Q. Tell us about your journey — from India to America and Europe and back to India?
A. In 1996, I read a newspaper article about the requirements to be a global manager, i.e. manage a global business from anywhere in the world. The requirements were an internationally recognised degree and work experience in three large markets in the world. It’s when I left my job at 3M (an innovative technology company) in Delhi, to do my Masters in the UK, and went on to work in North America and Europe. After completing these requirements, I returned to India. My rationale for choosing to work from Kerala was that I had the confidence to manage a business from anywhere in the world and a strong conviction that my children would do well if I am able to provide them a slow life surrounded by nature, spirituality, farms and generations of family and friends. In the book, I call this the Bha-rati phase of my life, a slow and secure 20 years of acquiring knowledge. This phase prepared me for the second, fast-paced 20 years of Dhan-rati or of acquiring experience and wealth.

James Joseph at work in his back-up office, located in his attic, in Aluva, Kerala