Ushnish Chattopadhyay is a sports and leadership enthusiast who has spent 18 years now in National and International conglomerates at middle and senior roles encompassing procurement, operations, Sales and Marketing, to strategic planning.
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ushnish-chattopadhyay
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/ushnishchattopadhyay?igsh=YnZlOTllZGk2NTNx
Q. How has been your journey from IIFM so far?
A. It has been tough. It began on a very happy note when I got a call from ITC (the leading conglomerate of India) confirming my position as Officer there. I was elated. It was one of the biggest names that year (2006) in the campus. It was a name known for having both a mind and a heart.
However, the happiness was short-lived when I was asked to report to their Bhadrachalam Unit, 200 km from any civilization!
Well, that was just the beginning.
One thing that I would like to make clear in the beginning to all my juniors is to never make the mistake of taking your IIFM degree as an assurance to success, because you are far from that. Way too far. What will the degree do? Well, fortunately… or unfortunately, it will take you to a position in an Organization, where from day 1 you will face resistance and animosity (if you are one of the very few MBAs there at your workplace and you have been taken laterally at a comparatively higher position).
Success will follow your tenacity. In 6 months’ time I was transferred to a district in Andhra Pradesh with a driver and a jeep. No assistance, no staff, no house, no office. I was asked to develop everything. Imagine, I didn’t know the language, the culture, and the food. Finally, no one to talk to. How would you feel, if you spend 3 days- only to find a house for you with the help of a driver who is working as an interpreter. And when somehow you found one house, the next day you find the driver nowhere. He left you in the middle of an odd town and went back!
You survive only if your priority is to survive. My father, at that time, was Vice President in a Swiss Construction Chemical Firm. I could have left the hardship and asked him to help. But he never allowed me to do the same. He insisted me to struggle, so did my boss, Mr. Deepak Khare(IIFM 1st Batch).
Life will be much tougher than IIFM subjects. Find a mentor, and embrace struggle in the initial years.
Q. What were some of the key milestones/learning in this journey that you would like to share with us?
A. One of the most important qualities we can have is the courage to accept challenges and being accountable. Never escape when an opportunity comes your way. That will differentiate you from others. In a one liner, I became HoD at operational level in 5 years of my joining in ITC, handled a department of 800 Cr, and never looked back since.
Q. What is the most satisfying part in your career?
A. When you get a valuable degree from a premier Institute, it is given that you deserve some success in life professionally. Therefore, designations, laurels etc. may not be discussed at this point when you talk about the satisfying part.
I have mentored many by now. Sometimes more than bringing success to your Organization, you feel inexplicable happiness when some current or old team member calls you on teachers’ day or sends a text out of nowhere and expresses their gratitude for getting you as a teacher. Imagine, not as a boss, but as a teacher. Well, that gave me satisfaction. I have been part of the leadership trainer pool in International Paper. Once, after training, a very senior person came to me. He was choked with emotions. I took a session on soft skills. He used a few at home and that broke the ice of many years between him and his son. He was in tears expressing his joy. Well… such incidents gave satisfaction. I had an impact in someone’s life. And like this, I had many others who were moved by the way I helped them deal with situations. Their unconditional love towards me gave me a lot of satisfaction.
Q. Has your learning at IIFM helped in shaping how you approach your professional roles?
A. Yes, I’ll tell you how. During our time, Dr. Pethiya was PFM Coordinator. He was a man of few words. We would be scared of him all the time. He, however, was a wonderful life coach. When our course ended, in our last class he came and spoke. I remember one sentence clearly even after 18 years. He said “In the last 21 months we have given simultaneous assignments, projects, by different professors at the same time, and then there were end term exams, mid term exams. We knew we deliberately wanted to break your backbones. It was deliberate, because your professional life will have similar or even more stress.”
He was mercilessly right. As much as the subjects you studied, the stress that you handled would equally help you weather the pressure at your workplace.
Q. Who (or what) are the biggest influences or drivers in your careers? What would be your advice to freshers and IIFM graduates who are looking to choose similar sectors/roles.
A. I always wanted to work for a “for profit” Organization. NPOs or NGOs seemed a little risky as they mostly depend on funding from others. Besides, working for the profit of the Organization anyway was a driving factor for me behind choosing any job. However, that’s a personal choice. NGOs often are more accountable than Companies.
Q. What are your favorite memories during your IIFM days?
A. Some of my favorite memories during IIFM days revolve around sports, particulary cricket and badminton. And then those parties and programs where I would be asked to sing. If I am not asked I shall be depressed, and if I am asked my knee will not stop shivering!
Q. In hindsight, what was the biggest contribution or take away from IIFM that you think played a critical role in shaping you as an individual or professional?
A. It was the realization that at the end of the day, a successful team does not need the same culture, same language, and people with the same mindset. There were many groups created in the beginning, mostly based on culture and language. Say, Bengal group, Bihar group, North India group, rich group, and poor group. Amazingly idiotic and childish. And within 6 to 8 months those all vanished. We all gelled as if we all came from the same family or school. Through the pressure of assignments that we handled together, each time in a different group with different partners, we realized that successful teams are made goal based and on no other criteria. The selection of team members is only as important as their skills for the goal. This helped me come out of bias.
Bias is a big challenge in life as much as ego is. You must learn to handle both, and not only of others but of yours as well.
Q. The best buddies / seniors /faculty at IIFM? Some memorable tidbits that you like to share?
A. Yogesh Dubey Sir was a great Companion and very approachable more like a senior and not always as a Professor. And then there was Dr. C S Rathore, approachable and yet very serious! In one of the events, we forced Rathore Sir to perform something on the stage and thankfully he agreed 😊 He cracked a joke that itself was unthinkable considering his nature! That day we also understood how good is his sense of humor!
The joke was about our dear Dr. Yogesh Dubey.
The story was like this: Yogesh Sir was driving his car down the hill from IIFM when he found one student walking fast in the same direction! Sir slowed down his car and with his helpful nature asked the student if he wanted a ride. The student was hesitant at first, and finally bowed his head and said –“Thank you Sir, but… I am in a little hurry…” – we took 10 seconds to grasp the meaning and then the entire hall erupted in laughter!!
Yogesh Sir was in the first row and he was laughing the loudest with other faculties! Rathore Sir as usual, kept a serious face all through it 🙂
Q. As an alumni, what’s your advice to freshers or those are joining IIFM to get best out of the 2 years there?
A. Learn to be a team member and work for the team. Learn to accept a decision if the team has taken it and commit to it even if it was not your favorite. And then, come out of your shell and try your hand in team leadership as well.
Q. IIFM is driven by alumni’s passion and commitments towards its goal. How would you like to contribute to IIFM or IIFM alumni, students? Your engagement with IIFM Placement or OT/SI?
A. I shall be happy to take sessions on different leadership skills that the students will need badly at work while handling teams.
Besides, I can also take sessions on Forest Certifications.
On OT (SI & Project Work) and Placements, we have taken 3 students from 2024 passout batch and also 3 SI from the junior batch.
Q. What do you think is different at IIFM now vs when you studied there?
A. One notable difference between when I studied at IIFM and the present is the introduction of a course on Sustainability. I see it’s a significant and commendable step forward.
Parting remarks:
Howsoever, cliché it might sound, there are two ways of growing in a career. You would always find a few of your friends in your batch who would always try to escape his/her part in a project. Such people would be there in the workplace also. Yet, they also grow. Question is how they grow. Our faculties are mostly neutral and honest, so unbiased and straightforward. They do not entertain anything other than performance.
Professional arena, unfortunately, is not as black and white. Here, while half of the people grow by their performance, the other half find other ways to keep their bosses happy. Choice is yours. Are you there to sell your skill or to sell your soul.
Happy journey 😊