Himanshu’s Honest Hour - Meet Samir

This week on #HonestHour, I spoke with Samir Mistry, Head of Growth Marketing, eCommerce and Member Communications, for an interesting conversation on his thoughts relating to his time here at Visible. Samir’s family, and my family, both come from western state of Gujarat, India so there's a lot of cultural overlap. In a meeting conversation, I found out that he also likes an okra dish that I also enjoy. I immediately nicknamed him Okra King! Our home state is known for its entrepreneurs, business leaders and? overall leadership in society. For example, Mahatma Gandhi, current prime minister Modi and Asia's richest man Mr Ambani are all from the same state.???

Here are my favorite highlights from our conversation:?

What did you know you’d find at Visible??

Visible provided an opportunity to take learnings from my previous experiences and apply them to an internal startup (this was a new theme for me -- growth). Also, I expected more flexible boundaries in a new business, as the perception is that in a new business there are less “rules”, and more guidelines - that we’d all be working together in any way we can to achieve our goals. And that’s exactly what I found.?

Ultimately, the experience has pushed my personal growth. It’s been a great experience owning, working, and collaborating on product and marketing initiatives that range from 5G (knowing the details of the network & device technologies to positioning in market and with Verizon) to relaunching our brand this past February.

What did you find that was unexpected??

Being permanently remote as a company, it’s been a pleasant surprise to develop real friendships with my colleagues - whether it be a conversation about personal development, thoughts on growing the business, or even managing work with a young family. These conversations are mutually beneficial and I learned a great deal about my team. It’s comforting to know I’m not alone trying to work and manage a child who is learning from home and that knowing my opinion matters regarding business decisions.?

What have you learned??

Disrupting a legacy industry is not easy and I knew that going into the job. The road ahead wasn’t determined and largely up for us to define. There are a couple of key things I learned:

• The method or skills needed for solving problems (either technical or member facing) is transferable across industries and organizations. It sounds simple, but it took me 20 years and 5 industries to fully understand. It is both science and an art --- just requires an inquisitive mindset, ability to pivot after learning, and rolling up your sleeves.?
• There is tremendous value in having hard conversations in the moment. This clears up any miscommunications, prevents future mishaps or amplifies the behaviors desired, and creates a moment that all individuals must live up to. Most importantly, it allows everyone to move forward with a common understanding.
• Lastly, I’m an extrovert and working from home was never for me. The pandemic changed that and I’m grateful to spend more time with my family. It’s the little things my daughter and I will remember forever -- our lunch dates and walks. In this experience, I learned, like most, we adapt to situations, are resilient to change and must rely on others for help.?

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