What Spartans, Toddlers And CEOs Have In Common

Sidharth Ramsinghaney: Director of Corporate Strategy at Twilio, McKinsey Alum and visionary leader in M&A and Transformations.

My Toddler (Kiaansh): “Daddy, why do you exercise so hard?”

Me: “To be strong enough to climb mountains and run through creeks in the Spartan race.”

Toddler: “But why do you want to do that?”

Me: “Because Spartans never give up, buddy. They keep going even when things get tough.”

Toddler: “Like a superhero?”

Me: “Exactly like a superhero.”

A week later, my three-year-old fell from the couch. As tears welled up in his eyes, I reminded him, “You’re a Spartan.” Something magical happened. He stood up, puffed his chest and declared, “I am a Spartan! I climb mountains and run over creeks. If I fall, I will stand up and run again!”

At that moment, my son taught me more about resilience than any business framework ever could. As a McKinsey & Company alum and current Director of Corporate Strategy and Head of M&A Integration, I’ve realized that the most powerful business transformations begin not with PowerPoints or process maps, but with the same curiosity that drives a child to understand their world.

Trust: The Bridge Between Strategy And Success

Early in my career, I led a critical merger integration between two global enterprises. Despite both teams speaking the same business language—synergies, value capture, integration milestones—we were worlds apart in execution. The breakthrough came when we stopped presenting slides about synergies and started asking “why” each team approached their work differently.

Years later, watching my son interact with his grandparents offered another powerful lesson in connection. During their visit from India, they began teaching him Hindi. While he primarily spoke English, growing up in the U.S., something magical happened by day three. Despite Hindi being completely new to him, he started responding to their Hindi phrases with English, complete with hand gestures and dramatic expressions. They had found a way to connect that transcended language barriers, reminding me how our integration succeeded not through processes or frameworks but through genuine curiosity about each other’s perspectives.

Key Takeaway: Trust isn’t built through org charts—it’s built through authentic curiosity about others’ perspectives. Before your next transformation initiative, ask: Are we leading with curiosity or compliance?

Purpose: The ‘Why’ That Transforms Industries

In 2016, I joined one of India’s most ambitious digital transformation initiatives, touching over 460 million people. The chairman’s vision was revolutionary: “Mobile internet and digital services should not be a privilege for a select few, but a basic necessity for every Indian.” This wasn’t just about market share—it was about fundamentally changing lives.

This powerful “why” transformed our entire approach. Teams stopped comparing competitor prices and started asking deeper questions: Why should data be a luxury when it’s becoming as essential as water? Within months, we dropped data costs by 95%, enabling millions of Indians to access digital services for the first time. Students in remote villages could access online courses, small shopkeepers could join e-commerce and families could connect across continents.

Key Takeaway: When your “why” connects to fundamental human impact, impossible targets become inevitable milestones. What would change in your organization if every decision started with “why”?

Discovery: The Path To Innovation

Recently, facing a 60-pound sandbag carry up a steep mountain slope in my first Spartan Race, I asked myself, “Why did I sign up for this?” That question led to an insight about transformation that no business book had taught me: Each obstacle isn’t just a challenge; it’s an invitation to discover what’s possible.

I’ve seen this pattern in every successful business transformation. Years ago, while leading a digital transformation, we shifted from asking, “How do we optimize our current processes?” to “Why do these processes exist at all?” This reframing led to innovations that reduced customer onboarding time from weeks to hours.

Key Takeaway: Innovation doesn’t come from avoiding obstacles but from questioning why they exist in the first place.

Conclusion: The Transformative Power Of ‘Why’

Like my little Spartan showed me, every fall is an opportunity to rise stronger, every question is a chance to discover, and every “why” is an invitation to reimagine what’s possible. In an age of AI, automation and accelerating change, our most powerful advantage isn’t just answering questions; it’s asking them with childlike curiosity and courage. Because whether you’re scaling a mountain of life or running through the creeks to find your happiness or transforming an industry, the path to breakthrough begins with three simple letters: W-H-Y.

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