This content was created by Pete Alexander. This content was uploaded by Pete Alexander. This is a podcast episode titled "Episode 119: Winning at Business and Life with Vivek Khanna" (PODCAST) recorded July 27, 2020. It’s a short interview in the show’s “6 Questions in 7 Minutes” format hosted by Professor Pete Alexander with guest Vivek Khanna (President at Niyamo). They discuss international HR, the importance of clients and investing in people, employee loyalty and productivity, Vivek’s first job in his family business, and referrals for other HR leaders. Metadata available includes the episode thumbnail and publishing time; links/places to find the show (LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, iTunes) are mentioned in the episode.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
So my name is Vivek, Vivek Khanna, and I am president at Niyamo. Niyamo is an international HR services and solutions company, and I run global sales for the company.
Vivek, it's great to have you on the show. Question number 2.
Thank you.
What is the best thing about working in your industry?
Well, I work in the world of international HR. HR in general, you know, we deal with the most important asset that any organization globally has. It's their people, right? And what we do is help the companies make their operational HR far more efficient and provide a higher level of satisfaction to their employees. So their most important assets.. And that leads to interesting situations and the best of gifts, right? Because we make people's lives happy. So that I'm in the business of making people's lives happy. And that's what I said.
I love it. The business of happiness.
Correct. Exactly.
Question number 3. I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Everything about their clients. That's the reason we all are in business or are doing any work whatsoever, right? Most often, most business leaders will talk about profits or revenue. In my mind, those are results. The most important part is a client. If you look after clients, revenue will automatically come, and you will automatically make money and make profits and growth. So in my mind, how do you acquire and retain clients? That's the chapter that I would ask everybody to read.
That's very insightful, and I don't think anybody would disagree with that. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Invest in people. I think if there is anything that I have learned in the last, whatever, 3.5 decades of my experience is you need to invest in people. We don't spend enough time. We don't spend enough insight. We don't spend ever enough with the people that we work with, whether they report to you or not. You know, we will do things for, you know, we will do things for our children, right? Because they are ours. You will do the same for your subordinates who are your immediate reportees, but you will not do that in general for everybody else. I make it a point myself, and I am always evangelizing this concept, invest in the people whether they report to you or not. And that is very, very important.
And I would think that if you invest in your people, then those people are going to be more productive and also more loyal to the organization. Am I right?
Correct. I think loyalty is something that a lot of people— that's, you're doing it because you want something in return and then it doesn't become genuine.
Right?
You have to invest in your people genuinely without any thought of a return of loyalty. It will come automatically. It's a human trait. But what you will get in return are more happy, more satisfied, and more productive people. As I said, I'm in the business of selling happiness.
Very insightful. Thank you for that. Question number 5. What other business leader like yourself would would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Well, I would definitely recommend a gentleman that I know. He is currently the CHRO of a company called Central Square Software. The gentleman's name is Todd Shaw, an outstanding, insightful HR leader that I would highly recommend. I met him when he used to be the CHRO for Vodafone. And he became a client of mine, but we've now become more friends than anything else. Another person that I would recommend would be Peter Dignef. He's out actually in Belgium and he's head of HR operations for Agfa. I don't know if you know the company Agfa. That's the company that makes— used to make all the photo films a long time ago, but today holds the patents for most of the things that makes iPhones Screenwork. Oh yeah, you wouldn't know that, but they're also a healthcare software company. So all of the X-rays and the CRIs and all of that you see, that all comes from Agfa. So Agfa, Peter Dignevoort of Belgium, two great people that I know.
Wonderful, thank you for those referrals. I'll reach out to them. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
So I was thinking about it and I don't know how to answer this best, but so my very first job was to work for my family business. This was a business that was started by my uncle. He was a bachelor, he didn't have children, so he— I wanted to join him and he was encouraging, but he set some rules and he told me that he would not allow me to join the business till I completed my formal education, which is accounting. Because he was very afraid that once I joined the business and got stuck in the wheel of life, that I would not educate myself. And he was big on education. Anyway, so that, that's the, that's the company that I went to work for. And the advantage was, even though it was a very small company, it was my own, but we had many divisions. So we had an engineering division, so I designed pumps. We had an industrial gases division, so I dealt with chemicals. We had a construction division, so I worked in construction. We were general contractors, so I worked with contracting and trading and electronic and electrical. So I got the most vast degree of experience that I could have ever got. If I had at that age gone and worked for a company, I would most probably have, you know, learned only one domain. But what I really got in that was this vast experience, and it has really stood me very well through my life.
It sure sounds like it. And what a— what an opportunity for all those different visions. That's— it's wonderful. So thank you so much for being on the show. How could people find you?
Well, I am on LinkedIn. A lot of people search me on LinkedIn. I am also on Advisory Cloud if Anybody's looking for advisors, advice, the clouds, that's the other place. But LinkedIn, I guess, is the easiest way to reach me.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
