Knowledge Mindfulness Porch

“Leadership has only one definition,” says Krishiv Gandhi. “How many leaders did you create?”

In this conversation, Dr. Laila Marouf is joined by Krishiv Gandhi – engineer, second-generation family business leader, and entrepreneur in early childhood education – to reflect on what it means to lead with intention in a world changing faster than our systems can keep up with.

Together they explore why leadership comes down to one question – how many leaders did you create – and why knowing yourself is the foundation everything else is built on. They look honestly at what the education system is still getting wrong, what happens when you bring EQ and mindfulness into the earliest years of a child‘s life, and what a 10-day silent Vipassana retreat taught the young leader. The conversation also turns to the bigger questions – AI and what it threatens, the difference between hope and optimism, and what must remain irreducibly human as technology accelerates.

Knowledge Mindfulness Porch is hosted by Dr. Laila Marouf, exploring how Knowing, Being, and Doing come together in times of unconventional change and polycrisis. Through thoughtful conversations with leaders, thinkers, and practitioners across disciplines, the Porch creates space for reflection, discernment, and sense-making. Join us on the Porch. 
Connect: 
https://knowledgemindfulness.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laila-marouf/
Music ID: 5TUYXXUNQDOAARSN

Most people plan their career. Ghalia Alul was guided into hers—from working for Queen Rania to government communications to opening a plant-based restaurant—by what she calls the invisible hand.
In this conversation, Dr. Laila Marouf is joined by Ghalia Alul – communications professional, Director of Capacity Building, and restaurateur – to explore what 25 years in communications ultimately teaches you about being human.
Together they uncover why the most urgent skill today has nothing to do with messaging and everything to do with inner clarity, why organisations don't need sharper strategies, they need people who don't take things personally, who don't assume, and who are impeccable with their word. And how the deepest professional wisdom often arrives through the most personal of journeys — through loss, through a spontaneous trip to Bali, through turning 50 — when life finally gets still enough to listen to.

Knowledge Mindfulness Porch is a podcast hosted by Dr. Laila Marouf, exploring how Knowing, Being, and Doing come together in times of unconventional change and poly-crisis. Through thoughtful conversations with leaders, thinkers, and practitioners across disciplines, cultures and generations, The Porch creates space for reflection, discernment, and sense-making.

Join us on the Porch.
Connect:
https://knowledgemindfulness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laila-marouf/

In a fast world, leadership begins with who we are — not only what we do. 
In this conversation, Dr. Laila Marouf is joined by Fahad Abdulrahim Kazim, Co-Founder of Legacy Hotels Holding, to reflect on identity, legacy, and what it means to lead as a human being first in times of unconventional change. Together, they explore building culture without wearing a “work persona,” why reputation is earned through the quality of relationships, and how leaders hold both the practical and the philosophical in the same frame. The conversation also touches on wellness beyond the physical, intergenerational continuity, and how AI brings renewed focus to a timeless question: what must remain human? 
Knowledge Mindfulness Porch is hosted by Dr. Laila Marouf, exploring how Knowing, Being, and Doing come together in times of unconventional change and polycrisis. Through thoughtful conversations with leaders, thinkers, and practitioners across disciplines, the Porch creates space for reflection, discernment, and sense-making. Join us on the Porch. 
Connect: 
https://knowledgemindfulness.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laila-marouf/

Unconventional times call for leadership anchored in humanity.In this conversation, Dr. Laila Marouf is joined by Raméz Baassiri, fourth-generation family business leader and author of Interrupted Entrepreneurship, to reflect on leadership in unconventional times where change is fast, multi-dimensional, and deeply uncertain.
Together, they explore adaptability as an organisational capability, the role of intergenerational wisdom in sustaining continuity through reinvention, and why relationships, judgment, and tacit knowledge matter more than ever when there is no clear blueprint forward. The conversation also touches on AI — not as a replacement for human work, but as a lens that sharpens the question of what must remain human as technology accelerates.
Connect:
https://knowledgemindfulness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laila-marouf/ 
Chapters
0:00 Welcome to The Porch
4:44 Embracing Change
8:07 Human Relationships in Organizations
10:13 The Role of AI
12:35 Wisdom from the Past
24:48 Navigating Multi-Generational Workplaces
30:34 The Impact of Women in Business

In part 2, neurologist Dr. Richard Cytowic delves deeper into his pioneering research on synesthesia and its profound implications on how we understand perception. He explains how synesthesia challenges the outdated notion of brain modularity, revealing the brain's inherent cross-connectivity and multisensory interactions. Dr. Cytowic shares insights into how creativity and intuition thrive when we quiet the mind, through activities like walking and meditation, which allow ideas to emerge naturally. The conversation touches on the importance of silence and disconnection as essential nutrients for mental well-being. He also emphasizes the dangers of screen addiction and encourages listeners to embrace breaks and mindful moments away from technology. In parting, Dr. Cytowic urges us to reclaim our focus and creativity by integrating more silence and reflection into our daily routines.