Looking Back: Life and Times of a Green Field Expert

Preamble: Mr Sunil Kulkarni in a career spanning 37 years has worked in a number of companies and geographies starting out as a Graduate engineering trainee in the year 1981.Companies he has worked include Hindustan Cables Ltd in Hyderabad, Tamilnadu Telecommunications Ltd in Arakkonan,, Sterilite Industries at Aurangabad/ Pune and finally Power Plus co LLC in the United Arab Emirates where he was the GM (Projects) and later Head of Marketing. He also ran his own company for three years.

Mr Kulkarni had the privilege and good fortune to mostly work and gain rich experience in green field projects during his illustrious career. We briefly worked together in  Tamilnadu Telecommunications Ltd, Arakkonam when Mr Kulkarni was the HOD of Production and I the HOD of Personnel & admin. It was a great pleasure to meet with him after many years and have this engaging and insightful conversation. 

 

Rajeev Moothedath (RM): Warm greetings to you! Although I have given a brief outline in the preamble about your professional journey over the years, could you tell readers something about your childhood and early influences in life?   

Sunil Kulkarni (SK): Happy meeting you once again!. I was born in Indore, MP and spent my childhood and schooling there. My father worked in a company at Dewas, 45 Kms away which meant he left for work very early in the morning and returned late at night at 9 PM, sometimes 10 PM. Therefore, the responsibilities of parenting fell mostly on mother.  As a child, I was active in games and also enjoyed my hobbies involving arts and crafts. 

Although both my parents underscored the importance of studying well, they did not superimpose their views on choice of career etc.

RM:  So how and when did you choose your career?

SK:   When I was in the eight standard, I used to make the models of cars, trucks and buses out of used cardboard boxes. Somehow, this thought came to my mind that I should become a mechanical engineer. It was this discipline that I pursued on growing up by joining the Government engineering College Ujjain. I got admission on merit; in those days ours was a five-year course unlike the present four years. 

RM: It is seen that a major turning point in your career was your joining HCL Hyderabad where you worked for over six years in a green field project. Can you share your experience from that period about important learning in terms of technical aspects and working relationships?  

SK: Yes, the HCL stint at Hyderabad provided an opportunity to work on a green field project with a UK collaborator. It enabled me to acquire not only technical skills but also project management, interpersonal and team management skills.

In the beginning, the local workers on the shop floor, refused to interact with me in any other language other than the regional language Telugu, I rose to the occasion and was determined to learn Telugu at the earliest. I learned the language from the workers themselves by friendly interactions with them. This helped me considerably in my day-to-day work. Later, my knowledge of Telugu helped me in my job in TTL Arakkonam also, as many workmen in the district spoke Telugu. I haven’t forgotten my Telugu even to this day!

RM: In your opinion, what are the basic skills and challenges that are different when working for a green field project and a well-established company?    

SK: In a well-established company, ready to use systems are already available in all areas of the company’s functioning, be it operational or management systems. In a green field project, it becomes your responsibility to develop and put systems in place from the scratch.   You also have to deal with unexpected situations and ensure that there is no cost or time overrun. Your hard, soft and networking skills come into play in a big way while working in a green field project. There is a need to be a quick thinker and decision maker.

RM: In TTL Arakkonam, I have heard employees fondly remembering and relating instances from the project stage. As for example they said that while working round the clock in the initial days, tea prepared by your wife would arrive past midnight at around 2 AM from your residence.

 This gesture clearly was endearing and build an affinity amongst employees irrespective of job designations.  Would you like to tell us as to what prompted you to build good working relationships?   

SK : During the  installation and commissioning of the plant and machinery we had to work round the clock to meet the  requirement of project completion at the earliest and starting commercial production. At the project stage, we had limited staff and we all had to work for extended long hours. Here, motivation and keeping the team spirit high was of paramount importance.

Further, it saved time if tea was readily available at hand without having to take tea breaks. My wife contributed in a big way to our mission of boosting up everyone’s spirit and I am very thankful to her. I am happy to learn that this gesture is remembered by the employees even to this day.

 RM: Could you tell us something from your tenure with Sterilite Industries (Now Vedanta)?

SK:  My tenure with Sterlite Industries can be described as the most valuable period of my career as it provided me an opportunity to consolidate and fully utilise hard and soft skills accumulated from the previous experience of over a decade. Most importantly, it helped me to hone my entrepreneurial skills.

Sterlite’s top management reposed faith in me and gave me full freedom at work. Consequently, I was able to achieve seemingly high targets and goals. This tenure gave me valuable hands-on experience to deal with all the aspects of business.

RM: Could you tell us more about the three-year period from 2002 to 2005 when you started your own venture? Looking back, was it an appropriate decision?  What is the major learning from running your own company and what would you advise those who are planning to venture into start-ups?  

SK: Looking back, It was a very adventurous decision on my part to leave a well-paying job in a good company and start on my own, mid-career.  It would not have been possible without the support of my wife and family who whole heartedly supported my decision. Those three years, functioning as a “one man army” were an eye opener in many ways and they taught me important life lessons.  I understood with more clarity the importance of cash flow in a business. My respect for the business promoters and entrepreneurs have gone up manifold as I realize that they are doing a yeoman service providing employment to people.

I would however advice those who wish to venture into being an entrepreneur, to start early, make mistakes early and grow to their full potential. In my own case, I do not regret the decision as I could keep at bay any hardships to the family. All the same, starting at a young age always helps. Entrepreneurship should be promoted and due respect extended to it in society. Ultimately it is business that can generate employment for the people.

RM:  In 2006 you joined another green field project Power Plus in UAE as GM (projects) and after completing the construction of the plant, commissioning of machinery, starting commercial production moved to the role of Head (marketing).  Did the experiences in your previous green field assignments stand you in good stead at Power plus?    

SK: Yes, my previous experience of working in green field projects and the overall experience of handling a business /business division certainly helped me while working in UAE. I quickly adapted to the new environment and was able to immediately concentrate on what was expected of me in the new job.

RM:  Marketing can be a completely different cup of tea. Could you tell us about the challenges faced? 

SK:  The overall responsibility of marketing the products of a newly formed company, competing against well established companies was very challenging. The task was made even more difficult due to the global recession that happened in 2008, soon after we commissioned our plant.

However, I was able to tide over the difficult time and taste success by relying on my self-confidence, optimistic mindset, and trust in the team’s strength and abilities

RM: I would like to ask you about the cultural factors that you came across during your foreign stint in UAE. Can you share with us anecdotes of conflicts in work perception and how they were resolved? 

SK: I have interacted with foreign nationals, the American and European collaborators while in India and during visits abroad. However, working in a foreign country with a multinational work force is a different ball game all together. It is necessary to learn and understand the local culture, customs and social norms. It is also essential to project an appropriate and positive image of your country through your actions and communication.

I would like to relate one such instance here wherein the “chalta hai” attitude that we, Indians tend to practice can be very costly in another space and culture. Safety at work place or project site is top priority and taken very seriously by the Europeans and Americans. On one occasion, we had delivered our products to a green field project site where the contractor and project consultants were American. The Truck driver of our transporter was wearing the required PPE appliances such as helmet, reflective safety jacket, safety goggles etc. However, he forgot to wear industrial safety shoes and instead wore his normal shoes.

The American site engineer refused to allow the truck to enter the project site for unloading. Finally, our transporter had to arrange industrial safety shoes for the truck driver from the project site about 150 kms away to facilitate entry and unloading of our material at the project site.

RM: It was such a pleasure interacting with you, a seasoned professional with long and diverse experience. As a parting shot what tips would you like to give young people starting out on their career?  

SK:  The tips that come to my mind are basic and simple. Good old sincerity combined with hard and smart work in accordance with the needs of the situation is important. Constantly updating oneself, being open to learning from all quarters be it friends/colleagues/ seniors, spotting & developing talent is the key. Here, it is important to lead by example and develop a sense of ownership in your juniors ("What would I have done if I were the owner of the company?).

 My favourite maxims are “Change is the only constant and therefore be always prepared", "Only the paranoid survive” and "Apne pe barosa hai, toh ek daav laga le" meaning "Self-confidence is the key to take on any challenge"!  A parting advice would be to surround yourself with positive, optimistic people! 

RM: Now, that is a great way of ending an interview. Thanks a lot for a very informative and engaging conversation.  

SK: It is my pleasure; I thoroughly enjoyed our interaction. 

NB: This post was initially published in  'PACER' the Newsletter of the Association for promotion of competitive and responsive enterprises( APCRE).