CEO Insights Magazine

When a company stops improving, it ceases to develop. Identifying these particular areas for development can be tough. The procedure is difficult and frequently requires significant modifications. In certain circumstances, change occurs more subtly and progressively over time. Operational excellence is one such example. It means the implementation of integrated systems and processes that produce consistent progress and efficiency in a firm's operations, values and competition. A leader with substantial knowledge in accelerating organizational prosperity and fostering operational excellence assists businesses in developing appropriate strategies to achieve efficiency and productivity.

Vineet Relia(Founder,Urbanbriq Development Management Pvt. Ltd.)is a leader who has worked with renowned two decades of experience spanning from Information technology to Real Estate and has demonstrated a track record of increasing corporate profitability and achieving operational excellence. Below is an excerpt of Vineet’s interview with CEO Insights.

Tell us about your MIT experience and the influence that it had on you. Also, having two decades of professional experience, what drives you today?
For me, the best thing about MIT is the huge diversity of people who come from all over the world. Manipal gives you the advantage to communicate with people from across the globe; most of whom are Indians, which provides valuable knowledge. There are some initial challenges that help develop a certain level of mental agility. You tend to become wiser and learn how to deal with various problems and situations. All of this eventually becomes very useful when seeking employment at a senior management level because it's all about how you deal with a particular

situation to achieve the desired outcome.

The motivation that keeps me going is that when I am confronted with new challenges, it sends me into a state of overdrive to go out and solve them. It is the unfolding of complex scenarios that drives me.

Based on your illustrious professional journey, what unique strategies do you implement in your current organizations to maintain their positions in the market?
One of the most important strategies I believe in is having a very responsive customer interaction. The second thing is all of the organization's points of contact; whether it's your purchase people talking with suppliers, finance people having a conversation with the banks, the admin talking with authorities, or even your security guard who lets people in. All these points of contact must have a good track record. That, for me, defines who you are because every organization must develop its provenance. And I believe that all points of contact are critical.

How has your response been to the challenges posed by the pandemic and what new strategies did you adopt? How would you describe your role in tackling those challenges?
The pandemic has drastically altered the world we live in. People have grown much wiser as a result of facing all these challenges. The main challenge was the transition to a new hybrid working environment, which I believe companies have yet to fully adapt to achieve the desired level of work efficiency. Besides that, there has been a significant reduction in the workforce such as secretaries,accountants and administrative personnel. Professionals at the highest levels have been performing all their tasks on their own. The pandemic has also had a significant social impact in the country, as the unemployment rate has risen.

As the Director, how do you plan to apply your exceptional understanding of business dyna

mics into both your organizations and take it to the next level?

I have hands-on expertise and a strong understanding of the areas we're working in. Every time we acquire a new project, I lead the first team for at least a few days to ensure that we can take up where we left off. As the Director, I have a responsibility to be aware of the company's activities. We also have a dedicated team that handles day-to-day operations while I maintain a healthy balance across all ongoing tasks.

What are the changes in the market that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
I believe market behaviour has been highly unpredictable. There has been a sudden rush of revenge purchasing, which is something we had never seen before the pandemic. There is a significant price increase following the pandemic, as well as a delay in the product delivery because of this significant demand and supply gap. People who own businesses in large industries are also taking active efforts to safeguard their supply chains and profits. And most industries have been severely impacted by the pandemic.

What advice would you give to the budding professionals in the industry?
I believe the general advice will be to take a step back and consider what you're doing in terms of operating your company and making yourself valuable. This can only happen if you believe in what you're doing, have a high degree of commitment, and agility. The pandemic has raised the overall quotient of adaptivity levels of the senior management. Because these aren't common occurrences, you'll need to be quick and extremely adaptable.

Vineet Relia, Founder, Urbanbriq Development Management
Vineet graduated from the Manipal Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He has a strong track record of over 25 years in leading company operations across India, over seeing the startup and expansion of businesses and managing investor relations for both private and publicly traded firms.