Sweet lessons from Candelite's business head

“I’m not your typical manager,” she says by way of explanation, and that is apparent in the way her staff chat with her comfortably – there is no sign of fear, only healthy respect.

“Management style evolves with age and experience,” says the 41-year-old who has a daughter, Sanjana, 6. “I believe in a direct hands-on approach rather than a trail-blazing or flamboyant style of leadership. I feel it’s better to grow with the team, to understand each member of the team – their strengths and weaknesses – thoroughly.”

When a member of staff at the Candelite outlet in the Ibn Battuta Mall stacks an item the wrong way, Jani doesn’t criticise. She picks it up and puts it as it should be, smiling at the flustered employee. That’s one lesson the staffer will not forget in a hurry, and it won’t leave a bitter taste in their mouth. “A certain amount of patience, and the will and ability to listen, is more important than just emphasising what you believe you want them to do,” says Jani, who has a loyal following within the group.

And that following starts with the chairman Micky Jagtiani, who brought her in from a rival brand in Bahrain in 1997 to launch Juniors, a new children’s brand similar to Mothercare.

The success of Juniors saw Jani tasked with developing Candelite, a confectionary brand that markets sweets of all kinds for children, and includes a healthy sugar-free, low-calorie alternative line for adults.

Jani has other interests too. She holds a doctorate in Brand Management, enjoys writing and does a lot of work for charity, though she hates calling it that. “I like to think of it as ‘doing your duty’,” she insists. Here Jani tells Friday how she manages her personal life as well as she manages her brands.

Work

I always believed in doing what you love and loving what you do. There’s a book titled Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow: Discovering Your Right Livelihood by Marsha Sinetar. I endorse that fully. I believe that if you get up in the morning and are happy to come to work and look forward to spending the day in a very constructive, positive manner, then half of your work is done. The moment it becomes a drag then no amount of money can compensate for that feeling. That’s the way I’ve been throughout – unless I’m charged and passionate from within, I can’t sustain myself for too long.

I attended a management school, but I’ve realised that life is the biggest management school. No college can teach you what life teaches you. Degrees are there just to validate your learning, they can’t replace or substitute what life teaches you.

I have a doctorate in management and I love to learn about premium global brands. Learning what works and what doesn’t really came in handy while launching Candelite.

I wouldn’t say I am a tough boss. Firmness is certainly required in certain areas, but you have to be flexible and lenient in others. You have to find the perfect combination – you can’t be too weak or too strong.

Being a woman who leads is not difficult. The chairperson of our company is a woman so she sets a shining example. Being a woman has its advantages and disadvantages in any field, but I prefer to focus on the strengths.

It’s more about a person’s calibre and talent than their gender. I don’t think it’s difficult for men to accept a woman as a boss. If you know your job and know what you are doing, people respect you, irrespective of your gender. Personally, I haven’t experienced any roadblocks as a result of being female.

I feel my ability to listen to other points of view is my strong point. Not just to lend an ear, but really listen and find a solution to their problem – whether at work or in the family. I am also very persistent – I don’t rest until I achieve something that I set out to.

When I was in school I was the student who always bagged the first prize in debates and extempore speeches. But overconfidence can always be an issue. I remember when I was in a school competition and everyone, including me, was very confident I would win the prize. But I placed third that day. It was a shock because I was so confident, and it was only when my father – who came to give away the prize – told me that I’d lost because I’d been over-confident and consequently less prepared, that I understood the importance of preparation.

It taught me that there’s nothing permanent, there’s always somebody who’s better prepared, more talented and better equipped than you, and you need to be on top of things to win. Change is always around the corner and you better be prepared for it.

I was born in Coimbatore, in south India. My father was a doctor of education who took up an assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan, first with Itec (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation), and later as a diplomat. My entire childhood was spent there and we returned to India in 1986 after my Grade 12.

My parents are very grounded, so they taught us to believe in moderation and to blend in with every culture. Our time in Kabul was one of the best periods of my life. The Afghan people are very hospitable and extremely passionate.

I remember once when my father’s car had broken down and he was trying to push it along the road. A Kabuli vegetable seller joined in, leaving his cart, which was being pulled by a donkey. He lost all his vegetables when the donkey toppled his cart over, but he would not accept any money from my father. That is a memory I will cherish forever.

I graduated in management from the Oberoi School of Hotel Management in New Delhi. Then I went to Jakarta, where my parents had moved to. My stints in India have been very brief and intermittent.

When I was in Jakarta I was offered a job by my father’s friend to work at his textile manufacturing firm. It had a garment-making unit that used to supply to the Ralph Lauren label. I handled their marketing and exports.

I later moved to Amsterdam to look after their European operations. It was a very good learning experience and it also exposed me to the fashion industry, which I’d always been interested in. I was interested in marketing too, and it allowed me to travel, which I have always loved doing.

A chance to move to the Middle East with a consumer chain in Bahrain came in 1995. Two years later, Landmark’s offer brought me to Dubai. I launched Juniors, a label for children’s products and the first homegrown brand of the group. I discovered my passion for branding with Juniors, which culminated in my research into branding assessment and development.

Candelite is the second brand I’ve helped launch. About three years of research went into it. Initially it started as a children’s concept – every kids dream is to be let loose in a candy store. But we also created Candelite as a family store, where kids, teenagers and even adults can have their fix, with sugar-free, low-calorie snacks. We have products that are ideal for fitness freaks as well, and we have a gift section that has a concept for every occasion from baby showers, to festivals.

I try to spend whatever time I have wisely and constructively. It is more important to understand our limitations and capabilities and balance our lives, rather than waste time on frivolous pursuits. I firmly believe each one of us has our mission in life.

I wouldn’t take anything material with me if my house was on fire. It really doesn’t matter. It can all be replaced.



Play



My life is very scheduled and I am not very flexible with it. I get up at 6.30am to send my daughter, Sanjana, to school. I set aside half an hour for myself in the morning. I do yoga five days a week, and I’m interested in the arts, writing, drawing and music. As I am a vegetarian I don’t have to spend much time in the kitchen. I have my dinner at 7.45pm sharp. I spend an hour with my daughter, and then I sit down to write. I have to write every day, even if it’s just a page or even a few paragraphs. I am in bed by 10.45pm.

I am also writing a book, a memoir about life in Afghanistan. I relax by reading. I read a lot, and on all subjects, from cryogenics to fashion.

The book I am reading now is How to be Compassionate; A Handbook for Creating Inner Peace and a Happier World by the Dalai Lama.

My father is the biggest influence on me. Even today I turn to him for many things. My mother is a homemaker, very soft spoken and always making sure we are OK. I’ve never heard her complain even once about anything. I have a fairly large family, three brothers and one sister. My sister lives in the US, one brother lives here and two of them in Jakarta. We make sure to meet once every year.

Motherhood made me realise that I had more patience than I ever thought. It made me realise that you can love another human being selflessly and unconditionally. It also impacted on my work style in that it made me more tolerant, more patient and more sympathetic towards everyone. It makes you more sensitive, and a better person generally.

Dream

One dream that is yet to happen, but I hope will happen very soon, is to meet the Dalai Lama.

Professionally, my dream is to establish Candelite as the one confectionary brand people can relate to in the Middle East.

I also hope to do as much as possible for the less privileged. When the tsunami struck in December 2004, six of my friends, all doctors based in Dubai, and I started an organisation called Kinderhut, in Aceh, Indonesia. It was a community to bring together children who’d lost their parents, and also parents who’d lost their children. We built houses where seven to ten children would live with two or three mothers. The same year we also sent a team of doctors to Sri Lanka to deal with the disaster there. Today, due to my busy schedule, I’m very active with the organisation, but it is running very successfully and is extremely well managed by my friends.

What I have realised is that the happiness you can get from the smile a child gives you when you help them is irreplaceable.

I was in Delhi three months ago. There’s a dargah (Muslim shrine) there that distributes food every day to about 5,000 destitute people, and you have to serve them personally. These are not life-changing or world-changing things, but these small things give you a chance to become a better human being. It makes you better at what you do too. I want to pursue this more wholeheartedly in future.