The Whole Nine Yards of my Chargebee Times

Writing my goodbye email at Chargebee would definitely top the list of bitter-sweet memories I hold from 24 years of existence.

When I interned at Chargebee, I was a Zoomer walking my way around the office, feeling out of place in the world of adults, growing wide-eyed at anything people said.

To put things in perspective, I didn't know what SaaS was. What Marketing was about. I have never traveled alone, been out of the city, or connected with professionals who had worked in a similar setting.

For a long time, my life fails were part of the onboarding stories of new marketing hires.

From there, to planning and executing the GTM for a market segment, owning PR and Brand Initiatives, pulling together 2 Virtual Summits and a mini virtual series with over 5K+ registrants in total... The learning curve was very steep yet rapid. All this happened in a span of 2.5 years.

All that I am and all that I know is largely due to the team I got to work with. If any of the Shady Marketers is reading this — Yeah, that's what we call the Marketing team at Chargebee. If you'd want to know why, ask Vikram Bhaskaran — Thanks again, team!

I would say I am parting ways with the team as the best version of myself :) And to me, that's a great indication of growth.

All these learnings have become a part of my DNA. They embody the work-ethics I carry and encapsulate what I try to bring to the table. A team that was primed to serve as this ground is how they will stay in my mind.

So I wanted to make sure that I was able to share my perception of the team and what it brought to my life when I was about to leave. Hence my good-bye email had two parts to it. One was the thank you notes. And the other was around what I was taking back from Chargebee.

Sharing the nine lessons that served as the whole nine yards of the field that let me grow :)

PS: The lessons that one carry is also a function of who they are as a person. So while some of you might raise your eyebrows, I hope some of you are able to nod your head in agreement. If it's something that you know already, I hope these pointers are a casual reminder on a busy day :)

1. Do you have friends at work?

Every April, we would find an employee survey in our inboxes on engagement, culture, and leadership.

I would hop my way through each question, retrospect the year's events and translate that into the numbers on the scale.

And then I would land on this one -"Do you have friends at work?"

Amidst questions like "Were you appreciated in the last seven days?" and "Do you know what's expected of you at work?" - this one always stuck out like a fish out of the water.

I always gave a 5. But with that rating, I would also leave a 'What's this question doing in this survey' mutter.

Fast-forwarding to the last few days at Chargebee.

As I was drafting thank you notes and emails, I noticed how many of my professional relationships, no matter how brief the project was, had aged into beautiful friendships.

And that's how, like many obvious things that are missed in foresight, I realized the significance of this question.

The answer to why that question existed on a survey was also the answer behind what made my journey a stellar ride at Chargebee.

A casual 'Hi, what are you working on?' goes a long way. An observant and kind 'You look stressed. Do you want to just talk to me about what you're working on?' goes a long way. A playful 'Do you want to grab some coffee' goes a long way.

Sometimes the conversation would end right there. Sometimes you talk about non-work stuff that's not letting you focus. And sometimes we would learn more about each other’s project and end up in a brainstorming session.

This was one of the major reasons reason why I was always able to get full visibility into everything I did, learn beyond what I was supposed to do, execute cross-functional projects at ease without compromising on the quality, and venture into uncharted territories without setting myself up for failures.

There were strings of friendship that fueled learnings from some of the best minds into me.

PS: Establishing boundaries is a crucial part of the process though - Do you want someone to just be there? Do you want them to be the sounding board? Do you want to work on it together? Make sure you voice it loud and clear.

2. Plato, have you found your Socrates?

You could be 20, 50, or 80. But this always stays true - There is a world of learnings out there. For you and for me. So many unasked questions. So many unearthed answers. Just many many possibilities.

And the only way you could get closer to unlocking one more lesson is by finding the right mentors. They shall strip down your masks, lay your vulnerabilities on the table, ask you questions that you didn't want to ask yourself. And they will guide you in finding those answers. They will put you in the pursuit to become a better professional.

3. Always be curious. And layer that curiosity with the right questions.

One of the first few lessons I picked up at Chargebee was to think first principles - To understand the why behind things.

And luckily, I always found the freedom to ask questions on why we are doing what we are doing and how we are planning on doing it. 

It helped me understand how someone thought about the problem, how they anchored their decisions on a few pillars, and why these pillars were necessary.

At times you also get to bring in a fresh perspective that someone who has spent hours/days mulling over it might miss.

In the beginning, it did seem like things can only get better from there. But then, while I was shooting the right questions, there were just too many of them. And very soon, as though I was standing in the middle of multiple tennis ball launchers, I found myself paralyzed and crippled with questions and their answers.

And that's when I learned that I missed an important footnote in that lesson...

3. b) Learn how to wield the art of asking questions - Know when to ask why. Most importantly, know how to incorporate the answers into your projects.

4. Do not try to contain your learnings and curiosity to what you own and do. 

Somewhere in another tangential world - may be deep in the trenches of Stalingrad or at a lab in SETI, someone is tackling a similar problem that has been bugging you for a while now. And probably, they are solving it in ways that you wouldn't have imagined.

So learn all that you can. Let those thought processes marinate. Knowing these layers behind a thought train will broaden how you eventually think.

This brings me to 5. Do not shy away from conversations

Even if you aren’t able to binge-read Wikipedia articles, you are just one hi away from learning a new thing from a different walk of life. Have conversations with folks you don't work with. Be curious about them, their work, and what fuels them. Even better, if you can add value to the other person.

You might find yourself inspired by their thought train. Or this conversation might resurface in another context someday. No matter which one it is, the conversations will definitely manifest in the ways you think.

6. Empathy, Kindness, Obsession, and Joy - In everything that you do and in every conversation you start

Work is as much about me and the people around me as it is about the art. So I always try to be completely involved with everyone I work with. I try to understand why they think what they think. I have pictured any environment to be a closely-knitted network that is affected by underlying emotions that an individual carries.

Hence the meetings have never always stayed within the agenda.

So on my best days, the room just seems a bit more lively. And on my tough days? Well, I have been able to look at the team of wonderful people breaking their minds and pouring their hearts into this, and push myself to get back to what I should have been doing.

7. Be the Boss of any project you own. And always, always think craftsmanship

No matter how small the task/project is, be the boss. With that feeling in mind, you'll start caring unconditionally about every project you pick up. With that also comes the drive to unearth the complete picture and get the context of the business impact of the activity.

As you pour immense care and love into what you do, you will start to notice how infectious it is. And everyone involved in the project will be inspired/committed to making the picture better.

Think effort vs reward. Think execution. Think moving fast.

Also, think craftsmanship.

8. The team is all the ammo you will ever need

Everyone has personal battles, frustrations, and disappointments. So when I had down-time, I made it a point to talk to someone who can help me find answers. Because building it up within came in the way of me executing things in the best of myself.

I have consciously stayed away from venting to people who might not be able to find answers for my frustrations or resolve my issues. It might plant negativity into their head. We don't want many troubled heads in the room, do we?

So every time I had questions or issues, I make it a point to talk to my manager/director. They have listened to me with patience without judgments, provided their perspective, taken back learnings, and made life simpler and easier.

Thanks to Sharan and Vikram for creating that safe space for the team.

9. What doesn't kill you, makes you Wine-r.

Some projects are going to break you. It would make you doubt yourself.

During my initial days, I have broken down in the middle of the review processes. There were stressful days when there were too many things happening and I had doubts about what I was doing.

It wasn't that anyone was hard on me. It was always because I was super hard on myself. And in those times, I turned to my teammates. And they have always been my cheerleaders. Even in the face of mess-ups and failures, the team has called me a rockstar.

So lean on your teammates whenever you need it. Talk to them about how you feel. Understand why someone trusted you with the task - On a normal day, you would know all of it. But at times, you can use a kind phrase or two, right? And to be honest, all those experiences have made me better. So whenever you are there, remind yourself that

a) There is joy in the process of creation as much as there is in looking at the end product b) And you are here to become a better professional and as long as you're not failing yourself that way, you're doing a great job.