One of the most important attribute for a professional to be successful is to have a strong “Executive Presence”, and it is synonymous with Mr. Anil Arora, National Head for Business Solutions & Services at Xerox India. Xerox as Mr. Arora says, is a perfect example of a learning organisation. It has a learning culture which is inculcated in its employees through the courses available at the learning site. Th ese courses are in sync with the career path of an individual which in turn not only helps the employee to grow professionally, but also improves the overall personality of the individual.
Mr. Arora began his career in sales way back in the late 90s. He always had the courage of conviction to take on any challenge thrown at him. Th is can be seen by glancing at his successful career, which started from Gestetner and now has reached Xerox.
He believes that in today’s scenario, the most important factor which is essential to survive and lead is communication . Any marketing manager’s competitive advantage apart from the basic skills required is communication. A customer will only purchase a product which has a top of the mind recall, and this according to him is only possible through eff ective communication. In his corporate journey which has not been so easy, Mr. Arora gives a lot of credit to his boss Mr. Vipin Tuteja for his growth. He had the opportunity to work with Mr. Tuteja earlier as well. He believes that having a good boss is important in taking the career graph of an individual in the right direction. Mr. Arora was given a free hand to perform his duties without any interference. Th is really assisted him in his growth. Here one could say that Mr. Arora was fortunate, as having a good boss who can be a mentor is not in someone’s hand. But one thing which is there in a person’s hand is the ability to know oneself as an individual. Th is means that an individual should know the positives he/she has and work towards transforming the negatives into positives, eventually building a projective image. Th is is the success mantra which he follows and suggests that next generation should keep in mind.
Nostalgically, he recalls his interaction with Prof. Arindam Chaudhary in 1998 at Taj Mahal Hotel where Prof. Chaudhary stated, “If you go back 20 years, no one knew what IIMs were and in 20 years from now no one would know what IIMs are.” Th is statement really played in Mr. Arora’s mind and convinced him to join IIPM, as it was a crucial decision which he had to make. Th is proud alumni was elated when he said that the learnings imparted by IIPM are still being used in his career. In fact, they are helping him to grow professionally. He has good memories of his student days at IIPM. He clearly remembers that he was suspended for 21 days as some students had played a prank and thrown ink on Prof. U C Tewari and blamed him for the deed. His past record of being a sincere student favoured him and the punishment which was wrongly awarded to him was withdrawn.
A typical day in offi ce is a roller coaster ride for him, but Mr. Arora makes sure that the ride is smooth for him and his team members. Th is, according to him is the trait of a successful leader, who can make things simple for his subordinates and is approachable at all times. Personally, he does not have a role model when it comes to leadership because he feels that if one has a role model, then one tends to follow the footsteps blindly and this never gives a chance to overtake the role model. He believes in the saying, “hand which comes to your shoulder will never be there to salute”. So, he maintains his distance which is required but ensures that he never micro manages his team members. He himself is given a lot of independence in performing his duties and makes sure that he lives up to the expectations the organisation has from him.
Advancement in technology has it positives and negatives and one of the negative being that one is connected with offi cial work 24 hours. However, this does not mean he compromises on his personal life. He goes out of his way to spend time with his daughter, whether its helping her fi nish homework or going out for movies. As a calm and composed individual, he has proved that being patient, and waiting for the right opportunity is essential to be at the helm in one’s career. For generation next, Mr. Arora is the perfect role model one can looked up to. Never make the mistake of underestimating the IIPM alumni, because they are no less than the alumni from the leading management institutes in India.
