6 things I Learnt in the Last One Year ...
Chandramouli Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D
![Chandramouli Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D]()
Chandramouli Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D
Product Leader @ Microsoft | Leadership at the intersection of People, Product, and Engineering | Enterprise, Startups
It has been one year since I joined Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar on this super exciting journey to build Travenues - a platform based company to solve supply side problems for the aviation industry. Here are some top of mind thoughts that I have been ruminating on (among many many things) -
- People > Product > Profit. This gem from Ben Horrowitz (from The Hard Thing About Hard Things) is so true. The team is everything. An energetic happy team can build wonderful products. And these will in turn lead to $$.
- Building is different from coding / designing / testing / etc. The feeling of building something and seeing the product as an outcome of building — is the ultimate high.
- Celebrating small wins is important, especially in the early stages of building a product / team / company. It is not just for the interim happiness of the team. This is indirect, intangible reinforcement of recognition for hard work that has been put in.
- Explain the context, the need, the requirement, and the outcome. Impress upon the team to get it done. And then, let the team be. No, really. Let them be. Let the PM and the engineers and the designers, and QA handle it. Let them do the thing.
- Dream big. Sell the dream 24x7. Share your vision - to folks outside the company and within. Your team has joined you with that shared dream - especially in an early stage startup.
- Have fun while at it. Slightly controversial statement here. The fun can be with you, and without you. If you haven’t realised yet, there are slack channels/WhatsApp groups with everyone but you. There are times, when you should let the team have their own fun.
#travenues #airlines #traveltech #travel #aviation
Strategic Product Marketing & Planning Pro | Leveraging Engineering Expertise for Success | Expertise in Firmware, V&V, and Process Optimization | Committed to Quality
5 年Succinct and well written. Your are spot on. Employee Engagement is the key to organizational success !!?
Engineering Leader | Founder | Startups to BigTech | Data Infra, Platforms & Applications | IoT | Telematics | ML | People first
5 年Very nicely put. Resonates with almost everything that I have always believed in! Best wishes!!
Executive Educator, Inspiring Leadership and Driving Exceptional Customer Experience for ambitious Enterprises | Founder: Commercial Excellence Partners | Speaker | Travel-Tech ?
5 年Simple but really insightful Chandramouli Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D. I practised many of these things when leading a highly-engaged team at Global Eagle in Mumbai and saw first-hand the transformation.