Burzeen Vakeel, Head of Marketing, Red Hat (India) reveals valuable nuggets on the seven things to pack in young corporate managers’ suitcases on their first day to work. So be it the ability to change, own responsibility, or adopt the right attitude, an optimistic attitude, teamwork and professionalism, he simplified and demystified both the path and story of success. Read on for his views on emerging issues in the business environment
Picture this—you've just bought your favourite android phone--or a bike you've coveted for a long time. You're happy as can be and are looking forward to using them immediately—but then someone bursts your bubble by telling you that the phone is not operational for the features will take a week to load—or that the bike is not yet road-worthy because it's not yet been registered.
"You would feel short-changed right? Well, that's exactly how employers who hire you would feel if you don't start contributing to work right away," said Burzeen Vakil, Head of Marketing, Red Hat, holding forth at the concluding session of the recently held BIMM National Seminar on "Emerging issues in the Business Environment."
"The time for learning is over—in college. When you come to work, you're a professional. Sure, we'll train you, but you have to be able to pull your own weight through valuable contribution," he said. "To that end, here are the seven things you need to pack in your brief case on your first day at work."
Illustrating his point with a powerful video that showcased the journey of the eagle—inarguably the most long-ranging aviator of all—Vakil pointed out that change may not be easy, but it is important to get out of your comfort zone in order to survive, and eventually excel.
"When the eagle is about 40, he loses use of his beak and talons. The choice before him is clear. Either he subjects himself to a painful transition—or perishes," explained Vakil.
If it dares to choose the former, the eagle must fly to a mountaintop, sit on its nest, and knock its own beak out. Once the beak grows back, it plucks out its talons and waits for them to grow anew. If it survives this challenging process of self-reinvention, it may take its famous flight towards rebirth and live on for 30 more years. "A simple analogy that urges us to remember that all progress is about change; letting go of self-limiting patterns and self-doubt that hampers us," he said.
“Remember the game of passing the parcel we all played as children? Well, unfortunately, variations of the same continue to be played in our adult lives, and the corporate world," said Vakil. "And it's not a great thing. If you wish to move ahead, understand that it's not just important to do one's work well—but also to collaborate with other members and check up on them. That's the key to moving ahead."
Even as he played a fun, animated video on the famous hare versus tortoise story, Vakil illustrated the journey of both hare and tortoise—from the time that the hare got its own back at the tortoise by pulling up its socks--to the tortoise deliberately choosing a river route that would work out to his own advantage with a view to 'maximising his own core competency'—to the climax in their journey-when both hare and tortoise realise that the way to move ahead is to adopt situational leadership and work as a team.
It was finally decided that the hare would carry the tortoise on road, while the tortoise would give the hare a ride across the ferry. "This way, not only would both reach their destination faster, but also derive more satisfaction from it. This is also how it works in the office. There will always be some who will do better than you in different situations—the trick is to identify core competencies and collaborate accordingly," said Vakil.
"There's a lot of talk about how aptitude defines your altitude. To my mind, actually, the right attitude is just as important. No one likes a naysayer. People want to learn how things can happen—and that's the attitude to take you through," he shared.
To back the same, he narrated the story of two marketing managers who were sent to a little country in Africa to sell shoes. "On reaching there, the first marketing guy called up his senior and berated him for having cheated him. How on earth, he cried, was he to sell shoes in a poor country that never wore any? In sharp contrast, the second guy called up his seniors to thank them for the opportunity of becoming a pioneer in the world of shoes. He was very happy, he said, for he foresaw a 100 percent market share," said Vakil. "Same situation, different mindset."
"A pessimist, it is said, sees the difficulty in every opportunity—and an optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty," said Vakil. "Be the latter—and also have faith in your own abilities to excel. Go forth and ideate— people may not take to them right now, but one day they will. Take the Swiggy story for instance. It is the story of someone who believed in their gut instinct that delivery and logistics was the next best thing. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened."
He supported his point by playing a wonderful video of the maverick singer Susan Boyle—a middle-aged, unemployed housewife from a small town who went on to shock everyone with her lovely, singing voice on the celebrated TV show Britain's Got Talent. "No one gave her a chance. She looked and sounded odd—and when she said she wanted she aimed to be a professional singer at that late age, the derisive laughter from the audience was barely concealed. But sing she could—and how! In fact, a judge commented as to how the entire experience had been very humbling for both her—and the audience.
"So even when things don't work at the moment, hold onto your ideas and your belief in self."
"Live up to your commitments, keep your work and deadlines, and above all, show respect to age and experience. At the same time, remember to keep evolving and updating skill sets with time.
Last, but never the least, be essential to your work-place and colleagues, said Vakil. They ought to be able to rely on you—and have full faith that you will deliver in all situations. "Just as salt is indispensable to every preparation, be essential to the company that employs you. Everything follows from there," he rounded up.
Burzeen Vakil, Head of Marketing, Red Hat (India) on how every employee ought to strive to be essential to the organisation they work for, and how, personally work-life balance has never been an issue
He's young, energetic, fun-loving and completely a people's person. So despite a hectic work schedule, Burzeen Vakil finds time to do his favourite things in life. Alumni of the Xavier's Institute of Management, Bengaluru, it's 15 years since he first stepped into the corporate arena, handling diverse portfolios in the marketing world: from selling watches for Titan, or tracking the growth of commercial airliner Air-Deccan, to his current innings with Red Hat, a multinational software company providing open-source software products to the enterprise community, he's handled assorted responsibilities with aplomb. "Sure, I have evolved with time but the core value system remains the same; it takes me through assorted challenges," he says. Here's finding out more about the man, and his motivation.
"I would say, someone who's ready to add value to the organisation from day one—rather than someone who says he's just started, and does not know what to do. It's a hugely competitive environment out there, and companies need you to be an asset right away, and not bring their own baggage. Believe in yourself—earn and absorb, but remember that you are there to get involved, not just participate. In short, we'd like the kind of person who's ready to 'Plug and Play' from day one, rather than someone who says 'I am only a fresher, am here to learn.' Simply put, you need to contribute from day one.
"Without a shadow of doubt, the ability to be agile and nimble—and to spot the opportunities in different situations—with a view to generating fresh ideas. That kind of person is always in demand across the board." Also, someone who brings positive energy to the work-space and sprinkles it with a generous dose of passion is someone who is always welcome. And while things are indeed very competitive, the quality that works is not aggression but being assertive.
If you love what you do and make it your work, the question would not arise. Frankly, our parents' generation worked much harder than we ever did, and they managed to discharge every duty well. We grew up very well, did we not—despite the fact that there was no big talk about segregating work and life and so on? These days you have the back up of technology as well—you don't have to be physically present to multi-task, so with proper planning you can balance each aspect of your life very well.
"Believe in yourself— learn and absorb, but remember that you are there to get involved, not just to participate. It may seem like a subtle difference, but it changes the whole dynamics"
True to the fact that we are an open-source organisation, we are a transparent and receptive work-space. Seniors are always willing to listen to juniors. We believe in working hard, playing hard and completely enjoying what we do. It is precisely this core enjoyment that motivates employees to come early, stay late, and deliver. We love new ideas, and nurture talent, apart from taking good care of our employees. And we love passion, in ideas, thoughts, execution—in the will to do what it takes to achieve the finest standards.
It's about taking care of the people who you are dealing with--and understanding the core individual with a view to bringing out the best in them. Be quick to highlight the right, and even quicker to highlight the wrong. This is something we follow at Red Hat. Also, with time a lot of set ideas about certain portfolios, have become obsolete. For instance, the core belief that in order to be a sales/marketing person, you have to be an extrovert to succeed. That's just not true. There are a whole lot of methodologies that are studied today, with a view to understanding and appreciating the buyers' journey as well. As you come closer to the customer, both the risks and rewards are that much higher. Similarly, women have done very well in the sales and marketing arena, handling diverse challenges with great dexterity.
I love to orate and interact with people from different walks of life. I am completely a people's person, and I enjoy communicating with them thoroughly.
In a phrase: Being Essential! Sure, all of us are born essential to the families and community we are born to, but what about becoming essential to the organisation in a manner? That's the role to aspire to!
Over two decades ago, Red Hat came up with a vision for developing software differently. They believed that collaboration with an ecosystem of IT leaders, open source advocates and developers, to create a better foundation for the future of IT. As things stand today, Red Hat is one of the leading providers of Open Source Solutions that help over 90 per cent of Fortune 500 companies solve business challenges, align their IT and business strategies, and prepare for the future of technology. They do this by providing secure solutions through an open business model, an affordable and predictable subscription model.
At the core of Red Hat is their central belief: that open source communities can solve the most complex business and IT challenges today. The freedom to see the code, ask questions, and offer improvements back to the community: this is what open source basically means. In a threefold development model, Red Hat:
By Kalyani Sardesai
