THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION - International Indian

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Seeing and understanding the right level of
growth, planning for that growth and not taking
undue risks which could burden the operations
without adding value to the overall business. I
am involved in the study of new markets and to
question how far we can develop these.
TII: How would you describe your working
style?
My working style is to lead by example. The
beliefs we have at Home Centre are built on
integrity, teamwork and respect for people.
I am relatively relaxed these days and am
focused on empowering the right people to
manage many of our key functions. People
can do extraordinary things if they like what
they do and who they are doing it for. I do try
and be a good listener and look to find every
practical solution to any problem.
TII: What is your passion in life?
I enjoy working with passion and I love
reading novels, it enables me to unwind and
move my head into another dimension. Most
importantly, however, my wife and our three
children keep my feet on the ground and
remind me of what is really important in life.
TII: In your experience why do people
discriminate for the most part?
I would imagine any discrimination is
based on either on ignorance and a lack of
opportunity for dealing with different people.
We employ a great number of nationalities
and rarely do we come across any major
forms of discrimination.
TII: What advice would you give to aspiring
young professionals?
There is no shortcut unfortunately and it always
takes longer than you first envisage. You really
have to be prepared to work with commitment,
believe in what you are doing, plan what you
want to achieve in life and always think long
term. Do have a goal and stick to it while putting
in the hard work. Above all else remain true to
your values, be open to emerging opportunities
and be resilient. Try not to follow popular
opinion but see for yourself if things can be
done in a new way
TII: What do you consider your biggest
achievement?
I have always aspired to spot new opportunities,
Jonathan Jagtiani (centre) with colleagues (L-R) Ajay Antal, GM (Furniture Buying), Rajan Narayan, GM
(Household Buying) and Bhaskar Venkatraman DG M (Finance)
make a difference and maintain my integrity.
I am proud of how fast we grew and how
quickly we established a recognizable brand,
however, one of my biggest achievements is
to hold onto my principles and to only do
things I believe.
TII: What is the greatest benefit you have
gained by your success? Discuss several
if you like.
Being successful allows you to learn about
yourself and to develop the business in ways I
would not have earlier thought possible and to
be able to keep an open mind on new directions
the business can grow. Working in a successful
organisation also allows one to work along side
other successful people. It certainly improves
the quality of one’s working day to be able to
attract like minded individuals who help to
ensure we are all raising the standards.
TII: What is your vision for the company?
Our vision for Home Centre is to become the
best operator in its industry and to deliver
innovative and effective solutions that bring
unparalleled value to our customers. The whole
team is passionate to achieve the highest level
of efficiency possible and ensure customers, the
employees and our suppliers benefit from this.
We are at the tail end of a major
restructuring of our organization. It has been
a lengthy process and the end result will allow
us to continue to grow over the next decade.
Moreover, a longer term vision is to increase our
social responsibility and to give back something
special and lasting to the greater community.
TII: What are your strengths?
I believe I am continuously learning, and
keeping the bigger picture in mind, of what
we wish to do. I try to focus on pushing many
members of our team to keep extending their
thought processes and help them believe we
can continue to achieve so much more.
TII: What is your greatest weakness?
Most likely my greatest weakness is
impatience and wanting everything to be
perfect from the outset. I need to learn and
live with an understanding of what will take
time but I do keep pushing for many new
improvements at anyone time. The people
who work with me understand this and seem
to make allowances for me.
TII: Define what success means to you?
What are the secrets for success?
Success has been seeing the business growing
strong and with a better offering with every
passing year. The secret to success is in
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