Best Advice I Ever Got

TARUN CHUGH, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company

“Have the mindset of a founder... It changes perspective“

Q. What were the challenges you were grappling with?

Having spent close to four years here, the one area that challenged me, and motivated me at the same time, was to bring about a change in the organisation culture. This meant investing towards technology, building efficiencies, but most critically getting the team to work as one. The one-mind and one-team attributes helped us overcome initial challenges during the pandemic.

Q. Who did you approach and why?

A. It’s always been my wife, Simran. She has, and continues to be my friend and sounding board, especially when it comes to my professional life. Her points of view have either helped me see the issue with a different lens, or find a solution to a particular problem.

Q. What was the best advice you ever received?

A. Having had the opportunity to lead complex team structures, I try and pass on the message that I heard from one of my mentors, which is to believe that you own the organisation. Have a mindset of a founder, an entrepreneur. It brings about a change in perspective.

Q. How effective was it in resolving your problem?

A. A change of perspective has always helped me. I have a few mentors whom I go to with some specific business issues; they also enrich me with a different point of view, even if it may not be an actual solution. A different thought process has always helped me move ahead of a particular problem.