Page 13 - SPARK Q1 '18

far: "First, it definitely helps me work on building point reviews in between, kept me honest and aid-
and expanding my network. I have now made con- ed with interesting and practical leadership aspects
nection with different areas of GBO that I didn't by best-in-class trainers and our own VMware
know before, and interestingly enough, I have Leadership team. It's been a great experience so
found myself now working in projects that are relat- far and I am looking forward to the rest of the pro-
ed to those areas, thanks to stretch program. Sec- gram with excitement."
ond, this helped me with innovative thinking. This We are ambitious about VMware's future, and
type of exercise truly makes me think on how to hence, chose to be so with our people develop-
approach business' day to day activities in a differ- ment efforts as well. Therefore, we invest in pro-
ent way, allowing ideas to germinate and grow, grams such as this Stretch, and provide a fresh
even if they sound radical or crazy at the begin- approach to developing leaders. Will Desmond
ning. I am very happy to have had the opportunity agrees stating, "It was nice to feel that the compa-
to participate in this activity." ny was invested in me." Sr. Finance Manager, Pa-
The participants' journey on this program started rul Agarwal from Palo Alto, had similar views as
with an assessment to help gauge their Growth, others in this program, and writes, "The Stretch
Resilience, Instinct and Tenacity (GRIT) before program connected me to some of the best talent
they jumped into the program. Then the sessions at VMware. Just being around such people gives
in Bangalore provided insights in the following are- tremendous opportunity to learn and grow. The
as: amount of effort company leadership is putting to-
 Learning the art and science of innovation, wards growing talent is heartening. Bangalore ses-
problem solving and ideation, sion was well-managed, intense and fun!"
The participants will come together again in July
 Delivering effective presentations and audi- this year in Palo Alto, and will be presenting the
ence centric planning,
solutions to the issues/challenges assigned to their
 Weaving in aspects of digital and social in busi- teams. It has been an exciting journey thus far and
ness communication to resonate with a distrib- we are confident that it will be an equally engaging
uted/ millennial workforce, conclusion.
 Discussing failures/ risks taken that could have Special thanks to the following participants for
led to accidental learning/ significant benefits sharing feedback about their journey and experi-
with the intent of building risk appetite and re- ence in this program:
silience to failure and Parul Agarwal, Sr. Finance Manager (Palo Alto)
William Desmond, Strategic Sourcing Manager
 Understanding what it takes to thrive and oper- (Cork)
ate in a matrix environment Alicia O'Connor, Sr. Manager International Tax
Gopikrishna Y., Senior Manager, BTA PMO, ex- (Cork)
claims, "Stretch it is! We have gone over and be- Julio Viquez, Process Excellence Lead (Costa
yond our current responsibilities, reaching out to Rica)
cross-functional experts across geographies to Gopikrishna Y., Senior Manager, BTA PMO
come up with a proposal/recommendation which is (Bangalore)
of strategic importance to VMware. The in-person 3 -Mohit Rajkumar
-days session in Bangalore, followed by check-