We can’t contain our excitement that we have successfully completed 12 years. The journey has been thunderous with precious memories we want to treasure forever.

Each team member proved to be an expert at their craft. My team members stood by me during rain and storms for the past 12 years. We have sailed through storms & wind and yet reached the shore all thanks to combined efforts and endless willpower. What set us apart are the lessons we embraced for the upcoming future. Here I am, with experience unfolding, ready to share my learning with you.

What it takes to be a leader..

According to me, a leader is an innovator, creator, disciplinarian and team player.
Only a person who can adapt to the frequent disruptions in the market can be a great innovator. This innovator brings ideas and solutions to problems. Who is a disciplinarian? Someone who can come up with a plan to execute their innovative ideas. And a team player is responsible to keep the team motivated while executing the plan and walking towards the common goal. A leader wears these different hats to play all the roles single-handedly.

I am a firm believer that a leader doesn’t give commands but intently listens to what his team members have to say, and guides them toward their goals.

What I learned in the last 12 years -

From analyzing consumer dipsticks to understanding what motivates a team to achieve bigger, there are plenty of lessons I want to take forward to the futuristic time capsule. Here are the important lessons I learned along the way:

6 lessons I learned in these 12 years:

1. Hire for attitude, Train for skills
   When I noticed candidates who performed averagely in interviews acing their role, we started to believe attitude combined with skill-set is the key towards success. This led to me emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence to the hiring team and training the team as per our customer's expectations once they become a part of our team. I have never regretted this decision! Also, delegation plays an important role. You need to know how, who, what and why someone is an expert at what they are doing. This will let you share the responsibilities with the right person at the right time.
2. Understand the “why” of your stakeholders
   When you have the mindset to innovate continuously, keep an eye on the needs of your employees and customers. Analyze why the solution is of utmost importance to your customers, what problem they solve and how you can go about it to make their life easier. And when it’s about your employees, it’s important to treat them the way you would like to be treated. If you find answers to this “why?” you can lead your tribe effortlessly. Once you know why and what your stakeholders expect, adhere to the terms of continuous innovation. Keep learning and applying the important lessons from the market and technological advancements.
3. Clear performance metrics
   Without setting clear goals, there are fewer chances of success for any team. This goal-setting has to happen at an individual level. For that, you need to come up with precise metrics to know where your team members can improve, and how you can train them. Discuss with your HR team and domain experts to set proper metrics and measure the performance.
4. Drive focus towards the bigger goal - teamwork
   Where do you want your business to be after 5 years? What’s your long-term goal? What are the short-term milestones you would love to celebrate? Stride towards these with your team. Every team member has to know the plan, the status and where they need to improve. Only then, they would know how much effort they need to put in, what priority tasks they need to delve deeper into and everything they need to achieve it. As an entrepreneur, you need to set clear expectations and move towards them with a vision.
5. Retrospect
   Learning from past mistakes and thinking about where you can improve further are the traits of an effective leader. As Paul Bear Bryant said, when you make a mistake, you only have three options: Admit it, learn from it and try not to repeat it. Also, you need to empower and trust your team to never repeat those past mistakes and take your brand legacy forward.
6. Time, the most valuable asset
   As an entrepreneur, you need to remember that stitching in time saves nine. I learned that with every ticking second, I need to do what’s needed to move to the next level. Every minute counts, and I’m always ready to hustle as per what the market demands.

Advice for young entrepreneurs

Don’t take success to your head and failure to your heart. Be humble. Whatever you do, give it your best shot. Making use of every opportunity in hand is a huge propeller toward long-term success. Always have a shock absorber when you take bigger risks, meaning there should be a backup plan. As Ronnie Screwvala writes in his book, Dream with your eyes open, there is a difference between plan B and a backup plan for your plan A. Determine your further steps if your plan fails. This will save you a lot of time, effort and money.

Conclusion

A lot has been said and done in the world of entrepreneurs. Here’s the open secret - Know what you need and what you can do to achieve your goals. These 12 years, I have learned that it’s essential to keep our heads down and act as a problem-solver to people around me. I hope you can implement these lessons in your entrepreneurial journey.
All the best!