1.0 SKA was the first mentor I had right after my PGDBM. I was hired after several rounds of rejection by SKA. I had no idea about what I was getting into. He was a very hard task master but probably the friend I had there. We used to smoke together and drink together in office parties. However, when it came to work, he would review all the reports with a red pen and at times you would wonder if the colour of the paper was red or white. Gradually in my six years there, the redness of the paper reduced but it meant that I had to work harder than I ever imagined.
I remember I had a deadline for a project and there were only a few computers in those days (1994). I was sharing one with a person who was senior to me and thus he wouldn’t let me touch it during the day time. SKA was unrelenting and said a deadline is a deadline, can’t be changed, no matter what (One of the first lessons learnt). I slept in the office for two days, worked after 6 pm when the office closed and left the office at 9 am.
Another incident that is etched in my mind was where I goofed up big time and he called another Deputy Managing Director on my behalf and said “We goofed up. We are really sorry”. Second most significant lesson learnt. There is no “I’ or “You” in a Leader’s Vocabulary. It is always “We” and “Us”. We win and we lose. It is never “I win and you lose”.
Some of the lessons I learnt from him:
- Your output is your stamp. People will judge you based on your output, so be very thorough with what you do.
- Punctuations are as important than other things in a sentence. I found it very hard to understand where to put colon and semi-colon, difference between group’s and groups’. Everything has a relevance and these finer things will define how people see you.
- Stand up for what you think is right and who you think is right. He stood up for me a number of times. I learnt the frame “Being polite but firm” watching him. He would never be demeaning to people, yet will get his work done easily, with a pull, not a push.
- Theory is very important before getting into practice. He always laid emphasis on sound theoretical concepts/ knowledge that would form the basis of a lot of things he would do. In our organization, we learnt a concept every year, tested it at a client’s place and then convert into a service. It helped us as a consultant to grow and be one step ahead of our clients.
- Keep learning always. He always used to say, do it for yourself, not for the organization, not for anyone else. Do it for yourself and you will learn. We did HR Accounting results of which were an eye opener. We prepared a software using excel of 16 different psychometric tests at a time when not many people were aware what it meant. It helped people understand themselves better, used for development purpose only and within Holtec only. We started a Personnel Information System using MS Access, using internal resources in IT and not through any outsourced vendor.
- Never compromise on your core beliefs. He is a man of ethics and very strong beliefs. I carry the same ethics probably. First job is probably where you learn the most and carry that forever in your life.
- He loved youngsters and they loved him back. He was not traditional or orthodox in his approach. He got along with youngsters like a house on fire. He always invested in future.
- He knew me, my wife, my kids, my parents. I was always inspired by that and I knew everyone in Holtec along with the names of their spouses and kids as well. He created a bond with the family, not just with employees of Holtec.
These are just a few things I learnt from him. It is difficult to quantify and point things out that shape you as a leader but when I look back, I am sure SKA is one of those few leaders who shaped me as a leader.
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