Dr. Rao is a speaker, former business school professor, and head of The Rao Institute, based out of New York. He created the course Creativity and Personal Mastery (CPM), which is based on ancient traditions that Dr. Rao has adapted for modern-day business executives and corporations. He has taught the program at a number of leading business schools, including Columbia and the London Business School, as well as many international corporations.

He is the author of two books, Are You Ready to Succeed: Unconventional Strategies for Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life and Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated and Successful - No Matter What, as well as the creator and narrator of the audio course The Personal Mastery Program. All are bestsellers and have been translated into a number of languages. He has received wide media coverage and acclaim, including features in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The London Times, The Independent, Time, Financial Times, Fortune, Business Week, The Guardian, and Forbes; he has also been a speaker for TED, Leading@Google, and Thinkers 50 interview. Dr. Rao has been a contributing editor for Forbes and a featured author for many other publications.