Human on the Inside with Siddartha Bahri
Human on the Inside. We’re big believers in the power of human skills. But don’t just take our word for it - the evidence for excellence powered by human (‘soft’) skills is everywhere! In this engaging, ever-enlightening series, we speak with industry leaders, innovators and game-changers to learn a little about their personal career journeys, and how human-led strategies, philosophies and cultures are proving a force for good in their working worlds …
Maxme: Welcome Siddartha (Sid), and thanks for stepping into the #SuccessIsHuman Spotlight!
You’re currently (among other things) COO and Product Head for Maxme India.
In 1 sentence, what does this role entail?
Siddartha Bahri: Thanks for having me!
In one sentence—I drive strategy, execution, and innovation at Maxme India, ensuring our products don’t just educate, but truly transform students with real-world skills to achieve their highest potential.
M: While you’ve only been with Maxme since August 2024, your impressive career is over two decades strong.
A seasoned executive and entrepreneur with extensive experience in operations, consulting, and business leadership, you’re currently also the CEO of Echelon Consulting.
Prior to this, you were the proud Founder and CEO of Chemmate India (a leader in facility and housekeeping outsourcing and construction services) for over 12 years. Additional leadership roles over the course of your career include General Manager Operations at Serco, Assistant Vice President at TCS E-Serve, and Regional Collections Director at Citibank India, where you managed large-scale financial operations and collections.
With a background in hotel management, you’ve built a diverse career across industries, focusing on collections, sales, marketing, and service delivery. Your expertise in managing large teams, enhancing profitability, and driving revenue growth is complemented by your work as a motivational speaker, author, and life coach.
How does all this work speak to your personal purpose and what drives you as an individual?
SB: Would you walk away from everything you’ve built—status, security, stability—for a life of uncertainty? Would you trade the comforts of urban India for a remote village in the Himalayas? I did.
My career (and life) has been far from conventional – shifting industries, switching roles, working in teams and flying solo without the backing of formal education and taking risks that most wouldn’t.
In all of this - if there was a constant, it was the willingness to reinvent myself and overcome the fear of the unknown.
Looking back, I can laugh at some of the choices I’ve made - some bold, some reckless, but I wouldn’t trade any of it because I have grown as a person and as a professional in embracing these changes. It’s been an exciting, adventurous journey.
My Ikigai is to inspire people to live an adventurous fulfilling life. Today, I aspire to inspire the next generation to challenge norms and break boundaries. And, give them the skills to thrive in this uncertainty.
Maxme is the scalable solution to my aspiration – aligning my day job with my purpose.
M: Tell us a little about your personal education pathway/s - what led you to where you are now? How closely do your formal qualifications match your current career?
SB: Self-Awareness is the key. Very long ago, I realised that my learning style doesn’t belong in a classroom.
Over the years, I’ve proven to myself that not having a degree doesn’t mean that I can’t excel at it. I didn’t need an engineering degree to design machinery; a marketing qualification to create a brand or a creative writing course to write a book.
Today, the tools for learning aren’t confined to books and university classrooms – but to use them and apply them – you do need the skills of curiosity, creativity and the resilience to face failures.
My formal qualifications have no relevance to my current role – but if you look beyond the prism of formal education - my entire career has been an embodiment of the skills that Maxme offers.
I learnt these skills by practice – if someone had taught me this as a subject – I would have done everything I’ve done in half the time.
M: If you could share one piece of career advice to your 21 year old self it would be ...
SB: As a 21 year old – I was chasing money. It came from a misplaced notion that success is measured as the amount of money you earn, the car you drive and the clothes you wear.
Since then, I have realised that success isn’t so much about ‘fitting in’, and is more about ‘standing out’.
My personal narrative of success has since changed to include hues of happiness and fulfilment. I wish I had given myself this advice when I was younger.
M: Maximising the potential of individuals, communities and businesses through the power of human skills is the reason Maxme exists. Can you tell us a little about the role and / or value of human skills in Indian workplaces right now?
SB: India still clings to the outdated idea that a degree is equal to success. The degree may open doors but two individuals with the same degree may have different career trajectories, and the differentiator is human skills.
If the purpose of formal education is to create a foundation for success, then we are drastically failing at it.
The real skills that drive success—communication, resilience, creative problem-solving, and curiosity—aren’t being taught as a part of the curriculum. Yet, these are the very skills that separate thriving professionals from those simply ticking boxes.
Like any skill, they need time, practice, and reinforcement. If India truly wants to be a player of significance in the world arena, it’s time we wake up to the reality that soft skills aren’t optional—they are the foundation of future success.
M: Self Awareness sets the critical foundation for all Maxme learning experiences. With that said … what’s your strongest trait / personal super power?
SB: Personal Superpower? Fearless Reinvention.
When I quit my first job without another lined up – it started my tryst with exploring the unknown.
It was a veritable “leap of faith” that I took without waiting for the safety net to appear. The situation forced me to reinvent myself.
Over the years, I have shifted industries, built teams, set up businesses, failed, rebuilt, written books, voice acted and despite more than one bankruptcy – I inspire people to live a fearless adventurous life.
The pattern? I jump in with conviction, figure things out, adapt, learn and reinvent. Failure or success is just incidental to this process because if there’s one question that I don’t want to ask myself is “What if…..?”
M: And on the flip side, what’s one human / ‘soft’ skill you’ve had to really work on improving over the course of your career?
SB: Patience.
Early in my career, I wanted results—fast. I’d get frustrated when things didn’t move at the pace I expected, whether it was processes, people, or even my own growth. But over time, I’ve realised that not everything can (or should) be forced into acceleration.
I’ve had to learn to trust the process, give people space to grow, and let things unfold at their own pace—without losing momentum. It’s also being mindful about choosing the right battles to fight – a critical life skill that I am still learning.
M: If you could share one piece of career advice with recent Uni graduates or candidates keen to explore the world of organisational leadership, what would it be?
SB: My advice to young Uni graduates:
First, unlearn the success narrative that has been handed to you as a part of your conditioning and choose your own.
Happiness and fulfilment can be a part of that success narrative!
Seek what you love – experiment, unapologetically, without the fear of failure until you find your purpose.
Align with that purpose, and everything that you want on the material plane, will follow.
M: You’ve been granted approval to add one University graduate to your team, but have 100 applicants, all with outstanding academic results. How do you find your perfect candidate - what are you looking for?
SB: An academic record tells me that you’re diligent and disciplined. You’ve put in the long hours, memorised what was needed, and played by the rules. Great.
But the real world is unfair – it doesn’t always reward the people who get the best marks.
Out here, you need more than knowledge—you need creative problem-solving when resources are tight, communication to get through to your boss, and the resilience to get up and walk again, in the face of failure.
I’m not looking for the guy with the best grades. I’m looking for the one who’s sharp, adaptable, and can think on their feet—because that’s who gets things done.
M: In the words of John Dewey, “education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.”
What’s next on your #learning agenda?
SB: If I had a structured agenda for learning, I would have stopped learning. The moment you put rigid boundaries around it, it starts feeling like school again—and that’s not my learning style.
For me, learning is a passion not an agenda.
There’s no fixed goal, no syllabus. I just follow what excites me, jump in with conviction, and figure it out along the way. I just know that I can be whoever I want to, whenever I want.
Ready to develop the human skills within your organisation, team or self? Explore our menu of Maxme Products & Programs or simply download the Hodie app to get started today.
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