Compassion and building teamwork will be two of the most important characteristics business leaders will need for success a decade from now, believes Walt Disney Television International (India) head of programming and production, Nachiket Pantvaidya, who tells Nidhi Jain that he follows these guidelines in his professional life.

Lessons you learnt

As far as TV goes, we have to listen to the viewer and the best way to do that is through ratings. Through the years we have found out that data tells us if a certain program is watched, without understanding why it's popular. The big lesson is that especially with the viewers and need to have the openness to the idea that what we don't like may or may not be accepted by the viewers. The lesson is to get into the minds of viewers, appreciate and listen to them.

Method of pacifying madness

Given the fact that we are in the fast changing industry, the madness in the office should be used productively. That energy needs to be utilized in the right direction. For eg. we can't have confusion and chaos together. It's a changing environment, not only in TV, but also in the socioeconomic sphere where we are changing fast. I like the fact there is madnes

People that influenced

Most of my bosses over the years like Ravina Raj kohli or now Rajat Jain have had influenced me partly or wholly in different areas. From some I have learnt business skills, from some ideologies, some listening skills, but I have learnt a lot.
 

Strategic alliance
First thing is to get an understanding of the market, looking at qualitative data research to understand viewers. I understood if we don't talk to people in their language it's not going to help. Lastly, we should always be profitable.

Changing rules of work

TV is only a platform; real money is content, merchandising or books, whatever, it should have should have 360 degree effect. By 2010 TV is going to be an advertising medium for selling toys.

As for the team, it's important to have idea generation. In 1995, operational strength was looked upon as good in a TV Company. That's not enough today.

Ensuring that team delivers

Different people have different hot buttons, and it's just about pressing the right one but the key to delivery is to define what to deliver. For TV programmes you know what you want and everybody work towards it. Set a target, sometimes there are micro targets though those targets are not broken down at micro level.

Fun part of your business

Its semi human, semi creative, semi business each divided into 33%. There is a fair bit of self expression that needs to be there in terms of personality for the business of making programmes. Channel becomes a reflection of personality whoever is a part of it. It might not happen in steel, cement or a car company but it does in a TV company because it involves human emotions. There is a point of self expression. We need to continuously self adapt to our target groups.

ambler.

In between goals is a thing called life, which has to be lived and enjoyed.
Sid Caesar

Believe that, to apply in a real life ,is not just difficult but requires practice through years, realized Nidhi Jain as she peeped into one more life, life of Director and COO of Graphiti Multimedia Pvt.Ltd., Munjal Shroff .

Life on the fast roads ?literally to Munjal it is all about enjoying driving fast cars which is part of his passion, and the best one till date that he had laid his hands on is car bought by his friend after Bond movie which featured Pierce Brosnan is BMW z3.
He used to be an outdoor person in college and used to do trekking, hiking, camping but now the way things have taken a turn he spent lot of my time indoors. Before its too late, on the agenda of to-do list to go to Himalaya with Rally of cars, so strong is the urge that it has become must do in his life, he is hopeful to do by next year.

Munjal really enjoys live music, he even had privilege to listen to brilliant singers, have gone to very distinct concert which played fusion music. On his wish list he would like to learn flute.

Another passion is photography. He loves shooting and likes to capture bizarre things in his camera. "There is a certain thrill in capturing a moment that is out of the ordinary and to be able to capture and share it with other is a great joy".

It is not length of life, but depth of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson

On the run to achieve professional goal, Munjal always felt that his personal front took a back seat, slowly he realized that his daughter share the same passion with him of that of music, dance.Munjal believes that he always had an inner skill for animation without agenda, and was fortunate that his personal and professional interest had a strong overlap, like always being a movie buff from school days, continued to be one now also since his profession demands him to watch religiously, He thinks, he is lucky to be a film maker.

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.

Josh Billings

Size does matter?Size apparently tells how big foodie Munjal is as he loves to experiment with food. Wherever or whenever he traveling he likes tasting local cuisine, though it's difficult since he is a vegetarian, now he is considering trying sea food. When it comes to drinks he love wine, scotch, collect single malt from different parts of the world, he apparently loves to try wine from different countries. His wife Mona loves to cook and he loves to eat. Perfect Match.
Mona is amazing cook and she loves to experiment and I am the perfect guinea pig.
Difficult to believe but this foodie is a great cook too and likes cook at times, he thinks he can cook better Pasta then his wife, Mona.

Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever..

Isak Dinesen

Munjal want to make up for all these years and just? soak up the sun. He wants to travel for leisure not business, and want to take a trip to Europe with his wife; he believes that our country has to lot to offer, and also wants to drive to Rajasthan and take a trek through the Valley of Flowers in the Himalayas.
To him Life is all about movies and masti, and animation is a perfect blend of the two.

His ambition is to create the most successful animation properties and firmly believes that the next big thing in animation will be an animation property from India.

When we talk about fun he agrees it exist more on the professional front, now he wants to shift focus to personal front, he credits his supportive wife Mona for all the understanding she carries through, and wonderful kids Yohann and Vanshika...
To him--It's about living moment through their eyes. One strong critic and one growing critic.

"The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense" - Thomas Edison 

Meet Sharad Devrajan co-founder, CEO and publisher of the recently formed Virgin Comics LLC and Virgin Animation Pvt Ltd and of Gotham Entertainment Group. He has established a leading south Asian publishing company, he has been featured as CNN fn's 'Maverick in the morning". He shares the knowledge and his understanding of the industry he has grown up in, till he became a leader, while speaking to Nidhi Jain.

Lessons learnt
--The biggest thing about leadership is that there is an opportunity to dream and have a vision of the future but also align my people to what their future is. For me, it's the biggest challenge and biggest obstacle. There are lot of great managers who can do a great job but great leaders can set a vision into reality.

Method to pacify madness
--I do believe in a philosophy that in a creative company we have to develop a culture of 'people tough on problems but not on the people'. There should be a healthy conflict so there should be ultimate goal of either writer, creator or anybody to make a property which will transcend. It's about challenging each other, not challenging personally.

People that have influenced
--My father being the biggest influence, amazing mentor in my life whom I was fortunate to have. While working at MTV was Tom Freston, an amazing leader to work with who founded it, a voice for that generation of the 80's, 90's. I worked with leaders who had a great understanding of the global market, media. Now I am working with Richard Branson, who's the greatest Maverick in the world, who has provided home for young creators.

"I would tell young people to start where they are with what they have and that the secret of a big success is starting with a small success and dreaming bigger and bigger dreams, I would tell them also that a young Black woman or a young Black man can't dream too much today or dare too much if he or she works hard, perseveres and dedicates themselves to excellence." - John H. Johnson

Strategic Alliance

--I believe in tapping young talent and giving them the best of experience, creating and executing product simultaneously. People need to be motivated beyond money, living their life to the fullest.

Changing rules of work
--Moving from a logical to a creative mind, we should not have technicians, we should have artists. Personally, to me it's about managing time, organizing efficiently each hour for shipping my meeting schedule to do business oriented processes so that there is no lost track.

Ensuring that team delivers
--In a creative company, it's important to deliver within deadlines. Therefore, we believe there has to be a balancing act with what they would be 10 years down the line, execute the best job in a limited time frame. They have to be as good as the best.

Best part of your business
--Before collecting my degrees I was a fine artist. I have always been surrounded by creative people. The idea is to lead to imaginative discoveries and make them reality.

"This is my wish for myself: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss my lips, sunsets to warm my heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for my eyes to see, friendships to brighten my being, faith so that I can believe, confidence for when I doubt, courage to know myself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete my life."
 

Nivedith Alva, Supervising Producer, Miditech tells correspondent Nidhi Jain how a few small things sets up the entire beautiful world for him.

Initial days
Studied in Delhi at St Columbus till my 10th and then went onto DPS RK Puram for my 11th and 12th in Humanities. Did my Honors in History from St Stephens College, Delhi. Started working at Miditech in 2000 straight after college. First shows were as an assistant producer on Musafir Hoon Yaaron for Star Plus and Hospital on BBC World.
In 2003, went to the UK to do my MA in TV Journalism from Goldsmiths at the University of London and returned to Miditech and have been working non stop since. Have worked out of Miditech Delhi then Mumbai and now Bangalore. Most challenging time at work was directing the first season of MTV Hero Honda Roadies.

Strongly feels about
You've got to do what you've got to do. You only live life once so you may as well make the most of it. Feel very strongly about family and family always comes first. Though with the kind of work we do, it gets tough, but one has to make time.
Am a heart over head kind of person and often make decisions from the heart.

Crazy about
My daughter, Manini. Fatherhood is the most awesome feeling in the world, nothing comes close.
Also, love traveling and have been to almost every state in India and widely traveled across the world.

What rejuvenates you?
Nothing does it more than a good family holiday with nothing to do but eat, drink and sleep. Also, spend time watching movies and reading.

Love food
Totally love eating out and try all sorts of cuisine. Favourite Food - Greek and Chinese.

Movies
Love sitting at home and watching movies on DVD. Also, have almost 10 seasons of MASH, my favourite TV show which my wife, Meera and I watch most nights.

Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration-of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.

More than anything else today, followers believe they are part of a system, a process that lacks heart. If there is one thing a leader can do to connect with followers at a human, or better still a spiritual level, it is to become engaged with them fully, to share experiences and emotions, and to set aside the processes of leadership we have learned by rote. "Lance Secretan."

New ventures, new POVs of new leader, Ashutosh, Business Head of Sahara Filmy in conversation with Correspondent Nidhi Jain.

--Lessons you learnt throughout
All of us bank on our gut feel. There's no copybook way of driving things. When you join as a Management Trainee you feel your Manager has the bigger picture of the business. When you become a Manager, you feel the VP has the bigger picture... and it goes on? I think the man who can collate good ideas from the people he meets, is the man who is called a visionary. There's nothing called original ideas anyways. Mutation leads to concept of originality.
Those jokers can be found at any level. Of course these jokers don't last. The more I spend time professionally, the more I realize that all of us only experiment; of course some are worse than others.I guess creating a system that lets you to explore and that exposes inefficient corners is the only way forward.

Professionally I have been very lucky to have good bosses, especially my first boss Mr. Vijay Jindal. However, learning nuances of broadcasting has come from so many. Meeting some has been a humbling experience, such as Mr Nandan Nilekani, Kanwal Rekhi, Subhash Chandra, and of course my Chairman Saharasri. Meeting people like these helps you grow in life, a part of which is your profession.

It is essential till it is issue based. Else it is a cabal, and typically harmful to the organization. One cannot be in sync with another guy on all topics, unless there is a superior subordinate relationship where one is supposed to merely listen and obey. There is no future in such a relationship.
Practically of course personal alliances are much stronger in a relatively loose organization.

" The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. ---- Max DePree (The Art of Leadership)"

All things are subservient to results. Therefore, fun and irreverence is fine only if it's accompanied with results. And this is clear to everyone in my team. To me the best way to deliver results is never to experiment with people, and getting the best people on board. And give them the atmosphere to deliver by cutting paperwork, and excess regulations that dampen enthusiasm.

Luckily the TV industry is fun, extremely dynamic, and in parts chaotic. Thus, fun is inherent in our business. Acting serious so that people think you are serious, or because people would think you are the thinking guy is foolish. Even Shakespeare commented on this. Performance fortunately is relatively measurable, especially for the business leaders.
Filmy believes in looking light hearted, its people behave like that, dress like that, and create like that. Creating somberness for no reason is alien.

While I would not hazard copying the 'Maverick' model in Toto, I believe that each one should be accounted for his deliverables only. Thus, expecting the best creative from my Creative Head is essential. But I don't expect him to wear a formal dress, speak English, and follow the office routine merely because I do it as a Channel Head. I believe you have to think before you create. Thus I cannot create an MTV if I do not think MTV. Or in today's environment I cannot create a GE channel if I don't like soaps.

"However, deliveries are supremely important, and if that is not there, people have no place in my team".

One look at Shaju Ignatius, executive producer, Perspectrum, Percept Holdings, and you realize that being happy is something we have to learn. You see him and say 'this is it, he's happy, he's got a home, career, wife, adorable kid, and is at peace with himself, and if there's something else to happiness, this Piscean will yearn for that too.' Correspondent Nidhi Jain really digs the pace of his life on the Fast Track.

Work - my big great canvas -
I have never planned my moves. I wished to be a pilot or atleast get to fly as cabin crew but then my exploring mind led me to Eureka Forbes,after which i moved on to Damania Airways.Looking further I got into advertising,and did a small stint in Advertising Forecast in which I happened to do the promotion for the film 'Speed'. From that experience I started liking the concept. In the summer of '95, when event management was not a regular word/career, an ad by 'Wizcraft' caught my attention - "Join us and work will be a party".As part of India's premier Event management firm, created & managed many prestigious projects : The Michael Jackson India Tour, concerts by Shaggy, Deep Purple, UB40, Lou Bega among many others, first ever Television concerts by Lata Mangeshkar & Asha Bhosle, multiple international events across London, New York, Mauritius, South Africa, Dubai.Got tagged as the 'Awards specialist' in the industry, as I managed almost all the film & music awards held in the country, viz, Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine, Zee Sangeet, Bollywood Awards, IIFA Awards, Screen Awards, Hero Sports Awards, Sangeet Awards, Economic Times Awards, Filmfare South Awards, Mata Sanman Awards, Ceat Cricket Rating Awards, Castrol Cricket Awards, etc. Closest to my heart being the Annual Filmfare Awards, which I have been associated with for atleast 8 years of my career.

It was great to be associated with fresh ideas and events. What attracted me towards it was that it was not regular mundane work. Then, it was time move again and learn new things. Along with my close buddies based across the metros, we set up the event management business for the Times of India, called 360 Degrees.

In 2004, Percept D'Mark became my focus for the next 2 and half years. This was a great wide platform, and we truly created some memorable projects & campaigns. Now my next step to learning has led me to join Perspectrum, the IMC (integrated marketing communication) consultancy arm of Percept Holdings. My work mantra is to always have a backup plan to any element or idea.