This document discusses strategies for success at work and in life based on the author Chandramouli Venkatesan's experience. Some key points: - Time spent at work does not equal experience; one must actively work to convert time into experience through learning cycles, setting targets, measuring performance, reviewing results, and reflecting on lessons learned. - Career growth results from real individual growth in skills and knowledge, not just environmental factors. Success in the second half of one's career requires a focus on developing others, managing impact, and preparation for higher levels. - Focus on areas within your control or "circle of influence" to be more productive, rather than worrying about external concerns outside your control. Cho

1. catalyst
CHANDRAMOULI VENKATESAN
The ultimate strategies on
how to win at work and on life
Varun kumar
IMED,Pune
MBA 2017-19

2. Chandramouli Venkatesan
• Chandramouli is a corporate veteran
who has over 26 years of experience.
• He has worked in Asian Paints, MIRC
Electronics, Cadburys and currently
with Pidilite.
• He has conducted numerous speaking
sessions, benefitting over 1000 people.
• This book is his learnings and reflections

3. Time Spent at work Not= Experience
• How many years of experience do you have walking?
• How many years of experience do you have sleeping?
• How many years of experience do you have in
Finance/Sales/Marketing/HR?
• Highly mechanical/thoughtless way
• Not active learning model
• But for Athlete, Model

4. • Time spent at work is not equal to experience.
• Time is not an accurate measure of experience.
• One of the greatest success factors at work is our ability
to convert time and activity into experience.
• People do not employ a learning model at work. They do
not have a target for work.
• they do not review the performance to understand
reasons for success/failure
Time & Experience

5. TMRR: A Catalyst for Converting Time into
Experience
• T- Target
• M- Measure
• R- Review
• R-Reflection (Done better)

6. Learning Cycle
• Successful people participate in more learning cycles than those not
successful.
• (Learning cycle is a new Project, Initiative or transformation)
• Successful people seem to have extracted more from their experience out
of learning cycles.

7. Career Growth
• Career growth = real Individual growth +/Environmental aspects
• Real individual growth is about growing our knowledge, skills,
judgement, influence, communication.
• Environmental aspects is about the buoyancy of the job market,
industry factors, relative availability of talent in your skill area etc.
• The catalyst of career growth tends to be individual growth, simply put
your career will grow as long as you grow as an individual and
professional.

8. A career is in two halves
• 20-20 or 10-30
• Most people are successful in the first part of their careers, very few are successful in
the second part of their careers.
• We assume that if we succeed in the first, we will succeed in the second. That is not
true.
• As you get to senior levels, the complexity changes and the quality/breadth of issues
changes.
• Success in the second half of the career is difficult because :
• a. the nature of the origin pyramid
• b. the impact of boss and subordinates
• c. the preparation required to succeed at each level

9. Circle of Influence
Circle of
Influence
Circle of Concern
• Focus on Circle of Influence to increase productivity
• Leave Circle of Concern as a plague
• Higher the corporate ladder, the more
the need to grow your productivity
Increasing Personal Productivity

10. Selection of Boss
• Always choose a company that has good bosses.
• This can be checked through their place in the
talent market, their people development focus etc.
• A mentor is necessarily senior to you, well ahead on
the career curve.
• A mentor is someone who knows you well.
• A mentor should not be in your line of authority.
• You have to keep in touch with mentors if you want
to leverage them best.

11. Quitting a Job
• To quit a job, you must have the right reasons to
quit.
• The only two credible reasons to quit are learning
and fit.
• Learning & fit in the new company is more
important than pay and other prospects.
• The decision to quit must be made even before you
start to explore and consider outside opportunity
• Long stints in the same company is highly
beneficial to the experience algorithm
My current
organization
‘What is good’
My future
organization
‘What can be
good’
My current
organization
‘What is bad’
My future
organization
‘What can be
bad’

12. Leadership
• I measure leadership based on two factors – followership and influence.
• Followership is about the conviction people have in the leader.
• Leadership = (Position + Content) x Value
2 H’S VALUE
Majority
honesty
Pristine
Honesty
Deviants
Majority
Honesty
Do right
Do right
Do Wrong
Do Wrong
I
Others
Humility
• Staying grounded through cycles of
Success and failure