Triveni MD's Leadership secret: You can't do it all by oneself; Find smart people to work with.

Mr. Tarun Sawhney is Vice Chairman and MD of Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd..

Hi my name is Rehaan Khaneja and this is the sixth podcast of the Leadership Speaks series of interviews and chats I have had with successful leaders of India's business world.

INTRODUCTION

In this interview, I speak with Mr.Tarun Sawhney, Vice Chairman & Managing Director at Triveni Engineering & Industries Limited. Triveni is a leading Indian conglomerate with diversified businesses in Agriculture & Engineering. With 17 world-class facilities, Triveni is a market leader in Sugar, Ethanol and Alcohol, Power Transmission & Water Treatment Solutions in India.

Cambridge and Wharton educated Mr.Sawhney has successfully led his range of diverse businesses through tough business environments. Having taken over the business from his father in 2012, it is today not only among the country’s largest sugar producers, but also among the most efficient.

Managing a diverse set of businesses across multiple industries is not an easy task. In this interview, I asked Mr.Sawhney how he has managed to do that so successfully. From his story, I learnt that there cannot be one magic solution applicable to all problems. Each problem has to be tackled individually, through hard work, experience and by finding smart people to help and advise you with their expertise.

By sharing his life journey, Mr. Sawhney provides many important life lessons and examples that youngsters and early career seekers may find quite useful. So let's go right ahead and hear Tarun Sawhney's leadership story in the 6th episode of Leadership speaks.

Watch this interesting video podcast to hear Mr.Sawhney's advice for young and aspiring entrepreneurs

KEY LEARNINGS

From my chat with Mr. Tarun Sawhney, here are the two points struck me the most -

This interview was about consistency - from making early life choices, seeking the best education, to managing complex and diverse businesses. There was much for me to learn and get inspired by. Here are my two main learnings from his amazing leadership journey -

1st: Good education provides you with a process for thinking through problems.

A Process of thinking through problems and applying lessons from the past to future problems is a thought process that begins during our academic years, and is later useful throughout our life. For youngsters like me who are still studying, this is good advice.

2nd: It's not possible to do everything by ourselves without any outside support.

To be a true leader must learn to find the right people and to effectively delegate work. There is no one magic solution that can be applied to all problems. Each problem must be tackled individually, through hard work, life experience, and by finding smart people to help and advise you with their expertise.

GET INSPIRED!

This is the sixth in a series of many interviews I will conduct with business leaders and people who have achieved success in their lives. My goal is always to learn from their experience and to see what key choices they made in their lives which contributed to their current success. I look to them for guidance and direction so that whenever I am faced with similar choices and challenges in my life and career, I'd know that I am not alone in this situation.

Success is the end result of many small choices made at the right time during a challenging journey.

If you enjoyed Episode 6 of the Leadership Speaks. Series, please do like this blog and the video on Youtube! Your likes will make this a truly positive and encouraging experience for me and for other viewers like you. I'll be releasing my next Leadership Speaks interview very soon. Till then, think positive, have big goals and focus on the road ahead.