Balachandran: optimism is crucial to success

He went to one of the best business schools and is now head of a building materials company that has an annual turnover of Dh500 million. But Sidharth Balachandran says the most valuable management lessons he learnt were while travelling during his gap year.

“The trip to Europe was my parents’ graduation gift,” he says. “Some of the most valuable lessons in life and in management I learnt while alone in a foreign country. I was on a tight budget and that was my first lesson in optimum utilisation of minimum resources.”

This lesson came in handy when he took up a career in marketing before going on to become managing director of UAE-based Bumga Group.

Although he graduated in engineering, Sidharth switched to management and went to the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, because, “I realised management is a truly vast field where one can do a lot creatively while the technical engineering field is pretty limited.’’

It was a wise decision; even as he was on the management programme he was adjudged ‘best manager’ in a competition at his college.

Sidharth, who was in the UAE’s Indian Power List 2011, holds several prominent posts including chief patron of the Indian Social and Cultural Centre. He is on the board of charities including the Abu Dhabi Indian Community Welfare Committee, Science India Forum and the Dubai Autism Center. He’s also on the panel of the Abu Dhabi Centre for Special Needs. In 2010, at the age of 33, he was elected chairman of India Club, Dubai, the youngest person to be accorded this honour. In 2011, he contributed Dh500,000 to a fund to help families facing financial hardship.

With all of this charity work and managing a booming company, how does he find time to be involved in all these ventures? “I sleep for just five hours a day. I suppose that gives me the time to do all of these things,’’ he says.

Work

I began my career in Chennai with Dun & Bradstreet Corporation as a strategic executive. A US-based company, it licenses information on businesses and corporations for use in marketing and management. It also maintains information on more than 205 million companies worldwide.

My job involved closing deals with companies that required our services. I enjoyed making sales calls and my passion for marketing saw me exceeding my targets regularly. I was awarded best employee twice – in 2001 and 2002. The secret, if it can be called that, was hard work and more hard work. And a passion for the job. Also, persistence was my middle name – once I approached a company on a sales call, I wouldn’t give up until I landed a deal.  

 

My managers were extremely encouraging and every time I bagged a big order, they would congratulate me, which boosted my confidence and encouraged me to do better, lessons I now use as a manager.

The work was high pressure but I have to admit that I loved the adrenaline surge every single day. The major lesson I learnt at that company was that resilience and patience are key to a successful salesperson. Another critical factor is temperament. One cannot ever lose composure in the face of a lost deal or an adverse circumstance.

Luckily, I always see the positive side in everything, even in deals that fail. When I experience a setback, I reflect on why and how it failed and ensure I do not make the same mistake again.

I was headhunted in 2002 to be MD of Bumga Group in Dubai, a company that trades in building materials. At the time, the company’s annual turnover was around

Dh100 million. Today the company has a turnover of approximately Dh500 million.

It would be preposterous to say I changed things around, but I would credit myself with introducing a sense of structure and documentation of every process.



I got the company ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) certified as it was important for stakeholders and employees to realise that there should be a standard that everybody could relate to. We also expanded a lot, opening two more companies in Dubai and making forays into India in sectors such as manufacturing and hotels.

I believe there are no ‘employees’ in an organisation, there are only ‘colleagues or co-workers’. As a manager I believe in earning respect from colleagues rather than demanding it. I wouldn’t want my staff to be afraid of me, rather they should consider me one of them and together we must work towards the company’s common mission. 

When creating a team, I look for people whose skills complement one another’s. I feel it would be disastrous if I looked for myself in every top manager I hire. It does not make sense to have ten people with the same skill set. It is the team that matters most and each member of my core team possesses a different core competence and skill set, which when combined together is a recipe for success.

The customer is very important; however I believe the customer is only a part of a business. Focusing solely on the customer – the customer is king philosophy – may not be the right strategy. A company should focus equally on its staff, suppliers, the bottom line and its credibility.

I am extremely self-critical, and I feel this is crucial for a person to achieve his goals. One of my strengths, I would say, is that I am able to remain unaffected by external criticism, most of which pales in comparison to the internal evaluation of myself.

Also, I am well aware of my strengths and weaknesses so I am able to distinguish between genuine constructive criticism and shallow negative criticism.

I find companies’ annual reports interesting and enlightening. So I make it a point to read at least one company report a week.

I have a very good memory, mainly of failures I have endured. This is helpful because it reminds me of mistakes and how to avoid them.

One major drawback I have is that I’m not tech savvy. I’m lucky, however, that my tech team at work helps me to not make too many mistakes due to this inadequacy. I find this lack of technological aptitude a failure in that I would have been more productive if I had a better understanding of the nuances of IT. So I’m reading up and learning as much as I can.

Play

I was born in Kerala, southern India. My father, R Balachandran, was a businessman while my mother Sabita Varma belongs to the family of legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma, considered one of the greatest artists of India. I have a younger sister, Bhavna, who is settled in the US. 

I have a large circle of very good friends with whom I share strong bonds. But my best friend is the girl I went to college with and who went on to be my wife – Sreedevi. I always bounce my business ideas off her because I know she has a very analytical approach and can examine things without emotion.

We have two sons, Shiv, ten, and Shresht, seven. I’m more a friend than father to them.

I take them to the gym, play squash with them and like to spend as much time as I can with them. I require just five hours of sleep a day, which enables me to manage my time in an efficient manner. Also, I have a strict exercise regime that helps me keep fit and maintain  high energy levels. I was always reasonably athletic and enjoy a range of sports – cricket, volleyball and tennis.

Listening to old Hindi songs remains a delightful activity that I indulge in. At informal gatherings, I like to belt out old numbers on the karaoke as well. Also, I enjoy trivia games and analytical-reasoning puzzles.

The best way to unwind after a hard day’s work is to be at home with family and watch comedy movies such as the Charlie Chaplin series or any funny Malayalam film. Laughter, I am convinced, is truly invigorating.

Dream

When I entered the corporate world, I was clear that holistic success is the goal that I have to strive for, not monetary success alone.



Early this year I personally pledged Dh100,000 to the Indian Embassy in the UAE for the ongoing amnesty process to help those who could not purchase air tickets back home.

My dream is to create and operate a philanthropic charity like Dubai Cares, which will benefit millions of underprivileged human beings. I would also like to spend more time towards causes like helping the girl child, and the betterment of the role of women and children in all walks of life.

My professional goal is to create and operate an ethical process-driven company that holds significant stakes in fundamentally strong businesses and companies all over the world.

Also, my main effort on the professional front would be to get more like-minded individuals on to my core team so I can achieve my dream of having a company that thrives on credibility, transparency and strong idealism.



I treat success only as a means to an end as I have realised that if you attach too much importance on the attainment of success then, invariably, it will elude you. Alternatively, if you approach your career with utmost focus and clarity of purpose, success will follow.