Sridhar Jayanthi?s management style at the anti-virus software firm, McAfee, is a whole lot more democratic that many. He totally believes in the theory that all employees, irrespective of their designations, should get equal respect. Sridhar is also of the point of view that employees should not act subservient to senior management and be given all the freedom to express their views without fear. In short, he hates hierarchy.
?There are no office boys at McAfee. This is simply because we want to discard any form of work that would undermine dignity of labour. I too have the same cubicle as anyone else. And I have no other special facilities. I do not have any allotted parking slot at office and have to take my print-outs myself. I believe that this kind of culture is important for innovation to take root. Any organisation that fails to do so, will find it difficult to create team spirit,? he says.
Sridhar?s father was an engineer at BEL, and so technology runs deep in the family. He was a bright student right through, coming up the ranks in schools such Kumaran?s and National High School in Bangalore, both known for preparing students of the studious kind.
His father inculcated in him the importance of being fair and just. ?I learned early, how to treat everyone equally. I see a number of people in India addressing their managers as ?sir? or ?madam?. This is very much a barrier. It?s part of a culture that creates hierarchy. The lesser the hierarchy, the better it is for us. American companies are masters at creating equal opportunities.?
Sridhar, along with his HR head, spends one full day with every new employee in McAfee to explain its culture. ?We do this so that the new employee understands the importance of equality at workplace. They come from various companies which could be practising hierarchy. We help them to free their minds and enter an environment where feedback is necessary and open communication is the key. Indians should learn how to address seniors by their first names.?
Apart from this, McAfee allows every employee to mail its CEO or president with new ideas or suggestions and even criticism. It?s very much an open door policy. Sridhar also feels that it is important to hire people who are passionate about their jobs. ?This makes it easier. Passionate people communicate better and are able to address issues faster. The idea is take away the importance of the title, and devote attention to the quality of work.?
Sridhar left Indian shores very early. After passing out of REC Trichy as a mechanical engineer, he left for the US for higher studies. He then joined an IT firm PTC, where he had to learn programming. ?I used to go back home and read up on programming, as I didn?t know much about the subject. In 6-8 months time, I picked it up quite well.?
After PTC, he joined a start-up company and hoped to develop a software product. But the dotcom bubble burst, and most companies shut shop. ?The writing was on the wall. I had to get back to the mainstream, though it felt like a setback at that time.?
That setback spurred him on. ?I always thought of myself as a professional than as a domain expert. I wanted to be this expert across domains, and that helped.
I did not want to confine myself in just one area of business.?
At McAfee, Sridhar is trying to create smart senior managers who believe in the inverted pyramid style of management. ?The senior manager should not think he?s at the top. Instead, he?s at the bottom of the pyramid shouldering the entire load. He?s an enabler.?
?The goal is to develop McAfee into one of the best-run companies in the world that produces world class products. The India centre is growing rapidly. About 40% of the engineering task force is in India. India is our most critical site,? says Sridhar. ?The move is to create a strong brand image for McAfee. We want us to be the employer of choice, with a high class senior technical team. We want to deglamorise management a bit, and build up the profile of the technical people.?
Sridhar?s stint in McAfee was punctuated by the downturn. ?Interestingly, we did well during the downturn. Our stock hit a record high in 2009, when others struggled. Also, we were able to crack some big deals during the period. We were hiring when world-over companies were laying off.?
Amidst all this, Sridhar realises the importance of taking good breaks. ?Vacations are important. I make sure that I take my breaks, after which I come back with more vigour. I generally like to be on driving holidays. I recently drove around New Zealand. Previously I did a 7,000 mile trip right across the US, taking six weeks off with my family.?
Sridhar says, ?One of my childhood dreams was to travel the world. Thankfully, my work has helped me do that. I have been to most parts of the world and still enjoy travel. I put in about 12 hours of work, with early morning and late night calls stitched in. It keeps me extremely busy, but I do take some time out to keep fit. I run quite a lot on the treadmill these days, and intend to enter some half-marathons soon. But I also ensure that I sleep well, for a better day at work.?
