Every single aspect of work - no matter how trivial it may appear - is important to a good leader. As we are driving down to the photoshoot location inside Mahindra Automotive's Kandivali plant, something is bothering Dr Pawan Goenka, Executive Director & President, Automotive, Farm Equipment & Two Wheeler Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
It is the way cars are parked in the allotted space. It wasn't so when he had arrived earlier in the morning. By the time we reached the spot, he had already asked for the person in charge to meet him. The photoshoot itself goes off smoothly. In fact, he is pleased that for the first time, his complete product line has been arranged at a single spot. After the shoot, he goes around with the person he had called to get things sorted out on the parking front. Only then he comes back for the interview.
We are in his office now and he has completely changed gears - exuding certain cheerfulness. And it stays on even after the first question comes about a segment where the AFS (the business group that he oversees within the Mahindra Group) isn't doing so well.
The Mahindra Group entered the Indian construction equipment (CE) segment in February 2011 with the launch of its EarthMaster backhoe loader. It's been a little over three years now but Mahindra hasn't been able to grab any remarkable share in this sector. "But the segment itself has been contracting for the last couple of years in India," Dr Goenka points out. "It is in a way reflection of the fact that infrastructure development work is going down in India," he adds. Of course, he is optimistic that with the new government and its focus on infrastructure, the segment should start growing again.
Dr Goenka recognises that his organisation is amongst the many players on the fringes in a segment dominated by one big player. But he is confident about his product. "We set out with it to see if we can develop a ground up product to meet the customers' unmet needs. And we have been reasonably successful in doing that.
So the product has done well in terms of how satisfied those who buy it are. True, our overall market performance has been less than expected but I am not perturbed. We have a good value proposition and the product should do well in terms of numbers also." He also understands that to be only in one product segment is not good enough. "We are looking at other options and opportunities to see where else can Mahindra be in the CE segment," he says.