The ALPS (The Academy of Life and People Skills) is a People Skills Consulting Firm that provides generic and boutique services to the corporate, colleges, and schools in the field of soft skills, life skills, and people skills. The company specializes in tailor-made programs designed after in-depth interactions with the client and the participants. In 2011, Suryakumari Duggirala founded The ALPS as a sole proprietary firm. She holds a doctorate in Economics. An environmental economist, a banker, a professor transformed into a People Skills Trainer! She is a trained Barefoot Counsellor from the Chennai Counsellors Federation.

A snippet of the insightful conversation between CEO Insights and Suryakumari

What Motivated You To Enter The Field Of Corporate Training?

What was natural to me, was not so to everyone. There were so many people out there who needed to be trained in language as well as people skills. That need prompted me to learn more to equip myself and train my students initially. Later, I started my entrepreneurial journey.

In Your Opinion How Does Corporate Training Contribute Towards Creating Successful And Skill Full Professionals?

I can challenge everyone out there that with the right Life Skills, one can be not only successful professionals but also happy human beings. I hope I live to see Life Skills incorporated into the school curriculum. Academic accolades are overrated in our country. What’s the point in being a brilliant engineer if you do not know how to communicate and work in a team? Why don’t we have communication skills as a core subject in all curriculam?

What Are The Various Differential Advantages And Benefits That Clients Derive By Engaging Your Corporate Training Services?

The Connect, The Exclusivity, and The Custom Made programs. We interact with every individual in a workshop by blending with him or her. The personal rapport unlike an ‘outside trainer’ approach is very unique to us. My team that consists of HR professionals, Counsellors, and Academicians, all women who are self-made upright grounded individuals with a cheerful disposition hard to match. Some of our clients have said we bring a bagful of laughter with us!

“I believe in ikigai, a lifetime of happiness and wish everyone to make it their purpose of life. Be happy always!”

Any Suggestions Or Advice To Young Women Who Aspire To Achieve Big In Life?

“Learning is given. Learning is continuous. It is constant.” Loving everything that I do is my mantra for being firmly grounded, and to have zero comparison helps me grow. Instead I introspect. Set backs are part of life and an essential element to succeed. My secret is Hard Work, Up skilling and Reskilling. As a bank employee turned Professor, I had no clue what soft skills were. I learned on the job and now here I am. I did several online courses up-skilling myself in Economics and Life Skills and reskilling in Management and Buddhism.

My sincere advice is: Education is your true wealth. Nobody can take it away from you. If you are educated the ability to earn will be ingrained in you. Be financially able. Learn to be money wise and learn to manage money. When the women of the house are educated and financially independent, the whole family is empowered and the ripple effect is reflected in the upliftment of the society.

Which Of Alps’services Do You Count As Your Flagship Offering And Why?

Every workshop of ours is a conversation, a dialogue that incorporates Appreciative Inquiry to the fullest. For the Corporates, At the Forefront – The Front Office Team, Leaders’ Conclave – Team Confidante’, Happy Healthy Living – Let’s March ahead!, Employee Engagement- Towards Dynamic Relationships at Work are few standalone workshops that we conducted. ‘Stress Proof Yourself ‘ is our flagship workshop for schools that is for the IX to XII students and the respective parents and teachers. Our ‘Campus to Corporate’ workshop has been delivered successfully in innumerable colleges in several avatars to suit that particular Institute.

What Are The Different Facets Of Your Personality Or Your Leadership Style That Have Helped The Company Propel Growth Journey?

Perhaps a ‘Growth Leader’? In an NGO for girl school dropouts, I taught English with pedagogy of role-play and singing. Today some of them have completed studies and are working. In an NGO that endorsed Peer learning among school children, I conducted workshops in life skills. In an NGO that promotes reading books for school children and rehabilitating abandoned kids into mainstream school, I am in an Advisory role.

A Cause that is very dear to me is Organ donation (I have pledged all my organs) where I have done innumerable workshops. During the pandemic I was one of several Letter writers as a Volunteer in The Goodwill Tribe Project that reached out to people all over the world writing letters of comfort to people going through trauma or distress. One of our workshops was for a School for the specially empowered and physically challenged. We design a program to suit each of them in Placement Grooming was one of our ultimate challenges.

My leadership style is that all my team members are leaders. In fact each of them own a company of their own too! In short, we are competitors and collaborators! It is with pride I can say that our client acquisition has been purely by ‘word-of-mouth’ than by any marketing strategy. Some of my ex-students who work in MNCs have been my first customers! My Pro-bono work also brings in new clients.

Dr Suryakumari Duggirala, Founder, The Alps

Suryakumari was nominated as Expert Member – Healthcare Sector Skill Council, India for Transplant Coordinators. She is one of 25 nominated from across the country and the only Life Skills Coach.