Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
Following college, I began aiding my father in our family's business. He encouraged me, and with a desire to make a difference, I began selling home automation devices with my cousin. For both of us, this was new territory. The beginning seemed promising. However, despite keen interest, we were facing difficulty in converting interest into order. We felt that there might be an error in the way we were approaching our target segments. We used to rely on pitching about our products verbally and encouraging clients to visit our office to obtain real-life experience during the early phases of our Home Automation Trading Business. However, we discovered that while many of them were enthusiastic about the idea, only a small percentage were prepared to make the extra effort to come to our office. As a result, we decided to create a Portable Toolkit that would show how our product worked in real-time. We weren't able to make substantial inroads into the market despite modifying our strategy and engaging in various promotional initiatives. To our dismay, we had not achieved the desired sales by the end of the year. After some thinking, we realised our limitations on multiple levels. We contemplated this to poor planning and not performing enough research before executing our plan. I learnt that effective planning and research is indispensable for any task. We could have approached different Dealers/ Distributors. Also, we should be having alternative plans, in case our primary plan doesn't work. In this case, we could have resorted to Newer Modes of Marketing instead of relying on the traditional method of Sales. We realised that certain ways that one believes are correct should not be followed blindly. There could be other ways to reach the goal. As a result, it is prudent to recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
One instance that I would like to narrate that others may be surprised to know about me would be about my Bulking Journey: I've been unbelievably thin for as long as I remember. I was severely underweight right from my early years to my teenage years. I ignored my physical health and grew accustomed to my frail size. It began to affect me mentally. I had become underconfident and with low self-esteem. I joined the gym. At first, I felt exhausted. It was very challenging for me. In addition, I had dietary restrictions that prevented me from eating a variety of calorie-dense items. The goals seemed intimidating and almost impossible to achieve. However, I persisted with my training and followed a strict dietary plan. Soon people began to appreciate and compliment me on the evolution as I started making progress. That elevated my mind, and I began to feel more confident. I am glad about the progress I have made over the last two years at about 15 kilos. I'm still on a long journey, but I'll do whatever it takes to achieve my goal with newfound confidence and self-esteem. Thus, I realized the importance of being perseverant and facing adversity head-on.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
Two of my biggest successes in life would be Getting awarded twice with Gold Medal at Loyola College and Gaining 15 kilos during my weight gaining journey. I was consistently ranked amongst the school toppers till 10th. From 11th onwards, I started working towards my pursuit of ranking first in 12th Boards. I was consistently acing all my exams before the Boards. However, the 12th Board Results were not what I had hoped for. I felt dejected and distraught. It threw me into a whirlwind of emotions, and I began to doubt my abilities. I realised where I was making a mistake. I decided to change the way I dealt with this personality feature.I realized that failure is not necessarily a bad thing if you can learn from your failures. Thus, this harsh experience served as a lesson to me. Thus this became my motivation for improving myself and working harder than ever before. As I joined Loyola College, I decided to set my sights on the most Prestigious Academic Honor of being Ranked first amongst all the students. I became determined and started making significant efforts to reach my goal. My efforts bore fruit as I secured 2 Gold Medals for achieving Top Rank at Loyola College. Therefore, this experience coupled with my weight gaining journey played a pivotal part in my life by helping me realize the importance of learning from my failures. I realized the importance of being perseverant and facing adversity head-on.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
Given my educational qualification in Commerce and Work Experience at Kochar Textiles, I'd naturally gravitate towards work in finance or marketing. However, I have no intention of restricting myself to the disciplines of finance and marketing. I am curious to see what other options may present themselves during my time at a B-school, and I want to have an open mind. I am interested in learning about other options that may manifest themselves, and I believe it's tough to foresee how a b-school environment will affect a person.My five year plan is to be in a decision-making position where I can make a greater contribution to the organization and add value to peoples lives. Five-six years down the line, the experience from my previous work assignments will help me to incorporate those ideas into my existing line of business responsibilities. I want to bring innovation and implement them by making strategic decisions for handling the organizational manpower. This will be the perfect time to prepare myself for cross-functional activities and to develop a holistic overview of the other domains of business. Further, few more years down the line I will most likely emerge as a global business manager working across cultures, domains and business verticals. To ensure that the scope of learning never stops, I plan to share my good and bad experiences with the other stalwarts of the industry.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
One characteristic that I am most proud of would be my Time Management skills. One of my strengths is that I am focused on my goals, thus I manage my time pretty well. In school, I was always a good student. In my studies, I was consistent. Throughout, I maintained a high level of attendance. I consistently stood amongst school toppers. I also ensured that I don't restrict myself to academics, but also explore various extracurricular activities. Being a part of the School's Cricket, Football and Basketball team, it became important to plan, methodize things in such a manner so that I could manage both academics and Sports without impacting my performance in either of them. I always had a clear plan in mind as to how should I manage my time efficiently and be focused on my goals, hence I could achieve my goals.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
I believe that a successful manager should be someone who is open-minded and willing to listen to other people's opinions, as this attribute would allow others to express themselves without fear of repercussion. Besides, the manager should be someone who is considerate of others and does not discriminate. Another quality I'd want to see in someone is the capacity to give constructive criticism so that one may gain feedback on their work and continue to improve themselves. Also, the manager should be innovative, positive, and someone who takes responsibility for their actions. Few other qualities that I would look for would be that the person should have a strong work ethic, should be a good communicator, be adaptable to changing circumstances and be dependable.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
My objective was to excel at Loyola College, which is one of the top-ranked commerce colleges. But, before I could begin working towards my objective, I needed to be admitted to Loyola College. It boasts one of the most stringent selection processes in the country. However, I felt confident in my ability to gain admission to Loyola College. I, with bated breath, waited for the First Shortlist. All my aspirations were dashed, as I discovered that my name was not on the initial list. As the days went by, the prospects grew bleaker. Following then, a series of lists were issued. But there was one thing that all of the lists had in common: my name was missing. I became desperate since I didn't have any other options. This is when a guy approached me, promising me a seat in other colleges in Chennai through the Management Quota. A few of my friends were approached by the same guy and believed it would be a simple solution to their problems.I was torn between taking a year off and participating in the act. As the days passed, I found myself in a precarious situation. I was still without an admit. The individual attempted to take advantage of my fear by promising me a chance to get a seat in exchange for money. I came across people who provided all sides of the argument. Few believed that securing a seat in this manner would be a simple way to become stress-free. If I do not take that offer, I will be without admission as the academic sessions at the colleges begin. However, I believed that being coerced into such an act would be ethically incompetent of me. I sought advice from my parents, who had been my rock throughout my life. This perplexing situation made me realize that accepting an offer solely based on money, rather than merit would be unfair. It felt as if I was depriving another deserving student of a chance to attend his or her desired college. So, I chose not to engage in any unethical behaviour and to continue my quest for admission. All is well that ends well, as the phrase goes, and after months of anxiety, I was able to secure a spot in my dream college.
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?
The company that I would choose to be elected as CEO would be General Electric. This is because their growth has been stagnating and earnings declining. However, it still has a strong base and I would be excited with this challenge of turning around the company. Firstly, I believe that communication is crucial. I'd need to ensure that everyone in the organization understands my vision and goals, and, because communication is a two-way process, I'd also want to ensure that I received as much clear and accurate feedback as possible from front-line employees about where improvements could be made. Therefore, this would be my first action as CEO.
***
Check The List Of InsideIIM’s 50 Most Promising Incoming Students 2021 Here!
For the Class Of 2022, we are back with the 8th season of InsideIIM's Best 50 - India's Most Employable MBA Graduates - Class Of 2022! If you're graduating from a B-School in 2022, you're eligible to take part in this competition! Grab the chance to bring out your best side and impress your recruiters and peers. Take the opportunity to show the world why you are special, on your own terms.
If you're using a web browser (Mozilla or Google Chrome), then you can take part through this link. Otherwise, please download the Kampus App (Android | iOS), and head over to Competitions.
Chat
Comments