Ashish Tiwari, chief marketing officer, Home Credit India, the Indian arm of a global consumer finance provider, believes in taking one day at a time and setting goals. He believes that this helps to keep burnout at bay. In a conversation with Storyboard 18, he said, “If you have a very clear direction laid out, then I think one can avoid burnout. Always tell people that it’s okay to fail at times, as long as you are learning from it. But if you have tried enough, that’s all that matters.”
Edited excerpts:
The creator economy has taken the world by storm. So, which influencers and trends are you following currently?
I think today, marketing is very closely intersecting with tech. My interest lies there because tech is influencing everything. While the basics of marketing remain the same, I like to be updated about new-age tech, man-machine interaction, what is happening in the world of business, AI, etc.
Google has some really good content that gets published by the Google Planning Lab. Ogilvy does some really good stuff on the marketing side.
What marketing-related content do you consume in your free time?
As an individual, I am very intrigued by the way the human mind works and the way persuasion happens to humans, followed by the way technology impacts that.
For me, persuasion techniques are something that is very interesting. So, what I want to consume and what I do consume is about generative AI, user experience, persuasion techniques, human motivation, brands, and their evolution.
And there are really great marketing podcasts like ‘Business Wars’ that dramatise the whole experience for you.
There is a lot of talk about burnout, workplace toxicity, and the hustle culture. What steps have you taken to avoid the adverse impact of the always-on culture on yourself and your colleagues? What advice would you give to your peers, colleagues, and next-gen marketers on this issue?
None of us are rocket scientists. So, take one day at a time. Goal-setting is important for me. Co-working is important, and if you know what you are trying to achieve and if you have a very clear direction laid out, then I think one can avoid burnout.
The second thing is that everybody wants to be an achiever. For me, it is about having a clear direction and having built trust. When you operate in teams, if one is able to build and create a trust culture in your teams, that will keep everybody together.
Last but not least, always tell people that it’s okay to fail at times as long as you are learning from it. But if you have tried enough, that’s all that matters. So, I think if you are able to establish that among the teams, colleagues, and within the organisation, any one of the above can be avoided.
Is there any sport or fitness routine you practice?
I love cycling and swimming. Given the weather conditions, cycling works better than swimming these days.
What does your weekend look like?
Music, books, friends, and food.
What are you watching or streaming this weekend?
There is a famous professor named B.J. Fogg who has written Tiny Habits. He has a very good video series on Tiny Habits and a course on persuasion. There is another, which is Andrew Ng’s (founder and chief executive officer of Landing AI) TEDx, which is about the democratisation of AI.
Any work or life hacks you swear by?
Keep it simple. Don’t try to complicate things. Pick one thing at a time. Do your best, and don’t worry about what will happen at the end.
What are you reading? Any recommendations?
One is ‘The Persuasion Code’ (by Christophe Morin and Patrick Renvoise). The second is Tiny Habits (by B. J. Fogg, PhD). These are two books that I am reading in parallel at this point in time.
A piece of wisdom you would like to share…
I think, as a marketer and as an individual, it is about having a fallback plan. One should have plans A, B, C, and D in order to not stress out. The second is about not going behind a mountain of a goal. Last but not least, enjoy the journey.