priyanka.porwal

    2 Posts

    Dear Colleagues,

    first of all let me thank all the colleagues who viewed the first My interactions with my mentor V R Ferose, Managing Director, SAP Labs India.

    The next time I met my mentor, he asked me to interact with anyone of his 3 direct reportees and mentioned that this way I can get feedback on how others see him, his working style and how he deals with various situations. So I promptly scheduled a meeting with one of his direct reportee. Before I started to ask any questions, I mentioned that whatever information we will discuss will remain confidential in case there is any critical feedback. The colleague mentioned that he/she can not get more critical with me than the way he/she is with Ferose. In fact Ferose has made it mandatory for each of them to give critical feedback for him during their performance talks. First example of 360 degree feedback in SAP that I see. From the moment, this statement was made, I was hooked. For me this was the most memorable take-away among many. Just think about it, what kind of rapport Ferose's direct reportees share with him to make a statement like that. Think about the amazing working relationship they share, think about the trust they have on each other.

    Well, there were other learnings too. Like the way he is execution focussed and the mantra for him seems to be JDI. Confused!! na this is not the JAVA acronym . JDI stands for "Just Do It" in this case.

    Our next meeting with Ferose was on a lunch. During the lunch he mentioned how it is important to give back to society, how it is important to help others and contribute to the ecosystem we live in. It not only helps the person in need, it also makes us feel good about ourselves and more importantly, makes us a better person.  I will not go into the examples he shared from his life, as I consider it too personal to share on a web media.

    There is a very nice book recommended by him "Pay it Forward". I need to get my hands on this book.

    Will share more learnings in my next post. Until then, keep enjoying work.

    Regards,

    Priyanka

    It was one fine day when I was deeply engrossed in my work, the telephone's shrilling sound made me jump out of my seat. It was Shraddha, our HR-Business Partner. She mentioned that Labs India is going to offer a mentorship program for women in leadership positions and senior leaders like Ferose, Navaneet, Uma, Bhuvan will be the mentors. The moment I heard about the possible mentors my interest got ten-folded. Shraddha wanted to know if I would be interested in such a program. There is a saying in hindi "neki aur pooch pooch" and I immediately blurted out "of course". Shraddha responded back with a throaty laughter, but in my opinion it was a very short & sweet answer :).

     
    We were asked to provide our 2 choices for the mentors. By default, my first choice was Ferose. I was sure that lot of colleagues will opt for him and there is a very thin possibility that I get him as my mentor. It's only later I got to know that almost everyone had given Ferose as the first choice. Having said that, I was quite lucky that he is my mentor.

     
    So, I had my first meeting with Ferose. And you won't believe I actually prepared and noted down all the questions I can ask him. I learnt my first lesson in time management when he asked to take a walk around the campus and have our chat side by side. He mentioned that this way he can also get some exercise. I also got to know that many times he meets his mentor "Dr. Kiran Bedi" while she is on a journey from airport to home or viceversa. My first lesson : There are only 24 hours in the day and one needs to make the best possible use of it.

     
    I have known Ferose from last 9 years, but it is only now I got to closely interact with him. Naturally my first question was, "what was the secret behind his success?", a question which he has probably answered many times by now. I got to know how one needs to excel at work, it could be any task that you perform but you need to deliver it in the best possible quality. Also important is that one cannot rely on past successes. One needs to continously prove oneselves. My second lesson : Be the best in whatever you do. Deliver, deliver, deliver.

     
    I have always found Ferose very approachable. He mentioned how people sensibilities are important in all roles. You need to make people feel that you care and you think that the work done by them is important. My third lesson : People sensibilities are important in all roles.

     
    Well this was my first interaction with my mentor. I look forward to my next interaction. Until then,

     
    Keep enjoying work.

     
    Best Regards,

    Priyanka

    p.s. If I have not been able to interest you in the blog, it's only due to my shortcomings as a writer and surely not due to lack of substance.

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