One Needs to keep inventing and reinventing oneself

Sonica Malhotra Jun 17, 2020

When I started my journey, I learnt a lot from my father, whose leadership abilities are legendary. Of course, I developed my own leadership skills, one of which is leading from the front during adverse times by participating in team efforts, instead of managing remotely from a comfortable office. I love challenges as they keep me on my toes.

I believe that even as the sustenance of the organisation, growth and achieving financial targets are paramount indicators of success, just the idea of my Team happy to come to work, is also a huge mark of success to me. Being a people-oriented leader, I analyse any fresh ideas that the team suggests. Despite being ambitious, aggressive and numbers-oriented, I have a great emotional connect with my team, and am always aiming at keeping them together, deriving happiness out of their growth and focussing on newer opportunities and possibilities instead of problems.

Moreover, like my father, I always embrace the "Family First" philosophy.

FINANCIAL HEALTH IS FIRST PRIORITY

Like my father, I too follow the fundamental priority of ensuring the financial health of business first, including earnings history and growth potential, over gut feel. The analysis of revenue, cost, profit, performance and bottom-line margins are vital factors in my business' decision-making processes.

I strongly believe the manner in which you combat risks depends on how you invent and reinvent yourself. Competition is a big risk, which pushes a business on the back foot, and puts a question mark on one’s relevance in current times. One can never take one's success for granted, or the competition lightly.

The MBD Group is known for its innovative food and beverage brands and casual dining restaurants. One of our Group’s most acclaimed food and beverage brands, ‘The Chocolate Box Lounge,’ is set for fast-paced expansion across high streets and luxury malls, and aims to launch 100 outlets pan-India in the next five years.

With an upcoming project, MBD Express, we will be venturing into the economy hotel segment, which is based on a very different model of leasing out our property for 20 years or more. We want to disrupt the space by going very lean and yet offering quality and professionalism in terms of guest experiences.

WOMEN SHOULDN'T JUST AIM TO BE EQUAL TO MEN

My father was the chairman of the MBD Group. Yet, it took some effort and time to establish my credentials and ability. It was difficult when I started but once I proved myself, my acceptance was far greater. Therefore, my message to women is: Don’t aim to be equal to men; that simply implies you are not ambitious enough!

Women really need to get out of the mould and put in extra efforts to prove themselves. They should give the best shot within given opportunities and constraints, to unleash their true potential. Women are inherently gifted with the distinct advantage of a sixth sense, multi-tasking skills, and evolved soft skills - from where they can draw their strengths.

MY ROLE MODEL HAS TO BE MY FATHER

My father, Shri Ashok Kumar Malhotra, started working at the family book shop, 'Malhotra Book Depot’, while he was still in school. Therefore, I look up to my father and admire the way in which he has built the MBD Group into a brand.

I also draw strength from my mother, Smt Satish Bala Malhotra, while my elder sister, Monica Malhotra Kandhari, is my best friend and my pillar of motivation. I also share a great level of understanding with my husband, Naveen Kandhari, through whom I have learnt that giving up is never an option, and there is nothing that one “can’t" do.