BIO: Kamal Karanth is the co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing company he has been building since 2017. He also co-founded the Indian Staffing Federation, a prominent voice for labor reforms in India.
STORY: Kamal was thriving as a sales rep, but he wanted more, so he put himself up for promotion. He got promoted to area manager. All he did was work, but his performance didn’t match up. Eventually, everyone noticed, including Kamal’s boss. After a year and a half, he had to quit.
LEARNING: Nurture your relationships. Always anticipate the risks of a new venture.
“Pay attention to your relationships, not materialistic gains. In the end, when we die, what we’ll leave are our relationships.”
Kamal Karanth
Guest profile
Kamal Karanth is the co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing company he has been building since 2017. He also co-founded the Indian Staffing Federation, a prominent voice for labor reforms in India. Kamal has been named as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in 2020. He is a columnist, a blogger, a vlogger and hosts weekly live sessions on workplace dynamics. A fitness enthusiast and movie buff, Kamal claims relationships define careers and believes all of us can do much better on the relationship front at work.
Worst investment ever
Kamal was working as a sales rep, and about 18 months into his job, he showed interest in being a manager. He attended managerial interviews and went on to become a manager. Kamal was doing great in his position, and the company invested heavily in him.
After a while, Kamal asked to be promoted to area manager. Again, he did interviews, got promoted, and went to a new territory. Moving to a new city was also not so easy for Kamal. He had a hard time adapting to a new language, new food, new culture, and constant travel. Suddenly, he realized that he had to work even harder now that he had a bigger team to manage. Kamal’s leadership style was lead by example; people will follow you. So he worked hard doing almost 15 hours a day, no weekends, no movies, no cricket, only work. Kamal was burned out at the end of one year, yet his results were minimal. His boss was unhappy with him. His team members kept moving to other teams because they were not happy with him. In about a year and a half as the area manager, Kamal quit because he could no longer handle it.
Lessons learned
- Nurture your relationships.
- Pay attention to those subtle external changes that are not in your control.
- Nurture your relationships.
Andrew’s takeaways
- Never underestimate changes that happen in your life. They can have a significant impact.
- When considering an opportunity, keep in mind that there are risks involved. Some things could go wrong.
Actionable advice
When getting into a new venture, keep reminding yourself it will be challenging, have an exit plan for when it becomes more challenging than you think you can handle.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Kamal’s goal for the next 12 months is to bring back his fitness levels. He also wants to reconnect with all his contacts and nurture those relationships.
Parting words
“Relationships matter. Stay on.”
Kamal Karanth
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