Harith S. Gopal
Senior Director & Member - Operations Council
Harith has been picked as one of the best business leaders to have graduated from VIT Vellore. Below is an excerpt from his exclusive interaction with the CEO Insights magazine.
It's inspiring to see where you are today. For a change, can we start with the biggest challenge you faced?
There have been many in my journey, but my most challenging period was when I decided to take up two executive business courses along with a full-time job. This was the period when I was transitioning from being a technology professional to getting into the business world. It was this one-year journey that taught me that being resilient and committed to my goal helped me withstand all the difficulties that came my way. It taught me to never give up because starting my day at 4.30 AM and to keep moving until midnight when my feet were sore and my brain tired wasn't easy. And the result? I finished as a gold medallist in one, became a rank holder in another, and grew positions at work all at the same time. It was this time when I
truly explored my threshold and realized I could push it past the limit. And this would've been impossible without my family's unwavering support. It is also my mentors Psiog Digital's CEO, Kumar Sivaraman and COO, Preetam Kumar, whose constant guidance, support, and motivation have led me to be who I am today.
Speaking of Psiog, how do you think it is different from others?
Psiog is truly one of its kind. It starts right with the name as'Psiog'stands for the power of collaboration and confluence. 'Psi', the 23rd Greek alphabet represents the all important elements in mathematical sciences 'Samyoga' in Sanskrit means the strong connection formed when multiple elements come together and 'Sahayog'in Hindi means 'collaboration'.
Psiog has always challenged the norms of this industry.While we service customers globally, outside of India, all of our associates are based in India, and we have zero onsite presence. We take pride in building long-term relationships that deliver value instead of just selling skills and off the shelf services. Psiog never had the concept of a 'bench'. We don't believe in it. We have handpicked our people and built custom teams for each customer, and we believe in creating sustainable leaders of tomorrow through our 'Leadership Passages' program.
'Leadership Passages' Program? Quite interesting. Can you tell us a little about that?
Psiog's culture is very people-focused. We focus a lot on building careers and working with people at all levels. For example, any standard entry level training program at a Tier-I company lasts for 68 weeks or 10 at maximum, but we nurture our earlystage associates for 27 months. Feels overwhelming, right? Not at all.
Our mentoring methodology is unique, we don't provide course
Our mentoring methodology is unique, we don't provide course material to study; instead, we immerse our associates in real-world business problems that they'd relate to and learn from
Speaking of Psiog, how do you think it is different from others?
Psiog is truly one of its kind. It starts right with the name as'Psiog'stands for the power of collaboration and confluence. 'Psi', the 23rd Greek alphabet represents the all important elements in mathematical sciences 'Samyoga' in Sanskrit means the strong connection formed when multiple elements come together and 'Sahayog'in Hindi means 'collaboration'.
Psiog has always challenged the norms of this industry.While we service customers globally, outside of India, all of our associates are based in India, and we have zero onsite presence. We take pride in building long-term relationships that deliver value instead of just selling skills and off the shelf services. Psiog never had the concept of a 'bench'. We don't believe in it. We have handpicked our people and built custom teams for each customer, and we believe in creating sustainable leaders of tomorrow through our 'Leadership Passages' program.
'Leadership Passages' Program? Quite interesting. Can you tell us a little about that?
Psiog's culture is very people-focused. We focus a lot on building careers and working with people at all levels. For example, any standard entry level training program at a Tier-I company lasts for 68 weeks or 10 at maximum, but we nurture our earlystage associates for 27 months. Feels overwhelming, right? Not at all.
Our mentoring methodology is unique, we don't provide course
material to study instead, we immerse our associates in realworld business problems that they'd relate to and learn from. The different levels of this program expose associates to various challenges & opportunities. I'm fortunate enough to have undergone multiple levels and all this program demands is one's potential and willingness to learn and grow.
Can you share an instance of how 'mentoring' has played out in real life?
That's a story. Around seven years ago, I was going through a lean period of 1820 months when I was a business development manager leading our efforts in a new geography. During this period, I couldn't generate any revenue and most organizations would have let me go for such a performance. Though I knew Psiog was aware of the challenges I faced and the efforts we all put in, I still decided to talk to my mentors, who were also my managers. And after talking about how big a failure I felt, the only reaction I got was a wide smile followed by a 2-hour conversation on similar experiences from their past and how they came out successful, understanding the challenges I faced and guiding me, filling me with motivation, reminding me of the potential I had and how difficult the role I played was.
Two weeks later, I closed two strategic partnership deals! Not only did I experience a win in a virgin market but the organization `nurtured' me through difficult phases and made me resilient & tenacious to take on the real world!
What is your take on the leaders of tomorrow?
It's often the case that we talk about the result, but I'd like to talk about the process, which is crucial. I'd like to quote my mentors who call this 'the management of formative years'. They believe that 80 percent of an individual's learning happens in the early years of their career. Imagine for 10 years, where instead of avoiding the things you know you should do, you did them every single day. The acceleration and speed you attain in the first 10 years of your career sets the momentum for the remaining parts. I firmly believe it's in your 20s that you can stretch and push yourself off the limit.
Harith S. Gopal, Sr. Director & Member of the Operations Council, Psiog Digital
A Global business leader and technology consultant built with the right balance ofpassion, rigor, integrity & humility !
Can you share an instance of how 'mentoring' has played out in real life?
That's a story. Around seven years ago, I was going through a lean period of 1820 months when I was a business development manager leading our efforts in a new geography. During this period, I couldn't generate any revenue and most organizations would have let me go for such a performance. Though I knew Psiog was aware of the challenges I faced and the efforts we all put in, I still decided to talk to my mentors, who were also my managers. And after talking about how big a failure I felt, the only reaction I got was a wide smile followed by a 2-hour conversation on similar experiences from their past and how they came out successful, understanding the challenges I faced and guiding me, filling me with motivation, reminding me of the potential I had and how difficult the role I played was.
Two weeks later, I closed two strategic partnership deals! Not only did I experience a win in a virgin market but the organization `nurtured' me through difficult phases and made me resilient & tenacious to take on the real world!
What is your take on the leaders of tomorrow?
It's often the case that we talk about the result, but I'd like to talk about the process, which is crucial. I'd like to quote my mentors who call this 'the management of formative years'. They believe that 80 percent of an individual's learning happens in the early years of their career. Imagine for 10 years, where instead of avoiding the things you know you should do, you did them every single day. The acceleration and speed you attain in the first 10 years of your career sets the momentum for the remaining parts. I firmly believe it's in your 20s that you can stretch and push yourself off the limit.
Harith S. Gopal, Sr. Director & Member of the Operations Council, Psiog Digital
A Global business leader and technology consultant built with the right balance ofpassion, rigor, integrity & humility !