ON DEVELOPING BETTER WORKPLACE ATTITUDES AND PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Author Interview: Vijay Sokhi

Vijay Sokhi is a business consultant who runs a consulting firm called Sharp Consulting and Implementing Company. He is a market entry strategist with specialization in FMCG, and has successfully championed the launch of various brands and helped in building businesses. He has recently come out with the book “Peoplonomics”, which explores workplace and corporate organizational culture. In a candid chat with Chirdeep Malhotra, he talks about his latest book, his writing journey, his favourite books and authors, and much more. Read on!



Please tell us more about Vijay Sokhi as a person.

Well, Vijay Sokhi on the personal front is a very open and approachable person. He believes that everyone is equal in front of God. He has the ability to be humorous that can cool down tensed situations instantly. On the professional front, he is a market entry strategist. He is the director of Sharp Consulting and Implementing Company. He is a proven name in the field of FMCG and has successfully launched and run many businesses.



Has writing always been a part of your life? Or did you chance upon it later on and then instantly fell in love with it?

Well, I think writing has always been a part of my life. I maintained diaries and wrote in them, since I was in standard 6th or 7th. My skills were further tuned at Don Bosco School, Dibrugarh, where I studied under the guidance of Father Jerry Thomas. He brought me close to understanding English the right way. In my professional life also, the way in which I drafted emails managed to create an impact on the clients who read them. There are many business deals, big ones, that I cracked only through the emails that touched the clients deeply. I further sharpened my skills after I started writing on LinkedIn. Many of the articles that I wrote won a lot of appreciation and gave me the motivation to write a full-fledged book.



Please tell us more about your book “Peoplonomics”.

“Peoplonomics” is built on the belief that people, with whom one works, can either make or break one’s career. They not only affect our work performance but also have an important role to play in our personal life. This book tells the readers to see people beyond their designations. In a very gripping way, it reveals that in any work place, anywhere in the world, in any line of business; there can be only four types of people that exist, and this book tells readers how they can manoeuvre efficiently with all kinds of people in their workplace. That’s it.



How did the idea of writing this book originate? When did you start writing this book and how long did it take you to finish it?

It was an article that I had written on this topic that had shown me a pattern. Initially I did not take it seriously but when I experienced it first-hand, through many instances, that such a pattern did exist in the work place, I was stunned. I knew that the idea that had made home in my mind could show the direction to many people, and after that, it became my duty to write about it. So, I began writing the book in the year 2016 and it took me 5 years to complete it.



This book tries to bring forward the way in which people and organisations play a critical role in each other’s success. Can you tell us some thoughts on hiring in the corporate sector, and developing effective people-workplace relationships, that find a place in this book?

One should always hire people who can lead their seniors. Interesting, isn’t it? In the corporate world, it is usually seen that while hiring, people tend to hire people who they think can work under them. Their always doubtful mind never allows them to think clearly and 90 out of 100 people give into such kind of hiring. Resultant, they underperform or they perform only up to a threshold that is below their potential. It pains to see how seniors in the industry instead of being a leader try to become godfathers.
When you are reading the book “Peoplonomics”, it will tell you that although there is chance that a subordinate can supersede you, always hire people who are way smarter than you. They will question you, and take decisions on their own, but will benefit you and the organisation. These kinds of subordinates are a blessing in disguise, if you take it in the right way, they will always keep pushing you, and to meet their speed, you would have to increase yours.



What were some of the challenges while writing this book?

The biggest challenge was taking out time to write this book. I had to manage my daily work responsibilities, give time to family and then allocate time to write this book. After I had completely written it for the first time, I showed some parts of the book to a friend and he told me that it is missing the link at some points. So, I had to go back and re-look at it again. Then after I had finished it the second time, I tried to get feedback from an expert. The feedback that she gave me was not good. I had no choice but to re-write it for the third time. Lastly, when I had finished the book and given it to the literary agency, The Book Bakers, they advised me to add another 12,000 words to the manuscript. It was a task writing the book but I am happy that I did it.



Can you recommend five books from any genre, for our readers to add to their reading lists, that you particularly cherish?

“David and Goliath” by Malcolm Gladwell, “A Whack on the Side of the Head” by Roger von Oech, “Peoplewatching” by Desmond Morris, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, and “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson.



What are your other interests apart from writing?

Playing sports, listening to music, and watching movies.



What are you working on next? Any new literary projects that our readers should look out for?

I am not working on any new literary project yet. But I have thought about writing an extensive work that will change the way in which the world looks at the theme of ‘Power’.



Can you share with our readers a motivational quote that keeps you going?

A quote that my friend Darshan Tiwari once told me – “If you work from 9 am to 6 pm, you will only get what a person who works from 9 am to 6 pm gets. If you need extra, you have to work extra.”