Amit Sawant - I Have Not Failed in My Career, as I Have Never Given Up (VP Marketing, Corporate Communications and Fintech Strategy with Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd)

 

A good marketeer needs to be a jack of all and master of some in this new era of marketing.

Earlier Marketing began with knowing your customer.  Now Marketing begins with knowing your customer segment.

1. Tell us about your background, journey & story.

I come from a humble middle-class background and grew-up in Mumbai.  Graduated from Wilson College and did my MBA from JBIMS, batch of 2008.  My Dad was working with Mumbai Police and Mom is a perfect homemaker.

Business Growth Leader with a proficient Marketing experience and a Proactive performance-driven professional with over 20+ years of experience leading the innovative market-building initiatives in a variety of corporate (& volunteer) environments.  Fashion Retail, entertainment, consumer research, media, digital and social platforms, Fintech - affordability and technology implementation expertise. Thrives on delegated responsibility to tackle major growth challenges.  A go-to executive for both strategy and implementation. 

Proven builder of key customer/partnering relationships, new business opportunities and professional networks in the dynamic and changing markets.  Proficiency in formulating, developing, and implementing yearly business strategies to ensure attainment of revenue goals and profitable sell-through (EBITDA and P&L delivery).

 

2. What are some of the biggest challenges & failures you have faced in your career?

I have not failed in my career, as I have never given up.  There were setbacks, but I have used them as my steppingstones and learnt to do the job better, faster and more profitable the next time.

With every challenge comes an opportunity, one needs to see for the objectives and rally the efforts oneself and team to work so that end results (desired outcome) is achieved.

I also believe trying to please everybody is the biggest challenge for a business leader and it is also a perfect recipe for failures.

 

3. What are some of the factors that made you successful?

My Education from the best of the institutions and the initial network of friends I made in my Alma Mater.

Good Work Habits developed over a period of time. Working on objective driven targets and celebration of all the milestones achieved is my key to success

Positive Mental attitude – This is very important in current work set-up.  Every day is a fresh start and bring new ways to achieve the objectives

Creativity and Skill set development – Learning is a non-stop process and is a habit to be cultivated

Positive Image and Reputation in the market and among the peers.

 

4. Marketing has changed a lot over the decade, what do you think will be the future of marketing?

A good marketeer needs to be a jack of all and master of some in this new era of marketing.

Earlier Marketing began with knowing your customer.  Now Marketing begins with knowing your customer segment.

Earlier Businesses were competing with their competitors. Now they are competing with the last best experience the customer had. (Marketing plays a very important role here).

Earlier Customers hope store/business have what they want. Now the Customers expect store/business to have exactly what they want.

Earlier Customers used to sit at the heart of your marketing strategy. Now the Customers sit at the heart of the customer journey. (The customer journey is focal point of any marketing strategy).

 

5. Voice has been heralded as the biggest growth lever of the decade for Ecommerce. What are your thoughts about it?

Voice search queries in India are growing at 270% per year (This is just the start and will growing at more exponential rate with the advent and acceptance of 5G in India).

Post-Pandemic, human behaviour has shifted to more contactless experiences serving to grow the need for voice technology in both its pace & popularity. Soon, consumers will have a voice option at self-checkout counters, ATMs, automobiles, elevators and anywhere else touch is currently needed.

The fastest rising eCommerce trends, voice search is certainly the hype these days.  Virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, Google Assistant are a few examples of some great platforms that are exceptionally successful with voice queries. 72% of people who own voice-activated speakers use these services as a part of their daily routine.

The common man/woman will also have its own version of Jarvis just like Iron-man to help them with the daily routine tasks, including suggestive shopping on eCommerce sites just like a personal shopping assistant.

 

6. What is the most important skill set required for someone who wants to rise in their career?

Right attitude complimented by right aptitude is the most important skill set required to rise in their career.

Other key skills are Analytical thinking and innovation with an ability to do complex problem solving, Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility.  With apt reasoning and problem solving with past-experience and new ideas.

Leadership and Social Influence (This come with creativity, originality and leader based initiatives).

Ability to use technology, its monitoring and control for progressive results

 

7. What does your typical day look like?

I start my day at 7 am with my routine workouts. Then collaboratively plan my day with a old school type To-Do List

In the initial part of the day, I make sure that the most urgent work gets done first. Then I review the status of the projects that I’m currently working on (realign the responsibilities if required). I try to make sure that all the work assigned is moving forward and without any glitches

Post lunch, I align few meetings with Vendors and Business Partners. I make sure that a certain part of my day is taken to read about the market updates and learn new skill sets.

Before, closing the day I have a 15 mins wrap-up meeting/call with my team to review accomplishments, check feelings, reinstate commitments, follow through on important line items if required

 

8. Which is your favourite book & why?

Thinking Fast And Slow by Daniel Kahneman is my newest read and currently my favourite read.

 

This book is all about how two systems — intuition and slow thinking — shape our judgment, and how we can effectively tap into both. Using principles of behavioural economics, the writer then walks us through how to think and avoid mistakes in situations when the stakes are really high.

 

Three important things I learned from this book:

a. Solving complicated problems takes mental work, so our brain cuts corners when we're tired or stressed.

I recognized that my fast thinking was attributed to the fact that I was busy all the time and didn't incorporate very many breaks into my schedule. I felt exhausted and distracted at the end of long days, so I was using Fast Thinking (Intuitions only) to make decisions instead of Slow Thinking.

To gain more concentration and focus, I started practicing more mindfulness strategies and incorporating more breaks, which have helped me tremendously in making better choices for myself.

 

b. One of the main reasons we jump to conclusions is confirmation bias.

Now, I make sure I'm truly weighing the pros and cons of each decision, especially when the stakes are high.

I learned I was actually rushing the decision-making process and looking for evidence to support them, instead of really thinking things through.

Now, I'm making sure to look at a wide variety of options with things I like and things I dislike about each option available.

 

c. When making a decision, we should always focus on multiple factors.

Most decisions are tied to weighing multiple factors, but sometimes we only focus on the one factor we're getting the most pleasure from, which can be a big mistake, because the factor that we initially find fulfilling often gives us less pleasure as time progresses.

Using the newly learned logic, I look at the bigger picture and make sure I am attracted to a commitment for multiple reasons.

 

Final Take away

I was having a tough time making few decisions and it was stressing me out more. Slowing down the Thinking Time with the practices mentioned in the book, helped me a great time to explore and understand my thinking patterns to further improve the decision-making process as a Business Leader.

 

 

Profile – Amit Sawant (VP Marketing, Corporate Communications and Fintech Strategy with Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd)                                                          

 

Experienced Business & Marketing Leader with 19+ years of experience in various industries – Retail, Luxury and Fashion, Fitness and Healthcare, Information Technology and ITES, Media and Entertainment, BFSI, FMCG, FMCD, Telecom, Auto, Gaming, Real Estate, Hospitality and Leisure Industry, Niche Sports.

 

Strong track record of turning around businesses and delivering PnL, revenue & equity goals via consumer-focused marketing interventions and strategy.  Significant width & depth of experience in Portfolio & Brand strategy development with PnL responsibility.

 

An evangelist to create digital transformation and fintech integration in the brick and mortar retail leading to convenience of customers, brand affinity and a level playing opportunity to compete with the new age players.  All this with a keen viewpoint on increasing the turnover by acquiring new customer base, profitability by reducing the cost and optimised returns to various partners who participate.

 

Diverse experience in managing global & local brands, leader & challenger brands, premium & value brands, and imagery marketing & USP marketing and nurturing platform innovations.

 

Strong passion for creating high performance teams.  Creating cohesive teams across cross-functional & global matrix organisations.