BOOK REVIEW. It pays to be honest

Honesty, and pristine honesty at that, is an extraordinary driver of leadership impact, says corporate veteran Chandramouli Venkatesan in his maiden book on how to win at work and in life. It is the one value, embraced in its truest form, which will bestow immense loyal followership and influence.

It is also the most essential ingredient when it comes to creating your personal brand, says the author. Honesty is the best policy in every scenario, especially one regarding the long-term success of your career.

Chandramouli Venkatesan's book Catalyst arms you with the right tools to succeed at the workplace. As Pidilite’s Chief Operating Officer, Mouli knows a thing or two about getting ahead in one’s job, having worked in different corporate settings for over 25 years.

A keen sports enthusiast, Mouli balances his personal stories from stints at Asian Paints, Onida and Cadbury/Mondelez with hard data and engaging examples from his numerous speaking sessions across companies, to explain how one can make progress in one’s own career.

His simple writing, insightful observations and captivating stories about life in the fast lane and the accompanying corporate shenanigans, bring to life how ordinary people can shine at what they do. Mouli explains how honesty expressed respectfully and with an added dose of humility, can be a catalyst for a more successful career. And that allowing oneself to be honest, vulnerable and authentic takes bravery in every setting, especially at the workplace.

The avid golfer says the game of golf can teach us a lot about what it means to manage a successful career, since both require practice, confidence, optimism and patience.

“At the start of the game, beginner golfers are typically encouraged to focus on their swing before they hit the green,” says Mouli. Though this might be tedious for some, having enough patience to improve your swing is definitely going to pay off in the long-run, avers Mouli.

The same holds true for building your career; Mouli insists it is crucial to fine-tune these same qualities. The book is written from the lens of a practising manager and is based on the insights he has gained into how to catalyse success. In the chapter ‘Win Where It Matters’, Mouli mentions the hare and the tortoise fable. Ascribing it to youngsters chasing their career in the initial stage — eager to get off the block and the frenetic pace of career growth — Mouli insists most tend to lose steam near the finish line, just like the rabbit. The author doesn’t subscribe to the moral: slow and steady wins the race. Instead, he proffers an adaptation to the moral: “...win where it matters. You don’t have to win all the time...it is important you win in the second half of your career” for that is where, he opines, true success is created.

In the book, Mouli divides a typical career span into ‘first half’ and ‘second half’ and insists the more significant career achievements are often in the second half of the career, and hence a catalyst is needed: the catalyst of foundation-building in the first half, to ensure success in the second half.

The first career management principle for foundation-building, he adds, is ‘depth over width’. He also cites the target-measure-review-reflection (TMRR) principle, the most effective learning model at work, as a catalyst for converting time into experience.

Terming one’s career path as a marathon, not a sprint, Mouli says, "Your career will grow only as much as you are able to grow as an individual and as a professional. If you stop pushing yourself at any stage, your career growth also comes to a screeching halt."

Managing a career, like running a marathon, is an individual endeavour, says the marathoner. Though preparation and training are essential, whether you are training for a race, or planning your career, Mouli insists one has to leverage all available resources to ensure “you have a good understanding of what’s required to help you reach your goal.”

And what happens when one doesn't succeed in their career? “One externalises. Blames the organisation, blames the boss. Blame everyone but yourself. I think it is impossible to not succeed after being good. You need to keep getting better. It is a very simple model,” he says, adding: “It is a concept I call real individual growth.”

The catalyst of career growth, says Mouli, tends to be real individual growth. Just as a savings account shields you during a financial crisis, a healthy career savings account is bound to help during times of transition, and help you thrive.