The Mind of the SuperStar Leader

This special edition that you hold in your hands has been conceptualised with a clear purpose: It’s meant to offer an exclusive peek into the minds of the 10 outstanding winners of the first Forbes India Leadership Awards.

Despite their enormously hectic schedules, almost all the entrepreneurs and business leaders spent quality time — in some cases more than a couple of hours — sharing some of their key challenges on their entrepreneurial journey with our team of writers and editors. Their stories sparkle with rare insight and a great deal of candour.

There’s one common thread running through them: Transformational leadership. I believe our package offers enough clues of its many facets: How leaders dream up opportunities in new, untapped market spaces, use failure as a springboard, patiently build a new set of leaders, and invariably end up shaping entirely new industries. To add another dimension, we asked each of the winners to nominate a person who knew them well to share their perspective of the leader.

In the process, we hit upon many gems, but there was one particular piece that gave me gooseflesh when I read it. Remember to turn to page 72 where young Rohan Murty offers a rare glimpse of his father, the redoubtable N.R. Narayana Murthy, the winner of our Lifetime Achievement award.

Apart from this special package, there are two other exceptional stories I’d strongly recommend. With the F1 fever sweeping through the country, all eyes are on the new 5.3 km Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Yet, behind this high-voltage drama is an untold story of how a leading real estate developer wants to create one of India’s largest private cities riding on the popularity of the Grand Prix. Age has not dimmed 80-year-old Jaiprakash Gaur’s dream to build Jaypee Sports City.

Don’t miss our story on Fabindia. William Bissell’s incredible story of inclusive capitalism has reached an interesting turn. And as drama critics of Indian business, my colleagues and I particularly enjoyed bringing you this story — as well as the rest of this special edition. Happy Diwali!

P.S. Two important alerts: The winter edition of ForbesLife India is now out on the stands and has an incredible line-up of special stories on the best things that life has to offer. Also watch out for our blockbuster Forbes India 100 Richest Indians special edition which hits the stands on October 28.