PEARLS OF WISDOM ~ A SNEAK-PEAK OF BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING !!

1.    Can you talk about one woman who impacted your life

Mother Teresa – an epitome of selfless love who gave her entire life only to help others especially the ill, the needy and the children.

I strive to do that each day some way or the other. I have tried to contribute my life towards the people in my own way by helping them by being there for them in their hour of need and also raising funds for many such as that of prematurely born triplets ( one of whom who died in few days) for 22 Lacs for their treatment & rescue from hospital bills / discharge – today the twins are alive and more than 2 years ; a cancer child suffering from neuroblastoma fourth stage of 4 years by collecting 19 Lacs for his treatment  ; a lady of a driver who was on death bed due to dengue by collecting 5-6 Lacs ; supporting the families of children / toddlers who were reportedly sexually abused at school / pre-school and helping them raise funds ( approx. 6 Lacs) to help fight the case and bring the culprits to justice, voicing out to authorities and in media ; guiding women in distress etc or even if it was the catastrophe that hit Kerala last year and I did my best along with so many from our city of sending out 200 tons of relief when the waters were still there...no truck left without my "Jai Hind" " Bharat Mata ki Jai" ...my basement had practically become the largest godown in Bangalore...distress calls from across the globe would pour in, didn't miss one and as recent as now collected 11.87 lacs in just 3 days for a very young girl who worked for an MNC and had a brain stroke at work ( still recovering)...I am destined to do this it seems...Many of these people that I extend my services or help to, are those who have not been even known to me personally or even remotely but today they are, for the bond we formed during their days of hardship and still continue to be their pillar of strength.

It’s all about giving… giving selflessly !!

2.    Have you caught yourself doing the best thing and praised yourself for it

While it is said that “self-praise is no recommendation” but in today’s world it works differently. If you do not love what you do or if you do not love who you are or if you do not love your own -self, then how do you think that people will love you for what you do and be inspired and motivated to do something for others??

Your work and your deeds speak for themselves and that has been the case at my end as well and when that happens, you do carry that pride along…

I always say that if my being inspires the women and young girls of this country and they would like to see themselves where we are today, then that’s good progress and if my own daughters (I have two of them) tell me that they are so proud of what I do, then HALF of my work is done as a mother and I feel that right values have been seeded into these new saplings. They will carry forward the right moral values and build a character for themselves.

3.    When you look back at your 20 yr. old self today, what would you want to tell her (your younger self)

I have aged gracefully and I have lived every moment of it. I have worn the olive greens when I was barely that age but yes…a few years down that path…I would have only wanted if I could have continued my service in uniform and served the nation more , though on the contrary I do feel then I would have missed out so much of this world tooJ… I’m fortunate that I have had the opportunity to see both the worlds where at one hand I carried my guns in my first phase of life and on the other I even danced on the streets of Bangalore and also saw the slums of my city where people survive in such harsh conditions. It changed me as a human being and I evolved.

However, I would have back then only asked myself to have done more for people what I started in my very late 30s. I could have really really helped so many of them by now.

4.    What are your favorite books and films

I read a lot of my “Value Creations” and books by SGI, some other ones are “GET BETTER OR GET BEATEN” by Robert Slater & “LEADERS EAT LAST” by Simon Sinek but I also still enjoy my romantic novels tooJ.

As far as the movies go, I am a movie –buff and some of my few favorite films have been “Behind the Enemy lines; all movies of Sylvester Stallone since he is my one of my favorites – The Rockys’ & The Rambos’; Top Gun; Sound of Music; and since with the recent loss of Sridevi who was one of my favorites – I loved watching her Lamhe, Chaalbaaz, Mr. India and Chandni

I can even enjoy a movie which gets just one star by the critics.

5.    Favorite quote that inspires you : There are not one, not two but three of them. This is even under my signatory block and I have lived up to all three of them and this defines me as a person that I am today.

•  “Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know you were meant to do!”
• “It is for each of us to create a culture of personal integrity and ethical behavior in which success brings both prosperity & pride!!
• “Seva Asmakam Dharamaha” – Service is my Creed. This is the motto of the ASC – the corps that I was commissioned into when I joined the forces.

6.    What do you think is this generation’s challenge for women/you in procurement/facility/ corporate segment

Two years back infact I had presented a paper and done a presentation on “Women as a leader” in Mumbai.

The Indian society and our Indian corporate world keeps saying it’s changing and I have been hearing this now for quite a while. Haven’t the women of India broken the glass ceiling many a times and proven themselves enough?

I wonder what really stops us from making that change!

Is it the threat of equality and women sharing the same center stage or is it the lack of acceptance or resistance to women leadership? I have hardly seen women esp. from our fraternity making it to the top level and being there. And if they are there at a certain designation, then what will it really take for them to call the shots and empower them?

The biggest challenge of our society is the MINDSET and when that changes, we all change and bring in the NEW YOU!! O’WOMANIYA!! So all we need to do is EMBRACE THE CHANGE AND CLOSE THE GAP!!

7.    What pearls of wisdom can you give other women who are looking to excel in their professional life

Be good, believe in yourself, stay grounded, remain humble, study a lot, make no errors when it comes to integrity and most importantly be the person you would want your child to be!! Most importantly ….Be YOU….Be that person!! 

In the end just remember…Being human is given but keeping our humanity is a choice!!

Celebrate yourself for being a WOMAN this day and love yourself more!!

You are unique, You are special and You are the chosen one!!

Jai Hind !!

8.    Why did you choose this as a career option

My entire family wore olive greens – my father being a retired Colonel from Air defence Artillery, my older sister from Army Ordnance Corps, self-having served with Army Service Corps and my younger brother who still serves as a Lt Colonel. I even got married to a fauji and also into a family of Olive greens who have been in forces for generations.

Serving the nation came naturally to me. I did want to carry that legacy by choice. It wasn’t easy though and nothing came on a platter. You are grilled more both physically, mentally and verbally if you are a fauji's child or a fauji's sibling. It is much tougher to prove your mettle for children who are termed as "FAUJI BRATS !"

Even the transition from being the officer in uniform to the corporate world was not a cake walk for both of us (me and my spouse). We had no God-fathers or God-mothers as they say in the corporate world. We still don’t. We made our way up the ladder by our grit, determination, our dedication towards our work & company and complete honesty and today our Bosses, Peers, Colleagues in the industry, my team and even my friends respect us so much for that. We can never let them down if you are given so much love and support.

As they say women are born administrators and they are quite comfortable when it comes to multi-tasking…so my plunge into the field of Facilities & Infrastructure came naturally because of my background and I had to unlearn few things to learn new things too.

I have been very fortunate to have seen many worlds and worn many hats in my last 24 years that I have been working now and I am 45 plus today …Be it the Defence forces, the politics, the Corporate, the social service ~ I have seen it all…and if anything is left untouched or untapped then it would be playing the role of a screen / TV star before I hit the grave…of course now it would be perhaps a side role of an aunt or a mother-in-law considering my age now…

9.    What do you think is the future of FM industry in India

Things have changed and are changing for the better. Way back we hardly had the technology or the engagement or infact the recognition of our functions.

Today you have all you need to know and all you need to have. There are firm practices and people are cautious about the way work is done which is good.

Best practices come to the table and all you need to do is pick and choose what is best needed for your firm or your function.

Safety from all angles is the call of the day and tops the charts in any organization now whether it is about Employee safety, Information security or Organization safety and its reputation.

FM / Corporate Services / Workplace Services / General Services ~ different names though as we know them, is the most sought after vertical and we all know that it is the backbone of any organization. Without this, hell will break loose. We are ground soldiers and if any company needs to excel, then this vertical is the one that it banks upon or must bank upon.

The fraternity is very closely knit today as against 10-12 years back. Social media platforms is one major binder and then we have our Forums and Associations and Knowledge sharing seminars and conferences that helps bring our people in the network together sharing the best under this umbrella.

E-magazines / E-portals are also the best examples that help make the future of our industry stronger and come into limelight for the betterment of our vertical.

We are not revenue generators in real sense but now there are ways that we do so. And wise choices and best of evaluations can result in managed saves efficiently.

 Our line of industry now is amongst the CXO’s and sits on the board of directors across.

The future is what we make of it and it surely is nothing but bright as it seems to me…

BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE AND REST WILL FOLLOW !!

It is not what counts are your pages of books that you read, it is the letter of the word that you portray today as an individual.

Last but not the least ~ Follow the 3 PVs as I call them the three Param Veer Chakras in your life

Be PASSIONATE about what you do

Have PATIENCE

& Keep looking PRETTY ( Work hard to keep your function clean)

Have the VISION

Be VIRTUOUS

& Aim for VICTORY in your personal & professional sphere.

JAI HIND!!

MAJOR ADITI MOHAN (Ex Indian Army officer – Army Service Corps)

Vice President & Head: CORPORATE SERVICES

Facilities & Infrastructure, Security & Employee Transportation & General Services

Fidelity National Financial India Pvt ltd