The journey towards success and excellence is never predictable. The key is to grab every opportunity you get and learn from it. P.V.G. Menon, president and CEO, VANN Consulting, speaks to Ankita K.S. about his three-decade long career— his best practices, key mistakes, learnings and advice to the young engineers out there.
EB: Tell us about your journey in the industry over the past 30 years.
I term my journey as one of continuous learning and reinvention over the past three decades. My professional journey has traversed multiple paths – I have been part of implementation teams for epochal projects like the Railway Reservation System and the computerisation of container port terminals. I also worked in the field of computer graphics and animation. If I am not mistaken, many years ago, I probably did the very first direct transfer of computer graphics onto celluloid film—without using film printers or reverse-telecine.
Then I entered the semiconductor industry, and got the opportunity to lead global teams and manage global product lines.
There were entrepreneurial stints in between and, eventually, I went into management consulting. Then I was called upon to run a trade body (the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association or IESA), with a clear mandate to level-shift the organisation.
I believe that I played my small part in contributing to the development of the National Electronics Policy.
Policy making is a massive exercise involving multiple stakeholders. While heading IESA, I put forth views which can be defined as ‘India First’, and called for the creation of a level playing field for Indian product companies. I also coined the slogan ‘Innovation led design. Design led manufacturing’ for the ESDM industry. My vision was to have electronics products that are conceived, designed and made in India, but sold and used worldwide. Restated, it means products built to global scale and quality, in India but for both India and the world.
EB: What are some mistakes that you look back and think you could have avoided? Any learnings?
When I look back, I now regret not having accepted the opportunity to spend a stint overseas at a time when I was directly running a global product line for a large multinational ODM. Whilst I used to travel very frequently to meet customers, etc, sometimes the immersive experience of working directly in the customer’s own time zone and being physically present in the foreign market gives one a very different perspective. Similarly, being physically based out of the corporate headquarters of a large global company is very different from being a frequent visitor to the same place.
Other than that, I am truly grateful for the phenomenal colleagues and companies I have worked with, and for the great opportunities I had along the way.
EB: What common errors do you see engineers make, with respect to choosing their jobs? What would your advice be to them?
One of the major mistakes young professionals make is the tendency to chase ‘titles’ rather than gaining deep experience in a specific domain. This comes back to haunt them as they progress in their careers.
The second is the inability to develop a proper 360-degree view of the system as well as the application context. There is a story about two bricklayers being asked what they were doing. One said he was laying bricks for a wall. The other said he was building a hospital! No prizes for guessing who exemplified systems thinking.
As technologies like IoT go mainstream, ‘systems thinking’ becomes critical. Security, power and the form factor become critical – while high performance is considered a hygiene factor. There will be trade-offs that need to be made and these will have to be thought through very carefully indeed. Unfortunately, this is something that is not readily done in India, thus earning us a bad reputation for being an industry that is good in implementation, but bad in design.
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EB: What is your leadership style in terms of managing and motivating your team? Are there any mantras you’d like to share?
I do not believe in micro-managing. I like to challenge people to stretch themselves, and I hope I have given them the freedom to achieve their targets.
Neither am I a clock watcher. As long as the job is done on time, within budget and based on requirements, I really don’t bother when a person clocks in or out, or how much leave he or she takes. But meeting agreed upon targets is important.
EB: Can you describe your current role? And what excites you about it?
For the past four to five years, I have been very heavily involved in dealing with the policy and regulatory aspects of the Indian ESDM industry. This involvement has been at both a policy formulation and advisory level, as well as in overseeing regulatory approvals and ecosystem development, for a very large and complex project.
The biggest thrill in this kind of a role is that you have a chance to participate in creating the ESDM industry of tomorrow.
EB: Is this the kind of role that you had dreamt of when you were in college?
When I was in college, I was in the NCC and had thought I would join the Armed Forces. But then life took me on a different path which I found extremely interesting, and I kept exploring it.
The big shift in my professional life was when I was asked to lead IESA. Being involved as a volunteer from the industry versus running a trade body full-time are two completely different things! Besides, the ‘world-view’ that you develop while running an association is very different from what you have when you are working in a single company. And I have loved every minute of both the roles.
EB: How do you balance work and personal life?
I am going to be politically incorrect and say that I come from an era where “life is the balance after work.” That’s how I have lived my life so I am probably not the best person to answer this question! I have held (and enjoyed!) jobs that involved travelling 15-17 days out of 30. But I have no regrets and no complaints!
EB: What would be your advice to youngsters dreaming of stepping into your shoes? What aspects should they work on to reach here?
A few mantras that will help are:
- There is no substitute for hard work.
- Be prepared to challenge yourself and go outside your comfort zone. As you start leading teams, do the same for your team members, and support and guide them through their journeys.
- Never ever lose your curiosity to learn new things. For instance, whenever I go abroad, I make it a point to visit an electronics store and look at how they sell the products. Believe me, it is a huge learning experience! Similarly, read up and make every effort to understand your customer’s business. Semiconductors and embedded design is a B2B business, so you are several steps removed from the end customer. But make the effort – it will help you as a person and as a professional.
- Stay current in your field. If you are doing innovative work, see if you can present papers at technical conferences, after seeking clearances from your company, since the IP belongs to them.
- Read extensively, visit conferences and trade shows. Ask questions, network and volunteer at professional bodies like IEEE, IET, etc.
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