Strong fundamentals and adaptability are important for career growth: Sooraj Balakrishnan, Acer

Sooraj Balakrishnan, head of marketing, Acer, the Taiwanese hardware and electronics corporation, touched upon the trends he follows, steps implemented by him to keep burnout at bay, the marketing content he consumes, the books he reads, and a lot more. Edited excerpts:

The creator economy has taken the world by storm. Which influencers and trends are you following?

The creator economy, or influencer economy, is something no brand can ignore these days. If you look at why it's exploding, I think the major reason as a consumer is that we prefer word-of-mouth recommendations or a brand telling them what to do.

I think in these aspects, an influencer is almost like a trusted friend. In our industry, it's technology, or it could be something else for another industry.

However, an influencer recommending a product goes a great deal into ensuring that the consumer considers a brand or a particular product. So I think that the basic human mindset of trusting an expert and not a brand is something that has formed the basis for the influencer economy, or the whole ecosystem, to rapidly grow.

There are influencers in various aspects of our industry, which we focus on. For example, as a technology brand, we just don't focus on an influencer who does technology reviews. We focus on influencers who are also into travel because, as a PC and laptop brand, having a very light laptop to carry with you while travelling is a great advantage.

We even look at a key feature of a laptop and then look at a particular influencer who can actually tell that story well. Even if you look at short-format influencer content, it is a huge market. YouTube is long-form in terms of content, but if you look at reels and YouTube shots, that short-form content is gaining massive reach where people can quickly scroll and consume content.

So, social media companies and media platforms like YouTube have also contributed tremendously in terms of getting the reach and innovating in terms of how the content can be delivered. And now, we even have things like podcasts that catch up quickly.

I think one trend is how AI is going to affect our marketing ecosystem. I think that's something that everyone has to closely follow. And privacy will be a big concern for us. So when third-party cookies get banned, that's something we all have to keep an eye out for. Because we know we won't probably use such data to reach out to our audience.

What marketing-related content do you consume in your free time?

When you look at marketing, it's all about influencing and persuading people to buy your product. So, I look at content, which makes me understand how the human mind works. So, psychology and human behaviour through books, podcasts, and video content are out there. That helps to understand how human behaviour and the human mind work and helps a marketer talk to the audience.

There's a lot of talk about burnout, workplace toxicity, and hustle culture. What steps have you taken to avoid the adverse impact of the always-on culture on yourself and your colleagues? And what advice would you give to your peers, colleagues, and next-gen marketers on this?

It's easy to get caught up in work, and then one doesn’t realise when they are getting burned out or are regretting or resenting their work.

So that's something that every professional has to be wary of. As the leader of my team, I encourage all of them to take breaks in between to freshen up.

I also tell them to have the seven most important things to close for the day. I think if you're focused on those seven most important things, that gives clarity on what needs to be done.

Many of the team members are driven by various passions in their lives and what they want to do. So, if they have a passion project that they want to focus on, I give them the time off to focus on it and ensure that they get to do that. It could be outside work; it could even be volunteering, etc. So that kind of helps the team be more dynamic, makes them more involved, and more committed. I also strongly believe in being open.

As a leader or as a member of the team, one should be open in terms of what they have. So the more one shares information, the better it is for the team.

Is there any sport or fitness routine you practice during the week to steal a few minutes of me-time for yourself and keep the momentum going?

I play badminton at least three times a week. I've been playing badminton since my childhood. It also gives a good workout.

What does your weekend look like?

I take some time out for myself. I love photography. Sometimes, I go early in the morning, go to some lake nearby, and spend some time there taking photos. That really clears up my mind.

Share one work hack and one life hack you swear by

The seven things that I mentioned previously have helped me to ensure that at work, it's been a productive day for me. I feel it's very important that every morning, one takes a pen and paper and writes down seven things so that they stay in your memory.

This habit also puts down one’s thoughts when they are written. Then, strike it off after every task is completed. Also, one needs to know what's important for them. If one doesn't know what's important to them, then it's very difficult to be happy. So, one needs to know that, work towards it, and ensure that they also take time to achieve that dream. And then, I think, both will be balanced.

What are you watching this weekend?

I've been watching a series called Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix. There's another one called The Mind, Explained (on Netflix). It is a documentary and quite interesting. I like to understand how the human mind works, its behaviour, etc.

What are you reading? Any recommendations?

The Power of Habit (by Charles Duhigg) is something that I keep going back to in terms of understanding habits and behaviours. Another is influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (by Robert B Cialdini), which I understand from a marketing point of view, especially what are the triggers for a consumer; what are the triggers for a human to kind of go for a product or go for something? Another great book, which I read a while back, is called The Culture Map (by Erin Meyer).

India is a country with diverse cultures, many different languages, and diverse backgrounds of people. It's unique, and every state is like a country in India. So, it shows how culture impacts one’s behaviour, how one does, thinks, and decides.

A piece of wisdom you would like to share...

I believe that one needs to keep their fundamentals strong. Whatever job or career one pursues, one needs to have a very strong base. Many people know things on a superficial level, but they don't really have their fundamentals in place.

So, if one doesn’t have strong fundamentals, they will not be able to grow quickly or in the right manner in their career. One needs to also be very adaptable.