Balance of Roles
An entrepreneur for the last three decades and having been in various leadership positions, Alok Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Shycocan Corporation, is evolving and driving the strategic direction to build Shycocan as a global organisation. He has served as MD of Apple India, been part of the leadership team at Sun Microsystems at India & ASEAN. Since 2009, he turned entrepreneur and had co-founded AP-ADE Manufacturing Parks, a Joint Venture with the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He has also co-founded Nature Eco ventures, an incubation and project development company. He talks to Corporate Citizen on his health and wellness mantra.
Porate Citizen: How do you set out your priorities to keep yourself fit for maintaining work-life balance?
Alok Sharma: Keeping priorities balanced for work and personal life to me means being able to maintain a “Balance of Roles” in relation to my purpose and vision. Another important aspect for me is to focus on fewer really important areas. All this requires constant awareness, effort and commitment. Balance is usually possible to maintain within a given period, say a week though occasionally it may stretch to a fortnight or even longer but has been difficult to maintain on a daily basis. For a period of time, when it has not been possible to maintain the balance of roles due to an exigency, proactive communication has worked for me to avoid erosion in the relationship with the people involved.
CC: While on the move, what helps you the most in maintaining energy levels?
Travel is usually strenuous both physically and mentally. When time allows reading and music keeps me centered. Another thing I do quite regularly is to focus on deep conscious breathing that allows me to maintain calm and restore my energy levels during travel. Power naps also do a great job in rejuvenating me.
CC: What keeps you fit and healthy? Share with us your secret ways of keeping your mind calm and cool.
My definition of being fit and healthy is firstly to be medication free and secondly to be able to maintain my energy and concentration levels from early morning till I retire to bed. Having tried various forms of exercise, I find yoga and pranayama at least 3-4 days a week to be most effective. I do enjoy playing sports like squash and table tennis whenever possible.
CC: Your stress busters? How do you like to rejuvenate and recharge and de-stress? What you like to do in your free time? What works the best for you as relaxation therapy?
The biggest stress buster for me is to spend time with family, friends and close relationships. Other than that I like being alone and quiet with nature which heals me. I like to read and listen to music whenever I get free time. Deep conscious breathing, sitting still and Yog Nidra are my relaxation therapies. Another area that de-stresses me totally is cooking, which I try to indulge in every weekend.
CC: Five tips that works the best for you to maintain holistic wellness.
Having a clear purpose and vision to my life has made balance and focus on priorities easier.
- Being aware of the various roles that life has bestowed on me and being committed to them.
- Not taking my work and life too seriously or attaching my identity to them.
- Avoiding addictions and time waster.
- Focusing on fewer priorities that are really meaningful to me.
These five areas have helped me get a sense of balance and meaning in my life.
CC: Do you play any game which helps you? What are the lessons the game teaches for life?
I love playing squash, pool table, chess and table tennis, especially with my daughters. A small lack of concentration can cost a point or a missed shot, showing how being in the moment and constant focus is so important. Being able to do better than I did earlier shows it’s never too late to learn or improve. It also brings in self-awareness as one feels emotions of frustration, competitiveness, joy or anger. Chess has taught me to analyze better and think more deeply than I did before.
"My definition of being fit and healthy is firstly to be medication free and secondly to be able to maintain my energy and concentration levels from early morning till I retire to bed"
CC: What is the secret of your success?
The biggest secrets that have worked for me are faith, being able to connect the dots, never stop learning and perseverance. Faith has allowed me to take risks, be an entrepreneur for the last twelve years, knowing that help would always be there when I really need it (though it may not come when I want it), and not lose hope in the most trying times. I am able to form a big picture in my mind with ease, connect the dots and build a working plan. The ability to quickly learn is intrinsic to me that allows me to work across diverse sectors and areas of expertise. Life is a marathon and not a sprint. Nothing compensates for hard work and perseverance.
CC: What is your philosophy of work?
I generally don’t take myself and my work too seriously. Being grounded and being able to connect to people is important. Hiring people who are smarter than me in at least one area. Knowing my areas of strength and weakness to build a complementary team. My preference is to work with people who have great execution capability and are willing to both unlearn and learn and carry with them deep expertise in an area. Politics has no place in the office as objectivity and work is of paramount importance. Building people and helping them grow needs to be in the top three priorities of the business.
CC: What message you would like to give to youngsters on leading a fulfilled life?
- Focus on self-awareness and not judging or comparing to others.
- Pursue personal excellence and not competitiveness.
- We are connected more intimately to everyone else than we otherwise believe, both in adversity and success.
- We cannot win if others lose, as the pandemic has amply shown.
- Take decisions based on values and not convenience.
- Life is a marathon and not a sprint.
- Focus on areas that give you true happiness, which is different from pleasure.
- Don’t lose yourself to an identity attached to your profession, social standing, power and money.
- There is no better identity than being truly human.
CC: Any dreams you nurture for yourself?
Life is here and now for me. There is no other place that I would want to be except where life takes me in that moment. The journey is the reward and no dream to reach.
CC: Where do we see you 10 years from now?
A lot later in life I realized my passion for cooking and teaching. I do hope to spend significant time on these hobbies later in life. I see myself amidst nature where I am cooking for my loved ones and teaching. Teaching for me is to help children maintain their love for learning, unlock their creativity and uniqueness, help them understand their inner world, while they learn a subject or a job skill.
CC; Lastly, can you define yourself in one Sentence?
My life’s journey is of self-awareness, being in the moment, learning and remaining ordinary.