‘Failure is Not a Crime, but Dreaming Low is’

Deepak Sharma, Head – Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Bajaj Electricals

What has been your passion project till date?

My passion project is always delivering value for the organization through outof-the-box thinking. I can recollect from my time in GE, where I led the project on cost reduction and meeting the X% deflation target (it’s a historical number) for the supply chain function. I set ambitious targets for my team and was able to achieve them.

Another interesting project was from my stint with Indus towers as VP, supply chain management. Initially, the supplier satisfaction score was among the lowest. I had to develop & implement Supplier Relationship management and Structured Contract Governance program with suppliers. My focus was on value creation rather than just negotiation with suppliers. This helped to turnaround the situation and we achieved the highest supplier satisfaction survey scores in the industry.

How do you unwind yourself after a tough day @ work?

It is indeed true that most of the workdays have become tough over the past few years in this VUCA world. My simple way of unwinding after a tough day is to spend time with my family, watch some comedy shows and follow my favourite sports. Watching a cricket match, highlights & expert commentary is also one of my usual ways to relax. During the weekends, I also like to go on long drives with my family.

How do you manage the pressure and the challenge that comes with the job?

Clear Communication and Connect with the stakeholders and facing the problem head-on is essential for me. I usually get my team into a short meeting/huddle. By getting together we communicate clearly on the problem, identify responsibility of individual team members. We use

Brainstorming, benchmarking & other techniques to find solutions. It is usually followed by creating a clear action tracker for implementing the solutions and including support required for execution, is the next step. It is a MUST to identify action owner clearly and set the timelines for implementing the solution. I follow it up with regular governance and review with my team for any support they require. Timely escalation is also a critical thing which I encourage.

My philosophy at work is ‘People First’. So, I take care of my team by being approachable, planning coffee-connects, team dinners, outings & even family gettogethers. I believe If people are happy & comfortable working in organization, then they’ll deliver.

What’s

your Success Mantra?

There is no one success mantra to be the best in my career. ‘Failure is not a crime, but dreaming low is’, this is what I follow and also preach to my team. One should take up tough challenges and aspirational ideas, as the rewards would be far greater in case of success. If we take up mundane tasks or set low and easy goals, we’ll be able to achieve those without much effort, but create little value. Failure is fine, even if we don’t succeed as it can still provide valuable learnings and experience.

“Unconstrained” thinking is also a mantra, which helps me to find innovative solutions to problems. The limits we put on our thinking or to the problem, creates a narrow attitude. It is important to think without limits and then find ways to enable getting over the limits.

What’s your Leadership Style?

During my team connects, I always emphasize on one ‘One Team, One Dream’. Collaboration between the stakeholders is what I persuade my team to achieve. Any initiative or project under my guidance always has the 5P framework integrated in it. 5P denotes People – which are customers & employees, Partner i.e. suppliers or vendors, Process, Planet and Performance. This outcome of this approach will be business excellence in whatever we do.

I would like to share the most important thing which I follow and encourage others to do so – it is Integrity in professional and personal life. It is often considered as doing the correct thing even when no one is watching, being consistent, reliable, responsible and owning actions. I consider it to be the most important asset of any team or organization.

One tip to Survive & Sustain in the unforeseen situations / your advice to Next Gen Supply Chain professionals…

The world is constantly changing, and disruption is more frequent. Prior to pandemic, processes like JIT and lean, strategies like lowest-cost supplier were in trend. But during the pandemic and supply shortages, there was a fall in JIT as supply fell and logistics came to halt or faced massive delays. Many organizations and governments are now looking at localization, moving from offshoring to on-shoring. The focus now is to develop better supplier relations, enhance collaboration and innovation. My advice for the Next Gen supply chain professionals is to follow the basics. One should keep learning, enhancing skills for achieving flexibility and keep aiming for high goals or big dreams. When you are developing a supply chain for a business or crafting the supply chain strategy, always make an effort to keep the supply chain modular & agile so that it can survive the unpredictable surprises of the VUCA world.

A book that has helped you at work

The book I consider most helpful is ‘First, Break all the Rules’ by Marcus Buckingham. The book has shaped my style of working and has been immensely helpful. The book teaches about challenging the status quo and conventional management thinking so that the organization and individual can use full potential. By breaking the traditional rules, success can be achieved by effective managers who concentrate on talent, outcome, fostering strength, and discovering the ‘right fit’. At the same time, it doesn’t mean that one should start disrespecting each and every process or people, but to think differently to take all together towards success. Another great book, which helped me is ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins. I liked the idea of ‘Good is the enemy of Great’ as it goes against the mediocre thinking and easy work. Instead, it asks for striving for excellence. It also taught me for transforming into a ‘Great’ organization, one needs disciplined people, thought, and action.

A book that you can read any number of times or a movie you can watch any time.

I would select 3 idiots, although a decade old now, I can watch this movie many times. The movie has good humour and at the same time teaches us many things about life and work. The main protagonist ‘Rancho’ from movie inspires everyone through a famous dialogue – ‘Don’t’ run after Success, instead pursue Excellence and then Success will automatically seek out’. Learning should not be for grades or getting a job or doing a business, but for knowledge and curiosity. Throughout the movie, there are also scenes which enlighten the audience to challenge the usual and conventional thinking and at the same instance show creative thinking to solve the problems. It also makes a point that one should follow their heart and do what they love, regardless of what others think.

What is the best and worst advice you have received?

The best advice I have ever received was given in GE and it transformed my life. It was the time when I was a young profession, below 30, and managing quality function. Due to my fondness for implementing new initiatives and proactive work, the top management called for me and said that I have the qualities to work in Supply Chain Management. There were two concepts in focus during that time: 6-sigma and cost deflation. I took up the challenge and switched to my new role. My superiors believed that I could drive supply chain to its goals which I did.

The worst advice I received was to maintain status quo as some people have an attitude of ‘That’s how things always happen here’ and don’t take bigger targets. In Hindi, we call it, ‘Yaha aisa hi chalta hai’ attitude. This was something which didn’t fit in my values, and I had to take great efforts to overturn the attitude to improve my team. I always believe in going beyond in our goals and thinking. If we believe that things will continue to happen in same way, then there is no value addition from employees in the organization. I’m glad I didn’t follow the advice, otherwise things would have been different.

Where was your last vacation?

With a busy professional life and work responsibilities, it is often difficult to plan and experience a nice vacation. I recently gone on a vacation to everyone’s favourite tropical paradise – Maldives. It helped me connect with the nature and the beauty of our oceans.