MANAGEMENT LESSONS MY ADVENTURES HAVE TAUGHT ME
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I’ve always been a workaholic. A 14-hour day was standard for me. The universe kept suggesting that I was walking down the wrong path, but I wasn’t listening – at least not at that time.
Until one day, I got this replica of an Oscar statuette on my desk - a gift from Rupert Murdoch. With a letter thanking me for all my hard work and diligence. One of the richest men in the world had rewarded me with a fake Oscar statuette. And I was supposed to be super thrilled about that. I ignored the alarm bells that rang in my head. |
I was the STAR TV ghost. I came in at 7 am and rarely left before 10 PM. Those footsteps people heard down the corridor at midnight, they were usually mine. We Indians take great pride in talking about our long working hours, about how many nights we didn’t sleep. We never for a minute stop to think how ridiculous we sound (thinking in retrospect of course!)
The universe nudged me again, a few years after the "Oscar Award". It was 1996 and STAR Plus was an English language channel – like STAR World is today. We got a mandate from Murdoch to re-launch it in Hindi. To make this happen, he hired the entire top brass from Doordarshan. Overnight, we had bosses that had little experience with private television networks. My immediate boss was one such person. One day an argument ensued. I stood my ground and refused to budge. Finally, he took the matter to the top boss, our CEO, Mr. Rathikant Basu. A wise man who used to be the Director General of DD before he came to STAR. Mr. Basu heard us out patiently, until my boss said plaintively: "Mr. Basu, I have 20 years of experience in this!" And Mr. Basu said something I will never forget. "No", he said, "you have 5 years of experience, 4 times. This young lady here, she has 8 years of experience – let her do her job."
The universe nudged me again, a few years after the "Oscar Award". It was 1996 and STAR Plus was an English language channel – like STAR World is today. We got a mandate from Murdoch to re-launch it in Hindi. To make this happen, he hired the entire top brass from Doordarshan. Overnight, we had bosses that had little experience with private television networks. My immediate boss was one such person. One day an argument ensued. I stood my ground and refused to budge. Finally, he took the matter to the top boss, our CEO, Mr. Rathikant Basu. A wise man who used to be the Director General of DD before he came to STAR. Mr. Basu heard us out patiently, until my boss said plaintively: "Mr. Basu, I have 20 years of experience in this!" And Mr. Basu said something I will never forget. "No", he said, "you have 5 years of experience, 4 times. This young lady here, she has 8 years of experience – let her do her job."
I listened to the universe this time. I no longer wanted to be in a job that gave me "2 years of experience 4 times."
I grabbed every new opportunity that came my way. I went to Delhi to launch STAR News with NDTV and then on to London to launch STAR on the BSkyB platform. I moved to National Geographic Channel to head the programming and marketing team. And launched The History Channel while there. After 11 years at STAR, I quit to spend some time with my father who was dying. When he passed away, I joined UTV Entertainment as the COO, launching two channels for Ronnie Screwvala. Another fantastic experience which I was always have brilliant memories of. When Ronnie decided to shut down UTV Entertainment, I quit television altogether. It was time to try my hands at something new. It was time to reinvent myself. I started my own digital marketing company, and worked on campaigns for STAR Plus, Nat Geo, Channel V, and The History Channel.
But I continued to work long hours. Until February 2012, when cancer found me. Obviously, I still hadn't learnt my lesson.
I grabbed every new opportunity that came my way. I went to Delhi to launch STAR News with NDTV and then on to London to launch STAR on the BSkyB platform. I moved to National Geographic Channel to head the programming and marketing team. And launched The History Channel while there. After 11 years at STAR, I quit to spend some time with my father who was dying. When he passed away, I joined UTV Entertainment as the COO, launching two channels for Ronnie Screwvala. Another fantastic experience which I was always have brilliant memories of. When Ronnie decided to shut down UTV Entertainment, I quit television altogether. It was time to try my hands at something new. It was time to reinvent myself. I started my own digital marketing company, and worked on campaigns for STAR Plus, Nat Geo, Channel V, and The History Channel.
But I continued to work long hours. Until February 2012, when cancer found me. Obviously, I still hadn't learnt my lesson.
Two major surgeries and 30 sessions of radiotherapy later, I was sapped of all my energies. I lost eight kilos. And I lost the perpetual silver lining I always see in every dark cloud that gathers overhead. The “eternal optimist” is what my friends call me, a moniker I didn’t deserve any longer. Caught in this big giant wave, I was trying to stick my nose out so I could breathe.
I finally snapped out of self-pity mode and set myself a target – I was going to go for the Everest Base Camp Trek. It was always my dream, ever since I came up with this crazy docu-reality show in 2003, when I was with National Geographic Channel. I was on my own personal quest, my Mission Everest.
A year later, not only was I back on my feet, but I was all set to achieve my dream. Eleven years was way too long and I wasn’t waiting any longer. Life was too short. That I had learnt already. I began training for it in earnest. I was still on medications and injections, the cause of insomnia and severe joint pain. And worst of all, a 0.2% probability of getting another form of cancer. That was a chance I wasn’t willing to take. I had a little baby and I wanted to be around to see her grow up. And so, eight weeks before the trek was to start, I went in for another major surgery. The only promise I extracted from my surgeon – that she would get me back on my feet within six weeks. She kept her word, bless her.
Two weeks before the trek, I started walking again. Trying to build up my flagging stamina for a trek I knew would be grueling for me. My husband would walk with me and when I crumbled within the first 50m, he showed no remorse. "Get up" he said. "Quit whining. Walk."
I finally snapped out of self-pity mode and set myself a target – I was going to go for the Everest Base Camp Trek. It was always my dream, ever since I came up with this crazy docu-reality show in 2003, when I was with National Geographic Channel. I was on my own personal quest, my Mission Everest.
A year later, not only was I back on my feet, but I was all set to achieve my dream. Eleven years was way too long and I wasn’t waiting any longer. Life was too short. That I had learnt already. I began training for it in earnest. I was still on medications and injections, the cause of insomnia and severe joint pain. And worst of all, a 0.2% probability of getting another form of cancer. That was a chance I wasn’t willing to take. I had a little baby and I wanted to be around to see her grow up. And so, eight weeks before the trek was to start, I went in for another major surgery. The only promise I extracted from my surgeon – that she would get me back on my feet within six weeks. She kept her word, bless her.
Two weeks before the trek, I started walking again. Trying to build up my flagging stamina for a trek I knew would be grueling for me. My husband would walk with me and when I crumbled within the first 50m, he showed no remorse. "Get up" he said. "Quit whining. Walk."
And walk I did. I quit TV altogether in around 2012. And over these past 10 years, I have crossed many valleys, battled roaring rivers, traversed snow and slippery slopes. My adventures, nature, and the wilderness have taught me what regular corporate life could never do - LESSONS FOR LIFE. Here they are, in no particular order:
1. KEEP WALKING, NO MATTER HOW STEEP THE CLIMB
You can’t stop mid-way, you’ve got to keep moving up. There’s no way to turn back, besides downhill is way tougher on the knees! A little flag fluttering in the wind across the valley marks the highest point. Look out for that. That's your target. And really, it isn't that far. Once you get there and turn around, you will be amazed at how do-able it actually was!
2. FORTY STEPS, JUST TAKE 40 STEPS AT A TIME
When the road seems long and unending, when my destination is this nebulous spot almost two valleys away, when the icy cold winds are piercing through my down jacket, and I am so exhausted that I can’t move another inch, my husband Akshay taught me this little trick. "Just take 40 steps at a time baby, 40 steps. Then turn around to admire the view and see how far you've come, and then 40 more."
I use this neat mind trick often… I look down at my hiking boots and I make a deal with myself. “I’ll do 40 steps and then stop for a breather”. And then I put one boot in front of the other, and I start to count to 40. At 40, I look up, stare at the mountains, enjoy the icy cold wind on my face, then I look down again and I do another 40.
I’ve crossed valleys this way, literally taking it a step at a time.
I use this neat mind trick often… I look down at my hiking boots and I make a deal with myself. “I’ll do 40 steps and then stop for a breather”. And then I put one boot in front of the other, and I start to count to 40. At 40, I look up, stare at the mountains, enjoy the icy cold wind on my face, then I look down again and I do another 40.
I’ve crossed valleys this way, literally taking it a step at a time.
3. No road is too long, if you have good friends for company.
On my Kuari Pass trek, I reached a point where I felt I couldn’t move on. I hadn’t been drinking enough water, and my body was giving way, my spirits flagging. I stopped and sat down on the edge of the path. My friend and trekking guru Pavane, came up from behind me...”what’s up?” she asked. “I can’t do this…I can’t” I cried, almost in tears. She looked at me with a stern face and said “shut up and move.” No sympathy, no kind words…and it’s exactly what I needed at that time. If she had so much as put a hand on my shoulder and comforted me, I would have crumbled right there.
In life, take along these friends (and family and colleagues) with you, who will tell you to shut up, stop whining and move on. They're keepers.
In life, take along these friends (and family and colleagues) with you, who will tell you to shut up, stop whining and move on. They're keepers.
4. Stop and smell the flowers dammit!
Enjoy the beauty around you, smell the flowers, even the horses that trek with us know the wisdom of those words! Gaze at the mountains, admire the reflection of the trees in the still waters. Often, I’ve seen people so focused on getting to the next valley, on being the first to reach the camp, they forget to admire the amazing beauty that surrounds them. Guess what? There's no medal for reaching the camp first!
I had 14 - 16 hour work days for over two decades – and besides a fake Oscar statuette I never really got a prize for it:-). I have finally learnt to spend time with my family, watch a good movie, head out for treks, rafting expeditions, travel, see new places, grow my food.
I had 14 - 16 hour work days for over two decades – and besides a fake Oscar statuette I never really got a prize for it:-). I have finally learnt to spend time with my family, watch a good movie, head out for treks, rafting expeditions, travel, see new places, grow my food.
5. Venture beyond your comfort zone.
Here's a little secret I haven’t told many people. I hated trekking. I didn’t get the idea of walking all those miles – that seemed to lead nowhere. I loved the beach and the sea and for me that was the best holiday ever. Until I decided to venture beyond my comfort zone. I camped by a stream, amidst the amazing mountains. I made friends with a curious cow. Said hello to a mongrel puppy. Rafted a Grade 5 river.
I quit a high paying corporate life. And through it all, I learnt that there was a certain magic in the unknown!
I quit a high paying corporate life. And through it all, I learnt that there was a certain magic in the unknown!
6. Impossible is nothing.
It was always just a great tag line. Until now. I've learnt that you can do anything you put your mind to. Anything. I led a trek to the Siachen Glacier - probably the only woman over 45 to set foot there. Definitely the only female trek leader on the glacier. I learnt to ski with my daughter - she was five, I was 50.
Impossible is nothing. And don't let anything or anyone tell you otherwise. Not your age, not your wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers-in laws. And oh yes, not your doctors either! Certainly not the doctors!
Impossible is nothing. And don't let anything or anyone tell you otherwise. Not your age, not your wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers-in laws. And oh yes, not your doctors either! Certainly not the doctors!