For MVS Murthy, chief marketing officer, Federal Bank, the best way to keep oneself from burning out is to never take yourself too seriously. Murthy is also quick to state that the work we do, and the people we are fond of are things we should never neglect. He says, “You too are a doctor without a stethoscope and need a lot of patience, for the patients – tasks, to do lists, deadlines, keep coming. As a professional you are as good as your last quarterly results, the investor confidence in your brand and stock, the place of work you contribute to create, particularly at a leadership level.”
Edited Excerpts
What are your favourite quotes on marketing and leadership?
1. Victory belongs to the most preserving – Roland Garros, French aviator
2. If you can meet triumph and disasters and treat both those imposters just the same – Rudyard Kipling, novelist
3. Bhai ko Bapu Dikhta Hai to Dikhta Hai – Circuit, in Munnabhai MBBS (Hindi film)
4. The key thing was to learn the value of economy with words and to never insult the viewer by telling them what they can already see – Sir Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer
5. You Never Know…. ~ Sammy, our guide during in a jungle holiday, encouraging us to try every safari, for you never know what wonders you will stumble on to
In your free time, what marketing-related content do you consume?
I have progressively moved away from core marketing content to business ideas that can be cross pollinated to create opportunities for consumers and society at large. I must hasten and add that my present role as CMO of Federal Bank gives me that tail wind and an open landscape to work on. The staple diet on my desk includes Harvard Business Review and MIT Technology Review and a stack of four to six dailies.
Where do you get your social media fix?
LinkedIn if it is about us viz. Federal Bank and me. X (formerly Twitter) if its about them i.e. keeping abreast of events and happenings and people successes.
Over the past few years, I have become quite anti-social. I don’t have Facebook any more for almost eight years now. Instagram is my go for a very close circle of friends and family. I have a sense that I am able to get off digital without separation pangs, and seem to have got my way around Whatsapp pings too.
What were the last five videos you viewed on any social platform?
1. 2024 Commencement address by Roger Federer at Dartmouth. Have seen this on loop
2. Rahul Dravid’s sign off note to Gautam Gambhir
3. In the Beninging … it’s a fun video
4. Lots of fun videos about dogs
5. Travel related
What is your sport/fitness/wellbeing routine?
Averaging about five days, it includes gym and outdoor runs. From a well being perspective, I live in the moment, try and give the best output for the smallest task, manage food and sleep well. And of course, a lot of time is spent with my family.
How does your routine weekend go and what does your favourite kind of weekend look like?
Weekends are again with family and a close circle of friends. Lots of newspapers to catch up with. Music in the background. Catching up with my Mom. And as a working couple, weekends are the best time to chase our young teen, however overwhelmed he feels!
What are you watching or streaming this weekend?
Will need to check what’s the latest. However have finished Slow Horses, followed the Wimbledon and French Open, the Olympics now and I am a sulking Nadal fan.
Any work or life hack you swear by?
What’s got to be done, is got to be done.
What are you reading?
Lilliput Land by Rama Bijapurkar. The Book of Dog edited by Hemali Sodhi
What’s your advise to avoid personal and professional burnout?
Don’t take yourself seriously. Do take people who love you and the work you are expected to do seriously. You too are a doctor without a stethoscope and need a lot of patience, for the patients – tasks, to do lists, deadlines, keep coming.
A piece of professional wisdom you would like to share with next-gen marketers?
The Brand has a plot viz. a space in the consumer’s mind and a story that you want to tell. Never miss that. The story gets fragmented and adapts to various formats and media.
Macbeth & Hamlet / Romeo & Juliet though by the same author are two different genres and totally different plots.
However shrill and enticing a new trend is, don’t veer away from the plot. Track all your numbers and the impact on P&L. If you aren’t, someone else is tracking both – you and your delivery.
What’s the best advice you’ve got or heard on life?
There are many, let me try and distil to give you my take way in a gist.
Never let failures deflate you or success inflate you. As a professional you are as good as your last quarterly results, the investor confidence in your brand and stock, the place of work you contribute to create, particularly at a leadership level.
At an individual level, waking up every morning, working on becoming better version of yourself and contributing to your immediate family are all priceless moments in life. We may not have all the answers, but we can help reduce confusion for each other, not by being prescriptive but being an example that things go wrong and here is how the recovery played out.
Life is work of progress. Death is conclusive.
Har Ishq Ka Ek Waqt Hota Hai… Jab Tak Hai Jaan…