The Road Less Travelled

After a four year stint at the Times of India group where I handled space selling , I was on the lookout for another opportunity. Of the several interviews that I went through, way back in 1998,I have very vivid memories of the one I attended for a role at Schindler. I had gone quite unprepared expecting to be interviewed by one person. I was so wrong because this was not one or two but a 5 member panel conducting interviews!! As I was being introduced by the head of HR to the VP-Operations, MD, CEO and the other functional heads, I could feel my knees quiver and my heartbeat race. I felt intimidated by the erudite management team and tried hard to keep myself focused on the questions being asked. From details of my work experience to academics and my interests in dance-there was nothing in my CV that I had not been quizzed on. I emerged from the room an hour later; heaving a sigh of relief that it was over, but also pleased. I remember saying to myself, “I don’t know if I made it but that was a rocker of an interview experience!!”

A month later on a wintry January morning, I found myself on the 15th floor of Gopaldass Bhawan , Connaught Place; as I embarked on my journey at Schindler. It wasn’t hard to notice the stark change from Times of India, in more ways than one. From an office which was only full of women, this one had none! From sharing my desk and phone with three others, I now had an independent work station with a state of the art Siemens landline, all to myself. From an antiquated desktop which was also shared, I now had an IBM laptop and a mobile phone to complete the set. Way back in 1999, this level of gadget comfort was still uncommon and an aspiration for many, so needless to say I was very thrilled with my acquisitions. My enthusiasm was however dampened when I was informed that there has been a slight change in my role and that I would handle product sales for a while. Maintenance contract led sales for which I was hired had been shelved as a business by the management and hence the decision. After a brief conversation with my managing director, I was convinced that I had made an error of judgement and would give this a shot only for a month and not more. I was so wrong—not only did I adapt to product(new installation) sales but also did it for six years and in two diverse markets!!!!

I distinctly recall this episode; when my father had come to pick me up from office, one evening. Out of concern for his daughter, he very earnestly asked the CEO, “She has no industry experience, she is not even an engineer. How will she cope? Why have you hired her??” The CEO, an Italian head of the Indian subsidiary; smiled assuredly. He explained, that they were seeking a fresh perspective from talent outside the industry and a lack of an engineering degree would not be a barrier. His confidence gave me a ray of hope and I decided to give this my best shot. At Schindler India's 25th year celebration last year, Mr Silvio Napoli ( who was CEO Schindler India in 1999)  narrates jokingly, " Hiring Aparna was not enough, I had to sit for an interview with her father to keep her!!!"

The first 100 days were tough to say the least. I had to start from scratch and move quickly.
My induction as a new joinee was truly novel. I was asked to report to the roof- top of a residential building, on Hailey Road, where Schindler’s first installation was underway. This is where I spent a better part of the winter of 1999, observing how an elevator is installed. On one of his surprise visits, the head of field operations, asked me pointedly, “So how does one align the guide rails?” “How is the DBG(distance between guide rails) calculated?” Every part of me was screaming to say that tools and equipment didn’t interest me and I couldn’t be bothered about guide rails. One look at him and I knew he would have none of this. Learning by doing was his principle and I had no option but to hop onto the car top and figure it out. So quite grudgingly I donned a helmet and a harness and carefully stepped on to the top of the lift cabin. From the 14th floor when I looked down the shaft, I felt dizzy and shrieked in panic. All work that day came to a standstill as I became an amusing spectacle. A few days later we learnt that there was an erroneous shipment of some of the components of the elevator. This stalled the entire installation process and nobody was more pleased than me. Playing cricket, mobile phone games and sipping umpteen cups of masala chai at the roadsidel tea shop, is how we spent our time; till such time as work resumed.

One of my first questions on ‘what is a machine room’ invited a sniggered response from some of my more seasoned colleagues. I was a silent participant in all technical discussions.They spoke an alien language altogether and I was always scared of asking a stupid question. With each passing day, like a child learning a new language I learnt to construct sentences using the right technical words. It was not long before hoistway size, column thickness, lintel height, rag bolts and the like were words that became a part of my everyday vocabulary. Through this entire phase the unflagging support of some colleagues and my senior management is what kept me afloat. There were many a times when I asked myself, “why am I doing this?” “Will I be able to do this?” Almost unfailingly, each time clouds of doubt enveloped me, there was someone in the organization who encouraged me to keep moving. Sometimes I felt, I was holding on, more for the confidence they reposed in me; than for myself!

While I was trying to cope with my lack of technical and industry experience, I realized there was another barrier I would have to deal with— that of my credibility as a female professional in a male dominated industry. Builders and architects were not used to negotiating with a lady, for a technical product and hence an initial apprehension was an additional challenge I had to face. It was strange for me to reckon with the fact that there was a buzz in the industry of a woman having entered a male bastion. In an industry where people movements are monitored quite closely this was probably headline news. Three years later, when I moved to Bangalore as part of Schindler’s foray into the southern market,a feeling on déjà vu was all consuming. On many an occasion when I walked in for a meeting, I found my prospective client, looking expectantly over my shoulder for someone else to accompany me. When I told them I was alone, it was met with a response of skepticism and to an extent bewilderment, on whether I would be able to handle techno-commercial negotiations. To see perceptions change and prejudices break over a period of time, was definitely a huge high.

One of my first contracts, my first ‘taste of blood’ as my boss would put it, was met with much jubilation and cheer within the organization. Everyone was waiting with bated breath on how I would fare and so a string of congratulatory mails from everyone in the organization followed. For me it was significant because I had broken barriers within myself ---I had moved from a ‘I cant do it” to an “I can and its possible” one. This contract of two elevators was for a posh building in a South Delhi, colony, owned by a rather typical unrefined Delhi builder. Most of our meetings happened on a half broken chair at his building site. In addition to the sales pitch I was also preoccupied with balancing myself on the rickety chair while ducking pieces of concrete falling from the top floors!!! Every time I met him he would try desperately to pronounce Schindler but found it a tongue twister. On one occasion he introduced me to another builder friend of his as “ Madam from Chandelier company”. When I corrected him he tried to copy me, to say “Sachindler" !!!!

In its first year of its operations, Schindler had launched the machine room less elevator and so a lot of my time was invested in proposing this concept to architects and structural consultants. For fairly obvious reasons, I found my comfort zone in concept selling more than in product selling. It took some time and experience to start enjoying the latter. Schindler also introduced the concept of account management. i.e All aspects of project management from selling, PR, collections, complaints, site execution was coordinated by a single point interface between the client and the organization. While this was well received by the market, the poor account manager had a tough time juggling several balls in the air. No mean task, especially as the number of projects kept increasing each successive year.

As part of business development, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting a wide cross section of people. From the rustic to the more cultured ones, from the young and inexperienced to the old and well versed, my tack and approach varied substantially, making my profile very dynamic. Every contract therin was unique, offering a different experience and learning.While some client interactions I would like to obliterate from my memory, quite a few of them presented an enjoyable experience.

An interesting incident comes to mind--one of my clients, was getting an elevator installed at his residence. He owned two rather ferocious German Shepherds,so every time I visited him he would have to chain them up before I could enter the premises. Once the shaft was ready and the scaffolding in place,I was accompanied by two of my site installation engineers. I had warned them about the dogs but they didn’t seem very concerned about it. Just as we were inspecting the shaft, we heard the dogs race down from the terrace. The din they created sent a shiver down my spine and I was fortunately close enough to the front gate to rush out to safety. After the dogs had been contained by their master, I re entered the house but couldn’t see my colleagues. I then heard them calling out from the top of the hoistway.In sheer fright they had climbed up the scaffolding like monkeys !!! Every time this incident was recounted to others, we share a hearty laugh.

Preparing for the pre qualification process of the Delhi metro Rail project is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. This was the first time that we were handling a project of this scale,so it needed several hands to put the requisite documents together. Everyone at the Delhi and Mumbai offices was in some way or the other involved in probably the biggest project that the Indian market was witnessing. As the deadline for submission approached, the pace of work got more frenetic. Despite being weighed down by the mound of work, it was interesting to notice that there were no complaints of fatigue or ennui. Everyone revelled in the camaraderie that they shared as each one put their best foot forward. It was an excellent display of bonhomie and team spirit—one that I am proud to be a part of.

After spending close to three years at the Delhi office, I moved to be a part of the Bangalore operations. Penetrating the market where some of the local brands were deeply entrenched, was an enormous task. Change doesn’t go down well with the risk averse South Indian psyche,so breaking through their mindset with a new product concept(machine room less elevator) and brand name was immensely challenging. To add to our woes, the economic downturn post 09-11 had an adverse effect on sales. In my entire professional career so far,2002 was clearly the most stressful. Bookings were far from target, collections was minimal, bosses were hollering and the morale was down. It was only about a year later that business started looking up. Our hopes were renewed with the sprouting of malls in Bangalore as the demand for escalators increased.

Around this time when I was attending an offsite, I was introduced to another female colleague who had recently joined the organization. It was heartening to see the gender balance tilting; albeit slowly. I was very happy to meet with her and felt an instant connect. Quite instinctively I took on a protective role and advised her(not sure if it was solicited by her!!) on what lay ahead in this fairly daunting industry.

As I look back at the six years I spent at Schindler, I feel I have come a long way. It has been an interesting kaleidoscope of experiences sprinkled with several highs, lows, challenges, and opportunities..A unique learning curve that has helped me grow manifold, both personally and professionally. Its been two years since I moved on from Schindler but the close relationships formed; I will cherish for a life time to come. Thanks to technology most of us(now ex Schindler) still keep in touch and meet up regularly to walk down memory lane.