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Journalism of Courage
With a fan base of 2.1 million on Instagram, Ankur Warikoo, 42, is a self-help guru with a twist. Unlike most online self-styled experts on lifestyle choices, personal finance, systemic injustices and psychology, the former CEO of Groupon India, and co-founder of Nearbuy acknowledges that he’s not a specialist at anything. He empathises with his urban Indian audiences, with their circumstances located at the nexus of middle-class economic aspirations and orthodox parental expectations. On the release of his latest book ‘Get Epic Shit Done’ (Juggernaut, Rs 399), he speaks on the self-help industry and how it can be made more inclusive. Edited excerpts:
Was your course on time management your big break in the content creation game?
I’ve been creating various types of content since 2005 but it never really came together. Only when I stepped down as CEO of my previous startup, Nearbuy, did I build a team and improve my presence on social media. This coincided with the pandemic, when everyone had more time on their hands, and the ads came through — so conversations started.
You’ve donned many hats — entrepreneur, personal finance guru, upskilling advisor. When dabbling in such disparate fields, are you afraid of making a mistake?
Being an entrepreneur teaches you a lot. Because I’ve been a start-up founder all these years, I don’t have a specialisation. I’m not an expert at anything. To have any impact, I knew it couldn’t come from a point of expertise. The only thing I can do is become vulnerable, admit all the mistakes I’ve made, and talk about what I’ve learnt from them. Thankfully, that works because a lot of people are like, ‘Arre, this guy made the same mistakes I am making, so it’s very relatable.’
Self-help advice is often tailored to neurotypical people. How can neurodivergent people be included in the conversation?
I had a conversation with a gentleman recently in Mumbai. He said, ‘I have ADHD. I’m unable to read books. If you tell me to just keep trying, it’s like an optician removing my spectacles and then telling me to read. I want to read but your way won’t work.’ My response was, ‘When you ask me that question, you’re being unfair to your needs because I have no idea what you’re going through. I haven’t had the same experience.’ So even if I want, my content can’t fully respect where he’s coming from. I told him, ‘It’s your responsibility to find your tribe and that’s much easier today than before.’ I suggested he go on Facebook and Reddit and look for forums on ADHD. I was convinced some people would’ve cracked ways to read, and when they tell him, that’s sound advice. Anything I’d tell him is bullshit.
Discrimination on the basis of caste, gender, age and religion happens in workplaces and educational spaces but the self-help industry never mentions it. Can that be addressed?
There are two ways of changing a system. One is challenging the system up front. A revolution is rare but almost always effective if it happens, and inspires others. The other way of making a system work — what I love doing — is self selection. People begin to make choices over time that drive the economic reason towards that agenda. In my book, I talk about how to deal with a toxic manager. You must consider
this: is the manager’s conduct in line with the top leader of the company? If yes, then this is not a manager issue, it’s a culture issue. Then you can either run a revolution, or you can self-select and go to a place which values you for who you are. If people start self-selecting, these toxic places will die out over time. But if the manager’s conduct is not in line with the top leadership, then it’s your moral responsibility to raise your voice so you can allow the leadership to select the right management for your people.
