Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
This is an incident from the 2nd year of my undergrad. I, being the hostel monitor, was responsible for organising the Saraswati Puja celebration in my hostel. This was the first time when I was leading a team to something. With no prior knowledge of managing resources, I spent extravagantly without even discussing it with my team. And later I realised that I had overspent. Life had been smooth for me till that. But after this event, I realised that not everything turns out the way you want them to be. It took me a while to get myself together. But now when I look back at it, I believe that I learnt a lot of lessons from this experience. I understood the importance of planning and the need of cross-checking every decision before making a move. Going forward, later in my senior years, I took up responsibilities in the Cultural and the Technical Fest where I had to manage far greater resources. I have hardly put a foot wrong since.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
The first impression that I leave on someone is of a person who is very welcoming, carefree and one who smiles a lot and they usually take me as someone who is very lenient or easy going. But I am a person who has a very high sense of responsibility and is aggressive about meeting deadlines. I tend to keep the goals of the team ahead of mine so there are times I become very strict. This is something that usually surprises people who meet me.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
I have been the President of the Rotaract Club of JGEC for 2019-20. Being an institute based club, the hierarchy within the college affected our club too. At the time I joined the club, there was a holistic environment within the club where juniors were afraid to speak their minds. Due to mismanagement, our club was dissolved by the Rotary District in 2018. The majority of members left the club, but I was not willing to let it go. I made a network with the Rotary District board and after a lot of struggles, I could convince them to re-establish the club. Now, with the club alive again, I needed to rejuvenate the club, I created a buzz around the campus and over the course of the next two years, our club had over 200 intakes, making our club the most populous club in our district. I was elected as the president and I started my tenure by breaking the barriers of hierarchy in my club and allotted positions to juniors on the board as well, making the club more inclusive. We went on to win the Best Upcoming Club of the zone in 2019 and Best Club of the Zone in 2020 (the first accolades for our club since being founded). From this, I learnt that empathy is as important as discipline for a team to succeed. My second achievement is the victory at Olympfreak, which was hosted by IIM Bangalore. It holds this place because of the competition we faced. We were very new to this and we were against teams from some of the top B-schools. The key takeaway from this was that one shouldn't be overwhelmed by the competition but take it as a challenge.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
I tend to begin my career in the Sales and Marketing domain. In the initial years, I wish to work in Sales which would allow me to understand my customer and the market better. After a year or two, I wish to switch verticals to a Marketing or Branding Role where I see myself taking ownership of a brand and drive the day to day marketing operations. Five years down the line, I wish to become a Senior Marketing Manager.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
One skill that I'm proud of is my time management skills. Back when I was in my final year, I had more stuff on my plate than I should have taken. I had to attend practical classes, travelling 5 days a week to Siliguri (which was an hour and a half away from my college) for months to look for Sponsorships, do projects for the Rotaract Club, attend the placement meetings, take time out for photography sessions, and spent rest of the day, cold calling my alumni, asking for donations for the fest. And I did justice to all of them. Another instance was when I was participating in case competitions. Out of excitement and without much thinking I participated in many competitions and later I realised that they have very close deadlines. I had to divide my time between my colleges exams, preparation for CAT and these competitions. Though I could complete all the submissions, some were not as perfect as I would have wanted them. I believe that I can still improve on how I set priorities. The key to surviving and performing well in a B-school would be time management. One would be exposed to many activities and if he can't prioritise things or multi-task, he'll be at a loss.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
A good manager has many qualities but I would mention four of them, which I feel are most important. A manager must be a leader. Anybody can make improvements in themselves but it's the work of a manager to bring the best out of the team as a whole. The manager is the glue that holds the team together and it is his/her duty to create a collaborative atmosphere in the team. A manager should know how to multi-task and manage his schedule. He should be efficient and make the most out of his time. He must not crumble under pressure. A manager must have good communication skills. He is the bridge between the top management and the people working under him. He must be sensitive to his team and must appreciate the work of his team and when needed must be strict enough to get work done. He must act clear and smart when dealing with upper management. A manager must possess analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
I was the placement coordinator in my undergrad college. A very good friend of mine was rejected by a lot of companies. The next company that arrived, they gave the Placement Committee the liberty to form groups for Group Discussion. My friend requested me to make a group comparatively weaker and place him in that group. While taking the responsibility as a PC, I had vouched that I'll be fair and just. But he was a really good friend and was very disappointed after the failures. I had to decide whether to help him out or be fair towards the rest of the candidates. After a lot of thinking, I decided that I should not be favourable to anyone and randomly allotted the groups for GD. But things ended very well, my friend could crack that interview without any help.
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?
I wish to be the CEO of Sony Pictures Network. In recent times, the entertainment sector has been dominated by OTT players. Gen Z is not that interested in the offerings that television networks provide. Since the onset of Covid, the theatres and the multiplexes are closed in most of the places. All these factors have a snowballing effect on the company. Though Sony Pictures Network has its own OTT platform called Sony Liv, the OTT segment is dominated by Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar. To position themselves better and penetrate deeper into the market, Sony Liv can look forward to strengthening its offering in the Sports segment. Sony already has tie-ups with a lot of Sports tournaments and it should look forward to leveraging those and acquire rights for more major events. The Sports segment is only catered by Hotstar so there is far less competition here. Other OTT platforms are making a move in this segment like Voot broadcasting La Liga. So it's high time now and Sony Liv should make a move and try to come out as a Premium Sports Broadcasting platform apart from the Entertainment services it already has. To drive more sales, tournament or sport-specific low-cost loyalty programs can be launched which is not offered by other OTT platforms.
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Check The List Of InsideIIM’s 50 Most Promising Incoming Students 2021 Here!
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