QUARTERLY MAGAZINE July 2022 Vol 10
QUARTERLY MAGAZINE July 2022 Vol 10
IN CONVERSATION
Literally speaking this is my third association with RPG Group. It began way back as a summer intern, when I did my summer project, as part of the curriculum requirement at IIM Ahmedabad, with Harrisons Malayalam. My second association was after two decades, in 2012 when I joined CEAT to be part of the transformational journey and I am here again after five years back home at Raychem RPG.
If I reflect, each of my past stints with RPG has been memorable in its own way. I was christened in the corporate environment first time in RPG as a student, getting an opportunity to try out the marketing concepts we learnt at college, in real-life situations. In my second stint, I came in with two decades of sales & customer service experience in multiple industries and joined the CEAT team in its transformation journey, which I must say was thrilling and hugely satisfying. Now I am back home with the added experience of handling customer-facing commercial functions, albeit in a different industry, to be a part of the transformational growth journey at Raychem RPG!
There were few learnings that helped me adapt and succeed across the industries I have worked in.
The first is that while each job and industry may be different from the other, there is always one element that ties everything together — the customer. If you focus on the customer, then it’s just a matter of time before you start understanding the basic requirements to deliver the customer’s latent or stated need.
Second is to focus on two more 'P's - people and processes, in addition to the conventional 4P's of Marketing - product, price, place and promotion. If you have the right team, who are inspired, innovative and disciplined, no hurdles can last long enough. Rather than getting locked down to a product or industry type, one can assess the situation using the 6Ps framework to help reach a solution. This has helped me adapt to different industries and businesses.
The third thing is to have an attitude of ‘Playing to Win’ vs ‘Playing not to Lose’. There is a very fine line between the two, but it makes a huge difference in the way you deal with a situation.
In addition to the brand Raychem RPG has built, it is our range of quality products, the capabilities we have built over the years, the expertise that our technology and JV partner TE-Connectivity brings in, and the equity and reputation RPG Group commands in India. Moreover, we are a company with different divisions catering to multiple industries, making us more robust and sustainable and less susceptible to risk during a slowdown in a particular industry.
We have recently migrated from a BU structure to a functional structure. It is an opportune moment for us to boost the business and scale it up in a process-oriented manner. My objective in the company will be to understand and assess these opportunities and ensure that we scale up sustainably and profitably.
Since it is a new industry for me it brings in lots of new knowledge and huge scope for learning which is interesting. I am also very excited because we have multiple businesses within the company, each requiring you to detach from one and immerse in the other completely. This brings in a lot of variability in the work we do.
Another exciting prospect is the pride associated with the work in the organisation. Raychem RPG plays a pivotal role in the development of India’s power sector. The business has enormous potential as the country is ramping up electrification. Similarly, since the government has been focusing on pivoting from LPG to natural gas, our Oil & Gas Division business offers excellent future prospects and we have the first mover’s advantage of being a market leader in this segment. As one of the leading partners in India’s growth journey, we have a huge responsibility to create a favourable ecosystem, and products that will help the nation and the company excel.
But this will not come easily. We need to continue to gear up, improve our capability both in terms of technology and our systems & processes, and embrace a digital mindset to become robust and agile. ‘Simplify to amplify’ will be our mantra going forward!
Irrespective of the industry, if you learn to keep your customer at the centre of everything you do and focus on the process to deliver more than they expect, you can find the synergy required to succeed.
People and challenges!
Difficult tasks excite me. I have been fortunate to get opportunities for either turning around or scaling up businesses in most of my assignments across different companies, constantly keeping me on my toes!
I have always been a team player and have been fortunate to work with excellent professionals, helping me learn several new things. RPG Group, in this regard, has provided me with brilliant experience. The relationships I have built and cultivated here over the years have left a lasting impression on my life. Therefore, I am extremely happy to be back in the Group once again!
Happiness is knowing that you’ve made a positive difference in someone’s life, whether it is your team member, trade partner or your customer. It is about sleeping peacefully at night, knowing that you have given it your all. It is that feeling of starting the workweek saying, ‘Thank God it’s Monday!’
