Sri Balaji - Guest Lecture - Professional Journey.

Campus to The Presen
t

A Professional Journey - A Lifetime of Learning
Sumir Nagar - Chief Operating Of
fi
cer

Bank-Genie Pte Limited, Singapor
e

www.bank-genie.com

On behalf o
f

Sri Balaji Societ
y

September 9, 2020
The opinions, advise of the presenter are individual opinions and/or advise and are not to be construed as those of Bank-Genie Pte Limited,
Singapore.
1

Thanks Sri Balaji Society for inviting me.

House Rules & Etiquett
e

You can survive without your cellphones for a few minutes.

I’m a big fan of interactive but..…

I am told the moderators will take questions at the end & I’d be
happy to take Questions, Comments & Suggestions.
2www.sumirnagar.com

This is how we’re going to Roll
In no particular order
.

Just a peek into Me
.

My Journey, Experiences, Failures & Successes
.

What Professional really Means
?

Who is a Leader
?

Tips & Tricks to be Successful
.

Management Tenets
.

Looking for Jobs.
3

I’m Usually Unpopular
Just a little about me

Encapsulating a Lifetime of Experience in a short time can be
challenging
.

What I have to say can be construed to be CONTROVERSIA
L

What I have to say is NOT ROCKET SCIENC
E

I deal wit
h

Basics - (usually forgotten
)

Common Sense - (The Most Uncommon Thing
)

Prudence - (Dif
fi
cult to De
fi
ne Accurately)
4www.sumirnagar.com

A Father to 3 WONDERFUL kids, 29, 24, 19
.

Son
.

Spouse
.

Disciple
.

Humane person
.

Professional
.

Mad Cyclist
.

Blogger & VLogger
.

https://sumirnagar.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQEOoYR2RzY

6

Being A “Professional”
encompasses many things.
• Perso
n

• Team Playe
r

• Leade
r

• Thinke
r

• Crisis Manage
r

• Colleagu
e

• Subject Matter Exper
t

• Sum total of Your Beliefs
8www.sumirnagar.com
Yes even a Laborer is a
Professional !!!

Being A “Professional”
encompasses many things.
9www.sumirnagar.com
As are those in Boardrooms
• Perso
n

• Team Playe
r

• Leade
r

• Thinke
r

• Crisis Manage
r

• Colleagu
e

• Subject Matter Exper
t

• Sum total of Your Beliefs

This is My Journey
Was not fortunate enough to do higher studies, I’m just A B.Com Graduate, no
MBA, no CA, no CFA, no nothing
.

The Roles I’ve Played & The Positions I’ve held
.

Proprietor > Partner > MD > CFO > Asst Mgr > Head > Global Head > COO &
Director
.

Each was a different Role, with its own challenges, demands & responsibilities
.

I’ve learned from what people call “The School of Hard Knocks”
.

The Lessons I Learned through Reversals & Adversity have bene
fi
ted all my Roles.
11www.sumirnagar.com

This is My Journey
Despite my Reversals I’m really Fortunate
.

40 Countries at Last Count
.

Lived & Worked on 4 Continents: Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Chicago, London
.

Worked In Finance, Operations, Technology, Vendor & Captive Tech Roles, Sell & Buy Side
.

Visited Exotic Locations, met different kinds of People
.

Always been Radical in Thought, taken Risks
.

Learned Life Lessons from every Experience
.

Developed Deep People Skills
.

Overcame my Introvert nature, to Introverted Extrovert
.

Always the Voice of Reason during Times of Trouble
.

Learned to be a Mentor & Guide.

This is My Journey - Chronology
70’s 80’s 90’s 2000 10’s 20’s
Present COO - Bank-Genie - (3)
HIT!!!
4th Job COO - Agile - (7)
Sabbatical Gap Year
3rd Job HSBC - Global - (5)
2nd Job ICICI Info - TRM (5)
1st Job atcom - CFO - (1)
Bust Lost Everything
Ancillary Business Pub & Restaurant - (1)
Financial Services - 3 ’84 - Funding - (7)
Financial Services - 2 ’84 - Fund Mgt
Financial Services - 1 ’83 - Stock Brokerage
Started Work ’81 - Family (7)
Started College ‘81
High School Diploma ‘80
Rotary Exchange ‘79 ‘80
High School 78
Stock Markets
Tanked
Resetting
Resetting

How I Ended Up Where I Did.
Family Business - Manufacturing, Exports, Trading
.

Stock Markets - Entry into Financial Services
.

Fund Management & Financial Syndication
.

Food & Entertainment
.

CFO - My FIRST Job Hunt was REALLY FRUSTRATING - NEVER had to APPLY after that
.

ICICI
.

HSBC
.

Startups - COO, Mentor, Jury Member
.

https://sumirnagar.com/professional-journey/
14

Becoming A Professional -
An Exciting Journey

Sumir on Work

Time Management - My Day

Sumir During COVID
Activity
Wakeup 5.00
Pray/Meditate 5.30 6.30
Cycle Ride/
Calls
6.45 8.15
Cool down/
Calls
8.15 8.45
Prep/Calls 8.45 9.30
Morning Call 9.45 10.30
Work Day 10.30 17.00
Evening Call 17.00 17.30
Winding UP/
Calls
17.30 18.30
Chill 18.30 19.30
Cook/Dinner 19.30 20.30
Social/Flix/
Vlogs/Blogs
21.30 0.30
Crash 1.00 5.00

Management Tenets - Time
Time = Investment = Money: Time Invested is Directly Proportional to Success
.

Time Is Finite - Time & Tide Wait for Nobody - It CANNOT be Reset
.

You will be hit by things from all sides - Urgent vs Important - They Aren’t the Same Thing. Prioritize!!
!

24 hours a Day - Make the Most of it - 24 hours can be enough or too little
.

24 hours is enough for Work, Relationships, Pleasure, Hobbies…
…

Plan - Schedule - Discipline
.

Timely Follow Up & Responses
.

Allocate Time Per Day for - Catching up on emails, writing emails, reading, calls, meetings - structure your day
.

Your Calendar is your FRIEND
.

Heard of the 5 AM Club???

Management Tenets - Ethic
Cut it any way you like…..here’s a piece of NEWS - Ain’t NO substitute for Hard work
.

Listen Before You Speak & Speak ONLY when you have something to contribute
.

Contribution - Agree, Disagree, Agree to Disagree
.

There’s ALWAYS something you don’t know - What you don’t know WILL HURT you
.

Prompt, Responsive
.

Take = Give BUT Give doesn’t always mean you take back (Earn Goodwill)
.

BEFORE you COMPLAIN - work out a SOLUTION.

ESCALATE but TRANSPARENTLY - NEVER go behind someones back
.

Don’t ask someone to do something you’re UNWILLING to do.

For Professionals - About The Role
What is the 1st & foremost DUTY of a KING
?

Protect? Feed? Justice? Equality? Tax
?

NO!!
!

Guard His THRONE
.

No Throne means No Kingdom
.

No Kingdom means No Subjects
.

No Subjects means No Army, No Farmers, No Ability to Judge, Unable to enforce
Equality, No Tax…..

For Professionals - About Organizations
Write This in Blood
…

It EXISTS for PROFITS (+ve Jaws)
.

You will ONLY be useful if you CONTRIBUTE to its Mission, Vision, Earng
s

So Stay Relevant, AHEAD of the Curve - Hit the Ground Running - ALWAYS Prep
.

It has a LOW appetite for failure
.

The RULE of 3 Strikes will be applied
.

There is ALWAYS a FOOD-CHAIN - you report to people who report to other People
- All the Way to the TOP.

For Professionals - About Conduct
Job or Business is Your SOURCE Of INCOME - Be HONEST to it, Be LOYAL to it
.

Trust BUT Cautiously
.

Taking someone’s Word - Validate with FACTS Always, Commitments based on Commitments - Be SURE
.

DO NOT Heed for PARTICIPATE in GOSSIP
.

Document EVERYTHING - No Verbal Commitments made or taken
.

Be PROMPT, FAIR, Give Praise & Acknowledge Help & Efforts from Others
.

Go that EXTRA Mile
.

ALWAYS Help BUT anticipate that you may NOT get any
.

DELEGATE but take RESPONSIBILITY - DO NOT Point Fingers
.

BE A DEMAND.

For Professionals - About Tools
Communicatio
n

Clear
.

Concise
.

Complete
.

Effective
.

Gauge Audience
.

Based on Facts
.

Present the Pros and Cons.

For Professionals - Cheat-sheet
Communication Etiquett
e

Get TIME SENSITIVE Comms out of the way FIRST
.

If its CONFIDENTIAL KEEP it that way
.

If you’re in the TO - YOU need to RESPOND
.

If you’re in the CC - its for INFORMATION ONLY or its an ESCALATION - Discern
.

Social Channels for Followup ONLY, emails for Of
fi
cial Records
.

MINIMAL Personal Calls at Work
.

Keep Distinct Numbers for Work & Personal
.

NO SOCIAL MEDIA at Work, UNLESS your Profession Demands it
.

No ABBREVIATIONS like, PFA, etc…. It merely takes SECONDS to type the full form.

Communication Etiquett
e

Use Titles & Designations when needed
.
ALWAYS do Spell & Grammar checks
.

Sleep over Sensitive Mails before you Respond - less REACTIVE
.

Use EMOTION sparingly - be Objective
.

Keep Long & Rambling Emails in Check
.

If you’re sending an ATTACHMENT, try and present a Summary of the Attachment in the Body of the Email
.

Be Aware that some people may be reading mails on Mobile Devices - make the layout easy on the eye
.

When is a Diverse Crowd use the Language that ALL Understand - if Foreigners are present - TRANSLATE
.

Encourage PARTICIPATION.

NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming - Outcome Facilitation is the Key to Comms
.

Comms is SELLING a Thought, an IDEA, a PROPOSITION, a DEFENSE
.

IQ, EQ, AQ, SQ (Intelligence, Emotional, Adversity, Social)
.

Self Awareness
.

Catchup BEFORE you start your day
.

ENSURE WORK-LIFE Balance
.

Keep your Personal Life Happy - You will be Happier at Work
.

Make time for Friends, Parents, Kids, Spouse, that Special Person
.

Fitness & Health are the KEY - Exercise at least 4-5 days a week - Healthy diet.

For Professionals - About Situations
Its NOT ALWAYS a Cake Walk
.
You will face CHALLENGES & OBSTACLES - OVERCOME
.

You WILL make MISTAKES - LEARN Do NOT Repeat - Repetitive Mistakes = Habit
.

You WILL face CRITICISM - take it Graciously
.
Your Ability to HANDLE these WILL DEFINE you
.

Its ALL about READING & HANDLING People
.

SITUATIONS are EASIER to handle than PEOPLE
.

People have EGOS - Leave yours at HOME - it WILL NOT serve you
.

See THROUGH the Politics - take things at FACE Value but DON’T be NAIVE
.

OPINIONS MATTER - Question is do you worry about EVERYBODY’s Opinion
?

DO NOT Take Crap from Anyone - Respect Yourself & others will respect You.

For Professionals - About Discrimination
People Discriminate - you should NOT
.

Gender - Women at work DESERVE Discretion BUT NOT at the EXPENSE of Performance
.

Age
.

Educational Background & Pedigree
.

Physical Appearances & Capabilities
.

Religious, Cultural & Geographic Preferences, Leanings & Origins
.

Customs & Traditions
.

Beliefs
.

Diet Preferences
.

Cultural Origins
.

Sense of Dress.

Understanding Risk

Risk & Reward Are Closely Intertwined

You Cannot Hide From Risk

Taking a Decision is Taking a Risk

All You Can Do Is Manage Risk Down To
Manageable Levels

Risk Management Is A Simple Matter of
Assessing/Analyzing Data Points

Ever Heard of the 80:20 Rule?

Well here it is

80% FOLLOW Only 20% LEAD

At Times like THIS - We look for Leaders, Decision Makers
.

There is a MASS of People out there RUNNING SCARED
.

This is a Time for INSPIRATIONAL Leadership.

Are You a LEADER
?

O
R

Are YOU RUNNING SCARED?

Who is a Leader?
www.sumirnagar.com 41

Who’s He Isn’t
He is NOT someone who knows to All
.

He is NOT the Best of the Best
.

He is NOT without Fear
.

He has LIMITATIONS
.

He has FAULTS.

He Is
He IS a People Person
.

He HIRES the Right People
.

He EMPOWERS them
.

He gives the SPACE to function
.

He Facilitates & DIRECTS when needed.

He steps in to MANAGE a CRISIS
.

He Builds Highly Ef
fi
cient Teams
.

He is a Quick Learner
.

His Applies His Knowledge & Experience to DELIVER Outcomes.

He Knows
When He needs to Step In
.

When to be Aggressive.

He is Decisive
.

When to Pass the Ball
.

Where to Draw the Line
.

To Sift through loads of Information
.

How to Size Up People & Situations Quickly
.

He is a Teacher & a Student at the same time.

Education Complete
- What Next?

It’s NOT “just” a Job
.

This is Possibly the Rest of your Life
.

Choose Wisely
.

The Decisions you make will Last for a LONG Time.

The How.
Research, Plan, Strategize
.
Know your DNA - Understand Chess
?

Who are You? Pawn, Bishop, Knight, Castle, Queen, King
?

Play to your STRENGTHS
.

Ask your PRICE - Compromises on starting scales will set you back several
years
.

Here’s the THING about Recruiters
.

They are TOUGH cookies
.

They’re trained to MAKE you BLINK
.

They can smell your desperation from a distance.
47

What Are You Best Suited For?
Sales? - Its a Number Target based Role - Can you soak up the Pressure
?

BD is painstaking Research. Are you up for it
?

Pre-Sales & Marketing are Support roles. Is that your DNA
?

Ops is meticulous planning, forecasting, execution & follow up
.

HR is about People, Regulatory, Compensation, Appraisals & and a Heart of Steel
.

Finance is about Numbers. Are you a numbers person
?

Technology is a Given - Can you abstract? Can you apply Tech to Solve Problems
?

Customer Support/Customer Success/Quality - Fundamentally Important BUT not well Recognized
.

What Kind of Organization? Startup, Local, National, Multinational? Small, Mid, Giant?
48

Whatever Your Game - Excel!!!
49

My Hiring Stories - Amazing

&

NOT So Amazing
50

• My Hiring is 99% GUT FEEL
.

• I hire from PEDIGREE & nondescript Institutions - BOTH work EQUALLY well
.

• In HSBC - Hired the BEST of the BEST - Learned to Manage the Best of the Best!

• In hired someone from a totally different Industry - She became my RIGHT & LEFT hands - Today
She’s a FORMIDABLE Professional
.

• One of my Hires, he went on to become the MD of a Leading Bank Captive
.

• Another 2, both Girls went on to be brilliant in their Professions, Alternative Investments & Risk
.

• Some have been DISASTERS, for themselves & for everybody around them
.

• This has usually been when I’ve hired someone who’s in a state of personal
fl
ux - I do this
because I BELIEVE everybody DESERVES a chance to REBOUND, RECOVER and FORGE
AHEAD.
51

My Favorite Sayings
& Reactions to People

- In A Lighter Vein

The Mind is Issuing Checks that the Body cannot Encash. - Know your Limitations
.

When I say Jump, you say, “How High”! - Don’t question, get on with it
.

Do as I Say, don’t do as I Do! - I’m Allowed You’re Not
.

There is a Planet called “Stupid”, I don’t come from it. - When someone is trying to fool me
.

RHIP - Rank has its Privileges - Another way of saying I’m allowed you’re not
.

What you’re Selling I ain’t Buying - Another way of saying I don’t think you have it right
.

STOP looking at your friggin phone - When someone seeks my time.

People I Admire

People I Follow

Books I’m in Love
With

Digital - The World has
CHANGED!

Digital = Instant
We are in a World of INSTANT GRATIFICATION
.

Digital is the World at your Fingertips - people and services are available at a few clicks
.

Flip Side - Its also the World at someone else’s
fi
ngertips, ie: you are just a few Clicks
away as well
.

The Device in your hand (or in your pocket) can be your BEST FRIEND or your WORST
ENEMY
.

If you make Digital your DOG COLLAR you’re doomed, ie: Are You walking the DOG or is
the DOG Walking You?.

This is COMPOUNDED with COVID & Social Distancing.

Digital = Onslaught
Digital Channels means an ONSLAUGHT of Information - its IN YOUR
FACE, like it or not
.

Make Digital WORK FOR YOU - Subscribe to what you can DIGEST & is
RELEVANT
.

www, Facebook, Insta, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram,
Signal, Meet, Teams, Zoom, webinars, Net
fl
ix, Prime, etc - ALL GREAT
Sources of Information - Question is how much can YOU HANDLE?

Measure your TIME on Digital, in particular SOCIAL, it IMPACTS your
PRODUCTIVITY & your ABILITY to PROCESS.

Sumir on COVID

Sumir on COVID
It WAS NOT a “storm in a teacup” as I
fi
rst thought
.

We
fl
ipped the SWITCH SEAMLESSLY
.

Prolonged effects of Isolation, Social Distancing, Limited F2F Interaction are now
manifest
.

Friends, Family, Colleagues, Work - ALL under stress conditions. Hire Cutbacks, Pay
Reductions & Deferments are in place or being put in place. Not a Pretty Picture
.

BCP’s were Not designed for Prolonged Ops
.

YET, the “NEW NORMAL” is here to STAY - ALL you can do is LEARN to Live Life
differently.

Sumir on COVID
HOWEVER - The World cannot AFFORD to SHUT DOWN - A NEW EQUILIBRIUM is
EMERGING
.

Re-skill, Up-skill to be part of it - Stay AHEAD of the Curve
.

Track & Participate in Businesses that will not just SURVIVE but THRIVE in the NEW
EQUILIBRIUM
.

Life is Simpler, less Complicated. No Social Pretense, More ME Time, Re-discover
Yourself, take up new hobbies, challenges, do the things you made excuses for not
doing
.

https://sumirnagar.com/2020/08/30/the-virtual-existence-conundrum-part-1-shall-we-
level-set/

Sumir on COVID

Questions
?

Comments
?

Suggestions
?

Contac
t

www.sumirnagar.com

sumir@sumirnagar.com


Sri Balaji - Guest Lecture - Professional Journey.

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