The words you are searching are inside this book. To get more targeted content, please make full-text search by clicking here.
Discover the best professional documents and content resources in AnyFlip Document Base.
Search
Published by , 2017-08-22 12:36:58

Thank You Note for Tarun

Thank You Note for Tarun

I can only begin by saying THANK YOU! Thank you for being such a wonderful leader, coach, mentor, a
guiding star… You are the shining guiding star who has been glistening the lives of so many of us, in
Quovantis as well as in life beyond, including me. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel being a part of your
team. I thank my stars to have even gotten me here and I am so, so, so happy to be associated with such
a wonderful family… the place that makes me happy.. the place that is my life.. the place that you fondly
christened and the place which is home to many of us....QUOVANTIS!

As I step back and reminisce the last 18 months, it has been a journey full of learning's...Be it in group
meetings, one-on-one interactions, fun get together's (though there were rare occasions) or even just
sitting next to you and working... There is so much that I learnt, so much that I continue to learn, and I
hope one day and you look back to feel proud of having me a part of your team..... Trust me I have been
trying and will continue to strive to be better as I would never like my leader to be let down because of
me.... As i begin to share my experience and learning's, it might turn out to be really boring...It is my
novice attempt to pen down how I feel working with you and I mean every word I have written ahead... I
take this liberty to take you down the memory lane.. Please bear with me and forgive me if I have
written anything that you don't like..

January 2016 - The first impression was an everlasting impression! A little over 10 years with the same
organization and I began to think of testing waters outside...As my tryst with destiny happened, I landed
up for an interview @Quovantis... Wouldn't have been possible had Rajat not found my profile and
response to the posting meaningful!The first interaction went pretty well with Sunidhi and Sudesh
...Phew ... 1st round...2 hours... I wondered as I stepped out of the meeting room "Man, I have a
capacity to talk... Bravo, I told myself... Hopefully they liked whatever I said"... As I waited for the next
steps, I felt somehow Sunidhi might have heard my grumbling stomach, since she went on to order best
cheese sandwich from DC....With a sumptuous sandwich in front of me (couldn't wait to dig deep into
the cheese loaded sandwich), I saw you entering the pantry... Black T-shirt, blue jeans... that's a cool
dressing style for a CEO, I thought... Ummm... what was I thinking... Focus Kaushani.... It is the second
round of interview... I said to myself! What followed, put me in complete awe....You were at your
courteous best and the impression was getting embedded "Wow... what a cool CEO... no hang-ups, so
gentle, so warm" - Pantry for an interview, now that's different! .... As the interaction continued, I
noticed both - Your warm smile and allergy :) but what stayed with me was your SMILE... The expression
so simple yet so impactful making a stranger feel so welcome, so comfortable... I just felt I was not being
"grilled" in an interview versus I was in a lovely conversation.....I was able to share my experience
honestly and with so much of ease... Me being me, my focus kept oscillating between answering your
questions and digging into the cheese-loaded sandwich....I still feel bad that I may have not been able to
do justice talking to you while eating... You know my love for food ;-)

As we moved to Asgard and began to talk more, I enjoyed the conversation... There were so many things
we discussed- people, leadership, organization - challenges and how I dealt with them. It was such a
realistic conversation! At the end of it all as I stepped out of the office in the evening, I felt happy yet
confused…. Happy cause I met YOU - a CEO so warm and humble and an equally sensitive team including
Sunidhi, Rajat and Sudesh - Each of you all were courteous, down to earth with no hang-ups of
titles/positions… Confused cause I kept wondering “Was it for real? Do CEO’s really interact like this or
they just be pretentious on the day of the interview to sound good and look nice? I admit my confused-
mind was overpowering my happy-mind... Everything seemed to be surreal…

An Incident that left a lasting impression in my mind - Respect for people! Right when we were having
our conversation in Asgard, Bunty walked in with the clients and you were kind of awkward but the way
you introduced us to each other and made everyone comfortable. In the next instance, you made sure
to give a feedback to Bunty (the office boy) of how he could have checked with you and accordingly
book room for discussion. Respect for people no matter what capacity they work with you in– even if it
was the Office boy who, for a moment, did something unexpected. The way you spoke with him, would
have made him understand his responsibility clearly and also set an expectation for the future!

First major responsibility: Ma always says I was born to do appraisals …. (good or bad ;) is for people to
decide)... Yet again I walked straight into doing what I enjoyed most as a part of my profile....Appraisals!!
Given people had not written reviews in the past, I had to define a quick and easy way for team
members to write their accomplishments for the past year… This is precisely what you shared with me
…I felt what you did was balance of setting the right expectation while getting the liberty to design the
framework...What I saw you do next was unbelievable - While i devised the plan of execution with you,
you went on to involve the leaders to dry-run the execution plan with them and take opinion ... After all
they were the important stakeholders in the entire process and you made sure that it was an all
inclusive group....Made absolute sense...In this entire thing you helped me become a part of the
group.... We were certainly in it TOGETHER!March 2016 - As I came onboard, skeptical of how things
would be for me… specifically after such a long stint and as I stepped out of my comfort zone… I was
bound to have withdrawal symptoms…But I guess Quovantis and you were God-send…. Though the first
few interaction after I joined were very formal, yet one thing that I experienced was, your clarity of
thoughts. I still have my notes intact and I distinctly remember, what you had shared as your
expectations at the interview stage - they were in absolute tandem with what you shared within a
couple of days of my joining. Nothing had changed, NOTHING! Not that I wanted/expected it to change
but it was new for me to see the expectations being set so clearly and most importantly so early on!
"Clarity of thoughts and setting clear expectations!"

Lasting impression - 1) Freedom to execute with NO micromanagement yet helpful suggestions…........ 2)
Feeling of being Inclusive! Accepting feedback and understanding rationale shared by everyone… Indeed
People-first was being practiced!

April 2016: While were were still at appraisals, I had shared the desire to deliver a training on "Giving
Constructive Feedback" which you instantly liked and jumped to idea. As the time was less, I planned to
run the presentation from my previous organization and you guided me to share the credits while
delivering the session...After all "I was inspired and credit for such an inspiration should be rotated" is
what you said. I was comfortable with the suggestion and with about an hour to the session, Rajat
suggested to change the presentation since the idea of inspiration did not sound good to him. I rushed
to prepare the new presentation but I was racing against time. You walked in 10 minutes before the
actual start time to check with me about my preparedness. I told you that I was changing the
presentation... You asked me how much time I would need and that you would keep the participants
engaged till the time I prepared....There was no panic in your voice but a lot of patience and faith in
me... I felt confident about my first training with the Leaders @Quovantis!

What I learnt and will stay with me forever - Be thorough with what you are presenting... Specifically if
you have a participant like Tarun, who is so knowledgeable himself yet so eager to learn something new
and is also curious to know more..... You went on to ask umpteen questions to make the session
interactive and beneficial for everyone! What followed will be so special for me ALWAYS! The session
ended and as people stepped out. My heart was racing...skeptical about what was coming...did the
Leaders benefit or felt it was worth an investment of 1 hour out of their schedules, was i able to answer
the questions that were asked, specifically the one's YOU asked.. Man, I was nervous... You walked back
in right after everyone left... What followed was one of my MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT.... "Kaushani
that was a very good presentation, you kept all of us engaged, answered appropriately and not for a
second did my mind wander away while you spoke and explained things"..... An appreciation right after
my first training was mind blowing - THANK YOU so much Tarun for motivating me and giving me such
an insightful feedback! I cant forget your words of praises, which I even got validated from Rajat - He
said "Tarun kabi jhoothi tareef nahin karte.. if he has said it,he means it!" I was brimming with joy :):)!
Truthful Tarun!

May 2016: As we discussed and planned how to take the people practices ahead, you burst with the
idea to do skip-level meeting in an email…. As I thought more about it, I felt the need to first step back
and see the communication channels and how were they panning in terms of effectiveness… You let me
do that but kept whispering that it would be a great idea to hold skip-levels…. Well I didn’t disagree but I
was looking at the holistic effectiveness of the programs we have and what could be done more to make
it beneficial for everyone... I was glad as you let me devise a plan!! I prepared the plan and finally came
to showcase it to you as well as the Leadership te,am...While I presented what I named as the
"Communication Charter" in Zion, I appreciate the fact that you guys saw each program in depth and
took some healthy potshots on them …I guess it was needed so that we didn’t end-up doing something
that was meaningless… Remember “Email to the CEO”…it sounded like an agony-aunt column of a sleezy
magazine to you guys…Idea ruled out but glad the maximum of the ideas saw the light of the day and
are running successfully :)

I felt happy because – YOU gave me the freedom to do something new without the fear of its end result
nor with inhibition whether it would work or not Moreover in all this, the trust you showed in me and
gave me the liberty to experiment without batting an eyelid, was so encouraging…(E) Nabler Tarun!

June 2016: As you headed out to the US and asked us to go ahead with the Company Update to launch
the Communication Charter and Performance Review across the organization, you made sure we all
took on the responsibility and worked as a TEAM.

What I still remember is the way you bid bye to all of us with a BIG hug....It was such a warm gesture....
It gave me an instant insight to the person you are.. So affectionate and expressive towards the people
who mattered to you… Reinstated my thought that Love and affection have a positive and long-lasting
impact on people! Indeed it does as it has left a lasting impression on me...Affectionate Tarun!

July 2016: It was month of Surveys and a month that kept us busy - rollout, followups for completion
and finally consolidating the results... It began with what mattered the most to you... YOUR FEEDBACK...
You were so eager to know what your team had to say about their association with you...I was in
absolute awe for the excitement I felt in your voice as I shared the results with you....Could a CEO be so
excited and open for feedback? I didn't have to pinch myself neither did I let my mind run with a feeling
of disbelief... You were GENUINELY interested in knowing the feedback and improving...

Like you always said "Be a student for life" is a big learning in my life... Learn.Unlearn.Learn - Be
receptive and open to learning... Learning to improve...only to become a better version of yourself...
This is tough given human beings are not receptive to change... yet you are an epitome of learning... you
make it sound so positive yet intended towards an impactful outcome..Learner Tarun!

August 2016: I was having a tough time dealing with the loss of my Nani and I remember you came and
spoke with me in the pantry and told me things that will stay with me for life – You said "Imbibe all the
good things that you learnt from her... This will help you to keep her in your thoughts... always...It was
an important lesson for life!

What stayed with me: Keep your dear ones in your heart and imbibe their good actions to have them
around you, always!

September 2016: I came to the office devastated, a lot had happened the day before…I just kept
thinking of how to deal with the situation… While I was battling with these thoughts, I had no choice but
to share the situation with someone in the office…. I had always tried to maintain a healthy distance
between my personal and professional life... But life took such an unexpected turn that I was left
gasping for a way out and I could see my professional life getting skewed because of my personal life ...
That was the last thing I wanted… I couldn’t figure out anything and as I stepped into Zion to share the
situation with you, I kept thinking in the back of my mind what would you think about me…. It was
personally a very embarrassing and heart-breaking situation for me… My life was falling apart… I can’t
tell you how shaken-up I was… More so, talking about my personal life openly was not something I was
comfortable with.......it was too much of personal information..... But as I spoke with you, I began to
pour my heart-out… I could feel the genuine empathy and concern in each word you said, each question
you asked.... Talking to you was so helpful... You asked me questions that helped me think...So that I
could take the right decision…While I was struggling with these challenges, I shuddered with the thought
of sharing the situation with my parents due to their impending US visit... I can't THANK YOU enough for
insisting that I share this with my parents...It just helped me to take the right practical decision and not
an emotional one. Had I not done that, I would have messed up things in the long run for me, my son
and them!

Your advice made me take a rational decision - You made me think and I can still hear what you said
“Kaushani, you should be telling your parents before they fly as they would be in more pain if they get to
know this later. They are your parents and are strong enough to support you and guide you with the
right things in these times"”. Your advice was great and yet again a BIG Thank you for being my guiding
star!

October 2016: While there were innumerable implementations in progress - Zoho roll-out, finalization
of where to get the salary bench-marking done from... not to forget the festivities in full swing...Diwali
decorations and celebrations..All of them running in parallel and were so important.... Amidst all this
excitement, Idid something really foolish which left you disappointed with me.... For the first time I saw
you really upset with me... It all began with Diwali gift distribution.. even after you told me you wanted

to handover the gifts to the design team...I forgot :(:(:( .. to add to it, there were a couple of more goof-
ups that piled up on this... so much so that because of my inadvertent actions you chose to skip the
Diwali celebrations...I felt miserable as I had caused the pain to you, that too at the time of festivities
:(:(:(

I can still remember you tried not to dampen our spirits by sharing that you had to go for Sayesha's
birthday party - I cant tell you how embarrassed I feel till today ... I would just like to say a heartfelt
"Sorry" for my actions that upset you .... You will be happy to know I am on an extra dose of Memory
plus capsules + 1 mutthi bheege hue badaam every morning! Hopefully, these two will help me in
remembering things better specifically when you clearly share your expectations! Jokes apart, I am glad
that atleast you let me know what I messed up with.... I can only request you to think about the rest of
the people who love to have you around specially on such occasions... Please be there for them versus
just give it amiss because of stupid actions of a smaller segment of people like me :( .... I am not sure if it
is a fair request to make...

November 2016 - It was coming out pretty strongly during our conversations that we needed to
strengthen the Leaders in the organization and we had to start from Ground 0. You came up with the
idea of a 7-part workshop to bring the Leaders on the same page... What followed were intense
discussions and presentations amidst the leaders of the organization...closely monitored,guided and led
personally by YOU ....There were no cliched presentations neither were there Gyan sessions... The
outcome were also in the way you had envisioned... By the people, for the people (no no not Delhi
Police but from the Quant Diaries ;)) ...The first successful outcome of the sessions were the revised Core
Values....It was great to collaborate the thoughts of all the groups and shape them up into something so
meaningful...YOUR guidance to mould the different perspectives and bring them all to a common
ground and define the new set of Core values - what they meant and what were some examples to
explain them was an impeccable exercise... In the whole step, YOU made me realize how important a
stakeholder was I, along with the other Leaders. After all this will become the foundation and shaping
into a successful Quovantis!

It was truly inspirational for me to work so closely with you and learn a lot about Leadership along the
way... I will not shy away from saying that I am not a Leader, so this entire activity was a great booster
dose for my thoughts and in turn hone by leadership abilities. I still feel I have a long way but it was a
great head start... Thank You for taking this up in our interest :)

December, 2016 - As we were close to wrapping up the workshops, winding up by defining the Culture
rituals that we could practice in the organization, you had to leave suddenly to be with your family. The
family man, the dutiful son took over the CEO....I saw the loving son in you, who stood strong with the
family! Your family is truly blessed and I am sure Uncle and Aunty have the biggest role to play in this...
They must be so, so proud of having you as their son!

January, 2017 - The Year began on a great note with the opening of the US office and I am sure this
expansion was something that you had always dreamt of... Like all other dreams, this too became
reality...While you led the efforts in US, we got busy in representing our people practices, policies and
processes for the Great Place to Work study...We worked with the earnest objective of seeing Quovantis
listed in the Top 50 Best Companies to Work For for 2017, we kept our fingers crossed and toiled away a
couple of weeks, burnt the midnight oil... only to present the facts appropriately...

I can only imagine how you excited you must have been sitting in the US office clicking the pics of the
office and sharing on the group... You must have been ecstatic! Thinking about all of it, I can only say
nothing is impossible till you have worked hard to achieve that dream! Of course your skill and
knowledge played a pivotol role in turning things into reality.... You just did all of it! Hats off to you and
to the power of your hardwork and perseverance!

February, 2017 - As you came back from the US, excited to share the news of the expansion with
everyone, there was equal excited amongst everyone who were overjoyed as much as you were! As we
started to catch-up on work, you began to see our GPTW submission and the next thing I hear, was the
genuine appreciation of the efforts put in by Sunidhi and Malvika around the study... Irrespective of the
outcome, you were going all out to talk about the hardwork in putting this together... Thank you for
recognizing our efforts... For the three of us, your words of appreciation and encouragement meant the
world!

Appreciation from you means the world to us! I know you must be thinking we act so miserly when we
should be Thanking you but then we get happy with your appreciations and we get sad if we disappoint
you (though we make sure we do not repeat it). But this is something that we really appreciate and acts
as BIG motivator for the entire TEAM! Thank you again for bringing that smile on our faces :)

March - April 2017 - Appraisals knocked our doors again and this time we made some conscious analysis
from the market before we worked upon the annual increments. As the discussion began around
feedback communication, the next steps were some deliberate efforts to devise increments - this called
for innumerable discussions with you as well as the Leadership team members. As the letter distribution
began, we started to feel the heat pretty early on! There were reactions of resentment from all
fragments be it my peers or team members... As I started to hear the feedback, directly or indirectly, I
began to think. As the feedback got stronger and louder, constant words like - "This years appraisal was
the worst", were taking a hit on my morale. I knew I had messed up big time but I wasn't shying away
from owning up the mistake... The feeling made me miserable as I felt my peers had lost trust in me. This
was a time when you spoke to me about what you were hearing, which was the same as what I had
been hearing. My heart sank and was not sure of how things turn to be... "I am with you Kaushani, I am
standing right besides you... WE are in this together and no matter what everyone is saying, I will take
the ownership". Which is exactly what you did, you went on to talk to the Leads and started to explain
the rationale, went on to address it in the Company Update and took ownership for something that I
had messed up with....

This was a time when my thoughts of being associated with a STOIC leader was reinstated...It was
definitely a shit situation, but the way you jumped in to control the damage, without freaking out or
reacting emotionally..This is something that I will be ever so grateful for...I never shied away from taking

the ownership of my mistake but all I felt bad about was being left alone by my peers...yet again I have
to THANK YOU for standing strong for and with me...

May - June 2017 - You wanted all of us to unwind and think of how and where to take Quovantis in the
next few years. You planned an extravagant trip for all of us... Indeed it was - luxury tempo-traveller, the
most beautiful homestay, a trip that will stay so close to my heart.... As we began with our discussions..
you showered your love for each of us by handing over a goody box - A personalized Scheffer pen and
business card holder - How thoughtful of you! Who thinks so much to make each of his team members
feel special... The discussions began, lot of thoughts and lot of deep insights of what we were doing
good and what we needed to focus upon... You facilitated and led the sessions so well.... Everything was
so meaningful...

As we closed the conversation for the first day and stepped into a light-hearted evening I was pleasantly
surprised to meet the singer in you! Kya buland awaz hai appki and what a wonderful song.... I had not
seen this side of our beloved CEO... the night faded with memories of the Kishore's and Asha's in us that
came alive under a strong influence... Not you for a change, but alcohol.... hehehehehe.... the next day
and evening were equally memorable.. discussions, food, chai, barbeque, drinks and some soul stirring
singing by so many of us yet again and the day just went by...As we headed back, right after concluding
the previous days discussions and planning next steps what I truly admire is how you kept your promise
of letting us hang around the mall road.. you made sure I get to eat chicken momo's and see of whatever
little Kasauli mall road had in that limited time... Thank you for caring about each of your team member
like family .. a special Thank You for keeping in mind my love for Chicken :)

June - July, 2017 - I had reached Satoli to be with the children of Aarohi Bal Sansaar and as I lay tired in
my bed sliding into sleep, the phone rang... I picked my phone only to it 11:40 in the night and that you
are calling... Oh shit! I had forgotten to inform you that we had reached safely.... Was it about another
negative review on glassdoor... There were so many thoughts crossing my mind as I answered your
call.... Hello, Kaushani... I called up to talk about something important... I could only muster up to ask
"Sab theek hai na Tarun"... pat came the reply " Had everything been fine I wouldn't have called up so
late in the night"... My heart was pounding and I sat up within a fraction of a second as Mavika and Janit
looked at me, shocked... whats wrong with her....and then came the shock "There is an email from
GPTW stating that we are amongst the top 50 Best Places to Work in the mid-size organization
category!!!" Holy shit...... I shouted "Oh My God.. Wooow... congratulations.... all in one breath... and
right after it i snapped back "aise koi batata hai itni badi news... all you did was chuckle and I kept
jumping with joy".... It was a great achievement and I wish could hug you at that moment... nonetheless
the feeling was incredible and I could feel every bit of it in your voice... Man, you were so happy and I
felt the same happiness... after all this great piece of news came after a series of shitty remarks on
Glassdoor that somehow shook us in terms of thinking if were were doing something wrong... Well this
was our testimony of there was something that we were doing right... This certainly wouldn't have been
possible had it not been for a leader like you... All of us were living up your dream of making Quovantis
successful!

August 2017 - As we left Delhi, you shared about how you felt as an imposter... I felt you were just being
too harsh with yourself... I liked that you were openly sharing what you felt but I could see the agony in
your eyes... then I heard you say which I have not heard any of leaders say or do.... "Kaushani, main jaan
laga doonga, jo kar sakta hoon karunga par cheezon ko theek karunga"....There was so much pain yet
conviction to make things better not for you but for Quovantis and each of its team members...Each
word you said was lucid, impeccable to the extent that they reflected your innermost sentiment so
clearly...

The happiest moment amidst the many happy moments in Quovantis will always be to receive the
award with you and for you....I cant tell you how happy I was and I am.... This was a moment of a
lifetime for me and I was so, so happy see you happy.... While it took me sometime for the position to
sink in, and I may have not reacted in the most pleasant way at that instant but I genuinely was and I am
happy and you know it.... I was happy about the fact that I was able to fulfill the dream to see Quovantis
listed in the Top 50 Best Companies to Work for! Like I promised, we will strive to go higher in the
ranking for next year.. will work harder and do whatever it takes to bring the ranking up....I promise!

So far it has been a great journey and all I would like to say is THANK YOU for everything! I would like to
add that you are and will be My Inspirational Leader - Truthful Ardor Respectful Understanding
(e)Nabler Knowledgable Observant Humble Lucid Impeccable... That's TARUN KOHLI - I look upto you as
a leader, as a person and as a GREAT HUMAN BEING! Like I always say, be the way you are...Thank you
again, Luv Kaushani :-)


Click to View FlipBook Version