My 10 years at Lava: A lifetime of lessons!

I remember entering Lava office, for the first time on 10th June 2010 with tremendous excitement & enthusiasm. I knew I had finally found my calling. I was joining an organization that not only had the ambition but also the potential to become a global player in the mobile industry. It was hugely inspiring.

Today, as I celebrate my 10th work-anniversary here, I look back at these 10 years happy and satisfied with the journey we have covered thus far. I am filled with the same enthusiasm even after all these years, willing to give it all it takes to realize our collective dream.

I am filled with gratitude towards the wonderful bunch of people I work with, for keeping me inspired and energized each day, every day. Lava’s journey has seen many successes. We have had a huge share of our challenges too. Navigating this ship through these successes and challenges has taught me a world of new things.

Today as I remember every event, every milestone of this journey, let me share with you the 10 important lessons I have learnt:

1.      Purpose is supreme: Having a purpose of existence is the primary ingredient for success, in fact the most important one. On many occasions we found solutions to the toughest of problems by reminding ourselves of our vision – To empower people to do more, to be more. Everybody needs a guiding light when they are lost and that is exactly the role that a vision plays in a company’s life. We have seen through many disruptions by always keeping our eyes on the larger purpose.

2.      Values are the foundation: If vision is the pinnacle of success you aspire to achieve, values are the foundation that it stands on. Deeper the values, higher you can reach as a company or an individual. Values come in only two colors, Black & White. You either follow them every time or you don’t. There can't be any ifs and buts to them.

3.      Challenges are like dogs: When a dog marches towards you and you run, the dog will keep chasing you and maybe even bite you. But, if you turn around and look at him in the eye, the dog will simply go away. Same holds true for challenges. The more you run away from challenges the more they will chase you and bite you. So, catch the bull by its horn and learn to win over the challenges.

4.      What is right for customers is right for business: Always keep your customers at the center of your thinking. When you are building products or services, start by thinking of the customer before your business goals. If you come up with the right solution for your customers, you WILL have more business than you had imagined.

5.      If you want to make it easy for yourself, you will be making it complex for your customers:

Every solution you design for your customers will have intrinsic levels of complexity in it. Simpler the solution, higher will be the level of difficulty to execute it. On the other hand when you try to ease yourself while making a product or service, the complexity gets transferred to the customers. And the truth is, customers do not buy complex solutions. So if you want your customers' love then be ready to own the complexity.

6.      Learning is an endless journey, don’t keep looking for the destination: The thing about learning is that the more you learn the more you realize how much more you need to learn. That feeling makes you humble and you become open to new ideas and thought processes. Learning is a journey that needs to be enjoyed without worrying about the destination because a lifetime is just a fraction of that journey.

7.      Battles are first won or lost in the mind: No battle has ever been won by the weak minded. If you lose the battle in your mind then no power on earth can make you win it. You have more chances of actually winning if you first win it in your mind. Failing is not a shame but being a failure is.

8.      Leaders emerge when no one wants to do the dirty job: It is the key characteristics of a leader that when the chips are down he/she takes the stage and sticks his/her neck out. Leadership is about being courageous and providing hope to your people when there seems to be none.

9.      A job is what you make of it: Many young people complain about their jobs being boring and uninteresting. In reality, it is the other way around. I have witnessed it so many times that a seemingly boring job was lifted up to be the most interesting and sought after one by someone with the right attitude. When you love your work, your work loves you back many times more.

10.  Depth gets you width: Many people want to climb up the ladder really fast. They believe in the myth that more the number of roles you handle in the shortest possible time, the higher your chances of growth are. All my professional life I have seen evidence to the contrary. How deep you go into what you have been assigned to do determines how much more you can handle. You earn trust and respect by creating excellence in the role given to you and that is the only way to grow professionally.

I have had an experience of a lifetime working at Lava. In the last 10 years we have built this company brick by brick, inch by inch. We have now reached a stage where we are all set to take off. India needs and deserves an Indian Mobile brand on the World map. At Lava, it is our mission to make this dream come true. Today, Indians are showering their LOVE on us and we will give it our best to live up to their expectations.

The journey continues…

Sunil Raina,

President - Lava International Limited

#ProudlyIndian