Ravinder Deep Singh Sethi has spent 22 years of his career, shaping successful business strategies. The COO of New Delhi-based Oncquest Laboratories, one of India’s leading pathology labs, has had a distinguished career with leading corporate houses – such as Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Communications, Tata Communications, Ranbaxy Global Consumer, Dr Lal PathLabs and Metropolis Healthcare. Mr Sethi – ‘RD’ to friends and business associates – has a doctorate in management and a PGDBM degree in sales and management from Delhi University. In an engrossing interview with Sharmila Chand, Mr Sethi shares his management principles and practices that have helped him go places.

Your five management mantras...

Being proactive: If you do not enjoy your job, it’s better to seek something else that is more fun rather than wait, be fired and then look around. The same goes for an entrepreneur. Be it your personal or professional life, one of the most important principles is the idea of being proactive – make the changes that are necessary before they become inevitable.

Believe in yourself: Everything is possible, if you believe you can. To me, success is an unshakeable confidence and an undying smile. If you are doing exemplary, but you are irritable, stressed and unhappy, I tell you, your success factor is zero. I have seen many businesses near death, yet they have confidence, they are friendly with other people, and they keep a smile. That is a true sign of success. Even if you lose everything, if you have the confidence that you can recreate everything again, that is then a true sign of success. Remember, success is a habit, it is not a phenomenon.

Be innovative: Innovation is essential to maintain and grow your business. The world is changing very fast, and if you are not innovative, you will find yourself in the back seat. And so, it is important to be creative and develop your innovative tendencies. For every innovation, you need both intellect and intuition. It is not enough, if you have just done well academically and have intellectual abilities. For innovation, you need an intuitive insight as well.

Be intuitive: One of the key factors of being a successful entrepreneur is intuition. If you don’t have intuition, you cannot be a good businessperson, because you cannot go on trying your luck. The success that comes to you through picking chances is accidental and can also bring you failure. But if you have intuitive abilities, you will not fail. So, intuition is the fuel for growth.

Develop ownership in team: You need to create a sense of ownership among people working in the company. A good measure of this is teamwork and commitment. People working in any set-up without a sense of ownership cannot make much progress. Give them opportunity, and show trust.

A game that helps your career...

I play Chess quite often. By playing chess, you are exercising your brain. With practice, you will be able to remember and retain things for a longer duration. Chess also helps you to be aggressive and calculative at the same time.

Turning point in your career life...

I’m not sure if there ever was a “turning point” in my career. There have been some significant decisions and non-decisions; some good calls that seemed prescient at the time and some mistakes, followed by regret. All of which seems to be a part of a journey that evolves and spools out over time. The term turning point implies a big pivot or redirection that I can’t say that I ever made. I think that a career is built over time and based on accrued experience. That it is impossible to reach a destination or achieve a goal without enduring the calamities and enjoying the good fortune that happen along the way. It’s impossible to skip steps while building a career and becoming a professional, and you really shouldn’t want to. Previous experience shapes future decisions and the hard-and-fast rule should be not to make the same mistake twice. I’m not a big fan of the “fail-to-succeed” strategy. I’m more of a “measure-twice-cut-once” camp. Determine the goals, do your homework, create a plan, do your best to execute it, and revise along the way. That way, you have milestones instead of turning points.

Secret of your success...

Only one that’s “Focus”

Your philosophy of work...

My philosophy when it comes to work is to do my best every single day. I never procrastinate and always approach a challenge with an open mind. My motto has certainly helped me work my way through many challenges in the workplace.

Any person you admire...

I’m a big fan of Michael Jordan because of his never-say-die attitude. He used failures to succeed. He got success after a lot of failures. I recite this quote often: “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions, I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Best advice you got...

I find this the best, which was given by a person, whom I designated as the Father of Modern Pathology: “Using empathy and training yourself to think like a problem-solver is the key to success.”

Your sounding board...

My sounding board is my core team, and we brainstorm together in the interest of customer and business. For us, customers’ delight is important, and before scaling the idea or plan, we test it on internal customers and record their voices for betterment and enhanced learning experience for the group.

Your favourite books...

A short one by author Vishal Anand – 37+ Grace Marks – because life is beyond numbers as well. It is a good read for beginners.

Your fitness regime...

I’m not a fitness freak but give importance to both physical and mental health. For executives like us, mental health plays an equally important part. I am an early riser. I do brisk walking in the morning to keep myself physically fit and do meditation for a healthy mind which enables me to make quick decisions.

Your five business mantras...

Get organised: You need to be well organised. It will help you complete tasks and stay on the top of things to be done. A good way to be organised is to create a to-do list each day. I remember keeping a small spiral dairy in my shirt’s pocket and used to tick off completed things. This ensured that I haven’t forgotten anything and completed all the tasks which were essential for the survival of business.

Utilise & analyse data: By doing so, you’ll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome those challenges.

Be creative: Always be looking for ways to improve your business, and make it stand out from the competition. Recognise that you don’t know everything, and be open to new ideas and different approaches to your business.

Stay focused: The old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, applies here. Just because you open a business, it doesn’t mean you’re going to start making money immediately. It takes time to let people know who you are. So, stay focused on achieving your short-term goals.

Be consistent: Consistency is a key component to making money in business. You have to keep doing what is necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money in the long run.

Your message on management to youngsters...

Be genuine, and work on your strengths.