Note to readers: How do corporate India’s leaders manage their businesses? Where do they draw inspiration from? What is their management style? Like A Boss is a new series of interviews aimed to offer readers lessons from corporate bosses on how they run their companies.
At 27, Ritesh Agarwal happens to be one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the Indian startup ecosystem to have built a multi-billion dollar startup. He founded Oyo when he was just 19 and created ripples in the startup world after Japanese conglomerate Softbank invested in his company.
In recent years, Oyo has undertaken a breakneck expansion beyond India to markets such as China, Europe, Southeast Asia and the United States, making it one of the world’s biggest hospitality brands in terms of the number of rooms. But that has come at the cost of widening losses and questions over the quality of Oyo’s properties. That makes Agarwal a magnet for social media jibes.
Nonetheless Agarwal is regarded as a role model by many youngsters. Few people hailing from a middle class family (from Orissa) have managed to build a billion-dollar business. In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, Agarwal talks about his management style, where he draws inspiration from and why it is ok not to like him to work with him.
What time do you like to be at your desk?
I start my day early and go through the emails and Slack/WhatsApp messages received from different teams from across geographies—India, US, China, Europe Southeast Asia etc. This really helps me in keeping up with the teams and assisting them with strategic decision making and effective time management throughout the day. Beyond this, it is all about preparing for leadership meetings, directly connecting with frontline staff, partners, and customers, making calls across geographies catching up on action and short frequent banter sessions with my leaders - everyone needs to discuss things beyond work, especially in these challenging times.
Where is the best place to prepare for leadership: at business school or on the job?
Leadership, as a trait, is a balanced mix of discipline, empathy, leading from the front and commitment towards creating an impact through hard work and perseverance. It’s about utilising your human skills in a way that you continue to inspire people around you as you collectively work towards achieving a common goal. Personally, the experiences I’ve had since childhood and in building OYO while working with thousands of OYOpreneurs have shaped up my approach towards leadership.
I believe in what Mark Twain said: don’t let schooling interfere with your education and this learning is applicable to leadership also. Your passion, grit and the willingness to create a positive impact define your leadership values.
Describe your management style. What does your support team look like?
At Oyo, I am fortunate to have partners from very early on who are strong independent leaders in their own right. As we progressed the list of leaders who reposed their faith in Oyo kept growing. As a famous poet said, “karwan chalta gaya, log judte gaye”. To me the management of this hugely talented group seems quite natural rather than having to deploy some deep science—it is fairly intuitive.
The expectation from them always stays to ensure the larger good for Oyo and its stakeholders and continued innovation so we stay ahead of the curve.
Are tough decisions best taken by one person or collectively?
We believe in the concept of distributed leadership. While every leader is empowered to take independent decisions to ensure timely execution, they are fully supported by the entire leadership bench. We arrive at any tough decision collectively backed by thorough discussions, deep-diving into the matter and opting for the best possible resolution.
Do you want to be liked, feared or respected?
Mutual respect and trust are two extremely important values at OYO and dear to my heart. Each one of us at OYO strives to deliver an exceptional customer and partner experience to ensure that we are the preferred and trusted choice for them.
And being respected by our stakeholders for the value we deliver to them is of the utmost importance to us.
Personally for me, respect is very important. Even if you don’t like me or my choices, if you respect me, we can still happily co-exist.
A business outside of the hospitality sector or a business leader that you draw inspiration from?
Bill Gates is someone who serves as a personal inspiration. His impact on the world is beyond business and technology. With the Gates Foundation, he is helping to make the world a better place.
Which management book has influenced you the most?
Zero to One by Peter Thiel. He is someone I look up to. The book has played an important role in shaping my approach towards life, both from a business and personal perspective. It successfully encapsulates the strategy behind running and sustaining a business, which is the most important thing to learn for an entrepreneur. It’s an inspiring and thought-provoking read that teaches you how to think like a leader.
Do you socialise with your team outside of work?
It’s a great stressbuster for me to be in touch with OYOpreneurs outside work. This has now changed to virtual calls or facetime with teams, exchanging notes on wellness and fitness, online quiz sessions or just having discussions on topics beyond work. I always look up to suggestions on books to read or movies/documentaries to watch.
What would your key management advice be?
The one advice I’ve always given leaders and even those who want to build their own ventures is to surround yourself with mission-oriented individuals who feel passionately for the problem you are solving. This is something that was advised to me when I was starting up and it has proved to be extremely helpful for me in building Oyo.
I also keep reminding myself and all my leaders, that every crisis gives you the opportunity to innovate and solve a new set of complex problems, and as people who have an entrepreneurial mindset, we should make best out of these opportunities.
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