Name: Raman Sopory

Title: Founder & President

Organisation: Aerospace & Defence Consultants Association of India

A veteran from Indian Air Force , 25 years in uniform and 20 years incorporate. Now running the largest think tank on disruptive technologies , turnkey projects and investment / fund raising for start Ups.

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

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

Cheers,

Jonno White

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

Decision making at the spur of the moment within the limited time , limited data and limited resources.

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

Adaptable , humane heart with nerves of steel . X Ray eyes to read the inner feelings of a human being . Tough decision , honest decision for the betterment of the organisation . Learnt to say NO to wrong decision of my seniors with tact. Work hard and always learning from anyone - may be from bottom of the pyramid at times .

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

Thank God for looking after YESTERDAY , thank my family for the support . TIME MANAGEMENT . RESPECT for others' point of view , Hybrid , Virtual and Face to face meetings . Webinars , seminars on new technology trends . Manage the information overdrive syndrome with Tsunami of data .. filter the info and eat only what I can chew and digest .

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

I am responsible for my decision . No blame game .

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?

The Holy Bhagwat GIta.

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

Divide your life in three sessions of nine years each . First one third , forget your family , forget yourself and dedicate 100% to the organisation where you are working . In the second one third , please maintain work life balance and spare some time for the family too . In the last one third , start sharing the fun of giving it back to society and also look after your health and happiness.

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

The buck stops here - a Case Study delivered at the College of Defence Management in India . Some times in life the leaders have to stop the game of passing the buck ! Based on my experience at Air HQ .