Life ho to BIG ho

Sanjay Behl, CEO, BIG TV will agree with whoever said life begins at 40.
Behl, who started his career as a marketing trainee at Hindustan Levers, has
recently been elevated from the post of group head, brand and marketing
operations, in the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) company to control reins
of its DTH and IPTV operations.

In the chair, Behl has several targets to achieve. He has the
responsibility of realizing the DTH operator's dream of doubling its channel
bouquet from the current 200 to 400 channels and taking its subscriber base to 3
mn within a year. In an interview with V&D, Behl gets up close and retraces some
highs and lows of his life. He says he is a passionate man and believes in
living life to the fullest. Excerpts

What's your usual morning like?

My day starts at 6:30 am with a cup of hot tea, and by thanking God and
parents to have blessed me with this wonderful life.

What do you do to keep fit?

I am not a fitness freak as such, though I have somehow managed to keep fit
all these years-thanks to my demanding work schedule and rigorous diet
discipline.

What lifts your spirits in tough times?

My eternal optimism, indomitable self-belief, and conviction that every
adversity opens a door to a host of new opportunities, keep me going even
through rough patches in life.

A day in your life you can never forget...

There is one day I will never forget-October 31, 1984-when the then prime
minister, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated. I was on the roads of Delhi and
witnessed the brutality that followed her assassination. I was then a
16-year-old young boy. The entire episode of violence transformed me as a human
being. Since that day, I value the gift of life a lot more and it was then that
I decided to spread humanity in whatever little way I can in my own capacity.

How do you describe Indian politics?

Progressive thought-leadership with regressive functional machinery, which
leads to mismatch of intent with actions or results. But I am very optimistic on
the future of Indian politics with the infusion of youth leadership lately in
almost all the key political parties. Going forward, Indian politics needs to be
based on our key asset of intellectual leadership globally. This will lead to
economic leadership and the rest will follow.

What role do you think you are best at when not playing a CEO?

Whether playing a CEO or not, my individuality as a person remains the same.
I remain a constant learner in my professional and personal avatars. I remain a
parent to my kids at home and mentor to my team at work. I remain a dreamer and
fiercely determined to achieve my dreams, be it at home or at work.

You have been selling entertainment to people. How BIG a TV fan are you
yourself?

I love watching TV and I'm a movie buff myself. Almost everyone working
closely with me is surprised to know about the levels of routine heavy
consumption I have on both these media. I watch almost all kinds of programming
genres on TV, and at any given time I would have surely watched at least eight
out of ten latest film releases, especially from Bollywood. I will not miss any
form of cricket for anything in the world. And lately, I have been hooked onto
fabulous movie title collection of UTV World Movies.

Who controls the remote of your life?

The universal remote controller of most Indian homes-my wife. She manages
almost everything. She does it with much more efficiency than I would have done
myself.

On a Friday evening what could you be spotted doing?

For me, Friday evenings are usually busy. Mostly, I can be seen absorbed in
a business meeting at our Mumbai office.

Are you superstitious?

Yes, I am. I would change my playing position often if I am on a losing
trail in a cards game. And trust me it works!

Is there a moment that you want to relive?

I would like to relive the two days when my sons were born. The human
emotion and feelings I underwent on those two occasions are surreal and can
never be described in words. I really felt ecstatic.

Do you regret taking certain decisions in your professional life?

Yes. At times, I feel I accepted mediocrity from people at work a wee bit
too long. I should have been more demanding and ruthless in demanding task
perfection. In a way, this is one of the BIGgest learnings that I have had in my
professional life; quality people are more important than any organizational
strategy or its execution.

As a taskmaster what irks you the most?

Mediocrity, shoddy detailing, and lack of personal viewpoint of team
members. I expect every task to be performed with utmost sincerity, dedication,
intuitive guidance, and quality analysis.

If you were not the CEO of a company, what do you think would you be doing
in life?

I would have been a pilot. I am passionate about flying, though it's one
dream which never materialized for me, given the academic priorities at that
juncture. But as I look back, I don't have any regrets as I am thoroughly
enjoying my current role.

By the way, I am an awful cook, an average bartender and have never tried my
hands as a barber.

If God asked you to take a pick from fame, money, and position, what would
you choose?

This is a tricky one. If forced to pick just one out of these three options
only (and nothing else on offer), I would pick position because fame and money
have never been prime drivers for me. Getting to the kind of work I love gives
me the drive to move ahead. But before picking any of these, I would have asked
God to justify his divine powers by including health, love, and fulfillment
amongt the choices being offered to me.

What is the best excuse that you ever gave to your boss? Has it ever come
back to you from your juniors?

The best excuse that I have given to my boss whenever I have been
under-prepared for any task is that if I was given a little more time, the
quality of my proposal would have enhanced dramatically-though such a situation
of tendering an excuse has occurred quite rarely. But yes, I have got it back
from my juniors at times and I have never accepted it.

One tip that you would like to give to your employees who are aspiring BIG,
may be to be in your chair one day.

There is absolutely no substitute to passion in anything one does. A dose of
fierce passion surges you ahead in your career far more than your academic
legacy, sheer intellect, or hard work. Also, I have seen too many people
unnecessarily laying enormous importance to roles or job titles that they are
given in any organization. It is my firm belief that 'people make roles' and
it's never the other way around.

Heena Jhingan

heenaj@cybermedia.co.in