tion. It is nothing different than building a
business. There will be an initial investment
phase. After building momentum, things
start rolling and it becomes self-sustaining.
A lot could be done.
AM: Having a regular platform for forums
and focused events to pull the alumni
together is important. An event in May in
the Bay Area is a good example of this. We
need to have full-time dedicated staff to
run the Alumni Association and co-ordinate these events across the globe, as well
as get the word out to media to increase
the profile of the college and its alumni.
Where is the journey heading to
next, both personally and as an
organization? What is the quest
going to be in the near future?
AM: A few years back we launched our
Manufacturing and SEZ. We have seen
tremendous response from our customers who want us to scale faster. We will
continue to invest and grow our global
ecosystem for our customers in Aerospace,
Oil & Gas and Automotive sectors.
Personally, I believe we have a unique
opportunity to make India a precision
engineering hub and I will continue to
drive initiatives to strengthen this as long as
I am alive.
AP: We are having a lot of fun building
the organization systematically, growing
it by adding value to our customers. The
market is quite large. I will pursue nothing,
a ‘zero’, another one at the end!
The NITK family is very proud to
have such distinguished alumni
as yourselves. We are extremely
grateful to you for taking time off
and sharing your experiences with
us. To round up this interview,
please share with us your advice
for the students of NITK and where
you would like to see the institution
move in the coming decade.
AM: You will be noticed if you are differ-
ent. What is in it for you is in proportion to
what you can bring to the table.
Get ready to make tough decisions about
friends, family and community to build a
successful organization.
To succeed, you need to wake up every day
with ideas of how to do things better for
your stakeholders (employees, customers,
suppliers, shareholders and community).
In capitalism there is a simple measure
of success: it is the value you create for
your stakeholders; focus on it and you will
succeed.
AP:
Value people around you more than things
around you.
Don’t hesitate to experiment. Risks of
failure are small at the beginning. You can
always get a job.
Take bold decisions. Environment and
opportunities now are far greater than they
ever have been.
Learn to ‘get things done’ through people.
Learn to learn from mistakes; your own
and others’
.
The Seeker
By Ankit Deepak
As I talk to you my friend,
In a town at the world’s end,
There is a boy living his dreams,
Rather than society’s trend.
Our seeker, for his dreams, left every other thing,
From his relatives to his friends’ ring,
Even his night is full of this search,
And a new search, a new day would bring.
There is a treasure hidden in the place,
Men, searched for it, with different face,
The treasure, bestower of happiness beyond belief,
In the boy’s dream had made a space.
The search begets him pain,
From sweating in sun, to ventures in rain,
He also burns in fire of hunger,
But till now his searches have gone in vain.
The boy dreams to get the fortune,
He prepares himself to face any dune,
He reads only its story,
And hums only its tune.
That is a treasure seeker from world’s end,
But our stories are hardly different my friend,
We all are in this world with something in our mind,
Something to make and something to mend.
Image Credits : Vinay Ravi
48
The Shoreline