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Posted in: Interviews, Learning, Uncategorized / Tagged: BVR Sarma, Greater Bank, interviews, Learning Infinite

Out of your comfort zone…

February 26, 2013 6:31 PM / vipinkhandelwal

Out of your comfort zone!

So, how do you know that you are out of your comfort zone?

Here is what I have witnessed for myself.

Nothing or little seems familiar
No idea what needs to be done
Heart beats faster (much faster)
Butterflies in the stomach – anxiety
How will I do it?
I can’t do it!
Abandon – want to run away
Cursing yourself “why did you have to take this up”
Asking around for help – but little available
Wanting to quit feeling is at its peak

But I persist.

And then witness an immense sense of calm and feeling of being in a comfort zone.

If that is the case, you know what you have to do next. Go to top of this email.

Pls share your story of getting out from your comfort zone.

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Posted in: Learning, Personal Development, Self Improvement / Tagged: comfort zone, how to come out of comfort zone, Learning Infinite

Nothing beats experience – Anand Joshi, MD NobleTek (India)

February 21, 2013 12:19 PM / admin

In Learning Infinite Interview series, we bring to you perspectives from Anand Joshi, Managing Director of NobleTek PLM Solutions Pvt. Ltd..

Anand has experience in managing and profitably growing Offshore Product Development (OPD) as well as Professional Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Engineering Services business. He was instrumental in turning Indian subsidiary of NobleTek into a profit center. He is an ardent Chess player and traveler.

LI: Please tell us something about your journey as a professional over these years.

Anand: I have had a very rewarding professional career so far. Although the career span has not been more than 18 years so far, I was fortunate enough to get a lot of opportunities to play different roles. The opportunities varied a lot in terms of the organizations I worked with, different functions, different situations and in different countries. These different roles posed different challenges at various stages. Overcoming the challenges provided precious learning and the sense of achievement at the end of every role that lead to consistent career progression – a journey from being a trainee engineer to the Managing Director. What I consider most rewarding however is the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people on the way.

LI: How did you learn about what you do? Was it a course that you did or was it on the job?

Anand: I have always learnt a lot from people I met with. In the professional career, I have always strongly believed in the power of common sense. That alone has been the single most important teacher in my life so far. After my graduation in Engineering in mid nineties, there were obviously two choices – one, to begin the professional career and the other was to pursue the higher education. Most of my friends and batch mates decided to go abroad to pursue M.S. in search of greener pastures while others chose to pursue Management education. However, somewhere in my mind, I believed that the best way to learn the practical aspects was to begin the career and start learning on the job. The career progression so far has proven that my assumptions were right and I am glad I did not follow the herd. Besides, I was clear in my mind that from the career progression standpoint, the opportunities are going to be abundant in the Indian market compared to those in the western (developed) world. Hence I have almost always worked in India while occasionally traveling across the world on business.

LI: What are the challenges you faced, interesting or otherwise? How did you deal with them?

Anand: Since the roles I have played vary a lot, each of them have posed specific challenges – specific to the organizations, situations and functions.

Since I started my career on the production shop floor as a supervisor, the challenge then was to ensure I build excellent relationships with the workers. I started out by assigning a new workstation/machine to myself everyday while assigning the work to each of the 40 workmen in my shop. This not only helped me learn the challenges the workers faced, but also gave them the confidence that I was one of them. It was quite satisfying achieving highest utilization and through put consistently from them in a highly unionized production environment. When I switched over to the design and manufacturing engineering, the challenge was to convince everyone to adapt to the computer aided design rather than using the drafting boards. This change apart from the numerous automation tools we developed boosted the productivity in designs. This paved the way for me to enter the world of Product Lifecycle Management. My short stint in Singapore taught me how to win business and deliver growth for the organization.

The role as a Manager of business posed challenges from time to time on taking the business to the next level, winning business and attracting and retaining talent. The challenge of attrition made me move into the Employee Relations role and I learned a lot while being the change agent. The role in my current organization was to convert a cost center of an American company into a profit center by winning business. For which, I had to take some tough decisions such as bowing out of the domestic market. This allowed us to focus our energies on the international market and we could win business from India! Each of these challenges have really given me immense learning and the achievements have given a sense of fulfillment and job satisfaction which keeps me going.

LI: Who has (or have) been your mentor or coach in your professional journey?

Anand: All along this journey, I have learned through observing and picking up good qualities from several people. I haven’t had one mentor or coach, but several of them. I strongly believe that there is always something to learn from every individual – be it your boss, peer, subordinate, business associate or customer!

LI: What, in your view, does it require to be a successful executive?

Anand: One needs to learn and sharpen several skills in the profession. Since most part of leading involves working with people, competencies such as communication, inter-personal skills, ability to motivate and teamwork play a vital role. Besides these, ability to plan and execute, absolute focus on quality and customer, ability to take good decisions quickly and result orientation are important traits to be a successful executive.

LI: What does learning mean to you? How can working executives/professionals learn better?

Anand: Irrespective of the profession, age and the position, the learning should never stop. One who feels that s/he is not learning stagnates in the career and eventually becomes obsolete in this fast changing world. You do not stop learning because you have grown enough, but you stop growing further because you stop learning. The basic nature that separates humans from animals is that we inherently continue to learn on our own after the formal training is over. There are several means by which one can continue to learn. I think in adult learning process, nothing however beats experience.

LI: What is the role of a leader, in your view?

Anand: The leader, by definition is the one who has followers and the one that simply leads them. However in today’s world, good leadership does not suffice to get results. Organizations today need exemplary leaders at all levels. The leader’s role is to think and dream big, effectively communicate the dreams, effectively motivate people to achieve the same and leading from front towards the goals. There are several traits that separate a great leader from the rest. Great leaders have exceptional human skill. They are compassionate, but tough when required. They also have an ability to see a Bird’s eye view (the bigger picture and a long term view) and yet, they stay grounded (attuned to reality) at all times.

LI: What kind of books do you like to read? Any books that you would recommend.

Anand: Tons of literature is available today and many of the world’s famous personalities have written a lot of good stuff. However, I personally feel that leadership is something that cannot be taught or learned by reading. It is certainly an art that needs to be honed through practice – constantly applying different ways, learning through the failures and experiences and continuous improvement. The books however certainly help us guide and provide direction. While there are plenty of books really worth reading, the one I found to be the simplest, concise and the best is the “One Minute Manager”. The authors have very simply described different styles of leadership and how one can navigate or flow from one style to the other based on the situation and the person(s) they are dealing with. A good leader should always flow with the current in matters of style, but should always stand like a rock when it comes to principles!

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Posted in: Interviews, Learning, Uncategorized / Tagged: Anand Joshi, interview, Learning Infinite, NobleTek

“Attitude is the most important for success” – In conversation with Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti

February 19, 2013 6:43 AM / vipinkhandelwal

In Learning Infinite Interview series, we bring to you perspectives from Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman of BDO Haribhakti. A well renowned name in the corporate world, Mr. Haribhakti has been associated with several organisation, including professional and regulatory to whom he lends his expertise.

Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti throws lights on several aspects including his professional journey, his learnings, his thoughts on achieving success for executives, entrepreneurship, leadership and his favorite books.

This is a video interview. Click the links below

Here are some of the jewels of wisdom from Mr. Haribhakti.

Learning by doing: The biggest teacher in life is work itself.
Attitude Matters: The most important thing is your attitude, your approach and your skills.
Secret of Successful Executive: Attitude, confidence and competence makes you a successful executive. Nobody can teach you attitude – you have to derive it from your experience.
Today: You may have studied from anywhere it does not matter. What you can do today is what matters.
Self Learning: Your education is just the baseline but it is only self learning that will keep you going.
Learning is infinite: If you cannot do self learning, learn 24*7, 365 days a year, then you will be obsolete in no time.
Technical Skills: Technical skills are not enough .
Leadership: The role of a leader is inspiring people to exploit their full potential and to be on the path of learning.
Conversation to be: The conversation is that of “privilege and entitlement” where it should be “I need to make sure that I can create value and because I can create value there will be room and space for me to do good work, from the value that I create I will take away my share and leave the rest for the system.”

Watch the full video interview for all the insights.

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Posted in: Interviews, Leadership, Learning / Tagged: BDO Haribhakti, leadership, Learning Infinite, Self learning, Shailesh Haribhakti

“Successful – How do you define it?” – Vivek Patwardhan

February 15, 2013 6:02 PM / admin

In Learning Infinite Interview series, we bring to you perspectives from Vivek Patwardhan.

Vivek worked with Asian Paints for over thirty-three years where he held successively higher positions before assuming charge as the Head of HR of Asian Paints and its group companies including its international subsidiaries in 20 countries.

Presently as the Founder, Director of Srujan Consulting, he is a highly revered consultant, executive coach and trainer to several organisations.

LI: Please tell us something about your journey as a professional over these years.

Vivek: I am in this profession by accident. I wanted to study biochemistry and pursue doctoral studies. But HE willed otherwise. I read for Master’s degree in labour Welfare. After brief stints at Crompton Greaves and Tata Power, I joined Asian Paints. They offered a challenging job. The management was progressive which had adopted good values and practices. So I worked there for 33 years. I was promoted as Corporate IR Manager when the organisation set up manufacturing facilities at multiple locations. I was elevated as Head of HR later and I spent last twelve years of my career as such. I am deeply indebted to Asian Paints for my development as a professional. On my part, I believe that I have also contributed to development of a few younger professionals.

LI: How did you learn about what you do? Was it a course that you did or was it on the job?

Vivek: While I learnt the basics of Personnel Management and Industrial Relations at the institute, I was quick to realise the immeasurable depth of my ignorance when I joined the industry. I also realised that the knowledge and management practices were constantly evolving. This meant continuous learning on the job. It also required learning in a focused way. Later I realised that the real learning happens because of reflection and introspection. I have consciously practised it regularly. Reading law helps you understand how justice is delivered. I believe that being just and fair is the core of all sound people management practices. Osho’s thoughts have been a very deep influencing factor.

LI: What are the challenges you faced, interesting or otherwise? How did you deal with them?

Vivek: The challenge was ‘being ready to deliver.’ A growing organisation [which Asian Paints was] keeps making new demands on a manager’s abilities all the time. Being ready with knowledge, skill and attitude is not an easy task; particularly when you have seniors who constantly prepare themselves for future. I realised that the critical skill for a manager is his ability to influence others. A deep commitment to the job and authenticity in behaviour is a pre-requisite. In dealing with challenges I was immensely helped by my seniors who were my role models and mentors as well as my ability to stay focused on my development.

LI: Any mentor or coach in your professional journey?

Vivek: Yes there were many in the organisation. I know that Lord Dattatreya had 21 Gurus. In other words, he learnt something from everybody. I have always reflected on this aspect whenever I met people who impressed me. There is always something to learn from them.

LI: What, in your view, does it require to be a successful executive?

Vivek: The catchword is ‘Successful.’ How do you define it? The answer will guide us to answer your question. Some people define it in terms of hierarchy – if you end up as President or CEO then you are deemed successful. But that is not how I defined it. I have felt that performing one’s role to fullest ability is the test of success. This is a very tough call. It reminds you of mediocrity of your approach when you don’t give your best. Nothing can be more punishing than that – it is the very taste of failure. When you give your best shot, nobody needs to tell you that you are successful because you are in the flow. So if you accept my definition of success then the answer to your question is ‘Give your best to the role and task.’

LI: What does learning and development mean to you? How can working executives/professionals learn better?

Vivek: Learning in the organisational context means adapting knowingly. And adapting to the demands of your role. We will adapt better if we realise that roles are changing. And they change perceptibly over a period of time due to various reasons. Let me give you a simple example to elaborate: Your role as a 28 year old is to be a good husband, presumably you got just got married then and are now a part of a new family too which in turn informs you of the changed role. At 35, you are a father and are guided by considerations which are very different. You learn to put children’s interests before yours, and as for the family you are in a genuine leadership role. At 42, your parents are old and aging and you are a ‘father to your father.’ See how your role changes every seven years. In the corporate life it changes even faster because of growth, new acquisitions, expansion and so on. So the learning is effective when you consciously think about your role and deliverables. That’s the beginning point. It also sets the direction of learning.

LI: What kind of books do you like to read? Any books that you would recommend?

Vivek: When I study, I read with a purpose. So I read what is available on a given subject. Otherwise I read anything which catches my attention. That includes Wodehouse, Naipaul, Khushwant Singh and several biographies. I read [and also write] books in Marathi which is so rich in literature.

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