For the #8 episode of Programmable Podcast, Lucas spoke with RamG Vallath. I couldn’t resist sneaking in for a first glimpse at the interview. As someone who has watched his TedX talk, I wanted to know more about his incredible journey.
So here are some of the key moments from Lucas’s conversation with RamG Vallath that truly inspired me. You can listen to the full episode where you get your podcasts.
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How to score top 0.05% in your university entrance exams
RamG’s beginnings were extremely humble. He grew up in a village in Kerala, India where he studied in his native tongue, Malayalam. He tells me that every subject from Maths to Chemistry was taught to him in Malayalam. But he didn’t let the language barrier stop him. He sees it all as a silver lining, saying
“In retrospect, studying in a small village where most people were just focused on graduating from 10th grade—given that only about 20% passed and 80% failed—meant there was little emphasis on getting into engineering colleges.
“With no one to compare myself to, I felt the need to tackle every problem in physics, chemistry, and mathematics to stand a chance at engineering.”
This led him to gain an incredible 129th rank amongst 300000 in the IIT Joint Entrance Exam.
IIT is one of the premier engineering colleges in India, with a 0.05% acceptance rate.
Speaking in English for the first time
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is India’s most prestigious technical university. RamG was competing against 300000 other applicants. Going to IIT Madras in Chennai, India’s south, was a dream come true, and very daunting:
RamG had never spoken English.
He could read it very well and, in fact, was comfortable with very technical language. But the corridors and classrooms were filled with the sounds of spoken English.
His days were lonely. He spoke to one friend from Kerala, who could speak his mother tongue, Malayalam. He felt so much self-doubt because of this.
It took a senior’s nudge to push him out of his comfort zone, urging him to engage beyond his Kerala roots. He slowly started switching to speaking in English, and soon enough he was friends with a large group of people. The lonely days were over for RamG. This experience taught him a crucial lesson: growth only happens when we challenge ourselves.
How do you become the youngest COO? Start with the lowest-paying job
When RamG graduated from IIT, he joined Titan, which he says “was by far the lowest paying company to come on campus and recruit people.”
But he stuck to this job for the upcoming 5 years because as he puts it, “it was also a company where you could learn a hell of a lot.”
But as soon as he decided to move on from this job his salary jumped upwards of 10x.
This is how his career trajectory continued its upward arc, and finally culminated in him becoming the youngest Chief Operating Officer in India’s telecom giant Airtel at age 34. Yet, as life would have it, success took an unexpected turn.
An unexpected setback
At the height of his career, RamG found himself losing strength in his limbs and body,
Imagine being at the height of your career but finding yourself losing your ability to walk, and do you basic tasks. Being the resilient person that he is RamG initially dismissing it as job-related stress.
But he could no longer push it aside when one morning he found himself for all practical purposes paralyzed.
The diagnosis? An autoimmune condition that was attacking the nerves in his hands and legs, causing his muscles to waste away.
Don’t let setbacks stop you from creating a change in the world
Despite the overwhelming challenges, including intense treatments and the constant threat of infections, RamG chose not to let his illness define him.
He instead started paying more attention to his work. In spite of the usually large workload of a COO, RamG started taking on more responsibilities.
His reasoning? To set an example for his children, showing them that even in the face of adversity, you can still create change in the world.
RamG is a wacky and humorous storyteller. He exaggerated this part of his personality in the face of the new challenge that his health presented. With a goal to be the most friendly and humorous person, it was hard to stay sad about his setbacks.
Through his humor, storytelling, and sheer determination, RamG not only kept his family’s spirits high but also stayed committed to his professional responsibilities.
Despite facing immense physical difficulties, RamG focuses on the positives in his life, such as his loving family and the joy he brings to his children.
His motto? Maintaining a positive outlook is a choice:
“For anybody at the end of the day, there is a way to make yourself feel more positive and focus on the good things in life. Different difficulty levels for different people, but the formula is the same.”
How to know when you’re pushing yourself too hard
One of the most thought-provoking moments in the interview was when RamG talked about how he knew when he was pushing himself too hard.
He shared how he would go for walks with his wife every evening, despite the fear of falling, because he believed that giving in to his physical challenges would mean losing the fight
“I refused to hold a stick even though I needed a crutch… I would give it up and I would still try and walk. It was a difficult balancing act in every sense of the word.”
Power skills: more important than technical skills?
While his technical expertise is undeniable, RamG believes that “power skills,” sometimes known as soft skills, are the true drivers of success. He argues that technical skills alone account for only 25-30% of what makes someone successful:
“You can be fantastic at tech, but if you are not able to convince others or work with others, you will never be able to be a success.”
He further argues that the remaining 70-75% of success comes from power skills—resilience, purposefulness, end-to-end ownership, a growth mindset, and the ability to smile through adversity.
Touching 1 million lives positively
For RamG, resilience is about accepting setbacks, finding solutions, and eventually turning those setbacks into strengths. He candidly shared how he’s had about 10 fractures in the last 10 years but considers each one a badge of honor. His ability to convert adversity into strength is a testament to his resilience.
Finding purpose is another cornerstone of RamG’s philosophy. He shared how his life goals have evolved—from aspiring to become a global CEO of a Fortune 500 company to now aiming to positively impact a million lives. This sense of purpose drives him every day, helping him set and achieve goals that align with his overarching mission.
“My goal today is to touch a million lives positively. And every day morning I get up all charged up to go after that.”
Spreadsheets: the ultimate therapeutic tool?
RamG’s journey taught me that taking end-to-end ownership of one’s life is the only way forward.
Although he had his treatments, he relied solely on himself to make himself better. He says:
“I drew up this Excel sheet with 180 days… and every week the target would become tougher and tougher. And then I went about beating every one of those targets.”
The targets were set. 27 exercises a day. And as the days progressed the exercises kept getting tougher.
RamG exerted himself harder than he could, but this process became a mental and emotional anchor and as he achieved each one of his targets he would feel the rush of dopamine which made him go further.
Want to keep improving yourself? Change your mindset
Ram G talks about having a growth mindset—the belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.
The growth mindset has allowed him to continuously learn, try new things, and succeed in various fields, from writing a bestseller to becoming a motivational speaker and parenting coach.
“People with a growth mindset typically take on challenging tasks without being scared of failing… They will continuously learn, try out new things, try out uncharted paths, and then keep learning to make it a success.”
A smile a day keeps the sadness at bay
Smiling is one of the most important aspects of RamG’s daily routines.
“Make sure that people around you feel happy that you are there… People want to hang around with positive people.”
In his closing words, RamG had a piece of great advice for young technical professionals to start applying power skills in their daily lives.
His advice is clear: understand that you are part of a larger team, focus on adding value to others, and always be willing to learn and adapt. By cultivating resilience, purposefulness, end-to-end ownership, a growth mindset, and a positive attitude, anyone can multiply their technical skills and achieve greater success.
“Be willing to learn. And I think that applies to a tech job more than anything else in the world today… You have to keep reinventing. need to keep investing in yourself. And that’s the growth mindset.”
RamG Vallath’s journey is a powerful reminder that while technical skills are important, it’s the power skills that truly drive success. By embracing these skills, we can not only overcome adversity but also thrive in the face of it.
Links
RamG Vallath on Linkedin
ramgvallath.com
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