Defining Moments: Meenakshi Madhvani: "I can't ignore challenges"

I was very clear, pretty early on, that all I wanted to do was advertising. When I actually got into advertising, I thought that was fantastic. These days you do not see that passion. For most people, it is just a job.

The excitement continued with public service advertising at Lintas. Alyque Padamsee believed in communicating for change. When you use communication to sell people products that they do not need, you are creating want and desire. That is the power of communication. If I can make someone go out and buy something they do not need, imagine harnessing that power to get them do something they should be doing. For example, go out and vote, go out and protect the environment, do something for the girl child.

The whole Lintas experience in servicing was amazing. I launched Fair & Lovely in India. That was a time when the clients and the agency had this amazing relationship of mutual respect. That is something I feel a little sad about because mutual respect seems to have mostly disappeared, or has become extremely weak. At one point of time, you could challenge your clients and debate with them, and the client would accept what you said. Today, it has become a rather servile kind of relationship.

The next significant moment came when I moved to Zee and realised the power of the media. When I joined Zee, in 1994, television was like a kindergarten and a college, all rolled into one. Not knowing any of the rules, we went in and created ones that were completely new.

Then of course, Spatial Access, the first media audit company in India, was launched in 2004. The first year was incredibly tough. There was huge resistance from the industry. Selling a new idea is always difficult. But, I cannot ignore a challenge, and this became a personal one that I had to respond to. That is what I did with my team.

In 2004, we started with one client, four people and one service, media audit. Today, we have 120 clients, 30 people, three services -- media, production and BTL audit -- and work across six countries.

When it comes to my key influences, I have three gurus. The late Shunu Sen, who was the head of marketing at Hindustan Lever, Padamsee and Subhash Chandra (Zee). Sen taught me about marketing. Padamsee was my teacher, when it came to advertising. He taught me that 'God is in the details'. Chandra was my teacher when it came to business. All three taught me about life.

What I have learnt is to respect everybody, and that without integrity you are nowhere. I have learnt to demand the best from individuals. I am a demanding boss. Ordinary people do extraordinary things with the right kind of encouragement.