Gokul V S from the SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai is one of India's Most Promising Incoming MBA Students 2022!
The following is Gokul 's set of responses to a questionnaire floated amongst incoming MBA graduates to determine the top 50 Most Promising Incoming MBA students of 2022. Amongst the massive number of entries and responses being evaluated, Gokul's story and profile stood out. Here's his story in his words.
As the son of two teachers, I grew up in an academically charged environment. But I invested much time into extracurricular along with my academics throughout my education. I was awarded the 'Rashtrapati Scout Award' presented by the Hon. President of India and was able to consistently perform at the state level 'Kerala School Kalolsavam. I joined 'Ayurnova' - as a Marketing Associate and worked for 17 months handling their Sales, Marketing & Business Development, later joined IMS of my passion for mentoring and my expertise in sales. I am also a trained theatre artist & a sports enthusiast.
Tell us more about your extracurricular achievements
I had made sure that I invest much time into extracurricular along with my academics throughout my education. This combination I believe has made me the person that I am now. From a young age, I wanted to become a person who is a 'Jack of all trades. As a result, I was involved in activities that are multi-disciplinary in nature. I had served as a Scout for around 5 years and was awarded the Rashtrapati Award - the highest honorary award for a boy scout, presented by the Hon. President of India at the age of 15 and later continued my NGO work as a National Service Scheme volunteer at my college. Organizing medical camps for tribes and conducting an e-waste collection campaign in the local household were some of the prominent activities done under this. I was also able to consistently perform at the state level Kerala School Kalolsavam - considered one of the biggest youth festivals in Asia for multiple events in the theatre segment.I was the state-level winner for the Kerala Sastrolsvam (State-level Science Fair) and represented Kerala in the Southern India Science Fair, bagging the Book 3rd prize in the event. Some of the other extra-curricular achievements are as follows,Sports - School team cricket captain and college cricket team vice-captain. Runners up at KTU D-zone Cricket tournament. Also, an ardent follower of football and cricket. Team Leader, National Level Electric Two-Wheeler Designing Competition - Headed a team of 10 and developed an electric two-wheeler from scratch with 38 liters of storage capacity. Ranked top 2 in the state.Committee Head, National level fest - Supervised a team of 40 to handle parallel execution of over 20 events with a footfall of 5000+President, Fashion Club - Pioneered the revival of the Fashion Club of the college & managed over 80 studentsResearch paper submission in the International Conference on Politics and Economics of Climate Change - Presented a research paper on the Development of Chemical Free Sustainable Paper from Water Mosses at the International Conference on Politics and Economics of Climate Change.
Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
In my final year of graduation, our department introduced an initiative to provide internship opportunities to students in the core mechanical field. For this, a committee was formed with students and faculty members I was a part of, and we had regular discussions about the strategies to convince a company to hire from our college. We worked hard and finally came up with some good collaborations. But to our surprise, the students selected for the internship chose full-time IT jobs rather than an internship in the core field, resulting in a joining rate of less than 50% to a conversion rate of 95%. Most of them were concerned about job security and a long-term career. From this, I learned that we should always do market research and understand the demand for the service or product that we are introducing, no matter how good the product is.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
Having a grasp of different areas with an appreciable level of achievement in most of them is something that always sets me apart from the rest of the crowd. Getting recognized by the President of India is not a thing that most of the ones possess. Be it in arts, sports, community work, or positions of responsibility, I was able to mark my signature in all these realms at a considerable level. At the same time, I was able to consistently perform in my academics being the school topper in 10th, Top 5 in 12th, and among the top 20% in my graduation. This level of involvement in multiple disciplines with state and national level recognition will most probably be the element that others may be surprised to know about me.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
I am a person who considers the process more important than the end result. The things that I am about to mention may seem like some of the best results that happened to me. But what I am looking to express is the happiness and satisfaction that I had gained throughout the process of achieving it.1) Getting acclaimed as a Rashtrapati Scout - As I have previously mentioned, getting this tag and receiving such an award from the President of India is not a simple thing. I had to work on multiple projects along with my classwork and was also responsible to lead the Scout Troop of my school. All these taught me how to manage time efficiently, that too from a young age. One should be disciplined, theoretically and practically efficient in survival and emergency situations, Patriotic, and Socially responsible to be considered for this award. Rooting all these key things at a very early age played a significant role in shaping my character.2) Getting admitted to SPJIMR - Even though I have a lot of entries to compete for the 2nd position, I believe that this is something that really made me intensely taste success after a very long time. This was my 3rd CAT attempt and the journey till this one has taught me a lot in terms of perseverance, commitment, and self-belief. SPJIMR is one of the best b-schools in the country and it's one of them which has a unique selection process. I know for a fact that this is just the beginning and there's a lot to do ahead. But this milestone would definitely be considered a success in terms of the mental strength and perseverance that I was able to showcase throughout the process.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
I aspire to see myself as a socially responsible and empathetic leader who tries to make the world better. Professionally, I want to see myself at the forefront of a conglomerate's leadership team gaining exposure to challenges in different domains or categories. Joining and working with the TATAs is my dream. I would be happy to see myself being part of the TAS program and taking up various challenges that can benefit the company and society in the five years that lie ahead. I would also want to see myself as a mentor motivating young minds to help them reach their desired goals.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
Goal-driven/ goal-oriented - As a more focused person on the process than the result, I haven't thought of myself as a goal-oriented/ result-oriented person. But one thing that I noticed over the period is that, even though the process made me happy and made me a better person, that goal in front of me made me start this journey in the first place. Later on, when I have done a thorough self-introspection, I found that I am a person who is willing to do everything to get things done. Once I set a goal, I always find a way to get it done. Maybe it would take some time but eventually, I would get to that endpoint with flying colours.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
It's hard to list down or point out some particular skills or qualities which can make anyone a better/ successful manager as success can be a relative term. I believe that some qualities are indeed necessary for a manager, which can make him successful also. The right mix/combination of hard and soft skills is much needed as a manager. He should be well equipped with the knowledge of the specific domain or area he is working in, he needs to understand the market and understand the quantitative side thoroughly. At the same time, he should possess some interpersonal skills like expressing good communication, imbibing empathetic behaviour and showing team spirit to successfully lead a team and make them achieve the desired goals. On top of this, one special characteristic that would help a manage a lot is to have a presence of mind in whatever they do. And one should ideally try to adapt according to that.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
My company was planning for expansions and a new vertical, both were long term plans, and they wanted to start the work towards the end of 2021. I was asked to take up some key responsibilities which demanded a long-term commitment. I had a one-year contract period with the company, and after that, I had the provision to resign anytime considering a notice period of 1 month. Some of my colleagues insisted I take up the duties and not tell anything about my plans to join a B-School next year. Even though my company cant take any legal action against me and I can enjoy the monetary benefits from the company till I join a b-school, I decided not to do that. Instead, I told my superiors about my plans, thus refraining from taking up the responsibilities since it would affect the long-term goals and vision of the company.
If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
If I get the opportunity to become the CEO of a company, I want to choose one which can create an impact on people across the world. Google is one such company that can create a huge impact on the people not just in India, but at an international level and can effectively alter both the socio & economic aspects of the world. With greater power comes greater responsibilities. As an initial step, I would want to first see and analyse the current situation of the company both in terms of impact or market reach and revenues. Next, I want to see the vision of the company for the next 5 years. After analysing all these in detail and if the company is open for investments and expansion, the first action that I would take as the CEO is to start a campaign called 'Internet for all' focusing on not just the developing and developed nations, but also the not so developed countries to expand internet accessibility around the world. With greater reach, we can explore newer markets and opportunities. On the other side, if the company is not in a position of expansion and in facilitating investments, I would focus on the optimisation part and would concentrate on the current market. I want to introduce a subscription scheme for google ads and monetisation, where one can opt for a premium plan at a cost, for putting up their ads for a particular period rather than opting for ad services for a single content/product. This would help create a reliable and stable customer base and can also help in increasing revenue in the long run.
Any Other Comments Or Factors You Would Like To Highlight About Yourself?
I consider myself an evolving person. From my childhood onwards, I wanted to try different things and loved to travel on the path that fewer people have travelled. Whenever I got an opportunity, I tried to push myself to attain the desired goal. As a part of my evolution, through the journey that I have travelled, there have been a lot of ups and downs, rejections, achievements etc. This phase of my life is indeed a huge step in the personal evolution that I am having. Spending 2 years of quality time in one of the best institutes in the country, with some extraordinary peers and faculty members would transform me immensely for sure. In that journey, considering me as one of the top 50 promising incoming students would be a huge boost for me and my career ahead. I strongly believe that with the profile that I have, the versatility I possess and the vision I have for the future, I am a right for the selection.