Balance, Boundaries and Burnout: JSW MG Motor’s Udit Malhotra on building a sustainable career

In today’s fast paced digital world, striking a fine balance between personal and professional life is crucial, says Udit Malhotra, Head of Marketing, JSW MG Motor India. Apart from sound sleep and a nutritious diet, professionals must learn to use AI to take care of repetitive and monotonous tasks that could cause burnout and focus on the bigger tasks, he said in an interview.

Edited Excerpts

What are your favourite quotes on marketing and leadership?

Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realise it themselves - Steve Jobs, co-founder, Apple

Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell - Seth Godin, American author

I don't believe in taking right decisions, I take decisions and make them right - Ratan Tata, former chairman, Tata Group.

In your free time, what kind of marketing related content do you consume?

I am upskilling myself on marketing automation. There are a bunch of things that I am personally investing my time in.

First is video-led generation using AI. So, I am working around with different softwares like KlingAI, Midjourney and others.

Two, how we can use agentic automation and work through automation to drive more efficiency in a world which will be reliant on doing repetitive tasks on AI. So these are some of the areas, but for case studies, primarily I consume a lot of marketing content, from a very famous influencer, Sanjay Arora.

He is a brand management creator on Instagram, a PhD in brand management, and shares very good content, especially on ads.

In fact, I really liked one of his reels on Nespresso. So, more on marketing innovation, AI and automation, and on the future of Martech are some things I consume.

Who are your favourite creators and what draws them to you?

CA Sarthak Ahuja (Director, Niamh Ventures) is excellent with finance content.

Then there is Vishnu Vijayan, whose simple objective is simplifying AI. He also talks about world AI news, about DIY content on the application of artificial intelligence across different spaces.

There is another creator named Varun Mayya who does a lot of rounds of content with Tanmay Bhatt as well. He does a live demo of AI products along with Bhatt very often.

And the last one is Ritesh Malik who sold his company, Innov8 Coworking, a Y Combinator-backed startup to OYO.

He gives a lot of good tips on parenting, on life, on entrepreneurship and real world experiences from his early days.

Where do you get your social media mix from?

Instagram is my go-to platform for binge watch. But, for more research driven and interesting content such as conspiracy theory or some interesting podcast that I want to listen to, I resort to YouTube.

What were the last few videos you viewed on any platform?

I really liked Raj Shamani’s podcast, especially with Lalit Modi, founder, Indian Premier League (IPL), and with Vijay Mallya, former owner of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

I also consume tech content, especially the recently held Apple’s WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference).

What is your sport or fitness routine like?

I don't follow sports as such. To maintain my health, I observe fasting which is a part of my daily routine.

After hitting my 30s, I realised that sleep is the most important thing that one needs and I try squeezing in seven to eight hours of sleep. I am also working on HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training with one of my personal trainers, where the goal is actually to be fit and healthy for my family.

How does your routine weekend go?

I spend time with my son who loves to go out for a drive. Most of my time is spent with my mother, and executing household chores, which I love to do.

I listen to house music, and follow subgenres such as Global House, Progressive House and Deep House. In India, a lot of indie artists are emerging, and I am passionate about them. Hence, a lot of time goes into listening to new sets of genres, and observing new talent in the music space.

It gives me inspiration to mix or maybe compose as years progress.

Any work or life hack you swear by

Don’t delay things, do it now. It keeps procrastination at bay.

Also, according to me, we should value the culture of relationships that we forge. How we progress in life is purely based on long term relationships that are there.

Hence, to any new professional or to myself, I would say that people should respect you as an individual. So, work on building long term relationships, respect people around you, so that you earn that long term trajectory at your workspace.

What are you reading? Any recommendations?

I am still trying to read or get my hands on Atomic Habits’ by James Clear.

The second book was gifted to me by my manager. It's What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. I started my career at MG Motors as a digital marketer, helping me turn into a CMO. So What Got You Here Won't Get You There is one book that I would definitely recommend to somebody who is looking to see that kind of growth in their professional space.

What is your advice to avoid personal and professional burnout?

The way in which digitisation and content consumption is happening, one fact is sure that it leads to burnout. Hence, getting enough sleep, eating well, taking out time to exercise can keep burnout at bay.

I also practice Nichiren Buddhism. My advice to people is to adopt any form of attaining peace (be it art, meditation etc) that could help avoid burnout. What I've learnt from the younger generation is that it's not hard to set boundaries between professional and personal life. Hence, striking a fine balance too prevents burnout.

Take the help of AI to execute repetitive tasks that cause burnout.

A piece of advice you would like to share with Gen Z

Gen Z are leading with authenticity and they also focus on making a positive impact on things that matter. They really value transparency, inclusivity as well as social responsibility.

Hence, my only advice to Gen Z is to have that hunger, and yet stay humble, at least from their career trajectory perspective.

What's the best advice you got or heard in life?

Leadership is driven by empathy and trust. Take care of your people and they will take care of you.

Read More: Shakti Upadhyay, KIA India: We believe more in quality and less in quantity