At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the entrepreneurship and the leadership world. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another seasoned entrepreneur and leader – Premraj Kalapadan for an exclusive interview with us. He is a business leader, mentor, consultant, advisor, keynote speaker and consultant. He is the Founder & CEO of Premraj Consultants. Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey, his background and his advice for our growing community:
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as an entrepreneur, please;
I had my schooling in one of the outer suburbs of Mumbai. In my last two years of schooling, our school got taken over by Irish Christian Brothers. They brought a whole new perspective to education.
What I imbibed in the last two years in school under the tutelage of an Australian and Irish teacher has had a great influence me. They laid the foundation for my growth.”
After school did my graduation and post-graduation in commerce from Mumbai. While doing my post-graduation, I also worked for a year with the then fledging Reliance Industries (1980-81). It was at this time, I got an offer from a nationalised bank, Bank of Maharashtra. I took up the offer and spent the next 17 years of my life in the public sector bank. In the late 1990s, new generation private sector banks were making their presence felt.
I pitched for it and joined HDFC Bank, a new generation private sector bank which over the last quarter of a century redefined Banking. My first posting was as a Branch Manager of the flagship branch of the country. After being Branch Manager in two branches, moved up as Cluster Head managing clusters of branches all around Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.”
In 2008 after the take over of Centurion Bank-Lord Krishna Bank by HDFC Bank was sent to Kerala to get the merger of branches effective. I had half the State under me and when I moved out in 2014, ensured in North Kerala there was an HDFC Bank touchpoint every 10 kilometres. Some of the processes I introduced went on to become the standard operating system of the Bank.
I came back to Mumbai and was made the CEO of a group company, the BPO arm. Here I was managing 21000+ employees. After this position ended, moved out to start my second innings to pursue my passion for writing and speaking.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
I enjoy working. In my second innings, I feel it is my duty to share the experiences I have gained in my working life to the younger generation. This could be through Keynote speeches or training.
There are a lot of trainers out in the market. Many of them have little practical ground-level experience of working. With my rich experience of having moved through the ranks, I feel sharing my experiences will resonate better.”
You are the CEO of ‘Premraj Consultants’ such a unique name. Our audience wants to know what kind of problem are you solving with the help of your start-up?
I am a freelancer. I spent 38 years in top Corporates of the country. I moved up from the ranks to become CEO of a group Company of a leading private sector bank. I seen a lot, experienced a lot. One area that pains me is the way grass root level employees are treated. These lower-level employees need to be treated with more respect. My mission is to make the leadership of Corporates take a fresh look at the bottom half of the pyramid. It is here staff retention is an issue. This needs to be addressed.
What are the key ingredients of your start-up?
It is two-pronged.
1 – Professional speaking
2 – Content writing.
I propose to share my experiences in the corporate world with the upcoming generation. Employee Engagement, especially Crisis Management is what I plan to address through Keynotes or training sessions.
I always had a passion for writing. Content writing is another arrow in my quiver.
Please share with us about your expansion plans?
The pandemic induced lockdown has been a game-changer. The world has narrowed into a neighbourhood. Online delivery being accepted as the new normal has thrown open the whole world to be the market space. I have already spoken internationally. The Middle East and Europe are areas that can be targeted in future.
Also open to collaborating with domain experts to deliver more value.
Which is the niche area you are targeting to address?
Employee Engagement is a niche area that excites me. In Employee Engagement, the micro-niche would be ‘Employee Retention’ and ‘Crisis Management’.
During the course of my working life, I have seen how improper handling of employees has caused attrition and its ramifications. A Gallup survey has revealed, only around 15% of employees are fully engaged. A fully engaged employee helps make their organizations 17% more productive and 21% more profitable
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
During my active working life, I was a workaholic. In my second innings, though, I have slowed down considerably, I keep myself busy with a plethora of activities.
The Covid-19 induced lockdown has given an opportunity to upgrade myself and learn new things. Upskilling myself has been a very satisfying venture.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
A) Share your stories to enlighten and motivate people.
B) Put yourself in the shoes of the customer. Address their pain points.
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
As I was putting myself through the paces, the lockdown happened. During this period, I have conducted many webinars, hosted more than 20 Talk Shows. I have also co-authored three books in the lockdown period. All three of them are Amazon #1 bestsellers. I have also started my YouTube channel. A combination of all these will help me to live my passion.
The willingness to listen to those we serve and align products according to their requirements is the need of the hour.”
The market is not interested in your Products but looking to get their problems resolved. If this can be addressed, you are in business.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your start-up?
1 – You need to help yourself. Only up to a point can you expect external assistance. Beyond that one needs to put in the hard yards.
2 – Comparisons are arduous. Keep growing and glowing at the pace one is comfortable.
3 – Change is constant. Be willing to pivot and change course according to changing landscapes.
Given the rapid pace at which the world is changing, what are the leadership traits that are necessary for success?
For me, Empathy and Compassion are critical leadership traits in the changing world. These are the traits leaders will need to possess if they are to be successful in the post-Covid world.
In your opinion – what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful start-up?
It has to be a judicious mix of both. An idea without a good team will be stillborn. So also, just having a good team with stale ideas would be a recipe for disaster.
The founder(s) of the start-up should have a clear idea of what they intend to pursue. This idea should be shared with the team. The team should be enthused to take this idea towards fulfilment. The start-up arena is riddled with the carcass of failed ventures. The primary reason could be the founders and the initial team not on the same wavelength at the start of the venture.
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
Be bold. Take care of your staff members. While stakeholder and customer interests are important, don’t sacrifice your staff members to get this fulfilled. Need to remember, happy staff members will keep customers happy.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
