‘Listening is the best practice I have picked up from the US’

Sullajja Firodia Motwani is gearing up the Kinetic group for competition

Kumarkaushalam

As a teenager, one of her most memorable dates with business was when she visited the family’s factory shopfloor in Ahmednagar, Gujarat, with her grandfather. Today, Ms. Sulajja Firodia Motwani, 31, as the joint managing director of the Pune-based, Rs 1,200-crore Kinetic Group is driving the change in the group. Recollects Ms. Motwani, “ I knew at that time when I visited the factory, that I wanted to be part of the family business operations.’’

After joining the business about five years back, Ms Motwani has displayed an ability to take challenges head on. In these years, true to her signature style, she has clearly made her mark felt in the group: whether it’s been in the negotiations to buy out Honda of Japan’s stake in the joint venture in an engaging board-room drama, consolidating half a dozen family enterprises into a cross-functional yet monolithic group, trying to transform an engineering-led company into the marketing- driven one or even in the inducting of professionals at key posts in a traditionally family-managed business.

After she took up managing of the business, Kinetic has charted out to new territories. ‘‘Because I was new, I could take a dispassionate approach. To grow, we needed to move beyond mopeds and scooters to new segments like scooterettes and motorcycles.’’The Kinetic group has in fact doubled its turnover in the last five years. Ms. Motwani has brought on board her distinct managing style. ‘‘Listening is the best practice I’ve brought from my experiences in working in the US during 1992-93,’’ says Ms Motwani. ‘‘The open communication style has helped me become a part of the team as opposed to a daughter of a chairman, who comes and throws her weight around.’’

For a large number of stakeholders that include employees, consumers and business partners, she now represents a refreshing change in the group. ‘‘I guess, my contribution has been to make the group much more consumer-led,’’ she says. ‘‘We have laid out a new road map for the company.’’ These times have also helped her to spur on to a higher gear. She concedes: ‘‘Times of globalisation are difficult years. You’ve got to work faster and harder and better to succeed.’’

Indeed, working harder, faster and better, are qualities she perfected with stretches of energetic sessions at badminton courts, in her younger days. In those days, as a badminton enthusiast, she learnt to work hard for months to prepare for tournaments, to compete, to be disciplined and above all to take defeat in her stride. ‘‘To compete becomes a part of your psyche,’’ she says.

She has had her share of setbacks also. One was the proposed launching by Kinetic of one of the country’s smallest car. Some people may still remember the young lady’s evangelical hard-selling for the proposed car around 1998. The ‘cute car’ never hit the street. It was buried long back.

But for Ms. Motwani, her career and business is a journey not a destination: ‘‘Initially we felt we would be happy at touching Rs 1,000 crore turnover. Now we want to grow more. We would like to be seen as a world class company. Right now, we’re working towards achieving Rs 2,000 crore turnover by the fiscal 2003.’’ She has a vision that she would like to see a Kinetic product in every house in the country. The group’s new assault in the booming mobike market points to yet another attempt at constant re-invention.

Says she: ‘‘I’ve learnt that change is very good. Changes have helped our organisation to grow. I’ll always bring new people who will help the company grow, who can bring the change factor.’’ Next to badminton, her personal passions have been skiing and cooking Italian food — which she picked up during her days in the US. ‘‘I am a decent cook and I find it a therapy. But due to work pressure I haven’t cooked since last six years. And, I would get to ski only on some vacations abroad,’’ she says. But for the moment, Ms Motwani is doing a balancing act, between being an energetic manager and a caring mother of a 10-month old son, between pursuing tactical initiatives and setting a strategic vision. ‘‘I’m just trying to be more organised,’’ says she, and adds: ‘‘It’s very hard. Your baby needs you, your work needs you and you want to be in both places.’’

Though she has not cut on her working hours (she starts work early following a 45-minutes physical exercises and works late from home), nor her trips (she travels 15 days a month to places including interiors of the country), Ms. Motwani currently has little time for
leisure.

‘‘Being a mother has made me a lot more balanced as earlier I was into excesses and extremes: too much of work, too much of everything.’’

‘‘In US schools, you are encouraged to contradict and to question, which helped me profoundly in gaining confidence,’’ she says. ‘‘Later, during my job stint in the US, I learnt from their expertise in systems, planning, tracking performance of people and HR.’’Clearly, she has brought to the business a whiff of new air.