Winston Churchill rightly said that Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts and exemplifying this is Mr. Krishna K V.
Mr. Krishna KV is the Senior Vice President, Transaction Banking Group in Yes Bank. He has more than 13 years of experience in Global Transaction Services, in the fields of Trade Finance and Cash Management product sales. He specializes in the structuring of Cash Management & Trade Product Solutions.
Mr. Krishna K V finished his graduation from BMS College of Engineering and completed his MBA in marketing from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.
What makes an MBA different from other postgraduate programs? Well, in my opinion, MBA is all about frantic studying, summer internships, placements, solving case studies, having way too much fun and most importantly, participating in corporate competitions. I vividly remember the Saturday afternoon when I first got to know about Vito Altor Ambition. A competition that requires a student like me to have a genuine conversation with a CEO or VP, captured my fancy. The chair on which I aim to sit someday and the chair that seems so far right now, what could be more interesting than knowing the roadmap to it.
Through some of my connections I built up during the last few years, I got few references and I started approaching them. Some of them were busy and some were travelling. The clock was ticking fast but I was still trying my level best. At around 8:00 pm on Wednesday there was a pop up on my phone and I got an email reply from Mr. Krishna KV who is currently Senior VP of Yes Bank that he wants me to schedule a call with him on Thursday at 11:30 am. He is an XIMB Alumnus and I got the reference to him through one of my seniors.
The next morning I articulated my thoughts on a piece of paper and practised it anxiously. That day I realized how fast time runs when you are excited and anxious at the same time.
I asked him first regarding his experience in B-School and one incident from his time in B-School that helped shape his professional life. Slightly smiling, he said that his MBA mates are still his favourite group of people. He had learnt a lot during his time in B-school and those 2 years have shaped his life in a better way. He told that he met with an accident that had completely broken his back, during his second year in B-School. However unpleasant the incident was, it taught him that
relationships are perhaps the most valuable asset that one can garner. During his recovery, he realized the importance of bonds of friendship because everything from bringing food to his room to taking notes from the class was done by his friends as then he understood the value of forging strong bonds and maintaining those relationships.
I also asked him regarding a passion of his that helps him become better at his mainline career to which he said that
Passion derives from a strong connection to your mission, your vision, and your goals. He is always concerned with finding new and more productive ways to reach goals. He loves long distance running. It helps him to
focus, plan, coordinate and is a
stress buster for him. It helps him to achieve his goals.
As HR students, we are told how important hiring the right people is, for it is the people who are the driving force of the organization. So when I asked him that what he looks for in an ideal candidate when hiring, he says that, banking is a highly technical industry.
It is not always the skills that matter, but the attitude and approach towards any problem that matters. There are a few fundamental things he looks for in the candidates, which are, the ability to create or identify new opportunities, and
resilience to work even under tough situations. He believes that people who are strong in
learning agility are sharp and
thrive in new and
difficult situations.
On being asked about the learning and training process versus return on investment they put in, he says, “
One cannot always quantify learning and training program. For instance, there is a training in business communication. It will improve skills like engagement with the customer and effective interaction with them. It will enrich and improve customer experience but it is really tough to tell how much business it will fetch, you are developing your staff and human power which will pay in long run.”
Last but not least, I asked for a piece of advice for the budding managers to which he replied:
Deal with failures because everybody will tell you how to deal with success. As a new manager, you are likely to fail more than you succeed because everything is new to you. Take each day as it comes. If your decision is not good, take it and accept it. Yes, you have failed, you can fail. The approach should never be “I know everything”, rather, it should be, “
I know a little bit and I will learn so that tomorrow I am a better version of myself”.
To conclude,
- Deal with your failures, accept them and try to take corrective measures. One should always learn from failure and never forget the learning.
- Always have a knack of learning. There is no age limit to learn. Learn anything that you think that may be useful to you. Learn from any person who can impart that particular knowledge to you.
- Maintain good relations as those come to your rescue in your tough times.
I believe that the takeaways from the above conversation make a person
resilient, deft, accountable and receptive. These traits are imperative to survive in dynamic workplaces. Definitely, one should work on these traits as down the line it may act as a game changer for an individual.