Saurabh Goenka: Co-Founder & CEO

In conversation with Saurabh Goenka, He started his career at V and More Company as an Audit Assistant and then worked his way up the corporate ladder at Wipro as Financial Reporting and financial digital transformation lead. He was President and Director of strategy at Mind Map Consulting and now he is the Co-Founder & CEO at Mind Map Digital. We would like to understand the role of the Co-Founder & CEO from him and how to become one.

 

1. Describe your work and work profile in a very simple manner?

   

A Chartered Accountant and a Digital Transformation professional with more than a decade's experience in process automation, process improvement, digital transformation, and strategic leadership and my expertise lies in leading Digital Transformation Enablement Services, organizational strategies, and focus on achieving goals and expand market share. Through my experience, I have gained oversight of operational and financial responsibilities to ensure business performance and significant revenue enhancements. I’ve worked with several MNCs and Fortune 500 organizations designing their digital roadmap and helping them achieve their Digital Transformation goals.

 

2. Can you share your Daily Routine with us?

Morning belongs to me – I usually spend time across a meditation and workout regime and spend 30-60 minutes with a book before starting my day. I structure my day by sorting my to-do list for the day. Check my email, filter out the important ones, and prepare a schedule accordingly. I set up a meeting with my team & discuss the work which has to be completed on priority & understand if any task is still pending. Have a two-way conversation & as per the conversation set a workflow delegate tasks. Check my appointment schedule & prepare for the meetings which are scheduled for the day.
Spend about 10-15 minutes with project managers and get an insight into all the action items, deliverables of the projects assigned to them. I end the day by preparing a list of tasks for the following day.

 

3. How did you reach this stage in your career?

Curiosity and the desire to do more. When I came out as a Chartered Accountant I didn’t have much interest in auditing and was more inclined towards technology and process transformation. I got an opportunity in Wipro as Financial Reporting & Finance Digital Transformation Lead. I invested my time in learning different technologies, which has helped me to give my best as Financial Digital Transformation Lead. In those 5 years, I have headed a medium-sized team for all central financial reporting and business analytics supporting delivery, sales, and CXO organizations with relevant analytics including P&Ls, profitability walks, and business segment summaries.
Led the development of several financial reporting automation tools in the organization to act as self-service portals for delivery and sales teams and this is when I realized that I should be doing this at a much larger scale.
That’s about the time when I moved on to partner with an old friend in Mind Map Consulting and co-founding multiple businesses and new verticals aimed at adding value across the skilling ecosystem to enable a digital transformation mindset and also our latest offering in implementing digital transformation in a full cycle consulting and implementation setup.

 

4. What skills should a candidate possess if he wants to take up a profession similar to yours?

First, the candidate needs to understand that there are no limits or definitions. All limits and definitions are unrealistic imaginations of human potential. Second, they need to understand that there isn’t necessarily a strong link between their education on which they’ve spent maybe a few couple dozen years and what they might end up doing after a few more dozen years. Dreams are important and each one needs to align with the inner calling.

Speaking of some skills, competencies, and drivers which I’ve seen to be more contributory in shaping up professional careers in general and what I like to see in people when I hire them :

• • Problem Solving, Communication Skills, Analytical Skills, Super-Fast Decision Making, Curiosity.
• • Cultural dexterity—combining cultural knowledge, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal skills to achieve results in any cross-cultural context
• • Learning agility—the ability to apply past lessons to new and first-time situations
• • Emotional intelligence—reading and relating to others

Competencies :

• • Thought—understanding the business, making complex decisions, and creating new and different innovative solutions while keeping customer empathy.
• • Results—taking initiative, managing execution, and focusing on performance.
• • People—building collaborative relationships, optimizing diverse talent, and influencing people.
• • Self—being authentic, open, flexible, and adaptable.

Drivers :

• • Challenge—motivated by achievement in the face of tough obstacles.
• • Structure—prefers process-oriented, structured, and stable work environments.
• • Independence—prefers to work freely, autonomously, and with limited involvement from others.
• • Power—motivated to seek influence, recognition, and increasing levels of responsibility.

 

5. What are the Pros & Cons of your profession?

Pros :

A lot of opportunities out there to grow. The Responsibility to take important decisions challenging and impact lives real-time.

Cons :

Takes effort and an involved a lot of uncertainty/risks to convert opportunities and measure success, have to always be on top of things, and always available.
Uncertainty, fear of failure since clients and customers are new to digital transformation and one is not sure how they will react to digital transformation initiatives.

 

6. What is the best way to bag a job similar to yours?

The best way is to keep learning and keep doing what you like and connect with a like minds, a great job will find you. An inquisitive mind, entrepreneurial spirit, and an attitude of whatever it takes to taste customer success are some of the attributes to work in a similar domain as mine.

 

7. What advice would you give to the freshers who are willing to venture into this line?

Dedication & focus on what he/she wants to achieve in life. Every skill that we learn or possess helps us in surviving, but to be passionate & driven is up to an individual. Investing time wisely in learning & developing skills will help a candidate to progress in his/her career.

 

Final Notes

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