Sadhguru speaks about the various challenges and opportunities of being a second-generation entrepreneur. He explains how the older generation can involve GenNext more deeply and groom them to become successful business leaders.

Full Transcript:

Sadhguru: I’ve seen both kinds – some older generation always complaining that the younger generation not showing enough interest or not engaged as they should be, not responsible enough, not judicious enough, whatever. In this, some may be a genuine case of responsible action or irresponsible action. This also depends on – because you’re successful you thought you have to heap your children with too many things. Like some wise saying is there, “You must give them enough so that they can do something, not enough so that they don’t have to do anything” (Laughs). So somewhere you gave them enough so that they… somewhere they com… perceived or conceived that they don’t have to do anything in their life because there is enough. And after all, once again, we don’t have to… I’m… I’m reminding in the line of questioning for you not to forget, after all entrepreneurship is economic activity. Economic activity need not be raised to heaven, okay? It must be conducted on the planet to the extent it’s necessary for you and the world around you. So that is why I said, no entrepreneur should become unipolar. They think the only way they can be successful is by being unipolar. No. By b… being multi-polar, they will become far more capable than being unipolar.

Time 50:13

If you become unipolar, you may achieve success but that success will never drench you with either joy or… nor can you enjoy what… what physical situations you have created. It will not happen because you are still unipolar and in unipolar nature you will become very small because the number of dimensions that are there in life, if you do not pay attention to all of it, if you do not engage in some level with a few things at least, you will… you will miss the process of life in the name of economics. It may be good for the next generation because there’s a windfall for them (Laughs). But in family enterprises usually the struggles are - both the generations where they’re engaged in business - as I said earlier, older generation… Well, I have met older generations which are more enterprising than the younger generations. There’re many family businesses – successful businesses – in India like that. And the older generation created it, so they’re constantly on the ball. The younger generation landed on top of the hill. You’ve seen this in the political sphere also.

So those who created it, they have a different sense of everything. Those who just landed into the comfort or the lap of what has already been created, they have a different sense of everything. So it’s very important if the older generation wants the cooperation and… a sensible cooperation from the younger generation, they must give them a challenge and an opportunity to create something within what has already been created. There is always a risk they may fail, but there was always a risk that you could fail when you started. It’s just that you have succeeded; somebody may actually fail right in front of you. But if you don’t create that, if you don’t create that challenge and opportunity, then they will not understand what you’re talking because they don’t know what it means to build something. They’re always there in already built things. They will not understand what it means to build something.

So, I think the older generation to take that responsibility and risk of allowing younger generation to create something - maybe not risking everything but at least a part of it - that risk must be taken, that challenge must be offered. Only then they are also truly entrepreneurs. Otherwise they’re inheritors, they’re landlords. Landlords are not on their toes, they’re on their ass (Laughs). Yes. An entrepreneur has to be on his toes always. An entrepreneur means eternally you’re on your toes, not even on your heel. Landlord sits back (Laughs).