that the team could absorb.
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Now, this senior colleague of ours
didn't pull us aside,
didn't pull us aside,
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because he wanted to gossip.
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He pulled us aside because he believed
we were unconventional in the boardroom.
we were unconventional in the boardroom.
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That unconventionality was exactly
why he wanted us to think about
why he wanted us to think about
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this new, fresh perspective
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and provide a view
on where this business should go.
on where this business should go.
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But he also knew it was
a distinct disadvantage for us,
a distinct disadvantage for us,
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because we didn't know how
to present in that room,
to present in that room,
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and we hadn't done it before,
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and they weren't used to receiving us.
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And that again is an example, in my mind,
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of somebody bending the rules.
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Because he decided to co-conspire with us,
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he not only changed
the career trajectories
the career trajectories
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of six young people in the organization
who suddenly got all this visibility,
who suddenly got all this visibility,
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but he actually changed
the trajectory of a business
the trajectory of a business
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that people were neglecting
and didn't have any fresh ideas for.
and didn't have any fresh ideas for.
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The last example I want to share with you
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is actually very far removed
from the corporate world
from the corporate world
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and somewhat personal.
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This is the story of my mother.
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In her early 20s, she lost her father.
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He had passed away in his late 40s,
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leaving behind six children,
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four younger siblings
and one older sibling than her,
and one older sibling than her,
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and a widowed mother who had never worked.
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My mom and her older sister realized
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that they actually needed
to start earning an income --
to start earning an income --
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they were both in grad school --
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to ensure the rest of the siblings
could get through their schooling
could get through their schooling
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and start to work.
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So she shifted her law school classes
to evening classes,
to evening classes,
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and she started to work
during the day as a schoolteacher
during the day as a schoolteacher
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to bring home an income.
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And every day, she would
actually get off a bus
actually get off a bus
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at the end of her evening
law school classes
law school classes
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on the streets of Calcutta.
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Now, mind you,
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this is a woman who wasn't used to
taking public transportation at all,
taking public transportation at all,
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let alone at night.
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And as she would get off the bus,
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she would take about a seven-
to eight-minute walk to her home
to eight-minute walk to her home
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from the bus stop
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on a street that was largely deserted,
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because it was a residential street
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with some shops that closed
around 8pm or a little bit before that.
around 8pm or a little bit before that.
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One day, a store owner was closing
his store a little bit later than usual,
his store a little bit later than usual,
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because there was a customer
who had actually left a little bit later.
who had actually left a little bit later.
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And he saw my mother get off the bus.
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He waited for her.
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He actually knew the family.
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The store had been in the neighborhood
for more than 20 years,
for more than 20 years,
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so he knew her since she was a baby.
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He watched her walk to the street
that her house was on,
that her house was on,
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turned off the lights,
shut the store and went home.
shut the store and went home.
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From the next day, he found
that he waited for her every single day
that he waited for her every single day
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until he she made her way
to her own house.
to her own house.
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Other store owners on that same street
suddenly noticed this one store
suddenly noticed this one store
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that was open longer,
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and suddenly started to see
a bunch of end-of-day customers walk in
a bunch of end-of-day customers walk in
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to buy odds and ends that,
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from after their long day from work
and their commute home,
and their commute home,
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realized they hadn't picked up
for the next morning.
for the next morning.
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Some people who came in the mornings
also started to come the night before.
also started to come the night before.
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A few of the storekeepers decided
that actually what was happening
that actually what was happening
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was he was monopolizing
a bunch of customers,
a bunch of customers,
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and they started to keep
their store lights on
their store lights on
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and keep their shop open till 9 o'clock.
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From that time on,
my mother had a lit street
my mother had a lit street
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with plenty of activity on the street.
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I believe that that store owner
was my mother's co-conspirator.
was my mother's co-conspirator.
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Because of him,
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a small change to what was conventional
on that street at the time
on that street at the time
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allowed for her and her family
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to do something that was
completely unconventional.
completely unconventional.
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A woman her age from
an upper-middle-class family
an upper-middle-class family
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actually got married at that age
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or studied in grad school
with the protection of their family.
with the protection of their family.
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Because of that store owner,
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all of my mother's siblings
went on to become engineers,
went on to become engineers,
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lawyers, accountants and teachers,
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and my mother went on to become a lawyer.
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The world needs co-conspirators.
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As we get into a complex environment
where more and more complex problems exist
where more and more complex problems exist
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and we need to find more solutions,
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we need unconventional people
in our boardrooms and at the table.
in our boardrooms and at the table.
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For that to happen,
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we need co-conspirators.
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In my own life,
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whether it's because of my gender,
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my ethnicity or sometimes,
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as I've been living in this part
of the world for over a decade, my accent,
of the world for over a decade, my accent,
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I'm often perceived to be unconventional.
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It's my co-conspirators that have
shown me the path forward,
shown me the path forward,
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and actually, it's my co-conspirators
that keep me seeking out
that keep me seeking out
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the unconventional paths to go down.
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So what I'd like to ask
of all of you today
of all of you today
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is that you look around
and find the people
and find the people
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that inspire you to co-conspire.
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I promise you that your empathy
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and your courage
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will change someone's life
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and may even change the world.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ipsita Dasgupta - Business executive, "co-conspirator"Ipsita Dasgupta drives the consumption of entertainment and sports at an over-the-top media service.
Why you should listen
Ipsita Dasgupta is a senior executive in digital media and sports, currently focused on growing an international digital app for entertainment and sports. Her work experience spans the US, China, India and Southeast Asia and across multiple sectors, including high-tech, digital, general industrials and consulting.
In Dasgupta's previous role, she was the chief commercial officer of GE South Asia and Greater China. During her time there she was responsible for strategy, new products and solutions for emerging markets and GE India's top 20 strategic customer accounts across GE businesses. Deeply passionate about growing the market opportunity in emerging markets, Dasgupta was part of the global Chairman's Commercial Council, where she connected the best products and services with the most promising and fastest growing markets in the world.
Prior to joining GE, Dasgupta was managing director of smart connected communities (emerging businesses). She focused on developing business opportunities in emerging markets in financial services, education and health care for the growing middle-class consumer segment in these markets. Dasgupta moved to Cisco from IBM, where she worked since 2002, spanning strategy, marketing and operational roles in the US and India. Some of her work included building and driving business strategies and practices for IBM’s global hardware, software and services businesses and creating and leading IBM’s global senior consulting center of competency in India.
Dasgupta holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Columbia University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. She has held positions on multiple nonprofit boards, including Harvard Business School Community Partners, Harvard Business School Alumni Association, Americares, Acumen Fund and Swades Foundation.
Ipsita Dasgupta | Speaker | TED.com