Today is a end of an era of a great leader at my workplace. I first met PM 3.5 yrs ago when I was sent to have a quick discussion with my mentor/leader from my previous company. After a 1.5 hr long interview, I was convinced that I wanted to work with PM. There was something in the way he spoke, it was precise and had care and an instant connection. I kept joking that it was probably the surnames that sound/spells ridiculously similar. The next time we met was Mar 2019 just after the takeover in a restaurant in UB city. The conversation was great and I was offered a job the next day.
By the time I joined in June, I had met the team a couple of times. I felt completely at home from day 1 as I knew most of the leaders and I was on the job. Within a couple of weeks, I traveled to meet the global leadership team in UK and Ireland. PM was there to guide me to meet the right people and have a consistent message. I managed to grab a few drinks with him on the famous Dublin pub street. He was very unlike Irish, to start with he did not have more than 2 beers and he spoke a lot about his family and his journey through the decades of working.
It was so good to listen to those stories. One of them was about how small the world is. He traveled to Australia and was sitting in a dinner after meeting a client when he got to talk to a guy who was 20 yrs younger. While they were chatting, he realized the boy was the son of his first manager in Ireland. What a small world!
Once I was back in India, I had to get involved into one of the worst projects of my life. Not because it was complex, but because the India team was blamed for the disaster. I was sent to UK for damage control and within a week I had realised the project was in very bad shape with nothing completed and we were in UAT. PM visited us at the client and asked me how it was going. After hesitating I told him it was not good and our team have no clue about it. PM calls the Program Head and says 'Gavin, Ravi here thinks your BB project will not work. We do not understand the client requirements. I want to close the project if that is the case. What do you say?'. I was so uncomfortable in that situation and you later told me how it was intentional to make me have difficult conversations. I have come a long way since then and able to have honest conversations with people even if it puts me on a spot or makes me vulnerable. Im getting real good at it and PM is one of the main reasons for this improvement 😆
PMs attention to detail was incredible. He would read every word of the presentation and ask me 100s of questions. He would get frustrated if it did not make sense or add up. Anything other than perfect was not acceptable. In a way he made me read everything and ensure I understood it properly. It was the training I went through to understand numbers, people, projects, etc. I am able to tell all the projects, people, and work that we do without even flinching now!!!
He is a people person all throughout and knew every employee's name. I was stunned and asked him how does he do it. He said he would take time to write down who he will meet the next day and remember the names, and soon it would become a natural habit. It was not some genius memory but hard work at play.
He pushed us to look at the detail, helped us to navigate the new world and had our back if we failed. He was our biggest ambassador and critique. There are so many episodes I can talk about where he made me a better leader. When I got to know that he is leaving, I did not know how to process it as he was our bridge to V1. Then i realised he wanted something new after 11 yrs of grueling work which is fair enough. He has built a legacy for us to carry on. The GPTW rank 1 was a testimony of his hard work and belief in us. He always said we are the best team and we worked hard to prove him right.
I gave him the elephants and the wooden frame behind as a parting gift. He was gracious enough to find a place for them in his house. The frame had the words 'Thank you for being the matriarch and teaching us to find new waterholes, identifying danger, being together to fight the enemy. You will always be our mother elephant!!' Yes, that is what he was for me, a mother who gave us a difficult time to learn, nurtured us when we were hurt and let us fly in the open skies and saw us soar with success.
It is an end of an era in V1, a great leader is moving on and we wish him the best of the future. He deserves a good break to rejuvenate, do what he likes and pick up something new.
Thank you Mr Meany for everything and more!!!
PS: it is not the end of my conversations with PM, he was excited to accept my request to mentor me and guide me with his vast experience. Looking forward to the non-V1 perspective of PM!!!
The below were my words to PM in his year book:
Hi Paddy,
I am a bit emotional writing this note as it took me a while
to digest you will not be around in Version1. I still remember the
conversations I had with you before joining Version 1 and your passion for
work. I don’t know if it was the matching surnames, I had a instant connect
with you which has remained till date and will be there forever. I felt at home
when I joined as I already knew you and Sri well.
You were the bridge between India and rest of Version 1
which made us become a part of the culture very fast. We live and breathe
Version 1 core values as we followed you though our journey. You have been a
father figure since then showing us path to navigate the new system and guided
us like a spiritual guru to achieve 200+ employees. You have made me thing
multiple times about the structure, roadmap, hiring, etc to help me understand
what could be a better approach.
The conversation you had with BB project managers is
something that will remain with me forever -'Gavin, Ravi here thinks your BB
project will not work. We do not understand the client requirements. I want to
close the project if that is the case. What do you say?'. I was so
uncomfortable in that situation and you later told me how it was intentional to
make me have difficult conversations. I have come a long way since then, SO
much so that I could be the new Meany :D
You have had high expectations from me and pushed me to
achieve my true potential (I have disappointed at time and have loads more to
learn and with your guidance and Sri around, I am sure ill get close to it).
I will always look up to you as a mentor, prepare for
conversations(I was so impressed when you knew every person’s name in the room
and asked your trade secret), learnt how to give attention to detail , set
expectations, provide clarity and to have a connect with people. I can go on
for pages but will keep it for our 1:1 sessions after you move out. As
discussed, I will pick your brains now and again which will help me grow
further. Im sure you will miss us, I still cant imagine how you will manage
without talking to Sri and Jane (you have spent more time with them than your
family in the recent past I guess). We are just a call away if you need to have
a chat :D
I do understand you might want a new gig, and I am sure you
will be great at it. Your questions make people think about smaller points that
could have an impact and help get them right. I wish you the very best for the
future, hope you enjoy this well-deserved break and get to spend time with your
loved ones.
You will always be the Godfather of Version 1 India and a
father figure to me!!!
Regards,
