‘Whenever you face a problem, look at your goal, not the situation, and get inspired’

In this edition of ‘CEO Insights’ we have?Mr. Pankaj M Munjal, Chairman of Hero Cycles Limited. In his conversation with me, he shares with us his learnings as a leader.

Rahul: How would you describe your leadership style?

Pankaj:?My leadership style is quite simple. I live by the policy,?‘we can’t live the same day twice’?I always try to move in the direction of my dream to read life into them. I’ve had an exciting journey of meeting people. I like to be surrounded by self-ignited individuals who move in the direction of their goals. I’ve worked with successful people and observed that budget is a promise that works.?

I believe that leaders are the core of everything. A top line with good people is always better than hundreds of average people led by an incapable leader. As a leader, I try to watch people’s body language and understand their intention. I’m very innovative when I’m lifting and the growth that I get when I do the extra stretching to hit my running target is life to me.?

Rahul: Who do you look up to as a mentor?

Pankaj:?My father is the biggest mentor in my life. We had a joint family, and we weren’t financially stable in our early days. But he was a team builder. He took a lot of pain on himself and that used to motivate people. From him, I learned that every problem can be solved. You shouldn’t panic, rather go deeper to the root cause of every problem to find a solution.?

‘Whenever you face a problem, look at your goal, not the situation, and get inspired’

My father took 70 years to build his business and create a certain style. There was no technology, but he considered people as his backbone. His personal connection with the customers helped him build his business empire and that inspired me a lot.?

Rahul: What do you think are some of the X-factors your leaders should develop to survive in the new normal?

Pankaj:?I believe the most important skill a leader should have is their ability to unleash people’s talent. There’s a lot of hope, talent, and dream that remains undiscovered in people. When I look around me and see the impact people have made, it makes me realise that it is the role of the leader to unlock and improve their teammates’ lives. We live in a very self-limiting world. As a leader, you need to help break that ceiling and go all in to make him/her feel proud in front of his family and friends.?

Rahul: What’s your vision and how do you go about cascading?

Pankaj:?Vision statements are powerful because that’s who you want to be, and nobody knows about it. Why they want to join us, why they want good equity –all depends on the consequences of your actions. Even a company that gets a AAA rating is because of the consequences of yesteryears. But what everybody wants to know is the story of tomorrow –?the vision. It’s the people who work to train and explore themselves that write this story. The clarity of your vision is what matters. You need to articulate and put the meat around the bones to make it fleshy and real. And that’s how every dream turns into reality.

‘Every dream happens in 3 steps – First you dream, then it moves into paper, and later paper turns into a plan’

The way people think is very exciting. You should look into the vision and compare yourself with what you want to be. I always try to see one or two quarters ahead of what my employees want to be in the organisation, to help them reach there.?

Rahul: If I take you back to the first time you walked into the office, what advice would you give the younger Pankaj?

Pankaj:?When I first started working, I never got an office. I used to sit on a chair and manage the plant. At that time, the younger Pankaj was very unreal. I had just graduated from Michigan and came with an American chip on my shoulder. I had an unrealistic dream. So to climb the ropes from the bottom and be real would be my piece of advice to the younger me.?

Rahul: If you have the opportunity to ask only one question and basis that decide whether to hire the candidate or not, what could that question be?

Pankaj:?In 2002, when I had to shut the business which my father started, it was very insulting. We were in debt, and we had no business. It took us a few months to find space and change our line to automotive. But none of our employees left. This itself was a test and I worship those people.

‘If we create a wall and our business plan goes south, and we’re left with no money will you help climb the wall or leave?’

In an interview, he/she?might say he’ll climb the wall with us, but we have to go deeper to see his/her?true colours. Our career is a competition. It’s like a marriage. It’s not a straight road, and we have to be together through every thick and thin. So his/her?commitment to our organisation is what I would like to gauge.?

Rahul: What is the most common piece of advice you find yourself giving the younger generation?

Pankaj:?I believe that instead of giving them advice, we should have a take from them. They can be cold-blooded at times, but they’re very smart and sharp. They can come up with really good eye-openers. So inculcating their point of view into business can do wonders for our organisation.?

Rahul: What do you think makes a Great Manager?

Pankaj:?I believe that having the ability to find solutions, rather than complaining makes you a great manager. People who complain, lose the time of their beautiful life by explaining how they failed while a solution maker finds reasons on how to get out of the hole. There are too many opportunities put out for you. There’s always a way to make your dream turn into reality. Managers can say it’s impossible and ask their team to enjoy their coffee, but a great manager is the one who tries to make the job exciting and happening for his peers.?

‘Solutions make an entrepreneur think’

It’s not true that you will always get what you dream but trying for it will help you discover better paths in life.?