For Chandrika Jain, director – marketing, Lenovo India, in any position or job role that she has held in the past years, she has understood that at all times, there will always be a lot of noise and one is bound to get drawn in different directions. She says, “To be able to cut through that noise and constantly remind yourself what you started out to do, is a big need. That would be my work hack.”
Edited excerpts
The creative economy has taken the world by storm. Which influencers and trends are you following?
I can’t agree with you more that the creative economy has taken us by storm. So much change is happening in this landscape. Things like Instagram Reels or MX Takatak or Moj are holding the attention of audiences across age groups. Then we have micro or nano influencers, which is an interesting way of reaching an audience. It is rare to see a single medium drawing audiences across age groups.
And then there’s the integration of tech that’s happening these days, where you have AI and VR integrated into the content. I find the content that’s being created as my `in’ into understanding different audiences, specifically the younger audience, which is relevant to my job.
I find some of the content being served up extremely fascinating, even if I might not necessarily identify with it. Of late, I’m following this British YouTube group called The Sidemen, and they’re making waves. There is also an American YouTuber called MrBeast that I find quite fascinating.
What marketing-related content do you consume in your free time?
I find YouTube extremely helpful when it comes to marketing content. There are lots of expert opinions on YouTube. I follow a lot of my colleagues on LinkedIn, who put up a lot of good content or work that they’re doing.
But beyond that, AFAQS, Brand Equity, Storyboard18, these are still go-to places for me when it comes to solid, traditional marketing content.
There is a lot of talk about burnout, workplace toxicity, and hustle culture. What steps have you taken to avoid the adverse impact of the always-on culture on yourself and your colleagues?
Within Lenovo, we have several policies that try and enable people to have a better work-life balance. We have flexible work hours, we have compensatory offs. If you’ve worked a weekend, you’ve worked very long hours, then you get to take some time off. There are mental health days. There’s a counsellor if you need help. There’s also yoga and meditation time. There are a lot of such initiatives that Lenovo’s HR team has put in place. Personally for me, within marketing, I feel that while all of these enablers exist in the organisation, life is constantly nonstop. So much is happening. It’s always action packed.
So, as a team, we’ve decided that every Wednesday morning we will have no-meetings morning, and that’s the time for us to sit down, pause, and read things that we want to read. Pick up on things, come up to speed on stuff that’s happening.
We also have something called happy hours on Friday, and it’s a little different from the traditional happy hours. We end meetings by 5:30 pm on Friday, so that people can shut shop and go home.
But I think that this is a personal agenda. Nobody can help you if you don’t want to help yourself. So unless you make a conscious decision to stop and do other things that are important to you, you will never get around to doing them.
Is there any sport or fitness routine you practise during the week to steal a few minutes of me-time for yourself?
I’ve always been an ardent yoga fan. It has helped me in various stages of my life, right from childbirth, recovery from a chronic accident, and more. I still do yoga two to three times a week, and it goes a long way.
While that’s more like a health routine, I think me-time is the time I spend with my daughter. She is my lifeline. She gives me the kind of calm and comfort that I rarely find in any other place.
What does your weekend look like?
One wants to make the weekend much longer, if you ask me. I was born and brought up in Bengaluru. Hence, I have a lot of friends and family here, so there is a huge commitment to my friends, family, and food, which forms a large part of my weekend. But beyond that, my ideal day and weekend would be a ‘do nothing’ day. Which would mean me going through my (shows to) watch list, taking the time to have a good lunch, napping after lunch, waking up in the evening, cooking something for my family, and having a glass of wine.
Then I feel absolutely charged for whatever the week has for me.
Share one work hack and one life hack you swear by.
Work hack would be cutting through the noise.
In every job I have had, I have come to the conclusion there will always be a lot of noise and one is bound to be pulled in different directions.
It is important to be able to cut through that noise and constantly remind yourself about what you started out to do. That would be my work hack.
Life hack is a tough one. Without sounding philosophical, I would genuinely say it is to surround yourself with your loved ones. It gives you the purpose for everything.
What are you reading? Any recommendations?
I’m reading a couple of things. The first one is a book called Talking Book. The author of this book is a dear friend, Jean D’Souza. She and I used to work together, and she then went off to write children’s books. I’ve read several books of hers. She has this innate ability to say the deepest things in the simplest way.
I tend to read more than one book at a time. The second one I’m reading is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari. I’m actually reading it a second time. It’s one of my favourite books. I find the theory of evolution the author suggests extremely interesting.
A piece of wisdom you would like to share?
Wisdom is a very big word. But I can give a tip. I believe communication is key to any form of success, whether at work or at home. How well do you communicate? That goes a long way.
Which is the creative agency of Lenovo?
Our last campaign for India was by Leo Burnett in Mumbai. But globally, we work with a lot of agencies. We work a lot with FCB Kinnect. It is our social agency. We do some work with Ogilvy Bengaluru as well. So it’s a bunch of partners who help us meet our goals.
Calling for a pitch anytime soon?
No. We have a strong set of partners, so I don’t think a pitch is around the corner.
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