Monday, June 1, 2015

CEO SPECIAL ......................CEO’S PRODUCTIVITY SECRETS (4)

CEO’S PRODUCTIVITY
SECRETS (4)

6.    “Be prepared, have an external orientation“
D SHIVAKUMAR, CHAIRMAN & CEO, PEPSICO INDIA
“Everybody has 24 hours and the biggest demand on any CEO is maximising
time.He has to be good in time discipline. CEOs must come well-prepared
for meetings.For that, they must have access to information at least 24-48 hours
prior. I ensure such information is available in advance.Also, CEOs tend to get
stuck up with internal issues and normally use 5%-10% of their time interacting
with external stakeholders. A strong external orientation helps and I regularly
take time out to interact with industrial bodies, media or just reading up.“

7.    “Interview all prospective employees“
ANU ACHARYA, CEO, MAPMYGENOME
“I sleep very little around 4-5 hours. As soon as I get up, I workout. I don't use a treadmill.Even at office, I don't pick up the phone and call my colleagues,
I walk up to them. I like to come in to office before the rush begins, so that
I can focus on what I want to do. I delegate my work to my colleagues,
because someone is better than you at certain things. But there are certain
things I don't delegate, like recruitment. I interview candidates myself.
On weekends, I go for various conferences and meetings. I am a woman
of extremes. When I work, I am fully focussed and when I party, I party hard.“

8.    “Don't check social media at work“
GIRISH MATHRUBOOTHAM, FOUNDER AND CEO, FRESHDESK
“Every morning, I play 3 sets of tennis on a clay court.During this time,
if my phone rings, I won't take it. I make a lot of official calls while I drive
to office.A lot of startup founders come to meet me for advice.And I try to
meet at least two wannabe entrepreneurs a week. I have a rule for emails.
If I am not marked in the To or Cc, I move those mails to a separate folder.
That is how I prioritise. I don't check social media on my desktop during work.
I only do that on my mobile phone, when I am free.“

9.    “Plan meetings in advance“
GANESH NATARAJAN, CEO, ZENSAR TECHNOLOGIES
“I believe in extreme planning. As of now, I know what my international travel
calendar is going to be like till March 2016. When scheduling meetings with
international clients, you need to give them 4-5 months notice and this also
gives me and my team time to plan better, set up more meetings when I'm
there etc. It's important for me to at least have a tentative schedule for the
next 6-7 months and then make sure it works. I'm also associated with industry
bodies like CII and Nasscom and before taking on any industry roles, I make
sure that I have the calendar of activities a year in advance. Even our internal
bi-monthly strategic management council meetings and monthly management
council meetings are scheduled for the whole year and this is something we
stick by. This is something that I've practised over the last 20 years.“

10.           “Start early, acknowledge performers regularly“
VIVEK GAMBHIR, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GODREJ CONSUMER
“On days I'm not traveling, I come to office before everyone else. 8.00 9.30 am
is my time when I don't take any meetings. It's for reflection and reading.
I have a one day, one week and a longer term to-do list which I look at while
driving to work. I also avoid checking email through the day. Instead, every
1.5-2 hours I set aside 15-30 minutes and respond to email in these blocks of
time. Every Sunday, I carve out some time to reflect on the week gone by
and send out emails acknowledging people who've done something stellar
during the week. I've made it a habit to have coffee or lunch with my top 50
team members every quarter to get feedback. I also be a part of their special
occasions kids birthdays, anniversaries, promotions -by sending
a handwritten note.“
By Dibeyendu Ganguly & Dearton Hector
With inputs from Priyanka Sangani and Moinak Mitra

CDET22MAY15

No comments: