Page 32 - Procanvass

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

R. Balaji

Vice President, Tata Consultancy Services
Ex. Vice President - Procurement & Contracts, Reliance
Industries Limited

How did you get into Project Management? Was it assessing your subordinates is even challenging.
always on your mind or did you just stumble upon Because you can’t expect more productivity from
it? anyone when you are giving increment to his colleague
A: It’s not like I went into Project Management. While having same position. So it’s an art to get the work
doing masters from BITS, as a youngster I was very done. Even making management understand that your
much interested in Event Management. Automatically project is important& making resources available from
same thing is coming here also. In event management them is very difficult. If some delay occurs in your
lot of planning comes into picture, bringing resources project then you have to explain them.
together and then performing in front of audience
which is same as project management. But the only You have handled many Projects in India and
difference is outcome here is not just clapping but Abroad, so tell us about your whole journey in
project field.
Satisfaction which you get once job is done. When you
A: I was in proper projects in Petron. Here I was trained
are working in office you have to follow your boss, but
when you enter in Project Field, you are the BOSS! in petrochemicals refinery, so we were technology
Luckily, the first company which I went in was people along with being project managers. Then I
(Company Name), there they allowed me to lead and joined Reliance for the first time. There I learned
Polyester technology in Patalganga. We also worked on
within 2 years I was made In-charge of a particular
project. It made me learn faster and be responsible. I petrochemical plant and on that basis, chemtex took me
started learning and liking this field. After that, I was to the U.S.–Charleston, South Carolina. Chemtex in
called for design assignments, also had opportunity for New York is a group of Mitsubishi; they were making
particular type of DuPont technology for making
studies in Abroad but I didn’t. Because I like this field a
lot. That’s how I got into Project Management. polyester and we were selling it worldwide asa project.
Mitsubishi has also partnered with Chinese government
As a Project Manager, what different challenges did and we did 3-4 projects with them. First I became
you face? Share some of memorable experiences country manager and then site manager. Putting up
with us. plant, operating it and training people over there was
A: Man Management is one of the most important unique experience I had. At that time, during weekends
challenges which I faced. In Durgapur people over there I did my M.B.A. (International Business) in Hong Kong.
made me stand on plate of metal. It’s just because they At Dodsal, we were doing projects of pipelines which
thought that I was someone from management. You were cross country. We were also working in refinery
have to apply ‘Sam Dam Dand Bhed’to make them and cement plants. They gave me incentive as we did
work! Also site Language was one of the barriers while one BOOT project of twin pipeline between Hazira and
communicating with people. As you go up the ladder Daghej in record time. Then I moved to Harvard for 7

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