Name: Manoj N G

Title: Consultant

Organisation: KCM Appliances Pvt Ltd(Impex brand)

I am Manoj , a seasoned sales professional with 24 years in consumer electronics and cookware industry currently based in USA. I am a highly disciplined individual, bursting with energy, enthusiasm, and excitement for life. My leadership journey includes key roles with global giants like Samsung, Panasonic,TCL and notably, as the All India Sales Head for Pigeon(Leading Indian Cookware brand). Armed with an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management Bangalore. My motto in life is "Being a Doer and not a Talker."

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Manoj's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Most challenging for me as leader is to build cohesion in the system and make team deliver consistent results. I found it difficult keep energy levels high and excitement every day for the folks. Basically make them give their blood, sweat and teras to the organization and giving more than what they are getting paid to the organization.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

As the Regional Head with Panasonic in 2009, I assumed a leadership role overseeing a substantial team and managing extensive operations of South India. Upon my arrival, the business was relatively small.

However, working collaboratively, our team successfully propelled the brand to new heights, significantly scaling up the business. In the first year, we diligently established a strong foundation, enabling the business to operate seamlessly on autopilot.

The team's enthusiasm and dedication contributed to this success. Over a tenure spanning more than eight years, everyone found joy in their work, collectively delivering outstanding results.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I am a firm believer in the four dimensions of life ”Physical, Mental, Social/Emotional, and Spiritual. My day starts at 4:30 AM, dedicating two hours to exercise, followed by 30 minutes of daily reading and a mindful 10-minute meditation. With a strong conviction in the "24 hours theory," I believe that effective time utilization is key to success.

In my holistic approach to life, I maintain a balance between personal well-being and professional commitment, working for 8 to 9 hours and ensuring a rejuvenating 6-hour sleep. This disciplined routine shapes my belief that success is intricately linked to how one utilizes the 24 hours available each day.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

Todays technological world of AI and and other tools you can't take thing for granted and continuous improvement is the key. It is difficult to go by traditional leadership and past glories. One need to sharpen the skills regularly to be competitive leader.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

START WITH WHY FROM SIMON SINEK.

I believe in Motivation and Manipulation theory.

MOTIVATION AND MANIPULATION MOTIVATORS

1. Inspire team to deliver the best results.

2. Consider everyone like family members.

3. Team work

4. Ethical and Long Lasting

5. Merit based

6. Result Oriented Work Environment

7.Win-Win MANIPULATORS 1.Naysayers. 2.Partiality 3.Less Growth to people 4. Pressure Tactic and you win and other person Lose. Win-Lose 5.Unethical and Temporary. 6.No Vision 7. Weak Foundation.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Stay grounded and give your blood, Swear and tears to the Organisation.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I would like to share my own experience of creating a difference during my stint with Stovekraft Ltd-Pigeon during the period between April 2018 and July 2022.Pigeon is one of the leading brands in Indian cookware industry and I was National Sales Head. Let me explain how I helped in transforming this company to a professional and vibrant organization.

Right Organisation Structure, KRAs and Periodic review of KRAs: Mostly firefighting was the scenario and employees were getting frustrated and they could not deliver the best results. I divided India into 4 regions and 22 branches with 200 front line salespeople. Frontline salespeople report to branch heads, Branch heads report to Regional heads and Regional Heads report to me.

All three layers 3-5 KRAs were well defined, and I started conducting periodic reviews. Within 3 months everything was set, and everyone knew what is their role and business started happening on auto mode. Cohesion, Two Way Communication, Perception based approach over fact based & Trust: There used to be lot of communication gaps in the organization. Front line employees were not aware of the direction of the organization and strategies. I created two WhatsApp groups.

First group consists of 4 Regional Managers, 22 Branch heads, Managing Director along with all department heads such as CFO, Marketing Head, Manufacturing Head, CHRO, SCM Head and All Product Heads. This is more like an escalation group and without any hierarchy people were able to express their views and issues. This has become a big success and overall division has become very transparent and everyone started taking ownership.

This helped the organization to get firsthand information from down the line people. Everybody started working with passion and they started loving their work. Perception based approach has gone out from the system and all evaluation started happening based on merit. Open communication started at every level, and everyone used to have peace of mind.

The second group was 200 frontliners, 22 branch heads, 4 Regional managers along with me. This was a replica of the first group. Handholding/Navigating in the organization: There was no handholding and employees were not able to navigate in the system. Started a system where new employees were given the right direction in the first 3 months with 100% conviction and trained them how to navigate in the organization by interacting with other departments.

Overall, the environment has become result oriented. Training was given at periodic intervals. Compensation,360-degree Fedback & Elevation within. There used to be disparity in compensation. Some of the old employees were at lower salary and I streamlined this in 2 years. Also implemented 360-degree feedback and morale of employees has gone very high. External hiring stopped at supervisory level and people within the systems were promoted