Like A Boss I Leaders are created in life, not in any business school, says Info Edge India's Sanjeev Bikhchandani

I begin my day early but it doesn't necessarily happen on my desk. It is mostly on my mobile or laptop while at home. Like today, I woke up at 5 am. I made a few phone calls, mostly overseas... one to Hong Kong, one to California and then responded to emails and WhatsApp messages. By 7 am, I mostly have had my cup of coffee and done a few calls and mails. I take an hour to get ready and do my exercise and then, technically, start my day.

Where is the best place to prepare for leadership: at business school or on the job?

Leaders are created in life, not in any business school. That could actually happen anywhere — be it at work, school or college. But it wouldn't happen through mere degrees. Business degrees definitely give you some knowledge but they do not make you a leader.

Describe your management style.

I am people oriented. I like to listen and look at things from my colleagues point of view first before I express mine. My idea is to be consultative. That way everybody is aligned and then the team is working together to achieve one goal. It leads to better productivity.

Are tough decisions best taken by one person or collectively?

It is important to deliberate, discuss and then take any difficult decision to make sure you are not missing any angle. Now collective does not mean 500 people but definitely including people who matter.

Do you want to be liked, feared or respected?

I guess, all three different things at different times. I want to be liked but there are times when you want people to listen to you and therefore you want to be respected and feared as well. I would say, you can be respected without being feared and feared while being respected. If you do something which lacks integrity then people should be afraid of consequences.

What does your support team look like?

There are different people for different roles. We have a strategic investment department... a CSR (corporate social responsibility) department. Naturally I work with the finance team a fair bit, there is a fair bit of board management. So overall eight to 10 people.

A business outside of the classified sector or a business leader that you draw inspiration from?

I do not draw inspiration from any one person. You learn different things from different people and you observe. Maybe, over the last 30 years, I would have learnt from a few hundred people. You learn from all your various experiences.

Which management book has influenced you the most?

I haven't read too many management books recently... but I like to read about history, both, international and national. But more than books, I would suggest entrepreneurs to talk to people. I mean you can read all the books. Books are useful but there is no one book which I will say is the bible now follow it.

Do you socialise with your team outside of work?

With Covid around we are working from home and not meeting people. But before that we often used to hang out at local restaurants, sometimes at people's homes.

What would your key management advice be?  

Keep talking to your customers. It helps you because it gives you feedback on your product, service... It tells you where you need improvement. It gives you further ideas. It can be about what competition is doing and not doing. It is important to listen to customers.