<span class="htext1">How life has changed:</span> Leadership style has to be natural, not put on: Srikant Shastri

For Srikant, the joy of generating innovative marketing ideas still live on

10 Years Back:

That time, Solutions was a four year-old (young!) company. After a roaring start in 1995-96, we foolishly aimed for massive growth during 1997-99, with very limited financial resources. Hence, by 1999, we were in a very tight corner.

While we were still growing well, there were huge cash-flow challenges. Senior managers' salaries were, for a while, a month behind schedule. I, personally, drove around in my Maruti 800 with as little as Rs 10 in my wallet. Overall it was a tough period!

Turning Point:

Things completely turned around from 2000 onwards, and we haven't looked back since then. In 2000, angel capital was infused, and we moved to a brand-new office. It lifted both our stature and morale. By 2004, we were clearly the largest marketing services company in India.

We even started an office in Singapore to handle Asia-wide assignments. We spun off a separate company, Team4U, to provide outsourced (contract) sales-force to large companies.

By 2005-06, Publicis Groupe took a 60 per cent stake in Solutions, which was a vindication of what we had achieved. Simultaneously, we had the Dutch company, Randstad, acquire Team4U.

The year 2008 was an eventful one, when we got aligned to the Digitas Network within Publicis Groupe and got re-branded as Solutions-Digitas. This has helped to transform us into a stronger digital player.

Work-Life Balance:

My attitude towards work has been broadly the same. My team and I still have a great deal of fun creating innovative marketing ideas that are path-breaking. We continue to operate as an open culture, with no closed doors. The one area where we have changed is possibly to do with financial discipline.

From the non-work standpoint, it's a lot more hectic, because of the multiple hats I wear. I also have a foundation - 'Growth-For-All', which is a collaborative movement that brings together NGOs, corporates, individuals and government, to make social impact.

Tough Calls:

Every now and then, one has had to part ways with people who did not, or could not perform. While we take a long time to form an opinion about a person's ability and performance, it is indeed difficult when one finally decides to part ways.

Leadership:

In my view, the leadership style has to be one's own natural style, and not put on. That being the case, I would hope that my natural style - open, accessible, reasonably easy-going - has remained the same.