“You will not succeed here... I was told on day 1”

In the last post, we discussed how I leveraged safe havens during a recession rather than taking risks and venturing into a new assignment. As the recession started settling down, the pressure from the manager to follow the Global strategy in India increased. It was around that time, the Aisa Pacific Head of?a Fortune 500 company reached out to me to build an employee engagement and culture practice. I took this opportunity by the horns.?

I joined them. The new company was the market leader?in compensation benchmarking. It?was non-existent in employee engagement. The company had lost out big time in employee engagement space to my previous employer in the past 5 years.?

On day one of my induction, the Partner for Compensation benchmarking said, “Prashant, while you have succeeded in your previous jobs, it will be difficult to succeed here. The brand of your previous employer was synonymous with employee engagement. We are known for compensation and not for engagement.” He was right. His advice was correct. But it was a little too late. However, he promised?to introduce me to his clients. And he did it, a rare phenomenon in consulting. People are passionate about holding on to their clients. He was really very helpful and so was the Partner for leadership practice. I am indebted to both and owe them my success in that stint.?

Being a disciple of employee engagement, Passion, Purpose, and Perseverance, in my view, leadership and team matter. The team can build brands. I followed this strategy in the next few years.?

I looked at my advantages. Being a?Fortune 500?company, I witnessed more clients, better networks, a highly capable team, and a good model. I leveraged these to create a market leader. It was also possible because my previous manager’s global strategy didn't work in India. ?

My patience paid off. ?

Had I left my previous workplace in a hurry, I would have faced some serious repercussions of the recession.?

The chances of failing at the new company during the recession would have been higher. But after the recession, leveraging the strategic confusion of the previous employer, it became easier to create a strategy for the new company leveraging their?brand in compensation and leadership practices and most importantly relationships to convert clients and improve the market share from 4% to 70% in a span of three years. ?

In the first three months, one of my team members signed a single contract with a global travel agency, which was more than the total billing of the practice in?the previous year. I succeeded in the first 100 days. This is critical to survive and thrive in a new job. This was possible as I joined the new company?when the economy was buoyant, and the major competitor was floundering with global strategy. ?

Being in the right place at the right time was crucial to?my success at the new company. ?

It helps when you wait for your turn. Find safe havens when the market is unfavorable. Don’t forget to grab the opportunity once the storm fades away. The opportunity could be within the organization as it starts experimenting again. Take a calculated risk at the right time!

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