At Pulp Strategy Communications, an independent full-service agency in the digital and interactive marketing space, attitude is all. Work is meant to be as much fun as play, and play as important as work, says its founder and MD, Ambika Sharma
Ambika Sharma, a thoroughbred marketing professional with over 15 years’ experience in New Age marketing and technology integration, spearheads Pulp Strategy Communications as its Founder and Managing Director. She is a first- generation entrepreneur and visualises Pulp Strategy Communications to become the largest independent agency in India, creating value for clients in the form of better connectivity, stronger content, meaningful mobility, intelligent engagement and seamless experience through cutting-edge technology, research, innovation, talent and training.
Pulp Strategy Communications is a multiaward- winning full-service agency in the realm of tech-enabled, experiential, digital and interactive marketing. Pulp Strategy’s forte lies in the seamless convergence of consumer engagement offline and online, providing a comprehensive range of integrated solutions seamlessly converging strategy, creativity, consumer insight, engagement design and technology to deliver measurable results for brands.
Ambika Sharma spoke to Corporate Citizen about the corporate culture and the qualities of being a successful leader. Excerpts:
I agree that attitude has a direct impact on the performance of employees and also on the people around them. Our top performers are people with an optimistic outlook towards life, a go-getter attitude. They are the folks who get up each day with progress on their mind. They are focused and also inspire people around them to keep positive and focused. On the contrary, people with a negative attitude are toxic. Their performance is low, and they adversely impact the culture of the organisation and damage the positivity of those around them. We follow a stringent screening, and hire for attitude and train for productivity. We give constant feedback and also undertake structured programme which align employees closer to the organisational goals. One example is our ‘SparkPlug Factory’ initiative. It undertakes team building activities which are a creative way of allowing diverse functions to work together in a fun-at-work environment. We have had clay modelling, tree plantation drives, Lego building activities, etc.
where we structure cross functional teams from every vertical. Every day at 5pm we have a 10-minute workout session. These initiatives go a very long way in moulding the culture of the organisation. The right attitude is important and one needs to be ruthless there. A few months ago we had to let some go because they were not a culture fit, and dragged their personal negativity into work and let it interfere with the process of collaboration at work.
At Pulp Strategy, we inspire employees to take control of their work and give them the freedom of expression and personal creativity. We appreciate the power of the individual and what each individual contributes to the overall vision
My personal favourites are the moments when the team comes together to tackle a difficult task and wins! A few months ago we were working on a pitch where we were the only independent agency. When we won that pitch based on the quality of work, that was an instant high! Those are the kind of moments when you realise that you are moving closer to creating something exceptional.
At Pulp Strategy, we inspire employees to take control of their work and give them the freedom of expression and personal creativity.
We appreciate the power of the individual and what each individual contributes to the overall vision. We have knowledge sharing sessions where team members share expertise with team members. Our policies and benefits are structured to enable work-life balance. For example, we give seven weeks, off in a year including a two week rejuvenation / recreational leave. We allow for work flexibility and also allow for sabbaticals when employees need time off personally. At work, we try not to let stress bog us down; we have daily, weekly and monthly initiatives which keep the workplace lively. We have a lounge which has comics, books and light reading as well as board games. We have a cricket team which plays at weekends, we have a 10-minute daily work-out session on the floor, and the Spark Plug Factory on the last Friday of every month. We also have monthly R&R programme called the Master-Blaster, where each department nominates a team member who has shown extra initiative, innovation, effort beyond the regular. The Master Blaster has high standards and is very competitive. We give experiences like, a weekend trip for two, movies at the director’s cut, parasailing, hobby workshops, etc., so our master blasters can relax and feel celebrated.
There is always room for improvement; our education system has come of age in recent times. The amount of exposure students in schools and colleges have today is phenomenal. There is a larger focus on overall development. Credit should also go to the endless curiosity of the young generation today, as they are utilising the Internet and other resources to educate themselves, become aware of global occurrences and trends, and utilise the collective wisdom to learn, transform and evolve. We can always do with more conditioning towards hard work and focused achievement, and do with a little less of the sense of entitlement which youngsters seem to be developing today.
I do not think our bureaucrats fail at all. Bureaucrats are not imported, they come out of the same society and schools as everyone else in India. We are only now truly training ourselves to think big and be farsighted, the corporate world is motivated and thus the change is faster. Look at the new startup ecosystem and how the acceptance as well as the infrastructure has changed, what took generations to build in a top-line two decades ago is now possible in a couple of years, if we demand larger, positive and global farsighted mandate of ourselves, including the system. The change is and will be evident with bureaucrats as well.
‘For me, good health originates from a good state of mind. With travel, I have learnt to appreciate more of my country and its culture. It gives me the opportunity to relax and clear my head. Since all my hobbies are adventure-centric, it helps me keep fit and increases endurance’
For me, good health originates from a good state of mind, and all these activities help me achieve that. With travel, I have learnt to appreciate more of my country and its culture. It gives me the opportunity to relax and clear my head. Since all my hobbies are adventure-centric, it helps me keep fit and increases endurance. I ride with my father who is also a biker. Ours is a cherished friendship and we talk of everything under the sun. Six years ago, we decided we were going to visit the country by road. It is not uncommon for us to be discussing world politics (we have talk-back units fitted into our helmets), travel, ancient history and more in a single trip. The conversations, the perspective, the open air, the countryside and the adventure, all contribute to a better, healthier me.
I love what I do, it’s never hectic. The best relaxation is a great workday. At the end of the day I swim for about an hour, it keeps me fresh. I also believe that finding real joy and pleasure in simple things is perhaps what works best for me. Small achievements, home-cooked food, the open road, rain, snow, travel, I discover true joy from the small things every day.
I would advise youngsters to have fun and work very very hard! When you are having fun, you are motivated and you make room for creativity and innovation! Hence, regardless of what you are doing, remember to have fun!
I am from an Army family. My father retired from Army Aviation, my husband, Amit Jaiswal is with the leadership team at PNB MetLife.
"Every employee needs to feel part of your corporate" - Soloman
Nothing succeeds like success in industry and there are no shortcuts to power or career advancement. Meritocracy, rather than bureaucracy, drives positive results
Roney Soloman, the President and Co-founder of Verbat Technologies, a London-based digital technology solutions company with a unique ability to leverage the experience of global CIOs and the innovation of disruptive startups, combined with deep technology expertise, to accelerate enterprises into the digital economy. Formed by the coming together of senior industry professionals and subject matter experts, Verbat provides digital technology consulting, services and products to customers across the globe via its offices in the UK, USA, UAE and India. Based in London since 1997, Soloman has over two decades of experience in global outsourcing, the majority of which he has spent in the UK, European and US markets. Prior to Verbat, Soloman was responsible for leading business growth, structuring and managing successful IT services, relationships for an enviable list of large and mid-sized clients for the likes of Cognizant, Mindtree, NIIT Technologies and Accenture.
Soloman passed out of school and junior college from St Vincent’s High School and Junior College, later went on to do his graduation in Electronics, Pune University in the year 1988 and completed his post-graduate diploma in Computer Science, Data Systems Research Foundation, Pune, a year later. Two years later he completed his post graduate MBA in Marketing; Finance, Institute of Management Development and Research (IMDR), Pune, 1991. Soloman, spoke to Corporate Citizen about how to go about in this present competitive corporate world both as a president and an ordinary employee.
Nothing builds greater satisfaction in creating and nurturing something you can call your own. My sweetest moments have come from taking pride in looking back at the exponential difference I have made by my personal contribution to various initiatives of companies I have worked with. I guess my inner motivation for entrepreneurship also stems from this fact.
Commitment stems out of personal ownership. Every employee needs to feel part of your corporate dream and an integral part of every critical decision being made. A flat organisational structure and being “one” with the team on the ground are an important part of this. I also consciously try to stay away from painting unreal, rosy pictures when I know that there will be thorns along the way. This way, the employee does not get disheartened through momentary setbacks and builds strength to work through the challenges.
I have no doubt that the present education system builds academic knowledge, which plays an important role in corporate life. But the industry in general would be better served if the education system were to take on an agenda to build personal skills in equal measure, such as communication, confidence, written and oral skills and so on.
HR is often seen as an enabling function, something that helps manage the transactional elements of an employee’s corporate life. At Verbat, we extend HR to cover a “People” function, a team that cares for the welfare of our employees, either personal or professional. As such, the HR team also feels empowered in playing a critical role in the organisation, rather than an administrative one.
Nothing succeeds like success in industry and there are no shortcuts to power or career advancement. Meritocracy, rather than bureaucracy drives positive results. The culture in the Western corporate world asks for what you can do, not who you know or what position you hold. It is no surprise then that good Indian talent receives wind beneath its wings for success in such environments.
Never be scared to pursue your dreams, however far fetched they may sound or however difficult the road ahead might seem. The satisfaction of having achieved something through giving it your best is a great feeling no other emotion can replace. Also, treat failures and mistakes positively as great learning experiences.
By Joe Williams
