Winning Minds by Mr. Madhav Priyan

SPEAKER- Mr Madhava Priyan

14^Th August 2014

Venue- Sri Krishna Hall

The colloquium with Mr Madhava Priyan was a memorable one.  Being the National Manager- HR, OD and Corporate Strategy at Flyjac Logistics Private Limited, his experience in the field of Human Resource management is commendable. He is also a wildlife enthusiast and loves spending his holidays in tree houses and cottages in wildlife sanctuaries in India.

The session began with his inputs on the perceptions and behavior of people in an organization or otherwise. He spoke on the psychological setup of individuals which influenced their decision making. An employee who is happy and content with his job and atmosphere in the workplace is likely to be more productive than an employee who is unhappy. The boss plays an important role in motivating and keeping the employees in the right frame of mind. “An employee leaves his boss, not his job” he claims, while speaking on the role of a boss in influencing an employee’s mind set and job satisfaction.

“Is getting habituated to something good or bad” was the next topic he shared his views on. The 75 students seated in the hall shared their views on this question. Mr Madhava Priyan believes that getting habituated to the right lifestyle or behaviour is important in performing the various roles in life. It leads to the right approach and control of a situation. He elaborated on this by giving an example of a baby elephant being chained to a tree from a very young age. The baby elephant gets habituated to this treatment of having a leg chained all the time that, even after becoming a tusker, the elephant is in the mind-set that the chain cannot be broken and he has to remain where he is chained. Even human beings, like the elephant, can get habituated to a certain lifestyle which would help them work in a particular job environment.

The next part of the session was an activity. When he called one of the students to draw a cat on the board, for the first few seconds, nobody got up from their chair to perform the task. Finally, when one of the students got up to complete the task, he appreciated him for the initiative. The person who has the courage to initiate a certain task and carry it forward shows his self-belief and confidence.

The manner in which one has to present themselves for an interview was also discussed. Various aspects regarding body posture, confidence, speech, enthusiasm, eye contact etc. were discussed.

In the question and answer session, questions were raised regarding careers in HR and its significance.

Mr Madhava Priyan believes that anybody with a passion and interest for human resource management can effectively fit into the role of a HR professional regardless of his/her educational background in under graduation. A HR professional with knowledge in other fields like marketing, finance or operations would add value to a HR role in the organization in a significant way as they would have knowledge of most aspects in the organization.

“Understanding the organizational behavior and implementing the right strategies for its efficient running is the key for the success of a HR professional and also for attaining employee satisfaction”. The session ended with this positive message from him. 

Krishna Nandan

(Team Colloquia Member)