Meet Valsala Krishnan | S-I-E-P Embracing Change Specialist and PhD candidate on building an entrepreneurial mindset

We had the good fortune of connecting with Valsala Krishnan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Valsala, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I discovered something worth sharing with others!

I was a Finance Director in a British Multi-National Company (MNC) when the company was acquired by an American MNC. There was sudden change in expectations, rewards, recognitions, opportunities with new leaders and managers coming into regional positions. After the initial excitement of the launch and welcome meetings, as time went by, I started noticing that many of the old timers were not happy. They were not feeling appreciated and reminiscing the good old days. The subtle emotional build up was causing resistance, unhappiness and friction between colleagues and departments. I set forth to find a solution to address this.

In this pursuit is where I met the founder of a social business incubator, ET Ideas who shared with me how he builds the mindset and habit patterns of novice entrepreneurs for them to navigate the dynamic environment of change successfully. Quoting his words, “You need to raise people’s awareness so that they are aware that they are actually reacting to situations. Only if they are aware can they stop and respond.’ That was the start of my career change to raising awareness using the S-I-E-P methodology.

I started Globetrotter Consultancy in 2014 to pioneer culture shaping in companies using the S-I-E-P methodology, by raising awareness of what emotions one goes through during change and giving them the tools to expand their mindset and identify the opportunities, eventually enabling them to embrace change.

Post Covid-19 pandemic change has intensified. Technology advancement is changing the way we study, work and live. Industries are restructuring to embrace green solutions, new guidelines and changing consumer demands with the young Gen Zs coming of age. The resulting stress, burnout and feeling of being loss has made the work we do in companies and with individuals more urgent and profound.

What should our readers know about your business?
I started Globetrotter Consultancy 10 years ago with the intention of sharing with others how to stay happy despite the many challenges of the day. Post pandemic as changes intensified in the way we work and live with technology rapidly advancing and industries transforming, the work we do became important in preventing burnout and maintaining personal mental health and well-being.

In my PhD research I came across Haynie’s situated metacognitive model which highlighted that metacognition awareness is higher in entrepreneurs given their exposure to constant change. In comparison to a manager in a relatively stable corporate environment who has not developed this metacognition ability given the more stable environment the person operates in. This prompted my research to study how the ET Ideas Business Incubator build their novice entrepreneurs mindset intentionally and systematically. Consequently, out came the S-I-E-P methodology, which was used to manage emotions, build resilience and eventually change habit patterns. For me, this was a fascinating discovery of a solution much needed in organizations to get their people ready to implement the changes in strategy and company direction.

Today we do change and people readiness programs using the S-I-E-P methodology in companies, spearheaded by S-I-E-P practitioners who are change agent in the organization going through the change.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A friend of mine was receiving an Award at the International Singer Songwriter’s Award ceremony which was held at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. Absolutely lovely place! Do make sure you catch a show there. Breakfast at Barney’s was great. Oh yes, do visit the Georgia Aquarium as well.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been shaped by the many people I have encountered. In my childhood my parents had a profound impact on my values and beliefs Later my friends, teachers, colleagues and bosses shaped me in my professional career. If I am to narrow it down to one person, that would be my mentor and founder of ET Ideas, Elango Thiyagu.

My childhood friend, Ajit Kaur introduced me to Elango Thiyagu in July 2013 at the point when my heart was nudging me to leave the corporate world and raise people’s awareness (I had no clue what that meant then). I still remember my first conversation with him. He asked me what I wanted to do, and I replied I wanted to make people’s lives happier. He then asked me “Are you happy? You need to figure out how to be happy first. Only then can you guide others to be happy!” The rest is history.

I learned to apply the S-I-E-P steps he taught me to manage my emotions, raise my awareness re my own thoughts. correct habits and perceptions and actually be happy! In the past 10 years I have guided hundreds directly through the ‘Be At Your Best’ bio-cybernetics workshops and thousand indirectly through my talks, books and paper published. A past participant, who is a Chief People Officer in a renowned household products manufacturing company, calls me ‘the happiness guru’ and to me this is a mark of how far I have come in being happy and guiding others to be happy as well.

Going back to Elango Thiyagu, he began his first business endeavor at the age of 12, developing software programs for corporate conglomerates at a time when computers were first introduced to the world. This endeavor spring boarded him into various business experiences in the fields of safety and health training, investing in financial markets, and venture capitalism. A man of exceptional talents, Elango explored and studied the dynamics of the human mind and applied it successfully in his personal life and his various businesses for more than 30 years. Given the amazing results he achieved, he conducted his own awareness and motivation training programs to teach others how to achieve the same success too. This led to the birth of the social business incubator platform known as “ET Ideas” where he imparted his knowledge and experiences to guide numerous businesses towards holistic success.

Founded in 2008 by Elango Thiyagu, ET Ideas’ mission is to develop entrepreneurs to step out of the system and solve world problems collectively and selflessly at the root cause. He personally nurtured more than 30 businesses to varies stages of success using his personal funds. Some of the businesses are now internationally recognized and making a global impact like Ascendance, an International Youth Movement that has impacted over 50,000 students. Globetrotter Consultancy is another ET Ideas incubated company which now brings Elango’s lessons into the corporate world through culture transformation workshops and coaching sessions.

Elango is currently retired and shares his wisdom through his books and talks. His latest book ‘The Wisdom of The Talking Bodhi Tree’, published in 2024 capsules life’s lessons in a fable. A simple but profound read that leave you with the bigger perspective of life. The book is available online [https://bodhitreewisdom.com/].

Besides Elango, a huge shout out goes to all the ET Ideas Associates as well, for being the pillars of support in this journey of listening to the heart, achieving goals and solving world problems. More about ET Ideas in their website (https://et-ideas.com/)

Website: https://valsalakrishnan.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krishnanvalsala/

Linkedin: https://my.linkedin.com/in/valsalakrishnan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valsala.krishnan.7

Youtube: https://youtu.be/j5sXqnKAJa0

Other: TEDx feature : https://youtu.be/j5sXqnKAJa0

Media interview:
On Bernama TV : https://youtu.be/AMcBRDlbc4U?si=VQH7Wq4ma_7TGoXH
BFM Radio Interview : https://www.bfm.my/podcast/enterprise/raise-your-game/raise-your-game-innovation-culture-valsala-krishnan-globetrotter-consultancy

Image Credits
Photo credit : ET Boost