Kumar Bashyam has
never been on MTV’s
“The Real World” or on any other reality TV show, for
that matter. But as CEO of
SGT Inc., he likes to pretend
that he has TV cameras following his every move.
“You have to recognize that
you are always on,” says
Bashyam, who is also the company’s founder and chairman.
“It’s like when people go in
front of the camera.”
Instead of viewers, Bashyam’s
key demographic groups are
his employees and his clients
at the 500-employee provider
of IT and engineering consultancy services.
“You are being watched and
monitored and emulated, and
you always have an opportunity
to demonstrate your passion,”
Bashyam says. “You have to
perform at the highest caliber.”
This philosophy has brought
SGT high ratings, with 2007
revenue totaling $14.5 million.
Smart Business spoke with
Bashyam about how to use
your visibility with clients and
employees to your advantage.
Q. How do you get your
employees’ attention?
Be absolutely charismatic.
When you speak, passion has
to be all over. It’s sitting with
an employee for a one-on-one review or sitting in front
of a customer or if you’re in
front of people addressing an
audience.
Have a vision in mind of
where the pieces may fit in the
puzzle. It may happen in the
sequence you want, or it may
not happen in the way you
want.
I kind of think that I’m in a
movie, and it just so happens
I’m also the main character,
producer and director. It gives
you a feeling like you are
watching yourself.
You have to be able to be
innovative, and you have to
balance it and massage it, and
then keep them all on track.
The long-term goal is getting
where you need to get to.
Q. How do you get
employees to follow you to
that destination?
There is a perception
that a CEO is a magical
guy who is going to play a
part and wave a magic
wand. I think it’s more of
a team effort.
Build a view of where
you are going and figure
out your useful role within
that. For example, we’re
going through a budgeting
process. I’m not really
telling what to do.
I might just step back
and say, ‘Guys, we have a
commitment for $20 million in revenue next year.
We have to drive that. Get
an analysis of what revenues have been for the
last year, and tell me how
we can get there.’
A great CEO is somebody
who doesn’t pass the ball.
The team’s playing ball, and
he’s out on the court, and the
team plays together and intuitively knows how to execute.
Things keep changing on the
field all the time, so they have
to know how to call plays on
their own.
