Maruti's former marketing boss Shashank Srivastava keeps this quote in his diary
As Maruti Suzuki's Shashank Srivastava moves on from his role as the sales and marketing chief of India's leading carmaker, we take a quick look at his journey and his take on leadership, change and life.
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When Storyboard18 asked Maruti Suzuki's Shashank Srivastava what interests him outside of work, he said, "My hobby is chess, and I make it a point to keep up with the latest trends in the game." He told us, "It not only helps me focus on something other than work, but also, chess is a great game which involves a lot of planning. It involves a lot of discipline." Discipline and planning are what he seems to have perfected at Maruti Suzuki India, a firm known for its meticulous planning and emphasis on discipline given the brand's Japanese lineage and influence.
On March 27, the auto major elevated Shashank Srivastava from the position of Head – Marketing and Sales to ‘Member Executive Committee’. In many ways, it's an end of an era in the marketing world, as Srivastava moves on from his current role and into an advisory one as part of a core leadership group.
A Maruti lifer, Srivastava is a leading figure in the Indian business and marketing world, having led the country's top carmaker as its sales and marketing boss for several years. Srivastava started his career at the automotive company in 1989. It was his first job after graduating from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). Holding a bachelor's degree in telecommunication and electronics engineering from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Bhopal, he joined IIM-A in 1987. Despite having offers from the Asian Paints and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Srivastava was very clear that his path lay in the automotive industry and with Maruti Suzuki.
Srivastava, the marketing maven who is an avid reader of books on science and especially quantum physics, has been a strong proponent for constant learning and adapting with the times. He emphasised empowering his team members through collaboration and communication. “My intention is to help others succeed and become leaders in their own right. True leadership is, therefore, not about being in charge but inspiring and guiding others to achieve their full potential,” he said. It is about creating a culture of continuous learning and development; “When we invest in our colleagues’ growth and development, we develop better leaders and build a more substantial organisation.”
In a previous conversation with Storyboard18, when asked about a work and life hack he swears by, Srivastava had said,"Time boxing is a very powerful productive technique. What you do is you schedule specific blocks of time for different tasks. That's something which optimises efficiency. For a life hack, I would say, practice gratitude. It significantly improves one's overall well-being. If one is grateful for what you have, big or small, it helps you appreciate the good things, and makes you feel better."
