“Always consider yourself a product in a retail store. Make sure you are always available at the right place, and at the right time,” says Mukesh Bajpai, Marketing Head, AMD India. in a conversation with Storyboard18 he recollected the advice imparted to him by his senior: “Make sure you are visible to the relevant people and to the ones who matter.” And that is his mantra for success.”
Edited Excerpts
Can you list five of your favourite quotes on marketing and leadership?
American lawyer and political activist Ralph Nader had stated, “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
The second quote by American author Marty Neumeier is, “Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”
The third quote is by Marico’s Founder and Chairman Harsh Mariwala, who said, “If your marketing is not solving a problem, it’s just noise.”
The fourth quote by Ratan Tata highlighted the fact that a brand’s true value lay not in what the company claimed, but in the consumer-driven narratives and experiences shared among the peers.
In your free time, what kind of marketing-related content do you look at?
Reading scripts or articles from the Harvard Business Review or HBR, watching some podcasts on YouTube or reading a book on marketing which is really appealing to me gives me real good insights about it.
Who are your favourite creators and what draws you to them?
With YouTube, Instagram and so many other platforms coming into uuplay, the whole definition of creators is kind of blurred.
I admire Raj Shamani, especially the podcasts’ he does around brand psychology, consumer behaviour, digital marketing strategies etc.
Another favourite of mine is American orator and academic Scott Galloway. His whole data driven approach towards market trends is extremely insightful.
Where do you get your social media mix from?
I restrain myself from spending too much time on social media because I want to retain my original thoughts, views and perspectives and not get influenced by too much noise which is going around on social media. But, I normally get my social media mix from LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit.
What were the last few videos you viewed on any platform?
It has mostly been TEDx videos on YouTube. Very recently, I was watching a TEDx video which was about ‘How AI is reshaping marketing in India’. Another one was about a creator or a journalist who had created a video on how the whole concept of MahaKumbh had come into existence.
What is your sport or fitness routine like?
Since my childhood, I have been a very active sports person.
I have been a good cricketer, badminton player and table tennis player, but I am not able to find the time or resources to engage in these activities anymore.
But, what I make sure of is that every day, I spend around one and a half hours on working out either in the gym or on the road. I run for almost one hour every three days in a week. And six days in a week, I hit the gym.
I make sure that I don’t miss my fitness because that’s very critical owing to the way our lifestyle is in metros, and how demanding the work or the corporate culture is these days.
What is your favourite weekend like?
During weekends, I try to create a balance in my life and unplug myself from work. I like to spend time with my family, visit my close relatives or friends or call them to my place for dinner.
I have developed a very recent passion which is learning to play guitar, especially during the weekends.
What do you watch on weekends?
I stopped watching television many years ago. Cricket is something which I hook on to. On weekends, I make sure that I watch at least half the game, if not the full game.
Any work or life hack you swear by?
My favourite life hack is, ‘Plan tomorrow before today ends’.
Every day, before I shut shop, I take 10 extra minutes to note down what my next day will look like. What are my top priorities, what’s important, what’s urgent. I classify those priorities or my to-do’s for the next day and then I shut down my PC.
What are you reading? Any recommendations?
In terms of books, I say that one must read the book called ‘The Discovery of India’ by Jawaharlal Nehru.
It gives so much perspective and learning about how India was created and travelled over a long period of time, and how its culture evolved. The second book I would recommend is ‘India Unbound’ by Gurcharan Das.
Then, ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’ by Rashmi Bansal and ‘Snapshots from Hell: The making of an MBA’ by Peter Robinson is something I would recommend.
What is your advice to avoid personal and professional burnout?
Number one: prioritise your health. Everything will come back, but your health will not come back if you are done physically or mentally.
Second, set boundaries. Work will always be demanding and work will never end, no matter what.
And, a very good principle that I follow is that, I set a limit of doing three big tasks in a day accompanied by five or six less complicated tasks.
If you complete three tasks in a day, at the end of the week, you will see you’re pretty satisfied with your outcomes. Last, focus on the big picture. Don’t get lost in transactions, don’t get lost into day-to-day tasks. They will go on.
Whether you are there, you are not there, tasks will still happen, but focus on the big picture. If you want to become a leader, you need to focus, you need to have that ability to zoom in and zoom out. So, that ability to zoom in and zoom out is what will differentiate between a leader and a follower.
A piece of advice you would like to share with Gen Z?
I would advise them to concentrate because what I feel about them is that they are not able to concentrate and focus on a single topic or subject or object for too long. Hence, they should try to concentrate. They should be more adaptable. Whatever they are in the current state, they can still afford to be more adaptable that will surely help them in their life going forward.
What’s the best advice you’ve got in life?
In my first job, the advice my senior gave was, “Always consider yourself as a product in a retail store.” Make sure you are always available at the right place, and at the right time. And, make sure you are visible to the relevant people and to the ones who matter.
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