Beyond - The Uncharted Landscape (A Holistic Approach for Building a Fulfilling Career)

The future belongs to the young. It is young and new world which is now under process of development and it is the young who must create it. But it is also a world of truth, courage, justice, lofty aspiration and straightforward fulfillment which we seek to create.

Achal Rangaswamy

Achal Rangaswamy,a post-graduate from Delhi University, is an alumnus of the prestigious St. Stephen’s College.

Beginning his career in frontline Sales, Rangeswamy worked at different levels in the hierarachy to rise to All India Marketing Manager in just 11 years, before embarking on a very successful and eventful career as a head of Marketing, and part of the Top Management with companies of international repute, creating and nurturing many popular brands.

He has travelled widely in India and abroad during various stints, but what he most fondly talks about, is traveling over 2,00,000 kms on his Enfield Bullet motorbike, a lot of it music of all kinds and he loves playing the harmonica.

He often visits various business schools in India and offers advice to the students there on what corporate expect from B-School products in their early years at work. He is also a very enthusiastic and successful trainer in the area of Selling Skills, Time Management Rangaswamy is a recipient of the “ AMA-Zydus Cadila Marketing Man of the Years Award”, conferred by the Ahmedabed Management Association.

M.S. Srinivasan

M.S. Srinivasan is a graduate engineer with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics engineering. After his graduation he working in technical and supervisory positions in various governments, private and non-governmental organizations interspersed with periods of fulltime spiritual quest in various parts of India

In the year 1991 he joined Sri Aurobindo Society as a Research Associate, pursuing studies and research in various field of knowledge as a part of the spiritual discipline for inner development The main theme of his studies and research is to evolve an integral- spiritual approach to human development and its application to various field of knowledge and activities of life with a dominant interest and focus on Management, Psychology, Social Sciences and Indian Culture. He is the editor of e-magazine in management published by SAFIM: Fourth Dimension Inc. towards Integral Management. He has published many articles on management and related subjects in various management and professional journals.

A young professional in India starting his or her career today is definitely the most fortunate person in the world. By the year 2050, India is predicted to be the second fastest growing economy in the world and to overtake China, becoming single largest economy in the overtake China, The global economic center of gravity will lie somewhere between India and China. In most product categories, the penetration of the branded, organised sector is still very low in our country, and this factor presents enormous opportunities for dynamic younger generation to help India regain the economic glory that we once had in the pre-colonial era.

In such a favourable macro-environment, youngsters can certainly build an immensely successful professional career and a happy life for themselves, provided they realise that there is no substitute for hard work. In fact, humility, honesty, hard work, patience and perseverance are real must continue to be an active learner throughout one’s life We must continuously strive to improve ourselves in each and every sphere of activity. The day we make the cardinal mistake of believing that we have learnt enough, our fortunes will start declining. We must try to absorb as much knowledge as we can from the world around us. Whichever assignment of responsibility we take up, we should always The legendary Dr. Verghese Kurien, whom I have had honour of working and interacting with very closely for more than thirty years at Amul, always accords the utmost importance to integrity and character. He used to say that integrity once lost cannot be restored at any cost. I still remember his words – “character is everything and is irreplaceable”. Dr Kurien once told us that whenever he used to hire anyone he would look for only three things – integrity, integrity and integrity. Another important attribute so critical for success is humility. In my experience, the most successful people in life are also the most humble. Courage to own up responsibility for one’s actions is also an important determinant of success, along with other critical factors such as persistence and clarity about one’s goals in life.

Perhaps the most important aspect that youngsters need to keep in mind I that if they actually love whatever they do and are passionate about their chosen field of activity, success will naturally follow. Ultimately, we must learn to cherish and savour the present moment, since enjoying the journey of life is as important as reaching our goals. If we opt for the path less travelled, then the journey. In my long career, I have personally seen several cases of youngsters with immense potential who were unable to fulfil their promise, just because they made wrong career decisions based on incorrect perceptions of money, power or position, perharps if they had a chance to interact with Achal Rangaswamy or read his book, their fortunes may have a different course.

It has been a matter of immense pride and honour for me to have had a long and mutually enriching association with Achal Rangaswamy, spanning three decades We started our careers together thirty long years ago as young professionals, and have stayed in contact with each other, sharing our experiences and exchanging ideas. He is truly one of the most successful and accomplished sales and marketing professionals this country has produced, and I have followed his spectacular career growth with great interest. In our initial days, I used to fondly address Ranga as “salesman on Bullet”, since he had a passion for travelling across the state of Rajasthan on his favorites Enfield Bullet motorbike, unmindful even of the summer heat. He exemplifies all the critical attributes that define success – integrity, commitment, dedication, communication skills, patience, humility, intelligence and extra-ordinary talent.

Youngsters entering the Indian corporate world will be extremely fortunate if they can find a coach and mentor who can guide them through this complex maze and instill in them the right set work ethics, values, perspectives and self- leadership skills. They will be truly blessed if their mentor also happens to be an inspiring leader, a great motivator, a skilful trainer and a visionary leader like Ranga, or ANR as he is popularly referred of by hundreds of successful young professionals whose personality and character he has helped to shape, creating the foundation for their brilliant professional careers. Youngsters whose lives he has helped to transform acknowledge his contribution in helping them achieve the highest levels of professional conduct in various stages of their career, playing the role of a true mentor. A highly intelligent and creative person, Ranga has always inspired his team members to continue raising the bar for themselves, to challenge the obvious, and to excel in every sphere of life. Quite appropriately, he was honoured with the AMA Marketing Man of the year Award in 2007 for his notable contributions to the profession of sales and marketing.

For lakhs of budding young professionals who could not have the privilege of being personally mentored by Ranga, this book is not only an invaluable source of inspiration but also a precious manual which will help them successfully chart their way through the complex corporate landscape, especially during the formative stage of their career. A treasure trove of practical wisdom, the contents of this book will help our new generation to realise their destiny, to fulfil their dreams and to understand the true meaning of happiness. This book certainly qualifies as a ‘must read’ for all young professionals who have either just entered or aspire to enter the Indian corporate world. While helping the make the all-important transition from the academic to the real world, this book will also help to build the foundation for a great professional career and a meaningful, happy life. I wish Ranga the very best for the success of the book and all his future endeavours in life.

I began talking about this book quite a few years back, but got around to begin writing it just around my 50th birthday. I guess it took me some time to realize that half a century of existence had taught me enough things to share with people half my age.

I love interacting with students and people half my age. I keep saying this all the time. I think it is this that keeps me going. One afternoon at a Biz School, having made a presentation lasting about a couple of hours, I wondered if it would not help all the youngsters that I had chatted with if I gave this presentation back to them in the form of a book. I asked some of them. They thought the idea was fun. They thought it would make a “great refresher” for them, all the more because I never allow them to take notes. I don’t like anybody taking notes in a classroom, I don’t know why. I have an eerie feeling that students actually miss the point when they take notes, I feel that they are not really listening. And I think Listening is the most powerful management tool.

This book is dedicate to all those youngsters who will take India forward to global recognition and leadership in the years to come, just before the next bunch of youngsters comes to show the world that India is a real force to reckon with, within the next decade or so.

This book, it is truly hoped, shall always accompany every student and every rookie management trainee or executive, and provide him or her with that much needed balance that I think they need, to not just survive, but thrive when charting their course in the corporate jungle…

Because more than being successful, one should be happy, and grateful.