Reflections from 'CEO Of The Week' at MTX!

Disregard the date - 1st April 2020 - this is NOT an April Fool's Joke!

I've just concluded my term as 'CEO Of The Week' at MTX. This is a unique program that was kickstarted by Das Nobel (CEO & Founder) last year and is aimed at nurturing leaders and giving them exposure to CEO's office while Das steps away from his day to day responsibilities to focus solely on innovation. It has been a fulfilling and memorable experience in many ways and I thought it would be most appropriate to share my reflections via a blog post.

Unusual, isn't it?

Not many companies run such leadership programs. There are some of them which have Co-CEOs (like Salesforce), some have Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs) but there are only a handful which truly aim at giving leaders a shot at what it truly feels like to run an organization like a CEO.

But then, MTX isn't a usual company by any means. What other company would

• Send you to attend MIT for an executive course within a month of joining
• Adhere to a 1-year old Maternity Leave & 3-Month old Paternity Leave policy
• Several other 'firsts' which are unheard of the industry

Timing

The image sums it up - the world around you is burning, but you need to smile and carry on!

In life (as in sport), they say Timing is everything. If you time it right, you'll be successful in whatever you are pursuing. If it's too early or too late, it will be a swing and a miss either way. In that sense, when I was informed in February that I'll be taking on this position in March end, I was extremely excited and I started making grand plans of things that I would do.

Fast forward to beginning of March, COVID-19 began changing things in some parts of the world and I expected that a few of those plans would change. There's never a good time to do things, it's up to us to make it a good time. In that sense, it was

• End of the quarter (last week of March)
• COVID-19 peaking & spreading it's wings globally
• Countries & states in lockdown
• Businesses slowing down & the world looking at an unprecedented recession

If there was ever an opportunity to tick all the wrong boxes, I made the most of it. Anyway, there is never a point worrying about things one can't control so I decided to focus more on things which I can control.

The Prep

To be honest, I did not expect that this would be such a well planned and thought-out program at my own company until I went through the prep drills. I was given detailed guidelines in terms of what I should (and should not) be doing, the expected daily schedule and I got an opportunity to shadow our CEO for a week before my term started.

All in all, I was given all the guidance I needed for the upcoming challenge ahead.

Focus

Focus vs Distraction - Choice is yours

I'm a big fan of focusing on a task until you complete it. People often ask as to how I complete so many certifications or how I balance my learning & work tasks. I've a lot to learn but I do have a good habit of focusing strongly on things & that has served me well. I narrowed down my focus to the two following key areas

• Learn about our company/ business from a holistic perspective
• Reach out & interact with teams whom I've limited exposure to otherwise

Pressure

We are a fast moving & nimble organisation which is consciously bootstrapped. It brings it it's own challenges but it also has it's own massive advantage - we play by our own rules. At this time, when a number of companies with external funding are letting go of people, we're thinking of numerous other ways to protect our business and mostly importantly, our people.

Das is one of the most hard-working individuals I've ever come across in my life. To be honest, we often talk that he's an alien disguised as a human - or else how can someone follow such a grueling schedule every single day. How he handles this pressure is a secret best known to him.

If you ever under-estimated the pressure of running a 250+ strong bootstrapped organization in hyper-growth mode on a day to day basis, all I can say is - unless you are there, you won't know what it feels like.

I had daily connects with our key support functions - Legal, Human Resources, Sales, Finance, Marketing, Growth and I was given adequate guidance on how to make decisions.

Personal Front

The best time to learn is now!

Did I say that I ticked all the wrong boxes? When it rains, it pours. Looks like I missed one - just a couple of days before I was set to take charge, my wife started showing COVID-19 symptoms and was extremely unwell. We had a case literally 10 houses away so there was every reason to be worried.

By God's grace, she started recovering within a couple of days. However, with self-isolation as the norm, I had to take care of my little monsters and my mother while my better half recovered. However, thanks to the boons (Online Learning) and evils (Gaming, Social Media) of technology alike, that challenge took care of itself.

What Next?

I have a feedback session to understand how I did as the 'CEO of the Week' and how I could improve for future - a conversation that I'm very much looking forward to.

And of course, the big question - What's Next? I'm gladly back to wear my CTO hat again starting today. While the last week was a fulfilling experience, it was mentally and physically exhausting as well. I've a lot of respect for the CEO role and what it has to offer.

I've no doubt that this experience will come in handy if I were to ever wear the CEO hat again in future.

Stay safe & Godspeed!

Gaurav