My halftime thoughts...

‘Not what you should do, but what you want to do…..’ let this be your guiding light, forevermore.?

I see you shining,?

?The Universe

Most of us who blow the candle on our birthday, wish for wealth, health, love, success, or whatever materialistic happiness we need. This year, I wished for clarity. Clarity of my destiny and journey.?

Every year, I disappear and disconnect for a couple of weeks in July around my birthday. It's an annual tradition that started back in 2017, more as a post-breakup solo vacay and now I do it more as an annual detox ritual and it always works to reset my focus in life. This year, it was even more important for me, given the mass misery and suffering we have all seen around the world with COVID, no matter how busy we were with the daily chores of life. I gained some and lost some too….I smiled some and I cried some too. Our lives changed, priorities changed…and it changed me as well. The importance of ‘one life’ wasn’t ever so clear to me, as it became this past year.

While I was gone, one of my business idols/favorites went to space and came back ..and no, it’s not Bezos ;) and Robinhood went public. The world dramatically moved fast, while I disconnected…

But the last 4 weeks of (almost) complete disconnection was a great way to look back at my life and reflect on my blessings and learnings. As a South-Asian immigrant having lived across 3 continents and 5 countries on my own, I definitely have had a very interesting career and life. Every country has been unique, every culture unique, and every relationship.. even more unique. Sometimes you take the right path and then you take a few wrong paths. And despite all the detours, I must say, it has actually been a fun, rich life full of stories I can tell generations ahead.

Destiny is always working behind the scenes

As I sat on the shores of the gorgeous Costa Brava this July, I pondered about the 16-year-old wide-eyed ambitious girl, who studied very hard in a country where the opportunities are far and few, the competition the toughest, and getting a good ‘job’ and a ‘good husband’ is all that mattered to secure your future. Oh well, I didn’t do so well on the ‘good husband’ part yet.. and that’s for another time ;), but I did well in my career. My career has been a blessing, in my view. Getting into one of the top-ranked engineering schools at 17, was one ounce of hard work, but getting that phone call to interview for Microsoft in my early 20s when I least expected, was one ounce of destiny and luck. Of course, I am not underplaying the hard work of crazy tough (but very interesting) interviews that I went through. But those 10 something years at Microsoft at some of its most competitive years vs Google and Apple, taught me a lot about what makes a world-class company, and how world-class marketing is executed...defining my career further. And similarly, getting a call from a recruiter for Bombardier, while I was happy with my life in Dallas, to move to Europe and come join them as an exec in Berlin was another event by design.

The last 3.5 years in Germany have been anything but easy and I won’t deny I have thought of going back to the US many many times (and I might actually someday! ). Yet, all this rollercoaster across continents hasn't run me down; rather it has humbled me and helped me see the beauty of similarities across differences. And destiny is definitely at work here.

Power does not stay the same and the circle of life is real

I love the famous quote of Maya Angelou which says 'People forget what you said or did ...but they will never forget how you made them feel.' Somehow, this has stayed with me for years. Early in my career, I once recall working for someone who wasn't fair and made me feel 'not worthy' of the job (largely because I was hired by his manager & he never gave any constructive feedback or made any effort to coach me). I left the job, and several years later, life turned around and he ended up reporting to me, in another company. Such is the beauty of the circle of life. But I held no negativity and treated him with the utmost dignity and respect. It was because I knew, life never stays the same. What I have learned over the years is that positions, power, and authorities change, and what is today, may not be tomorrow. But one thing that should never change is how we treat people both at work and in life. And being nice to people is not just about being polite, but being genuinely warm, vulnerable, and open to understanding the other person’s background, perspectives, and challenges. And sometimes the surmounting pressures at work can corner many well-intentioned people. I have been there too where the pressures made me more robotic than human. But one thing that I pride myself on is being consistently fair, warm, and largely humble at heart. I owe it to my middle-class upbringing in many ways and some to my immigrant life (where an opportunity to succeed depends on a lottery-driven visa system). And the power of ‘genuine' humility has served me well in life.

You are exactly where you are supposed to be

I recently announced my plans of leaving N26. Besides my family's health issues taking priority, burnout was also a contributor. Rapidly putting together the team, building consumer stories and marketing plans for 10+ products in 10 months on a non-stop no vacation mode was an unforgettable experience. I ran with pure drive with very limited resources...but doing the right thing for the growth of the business. The experience taught me a lot about my ability to deliver no matter the circumstances,?but it had also left me depleted. I remember the Friday I signed off, I hit the bed and slept like a log for 21 hours straight.

Joining N26 was a destined part of my learnings. It introduced me to the tech startups in Berlin, the power of good product design in driving growth, and most importantly, it taught me the lesson of health & conscious leadership. Every company has been a part of my journey exactly as it was meant to be and at the right time. Microsoft was the perfect company in the early years of my career that shaped my skills and path ahead. Moving from tech to manufacturing/transportation with Bombardier, FMCG with HelloFreshGO, and Fintech with N26 challenged me and expanded my scope as a marketer across industries and prepared me for the future ahead.

Leadership is about inspiration and your voice inspires others more than you know

A day before my vacation/trip, I was having dinner with a colleague and he mentioned that the news of me leaving N26 was disappointing to some of the younger women in the company. He explained that these women looked at me as inspiration in a company that has lacked diversity in leadership. Having worked only about a year there, I never knew I had made so much of an impression on the younger women. I mentor women often, have been a sponsor, but I realized immediately that mentoring or sponsoring is not enough. We often get so involved in our own individual careers and life, that we miss noticing the footprints we are leaving behind and the path we are unknowingly paving for others...and the future leaders we are building around us by just being 'ourselves'. It was a moment for me to realize to be even more intentional and vocal about women and leadership in my career ahead. Last April, I wrote an article on equality and hope this serves as some guidance for any women looking for some guidance on handling the bias and struggles. https://susimha.medium.com/equality-is-a-choice-b5074aa7263b

Know your calling and everything will become crystal clear

This August marks 20 years since that 20 something-year-old started her first job.

During my college campus placement, my future boss and mentor saw that marketer in me early on, giving me that first break to join Marketing instead of a software engineering role and I started my first job in 2001, right in the midst of the dot com bust and the economic recession. But it was that opportunity and the years that followed, that shaped my marketing career in the last 20 years.?

But I did so, often like the majority - on auto-pilot mode - making the next job moves or career decisions looking at the future horizon of only 2- 5 years.?

This year, things have changed for me and I don’t want to make decisions like the masses anymore. As they say - In this world, you only get one go around here. It’s one life... maybe, a short life...who knows. I better make it worth it.

As I look at my next steps in my career and personal life, I am keeping the next 20 years of my life in mind and what I want to be remembered as when I die. Not just for the titles or wealth, but for my purpose/values and for my family/loved ones. It goes without saying that the irony of it all is that - titles and wealth do matter as resources to achieve your bigger purpose.

For now, as I temporarily slow down a bit in my career to prioritize my family/parents, I will pick up advising startups and founders on marketing/growth and interim roles. And I am excited about the two startups, I will be working with as an advisor/consultant. The products of both these startups are some of the best in the industry.?

I am also starting to write again & some more...and I will share more in the coming days on what’s brewing there.

If you are a part of my network, you are already a part of my journey. So, let's say the halftime show is over, and jump along and wish me luck in this second half of the game! Drop me a note, if you feel I can help you in any way. If you are based in Berlin, let's catch up for a coffee or a drink.?