1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:19,040 H. Sriram is a director at IBS Gulf Design which he co-founded in 2009. 2 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:24,600 His company is involved in the design of complex, mechanical, electrical and plumbing 3 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,240 systems in modern buildings that people never have to think about. 4 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:35,960 Starting off as a supervisory trainee in Volta's back in Chennai in 1985, Sriram has 5 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:42,120 helmed projects in Abu Dhabi, Brunei, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia before he decided to strike 6 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,800 out on his own in India in 2009. 7 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:51,000 His work is highly technical and those in the building and construction industry know 8 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,440 what it takes to design the internal systems of a building to keep it ticking. 9 00:00:55,440 --> 00:01:00,160 The company's client list includes some of the world's largest corporations. 10 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:05,840 How does one go about building a career in infrastructure development where huge sums 11 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:07,680 of money are involved? 12 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:14,920 This is episode 21 of my first job, the podcast that covers engaging career journeys and every 13 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,280 single one is full of twists, turns and insights. 14 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:25,400 I am Venugopal Naya, the host of the podcast and CEO of IdeaScape Communications and advertising 15 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,920 agency into branding, creative and design. 16 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:35,720 So settle in, sit back and enjoy the conversation or if you are a worker, hit those steps and 17 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:36,720 measure them. 18 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:37,720 Hi Sriram. 19 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:38,720 Thank you for the introduction. 20 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:39,720 Thank you so much. 21 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:41,640 Wonderful to have you on the show. 22 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:47,600 When you, let's say, have your introductory conversations, where does it start? 23 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:49,520 What are the things that come onto the table? 24 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,840 What is the first briefing session like? 25 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:56,960 But typically, when obviously you are working for a project and you are working for a client 26 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,760 and so it is important that you understand the needs of the client, the pains of the 27 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,200 client and what he wants to get out of this project. 28 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,640 Our whole conversation starts primarily trying to understand this. 29 00:02:08,640 --> 00:02:15,920 So we allow the client to speak, we don't interrupt, we try to understand why at all 30 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:20,320 he's envisaging this project, what is his objective and what he wants to achieve in 31 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:21,320 this project. 32 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,480 And ultimately, how the whole discussion starts. 33 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,920 You started off as a supervisory, as a supervisory trainee for Volta. 34 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:31,000 What is it like? 35 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,560 Did you in college kind of have an idea of what you wanted to do? 36 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:37,960 How did life take you? 37 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:46,080 See I did my mechanical engineering and at that point in time, we had to choose two electives. 38 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,280 One elective by choices, automobile engineering and another elective by choices, air conditioning 39 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:51,600 and refrigeration. 40 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:58,400 During those times, air conditioning and refrigeration was not so popular. 41 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,000 Most of us didn't have any air con in the house and we haven't really gone to places 42 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,040 which are centrally air conditioned those days. 43 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:10,440 I'm talking about maybe 35, 40 years ago. 44 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,040 My initial interest was in automobile. 45 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:18,240 In fact, the project that I did when I finished my engineering was to run a Labrador scooter 46 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,240 on ethanol. 47 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:24,560 We were successful in doing certain changes to the engine and the magneto setting of the 48 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,360 scooter to ensure that we were able to run it on ethanol. 49 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,240 So that was the project that I did. 50 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:36,480 And though my initial interest was in automobile, I must say that I was really not having a 51 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,800 great clarity on what I should do. 52 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,760 We applied for whatever jobs that came by and I got into this. 53 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,840 Only after joining, I realized that it's such an interesting domain to be working on and 54 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,760 such an upcoming domain at that point in time. 55 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:52,920 Even now, I would say. 56 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,840 So what are the kind of projects that you initially worked with? 57 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:01,160 In Vultas, there are multiple divisions and we joined air conditioning and refrigeration 58 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,120 business group, central plants. 59 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,800 What we mean by central plants is working on projects which are bigger in size, not 60 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,800 the typical mini-split units or what we do in the houses. 61 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:17,560 It's more to do with bigger institutions, hospitals, hotels and then we do the entire 62 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:18,720 air conditioning distribution. 63 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,320 So that's where I started with. 64 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:27,320 Okay, just to understand this better, the levels of complexity are manifold versus one compressor 65 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:32,840 versus a central plant or is it essentially in how you design the flow of coal? 66 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:36,840 See, the level of complexity is in the mind actually, I would say. 67 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:43,400 Because you actually think it very simply, whatever we are doing today is nothing complex. 68 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,040 I mean, we are only doing what somebody has invented for us. 69 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:50,160 And that way, I would say, I don't think there is a much more evolved and complex machine 70 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,800 than the human body so far invented. 71 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:58,120 I would say, yes, the sizes were big and some of the principles that you had to apply when 72 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,440 you go for something very small to something very big is different. 73 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:02,840 And it all comes with common sense. 74 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:07,440 You have to at least keep it simple and think, okay, fine, in a normal small air conditioning 75 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,200 that you have studied in your engineering, how does it work? 76 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,560 And now how do we relate that to something big? 77 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:17,840 And what are the key aspects that come in between to ensure that whatever you do big 78 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:18,840 is also consistent? 79 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:22,000 What were some of the early lessons that you picked up? 80 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,240 Typically, we had to go for a training period. 81 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,080 Training in the company used to be very, very serious, serious in the sense that people 82 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,360 used to consider it very serious. 83 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,080 So the bosses are very, very particular, very serious about it. 84 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:36,640 They are very attentive. 85 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:42,040 As a trainee, there were certain key aspects that were imbibed into our blood. 86 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:45,960 I can just think of one incident where my boss used to say, you should always have a 87 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,280 diary and you should basically start your day with a diary and then plan it out. 88 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:54,000 So one day I went without a diary to the office. 89 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:55,240 So he said, where is your diary? 90 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:56,240 I said, I forgot. 91 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:57,240 He said, okay, go home. 92 00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:58,960 You don't have to come to office. 93 00:05:58,960 --> 00:05:59,960 You go home. 94 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:01,280 If you can bring the diary, you come to office. 95 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:02,760 Otherwise you stay at home. 96 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,560 Tomorrow, if you can't bring the diary, stay at home. 97 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:06,560 Don't come to office. 98 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:13,120 So, I mean, though it was so simple, it showed the kind of seriousness and what we used to 99 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:17,880 do in a diary, for example, is that every day in the morning before the world starts, 100 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,440 we will try to kind of note down what are the things that we're supposed to be doing 101 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,040 for that day. 102 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:28,000 And through the day, when more and more things that we start doing, we start writing before 103 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,800 we do so that we keep visiting those points and then ensuring that we are attending to 104 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:34,800 that. 105 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,000 So, whenever we complete something, we scratch it down. 106 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,920 And the next day morning, we again start our work. 107 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,840 We will take the previous days, whatever was left out. 108 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:44,240 That will be the first in our diary. 109 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:48,560 Okay, so those are the top list in our diary, which we have to address. 110 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:49,760 And then the other things. 111 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:55,040 So what used to happen was that if two or three things keep repeating in your diary for the 112 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,080 first two or three days, there are only two reasons. 113 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,760 One is you're not able to resolve it or you're not able to do that work. 114 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,400 In which case, you should clearly escalate it. 115 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:06,320 Because that means there is a problem on hand. 116 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:07,920 You are not resolving the problem. 117 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:09,720 You're just keeping the problem with you. 118 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,200 Second thing is, if there are two or three things that are appearing every day in the 119 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:18,280 morning, first thing, when you open the diary, then you really feel very bad about it. 120 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,200 You think that, why am I not doing this? 121 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:25,000 So you first complete that you are ensuring that you are not carrying things forward for 122 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:26,000 a longer time. 123 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,400 Because what happens is, when you carry things forward, at some point in time, you will start 124 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:30,400 losing it. 125 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,600 So I have a diary, even after 35 years, I still have the diary with me. 126 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,240 Whenever I sit in front of the client, first thing I will open is my diary, not the laptop. 127 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:39,800 That has completely ingrained. 128 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,560 And that helps in a lot of planning activity. 129 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,320 Most importantly, it also gives you a history. 130 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,360 If you want to know when did you meet this? 131 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:48,360 When did this happen? 132 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:51,720 All you have to do is to just, you know, go back to the pages of the diary and you will 133 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:53,120 know exactly. 134 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:58,080 It also helps in whenever you are having a conversation with a client or your colleagues 135 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:03,640 or whoever, if you are having all these data points with you clearly, it helps in conveying 136 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,120 your point more clearly to the client. 137 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,680 And the client or whoever is in a conversation with you also understands that you have all 138 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:12,640 the facts and figures. 139 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:18,560 So it's just a very simple tool that was taught to us when we were interns. 140 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,360 Second point that we were taught, we used to prepare reports. 141 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:28,040 Typically whenever we make a report, the report is made in a way that you have understood 142 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,040 the whole thing. 143 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:30,040 Right? 144 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,680 It is never made in a way to make somebody else understand. 145 00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:35,760 And then we share that report with the client and the client doesn't understand or either 146 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:36,760 misunderstands it. 147 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:41,320 It is very important that you make a report that will convey what you actually want to 148 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:42,320 convey to the client. 149 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:43,800 And he has not seen the problem. 150 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:45,680 He has not seen what you want to convey. 151 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:47,160 He has to still understand it. 152 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:48,160 Right? 153 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,520 So it's very important that you think him in mind while making the report. 154 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,360 Similarly, when we make a report, there will be a initial start point which will basically 155 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:01,760 define what was the objective of this report, what was done, what is the conclusion. 156 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:08,440 So we were actually taught to communicate in a disciplined way and also in a way that 157 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,040 the other person will understand. 158 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:14,360 This I think was also very, very important at a very early stage in my career. 159 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,840 Though there were some punishments given to us by our bosses, today we really are grateful 160 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:22,560 to them for what we are teaching us all these things. 161 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:26,200 Some things that are very explicitly taught to you, something which are very subtly taught 162 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,080 to you. 163 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,920 The wonderful thing about this is the timelessness of it. 164 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:38,520 It's not as if you had to invent it and then you just follow a certain set of things and 165 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:42,080 in a job that requires you to be methodical. 166 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:43,760 This is what the method is. 167 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:51,440 It daily notes, finish off the jobs one by one on priority and ensure that you have told 168 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,640 people what has been completed and what is not completed. 169 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,640 In the early years, people may not understand the importance of doing it. 170 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,800 It's only as you progress in the job that you understand what exactly how important 171 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:04,800 this thing is. 172 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:10,800 So what is the experience when you first went abroad to Abu Dhabi and started working there? 173 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,560 I went abroad when I was 23 years old. 174 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:18,600 Suddenly my manager called me one day and he said that you want to go to Abu Dhabi? 175 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,720 I had no issues, no idea what was there, what to expect. 176 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:26,040 I know for one thing was clear that I was going to one of the sister companies. 177 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:31,360 So I had gone there and I was involved in one of the very big residential projects at 178 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:32,480 that point in time. 179 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:34,880 I was there only for 16 months. 180 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:40,640 So when I came back, I just looked back to where I was 16 months earlier and to where 181 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:41,640 I am today. 182 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,480 I realized that I had had a very steep climb in that time. 183 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:50,960 I attribute to the simple fact that not being in your comfort zone and willing to explore 184 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:56,760 is something that gives you a lot of experience that you can carry throughout your. 185 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,520 When you said it's out of the comfort zone, was the way of working different? 186 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,720 What were some of the aspects that you had to? 187 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,720 So many things were different. 188 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,560 One the weather was extremely hostile. 189 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:13,360 Second was the scale of the project. 190 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,560 Such a huge project and I had to manage it myself at that young age. 191 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:17,560 I had to manage it. 192 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:21,800 The third thing is I had a lot of other nationalities working. 193 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:23,120 The main contractor was Lebanese. 194 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:28,560 There were a lot of Arabs around and sometimes it takes time for you to work with Arabs because 195 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:31,200 culturally they could be. 196 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,960 You feel that they are very angry, but that's the way they are. 197 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:34,960 They express it like that. 198 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:35,960 It's not that they are angry. 199 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:41,520 So it takes time for you to understand what they want to convey and to also prove a point 200 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:46,200 that as an Indian, as a youngster, you are there and you can't deliver that. 201 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:47,680 That was the third thing. 202 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:51,680 The nature of work, there was so much of material that need to be procured from different parts 203 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:52,680 of the world. 204 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:58,320 We could get a lot of insight on what every other part of the world is making, manufacturing 205 00:11:58,320 --> 00:11:59,320 and all that. 206 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,160 It's so far outside your comfort zone. 207 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:03,080 You still had to meet deadlines. 208 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:04,920 You had to show progress. 209 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:10,280 I suppose that there would have been a time limit by which this project had to be completed. 210 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,760 You would have been running against the clock most of the time. 211 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:13,760 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 212 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:14,760 Absolutely. 213 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:15,760 It was a multi-storey building. 214 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:17,880 It was to be completed in 16 months. 215 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:23,880 Every day I would climb at least 70 to 80 storeys, at least twice in a day. 216 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,320 The project manager, very, very tough guy. 217 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,120 Not many people could stand against him. 218 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,960 Finally, when I decided to leave, the project manager, he's from the main contractor, the 219 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:32,960 project manager. 220 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,080 He called up my boss and he said, why are you leaving this guy? 221 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:37,880 He did a good job. 222 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,200 So that was the testimony. 223 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:44,160 That was something like that coming up from his mouth because he's generally not that 224 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,600 kind of person who made my life. 225 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,600 It's not one gushing appreciation. 226 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,720 It's that unrestrated almost as an afterthought. 227 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,760 But you know that that has come at a very high price in the sense that the person genuinely 228 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,720 felt it, which is why he said what he did. 229 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,520 So you went on to Brunei, was it from there? 230 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:05,520 I came back to India. 231 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:11,280 I got married and then I was also working in some very large projects for Volta itself. 232 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:16,880 At that point in time, those were the largest projects booked by the company Pan India. 233 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,960 At some point in time, I felt that it would probably be a good idea to explore the bodies 234 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,720 to see how things are. 235 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,760 So I got an opportunity to work in a consultancy company. 236 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,880 So I was basically a contracting. 237 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:30,600 I was working in the contracting line. 238 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:35,440 So I decided that I would go to a place, again, no idea where this island was. 239 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,000 I've never heard of this island before. 240 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,200 But it's such a wonderful, lovely place to be because one of the richest. 241 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:43,200 Exactly. 242 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:44,840 That is the part which is known. 243 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:49,360 Everyone says that the Sultan of Brunei is among the richest person in the world. 244 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,960 Nothing else I knew about that country. 245 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:53,040 People are so nice. 246 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:54,400 I recall an incident. 247 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:56,400 I parked my car. 248 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:58,520 There's a lot of beaches there. 249 00:13:58,520 --> 00:13:59,520 So I went to the beach. 250 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:00,520 I parked my car. 251 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:02,560 Probably because of no parking area, I guess. 252 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:06,120 So 10 minutes later, one policeman comes to me very politely. 253 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,200 He says, I'm not a citizen of that place. 254 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,920 Very clearly I'm a foreigner and I'm with a brown skin. 255 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,560 But he comes so politely and says to me that I think you made a mistake. 256 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:19,160 You parked it in the wrong place. 257 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:20,160 I said, what did I do? 258 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,240 I said, park it in the wrong place. 259 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,280 Why don't you just remove your car and park it somewhere else? 260 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,240 That's the kind of approach that people had in the country. 261 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,440 They were so nice with others. 262 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,520 In India, somebody who had said, made them come and put a fine on you. 263 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,240 Said, what bloody fellow? 264 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,680 You don't know where to park your car. 265 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,720 What was the project, the consultancies that you were handling? 266 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,040 MEP kind of project. 267 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:44,040 So was yeah. 268 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,040 We were doing some very, very big project for the Sultan of Pranayat. 269 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:48,920 It was a seven-star hotel. 270 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:53,440 Extremely big hotel with very, very different facilities. 271 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,080 Haven't come across a similar project for that so far. 272 00:14:58,080 --> 00:14:59,320 So many things we could learn. 273 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:00,920 It was a landmark project. 274 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:05,080 So you were interacting with people from several disciplines. 275 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:11,600 You had, you would be interacting with architects, with project managers, the logistics departments. 276 00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,680 How would you keep track of the number of things that you had to do? 277 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,880 Your daddy, I think, would have been a base. 278 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,920 But then there is so much more that you actually had to keep in mind. 279 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,080 There is more to keep in mind. 280 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:28,520 But what happens is, again, this was again taught to us when we were young. 281 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,320 Don't go by the size of the problem. 282 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,000 Just break it down and make it simple. 283 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,600 That is what we have been taught. 284 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,440 So what we do is, still there are big projects, there are many things to do. 285 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:44,720 We will first try to split it, multiple smaller issues, and then we identify how to handle 286 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:45,720 it. 287 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,440 Most of the times when you actually split into smaller segments, you will realize that 288 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,440 50 or 60% of that is so easily solved. 289 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:55,560 So that actually makes the problem much smaller. 290 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:56,920 I mean, it comes with experience. 291 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:03,160 It makes a lot of sense, but I guess it's only when you're involved at the site and 292 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:08,160 you know what is involved with your previous experience and the experience of the people 293 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,240 around you that you begin to even understand how to break it down. 294 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:16,840 Or are you saying that the breaking down is not a very difficult thing to do because you 295 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,520 are saying, why does the problem come because of this and this reason? 296 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,920 I mean, this is not specific to a project. 297 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,520 This is specific to our daily routine life. 298 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:31,160 Something that we face in life, for example, people say that getting a daughter married 299 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,320 off is a big project by itself. 300 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,520 If you look at it, continue to look at it as a big project, that project size will never 301 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:37,520 come down. 302 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,160 You will still think that it's a huge thing. 303 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:44,240 But the moment you try to split it out and then see, okay, this is one aspect, this is 304 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:49,120 one aspect, this will first split the marriage into different segments. 305 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:53,560 Then split it into further different segments depending on the requirement. 306 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,800 Then what happens is it becomes easy for you to focus and easy for you to solve also. 307 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:04,080 It's quite evident, Shiram, that you come across as very practically unflappable. 308 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:09,400 Even if there is a certain sense of, okay, the problem is big, but we will find a way. 309 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:15,480 And to a large extent, I think the person leading the entire thing, when he displays 310 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:22,120 a sense of being on top of things, where let's say 50% of it is under your control and the 311 00:17:22,120 --> 00:17:24,400 other 50% may not be within your control. 312 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,200 In which case you concentrate on what you can solve. 313 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:33,080 Everything else kind of falls into place because then you get the time necessary or you get 314 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,320 the finances necessary or you get whatever else to move it forward. 315 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,720 So how exactly were you planning your career? 316 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,480 Did it come from outside? 317 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,560 I would say that last time I was working in Burrain. 318 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,200 There were processes, there were systems, everything was working fine. 319 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,000 So I was getting into comfort zone. 320 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,000 That made me uncomfortable. 321 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,240 If I continue to be in a comfort zone, then probably my growth will get better. 322 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,920 There was no other reason for me to come to India. 323 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:02,480 India is one place where I always wanted to be back. 324 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,520 India is one country which needed that. 325 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:05,520 It still needs. 326 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,560 The country has developed a lot now. 327 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:12,440 What was the point at which you decided that let me try something? 328 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:17,160 When I came in, it was not that I had absolute clarity on my mind, what I want, basically 329 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,440 no plans in my mind, all that I wanted to do. 330 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,320 I said, let's first try to find out what the market needs. 331 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:27,360 Initially, I decided that I will start doing some freelancing work when I was working on 332 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,640 freelancing work on certain projects. 333 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:34,480 Somehow at that point in time, some of the people I met didn't seem to value the experience 334 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:36,560 and the knowledge that I was bringing to the table. 335 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,360 For people who come from abroad, for the first one or two years, there's always a lot of 336 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:42,680 temptation to go back. 337 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:44,440 I was also tempted to do that. 338 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,960 That's when I was meeting two of my clients for whom I was doing the project. 339 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:54,920 One was a very repeated doctor and another one was a very big project manager. 340 00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:57,440 I said that things are not working for me. 341 00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:59,920 Maybe I should go back and work. 342 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,840 This doctor, he was working in CNC. 343 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:06,760 He is one of the leading oncology specialists. 344 00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:15,080 He travels all over the world and gives various lectures and he spends most of his time traveling. 345 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,160 He just told me that I had a very lucrative job in Australia. 346 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:20,920 Why do you think I came back to India? 347 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:22,800 I wanted to do something for the country. 348 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:25,560 He said, people like you are required for the country. 349 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,600 Why are you suddenly, within one year, deciding to go back? 350 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,000 Working with some principles, there will be people looking for people like you. 351 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,000 Stay on. 352 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:34,360 You will not repent. 353 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:41,720 Somebody was having a very comfortable job out there outside, has come back and he was 354 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:42,720 working. 355 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:45,280 I have seen the way he works at CMC. 356 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:49,360 Velour, his cabin doesn't even have an air conditioner and Velour is a very, very hot 357 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:50,360 place. 358 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:53,000 We are at least 200, 300 patients every time. 359 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,000 He used to work. 360 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:55,520 I mean, he used to work with all sincerity. 361 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,040 So when I said, such a big man, he can work. 362 00:19:58,040 --> 00:19:59,040 Let us make an attempt. 363 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:01,240 That's how the whole journey started. 364 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:08,960 But you had to learn or you had to reinvent the skill of landing projects or understand 365 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:09,960 that whole thing. 366 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:14,760 Did that come to you because of the references that you had and the kind of contacts you 367 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:15,760 already? 368 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:20,040 By the time I came back to India, I had virtually lost all my contacts, starting to practice 369 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,040 as a consultant. 370 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:25,360 And what happens is, as a consultant, it's sometimes very difficult to get a breakthrough. 371 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:29,440 If the client is already working with the consultant, even if the consultant is a little 372 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:34,040 bit okay, small problem with him also, the client says, no, no, sir, I have been working 373 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:35,640 with him for the last so many years. 374 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:37,720 That's the kind of setup that we had. 375 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:40,520 Getting a breakthrough was not so easy. 376 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,320 What I have learned when I introspect those first two or three years, because those are 377 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:48,000 very critical years where you have to really hit a critical mass. 378 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:52,640 If you are sincere in your work, you will have people looking for somebody. 379 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,840 Market wants people who are sincere, who are experienced, who are knowledgeable. 380 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:57,840 Market wants them. 381 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,520 It takes a little time for the law of attraction to work. 382 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,880 And then I will just give you an example. 383 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:08,080 I once met a client, very old man, owner of a company. 384 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:12,560 I went and made a presentation of what I can do for a specific project. 385 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:13,560 I made a presentation. 386 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:15,200 He went for some 20 minutes. 387 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,000 I was only talking, I was only listening. 388 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:22,400 Okay, so after 20 minutes, he said, my friend, I'm a old man. 389 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,400 I didn't understand anything what you said. 390 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:25,400 All right. 391 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:26,400 Many things. 392 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:27,400 I didn't understand anything. 393 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:33,720 All I understood was that you seem to be very sincere in whatever you're saying. 394 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:40,760 And that I feel is probably a good aspect based on which I can trust you and give you 395 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:41,760 a job. 396 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,760 If you approach with sincerity, automatically you will deliver a good. 397 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:46,400 There can be no two ways about it. 398 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:51,360 Ultimately, when you break it down, these are the kinds of things which people who are 399 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:54,840 entering a profession that what does it take to learn something? 400 00:21:54,840 --> 00:22:00,560 Don't try to get into a place which is easy right in the beginning. 401 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:05,920 Let me get away with doing as little as I can is a recipe for disaster in future. 402 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:11,720 Because if you don't do the maximum amount of work when you're starting off and your 403 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:17,200 learning curve should be like a straight line, you should go straight up so that and like 404 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:22,000 you said, there was a huge difference in you when you came back from Abu Dhabi after the 405 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:27,040 residential project because it was suddenly being thrown into the deep end of the pool. 406 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:33,440 What I noticed is this particular thread that they're willing to go the extra mile simply 407 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:38,800 by being told not because they looked at it and said, I must do challenging work. 408 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,440 No, it was just that. 409 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,320 Okay, are you prepared to do this? 410 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:43,320 Yes. 411 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:45,040 And then we'll figure out as we go along. 412 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,440 You see young engineers who are coming into the business today. 413 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:53,080 Are you able to kind of figure out which of these will finally make the cut? 414 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:55,920 It's not very difficult to do that. 415 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:56,920 It's pretty easy. 416 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,960 Some people have the fire in them and it's very easy to spot them. 417 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:05,920 You know that they have the fire and you can the most important thing is then you see somebody 418 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:07,080 who has a fire. 419 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:08,640 You also get excited about it. 420 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:10,960 You want to do something for that person. 421 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:12,800 You want to give him more opportunity. 422 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:13,800 You enjoy doing that. 423 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:14,800 Yes, sir. 424 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,440 There are some people who are very much comfortable. 425 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,640 So I keep telling my own staff at regular intervals. 426 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:27,560 I say that the moment you continue to be in your comfort zone, you stop growing. 427 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:28,560 That's the end of it. 428 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:34,560 After some time, I keep telling them that at least six months once, one year once, just 429 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:39,320 look back, evaluate yourself where you were one year before and to where you are now. 430 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:43,920 If you feel that you have not really progressed, then you have to introspect. 431 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,000 And if you feel that this organization is not giving you that opportunity, then you should 432 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,000 quit this organization. 433 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,080 Feel that this organization was willing to give you opportunity, but you did not take 434 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:52,960 it, then I think you should take it. 435 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:57,280 But I tell them that if you don't introspect or you stay where you are, then after five 436 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,080 years you will be worthless. 437 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:04,080 As an organization, we take up projects which are little complex engagement that also does 438 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:05,520 not excite us. 439 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,520 So we still continue to be out of our comfort zone. 440 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,120 We continue to work on those projects. 441 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:15,760 And at the end of the day, we are very happy that, you know, as every day passes, we are 442 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:16,760 also learning. 443 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:22,240 Before you go into a site, spend two or three minutes based on what is it that you want 444 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:25,600 to achieve or what is it that you're there for? 445 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:27,240 That realization came very late. 446 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:28,240 It comes with experience. 447 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,920 Now, not only the site, any meeting, even if you want to have a meeting with your wife, 448 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,440 sorry, I should not say meeting, it becomes very formal. 449 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,520 Even if you want to have a discussion with your family, for example, on certain specific 450 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:44,200 aspects, it's always better to just think for two minutes, what is this discussion 451 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:45,200 about? 452 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:46,520 What are the objectives of this discussion? 453 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:48,000 What do you want to convey? 454 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,080 What do you expect to get from this discussion? 455 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:55,520 So whether it is a small family discussion or whether it is a meeting or whether it is 456 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,640 a site visit, whatever, it applies to everywhere. 457 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,120 All you need is just those two minutes. 458 00:25:01,120 --> 00:25:06,760 If you just step back and think what you want to do in that discussion or a meeting two 459 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:11,320 minutes before, you will realize that you are much better placed in that meeting and 460 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,240 you are able to bring a lot of value and more productivity. 461 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:19,720 You've seen people who could be very good in the early years of their life, but at some 462 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:26,520 point that same enthusiasm doesn't, is it because that is the point at which they think 463 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:33,560 that, yeah, I have acquired enough skills to sort of last me for the next 10 to 15 years? 464 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:34,560 Why do I? 465 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,480 That's precisely, they seem to have gone into that comfort zone. 466 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:40,280 Okay, so that's the comfort zone that you are talking about. 467 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:45,400 Yeah, so once you are in that comfort zone after 10, 15 years, like you said, he has 468 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:46,400 not grown. 469 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,920 They have acquired a lot of skills, but they did not grow enough because they were willing 470 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:51,280 to be in the comfort zone. 471 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:56,320 So when you're looking at a new project, when you say it should be complex, is it in terms 472 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,440 of you think that, okay, this is an aspect, it's not about the size of the project as 473 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:05,200 much as what is it that you will be doing on it? 474 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:11,000 We did a project for one corporate client, not a very big project though, it was a pilot 475 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:16,720 which was, it's an American client and they made this pilot in India for the globe. 476 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:18,240 Why did they choose India? 477 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,280 Interesting because they realized that at India, this company was delivering a lot of interesting 478 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,680 projects comparing to other parts of the world. 479 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:25,680 Okay. 480 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:29,880 When we were engaged with that project, the exciting thing about that project was the 481 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,200 kind of user experiences that we were trying to bring into the project. 482 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,640 Whoever is going to be the ultimate end user, what are the experiences that we are going 483 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:42,000 to bring to that particular person in the project? 484 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:47,360 Experience could be visual, experience could be sensual, experience could be in terms of 485 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:48,480 environment. 486 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,920 So there were various aspects of experiences that we wanted to bring in. 487 00:26:52,920 --> 00:27:01,200 We had done a lot of brainstorming and we came up with a lot of brilliant ideas and 488 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:05,320 when we executed it, we were so thrilled that we could do that project. 489 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:11,080 After that project was executed and their senior management leadership came from all 490 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:13,520 around the world, had a look at it. 491 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:19,720 They then decided that this team will go to other parts of the world and impart their 492 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:20,720 knowledge. 493 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:25,560 So we went to a lot of other developed countries and said that this is how we do the project 494 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:27,760 and this is how it should be done. 495 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:28,760 Fabulous. 496 00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:35,200 So this is an example of how you can take something that again you could have delivered 497 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,440 a level of satisfaction by saying, okay, we will stay within certain bounds. 498 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,680 You decided how to push it much further. 499 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:48,160 You actually believe there is a lot more risk in not taking risks at all? 500 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,200 Taking risk, I'm not a very risk taking person. 501 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:53,480 I come from a family. 502 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:58,120 I am probably the first generation engineer in my family and I'm probably the first, 503 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:00,080 definitely I'm the first generation author. 504 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,240 So my family comes from a very conservative background where my father always used to 505 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,040 say that you should join a government service. 506 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:07,840 That's the best for life. 507 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:12,800 And initially I got a job in Indian railways when I finished my engineering and I decided 508 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:14,800 not to take up that job. 509 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,840 And my father had that grievance still, you know, he passed away. 510 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:24,200 What I do is I use a lot of common sense to think, is it a risk? 511 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,080 Is it something that we can attend? 512 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:31,240 Risk is, I think, where you feel that your chances are fairly less and you have to depend 513 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,680 on a lot of external stuff and your luck to turn things for you. 514 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:36,840 We don't look at it that way. 515 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:43,040 If there are many things where we can contribute and make it work, and if there are certain 516 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:48,760 other external dependencies or certain other luck factors which are less in percentages, 517 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:53,280 then I don't think that's a great risk because I've always seen that are confident and if 518 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,360 you are approaching that with that sincerity, things work. 519 00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,160 Sometimes it doesn't, but it's okay. 520 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,360 But still there will be lessons to learn from that. 521 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,360 How have you got about building a team? 522 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:05,320 It is a very big challenge. 523 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,400 Many, many big players in the market offer compensations which are some things that we 524 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:11,200 can't even manage or dream about. 525 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:15,080 We basically try and look for passion in people. 526 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:19,400 Many of the engineers today, they want to go into IT field and make some big money. 527 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,720 There are also some engineers who still want to be in their domain. 528 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,600 Try to find out those people and also the internal growth. 529 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:31,040 At some point in time, they leave the company for better prospects, which is fine for me. 530 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,120 It's good that you have to move. 531 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:38,040 Today, people who have left our company and joined other companies have really done very 532 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:39,040 well. 533 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:44,480 There is a small brand image that our company has created which some of the companies realized 534 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,680 that somebody who is coming from this company must be a good guy. 535 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:49,920 I was talking to one of my friends. 536 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,080 We were with Volta, so many people. 537 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,000 They still consider Volta as our kind of mother company. 538 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,680 But none of the people who were working together are there now. 539 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:00,680 Everybody is everywhere. 540 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:07,120 But the beauty is that all of us are able to spread that brand image of Volta throughout 541 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:08,120 the world. 542 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:09,120 That's the beauty of that company. 543 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:15,240 That's an amazing insight that the brand has spread literally by the people who have 544 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:17,360 experienced it the most. 545 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:18,360 Absolutely. 546 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:22,880 Not just as consumers but as people who are working within. 547 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,560 And then those are the qualities that you imbibe and you do it. 548 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:28,680 And you're doing precisely the same thing. 549 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:33,200 But any reason why you called it IBS Gulf or did you have some other? 550 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:34,200 No, no. 551 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:39,640 Actually, IBS Gulf was a company which we formed in Dubai first. 552 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,720 And at some point in time, we realized that we were not doing so great. 553 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,000 We started looking for work in India. 554 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:51,680 We had enrolled into various companies in India as IBS Gulf. 555 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,160 Before we decided to close the Dubai company. 556 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:59,480 Then I decided that I will keep the company's name like that. 557 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,200 But frankly, we got nothing to do with Gulf. 558 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:06,960 It's like the Chennai Super Kings team, which doesn't have a single player from Chennai 559 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,920 or South, sorry, or Tamil Nadu, but still is called as Chennai Super Kings. 560 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:17,800 It's quite a journey, Shiram, and I think the wonderful aspect is that you made a decision 561 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:18,800 early on. 562 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:20,200 It was as simple as that. 563 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:23,560 Be methodical and don't stay within your comfort zone. 564 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,800 Those two principles alone, I think account for a whole lot of how you have actually 565 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,000 grown professionally. 566 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,000 The world is different. 567 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,680 IT has taken over. 568 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:35,600 It's a far more networked society. 569 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,280 The basic things don't change. 570 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:42,640 But what is it that it would be advisable for young people to do? 571 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,960 Because there's a thing of following your passion versus understanding what is it you're 572 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,720 good at, which could be two different things. 573 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:54,760 So understanding at what you're good at, I think the youngsters today seem to be fairly 574 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,280 better informed than what you were during our years. 575 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,280 I mean, I was a youngster. 576 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:03,160 I had no idea what I was worth or what I could do. 577 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:05,480 Today, the youngsters are far better placed. 578 00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,400 They're well informed also of the opportunities that are there. 579 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,640 Only improvement, I would think, is that they should give it a little longer time. 580 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:17,800 I have seen, at least in the engineering sector, youngsters are not very knowledgeable. 581 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:22,080 And I would not blame them because the education system has become like that. 582 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,680 There are no proper professors. 583 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:29,160 Those days when we were studying, there were passionate professors who were actually working 584 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:30,960 for sharing that knowledge today. 585 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:31,960 It is not there. 586 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,680 They should dive deeper into the things that they want to do. 587 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,520 Otherwise, they're very well informed. 588 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:38,520 They're fairly... 589 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:39,520 Yes. 590 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:40,520 They have better clarity. 591 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:45,320 If only they have that urge to dive deeper. 592 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:46,320 Careers take time. 593 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:50,760 You can't absorb knowledge and execute things in a hurry. 594 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:56,280 And the problem is that today's media emphasizes this whole thing of overnight success stories, 595 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,080 though they know fully well that there is no such thing. 596 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:03,680 So we're living in a mythical kind of world with unreal expectations. 597 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,280 That is one of the things that young people really have to guard against. 598 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,520 Swede by, oh, this company did this. 599 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,640 So if you actually go into it, it would have taken a couple of decades. 600 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,480 It would have taken all of that. 601 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:16,480 Wonderful. 602 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:18,000 Any closing remarks, Sriram? 603 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:25,000 My only thought would be like, whether it is a job or regular life or anything, just 604 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,200 approach it in a very simple way, don't get too complicated too much. 605 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:30,200 Okay. 606 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,840 Nothing is as complicated as we think it is. 607 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:33,840 Approach it with sincerity. 608 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:35,560 Then everything will fall in place. 609 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,880 If you want to learn something at your approach with sincerity, you will find a guru who will 610 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:40,240 come to or teach you. 611 00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:41,880 Thanks a ton for being on the show. 612 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:47,040 I think it's wonderful to see how you made that the lodestar of your life, testing the 613 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:53,160 edges of your comfort zone all the time, whether it was in your first job, whether it was in 614 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:58,080 trying it out with different cultures and countries, whether it was entrepreneurship. 615 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:04,440 It was always about testing what is it that I can go beyond rather than try and stay within 616 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:05,960 what you knew well. 617 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:09,120 So the chances of success are definitely much higher. 618 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,360 Thank you for being on the show, Sriram. 619 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,840 And thank you for imparting your learning. 620 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:14,840 Thank you. 621 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:15,840 Thank you so much. 622 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:22,840 It was a very nostalgic journey because very seldom you get to, you know, a chance to work 623 00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:23,840 with the memory lane. 624 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:24,840 Yes. 625 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:26,920 Yeah, go down the memory lane. 626 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:28,440 Thank you for enabling that. 627 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:30,600 It was wonderful speaking to you. 628 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,040 Thank you so much. 629 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:38,360 My first job, the podcast is a production from Ideascape Communications. 630 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:45,240 Guest relations, promotions and creative is managed by Deepa Ravi with occasional support 631 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:47,840 by Venugopal Nair. 632 00:34:47,840 --> 00:35:05,280 Learning and technical help is provided by LPS Jay Chandra.