Looking Beyond Perfection

In Part 2 of our leadership series, Rohit Pathak, CEO of Birla Copper (Hindalco Industries Limited), reflects on his silent mentor—his father—along with life lessons from embracing challenges and his time at McKinsey. He shares why structural thinking is critical to changing the game, why perfection isn’t the only path to success, and what he learned working closely with Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla—especially the ability to zoom in and out across businesses while keeping a pulse on markets and people.

00:00 – Mentors and family influences

Brian Telis: Well, it's truly been a fascinating conversation with Mr. Rohit Pathak, talking about his professional journey, his professional endeavors, and how he is who he is. What's also intriguing about the man is how he balances the personal with the professional. And in our second part, we are going to dwell on the man that is Rohit Pathak and, like I said, how he draws the balance in life. 
You know, this whole system that you speak about seemingly—and I think factually—dwells on the importance of learning. Yes. And, uh, in some cases, learning from leaders that you've encountered. And you had a quick chat with us on, you know, the generals in your family—your father, your grandfather. I mean, I'm sure you've had mentors outside of that as well. Can you share a story, maybe, to give kind of credence to that? Of a mentor or a moment of mentorship, you know, that profoundly shaped your own career, your own leadership style? Would be interesting. 
Rohit Pathak: So, uh, you know, yes, I've had a lot of mentors who have actively played a role in what I am today. Uh, but I, you know, I don't think there's a specific instance of mentorship, but I'll tell you two-three things that have had a profound impact on how I have evolved.

02:13 – The role of preparation and resilience

I think first, the biggest influence for me was probably my dad. And it's not that he actively mentored me, but this was something that I learned just observing him. And apart from the military part of, you know, like I said, how he was involved with the frontline, how his operating style was—I remember, you know, there was an exercise going on, you know, where he was a Brigadier at that time. There were three brigades in the cantonment. And, you know, his two-level-up general was coming down to review them. And all the other brigades were busy working late night the previous night, and Dad was sitting home peacefully. And I asked him, I said, "Look, Dad, you're not preparing? Everyone else seems to be preparing for tomorrow." And he says, "No, we are always prepared. I don't need to do last-minute work." And, you know, that was the style he created. 
And I think, to me, if you're doing the right thing and you're focused on the right approach, you don't need to put in that last-minute preparation for a meeting or a review, right? So, by the way, you know, hence typically today when I have our quarterly reviews, I don't spend too much time—I don't push my team to spend too much time—because I say, "Look, your story should be clear, what you're trying to do. And for the rest, the numbers are anyway there—you can't change them. So, it is what it is. Just ensure that you are able to communicate the story in the right way." So, I think that was one. 
The second, you know, learning which I took away from my dad—again through observation and not through mentorship per se—was, look, life will throw a lot of challenges all the time, right? He had a tough life, but he never made us feel it was a tough life, right? So, I think, to me, that's something which has stuck with me—that, look, challenges will keep coming, and you keep doing what you think you can do best in that situation. Don't overthink, don't overworry—go on with life. And I think that's been a very important part of my DNA. Even here, there's enough things that can go wrong in a business, and if you start worrying about everything, you know, you'll panic, and it'll create panic in the organization. So, just, you know, go with the flow and do the right things.

03:49 – Embracing imperfection in leadership

Rohit Pathak: The second sort of mentorship experiences I had was at McKinsey. I think it was a very different kind of mentorship. But the one sort of thing that stuck with me from that journey was, you know, yes, you can do a lot of small, small things, but can you get the few big structural things right? And if you get that right, you get a bit of leeway. So, I have generally not been a perfectionist in my approach. I've said, "Okay, can you change the game? And then even if you're 90% or 95%, it's fine," right? Versus trying to stay, play the same game, and trying to get to 100%. So, I've generally been a bit of a, I would say, discontinuous type of leader versus going for perfection. I'm not the kind of guy you would want if you want to just hold on to things and get to perfection, right? That's not my style, and that is something that I may not be the best at, right? And that's something which I picked up at McKinsey and something which I've tried to do.

05:36 – Clarity, humility, and business simplicity

And I think the third, probably again, by the way, through observation and not through mentoring, was my time with Mr. Birla. You know, I think the experience of just observing him and seeing how he operates was fantastic. You know, I think the few things that I picked up were, you know, his ability to zoom in and zoom out across businesses, which were so varied and diverse, right? And still be able to have his pulse on the right issues that need focus on was fantastic. Yes, he had a team working with him—all of us do—giving him analytics. But, you know, irrespective of that analytics, I could see that he knows the pulse of each of the businesses, right? And I think that was just amazing to see because, you know, having that clarity of mind was great. 
The second one was his humility. You know, I think all of us who have interacted with him—you know, he makes you feel special when you meet with him. And come back, you feel, "Yeah, this is a person I would want to do and put in my best effort for," right? He's a great man. And I think that ability to connect and inspire in every conversation is something which has, you know, been very important for me.

07:21 – Observational learning and emotional steadiness

And, you know, I think the third one is his ability to simplify decision-making. You know, he may ask you a lot of questions—you may wonder, "Where is he going with this?" But he has a very simplistic way of being able to then say, "Okay, this is what we should focus on," which is, I think, a great skill to learn from. And I think that's something which I'm still trying to pick up on. I remember in one of my performance appraisals, you know, he would take a lot of pains in writing down notes on the performance appraisal and then discussing with you. And in one of the ones, he had written, "You know, Rohit, learn to—or work on your skill to connect the dots better or more," or, you know, something to that effect. And, you know, when I first read it, I said, "Look, I've done 10 years of consulting. This is what, you know, I've been trained for—to connect the dots." But when I reflected on it, I realized what he meant. And I think in the last few years, not just creating more dots but also connecting them better is something that I've focused on, and it has helped me a lot. 
So, I think some of these experiences are things that have shaped my journey. Like I said, I'm not a big reader. I've not had formal mentorship sessions which have been very intense. But a lot of observations and learnings from the leaders I have seen—and not just leaders, but even my colleagues and some of the subordinates who have taught me a lot of things which I cherish.

09:25 – Family-first leadership mindset

Brian Telis: Deep resonance you have created, you know, Rohit. And I've got to say, I so concur. In my own limited, small way, I've lived some part of the conversation you just kind of took us through. And it is amazing to see it kind of create the effective results, you know, that you've... I always say—and I said it earlier today to you as well—that meeting, you know, is a good fun thing, right? And I don't mean to make it sound flippant. You seem to have this ever-smiling, ever-giving kind of vibration to you, which leads me to my final question, really, because this conversation can go on and on and on. But given your extensive leadership responsibilities, let's say within the group—which are large, to say the least—I mean, how do you strike a balance between your professional life, which is there for everyone to see, as also your personal well-being, which is there to see as well? How do you draw that balance?

11:28 – Recharge through boundaries

Rohit Pathak: So, you know, I think one of the first things I would say to that is, look, there's a reason that I'm not an entrepreneur. I'm a sort of an employee, right? Because entrepreneurship has its own challenges. You know, your responsibility of what you are supposed to do is very, very different. And I have consciously stayed being an employee versus an entrepreneur—or now you can say an intrapreneur that I've evolved into. 
For me, my family has been the core of almost all decisions I have taken in life, right? When I left McKinsey, it was, you know, the primary reason for that was balancing family life. And that was a commitment my wife and I made when we got married—that, look, when we feel we need to change the life we're having, I will switch McKinsey because we knew what McKinsey entailed in terms of lifestyle and work-life balance. And then we moved here to ABG. And, you know, it is not that I don't take my work seriously, but I have generally followed that, look, you know, I work to have a good life. I don't live to work, right? Work is part of life, but life is much, much larger than the work we do.

13:18 – Mentoring as a legacy

Yes, I have a responsibility to the teams that I'm leading, a responsibility to the organization that I'm part of, and that I will do, you know, to the best of my ability. But my best of the ability is not going to be determined by the hours I work. It's going to be the impact that I create. And hence, you know, as we were discussing earlier, my way of working has changed, has evolved to ensure that I prioritize what I spend time on significantly. I give a lot of room to my team to, you know, grow and take on larger roles. 
I'm okay looking away from small mistakes, you know, and not just waste time on going through everything like with the audit mindset. Because things happen, judgments will go wrong, and it's okay. I'm okay to turn away and say, "It's fine." As long as it's not a values breach or an integrity breach, it's okay. You know, things will go wrong. As long as you're broadly going in the right direction, it is fine. 
And some of those things have helped me create the right balance at work so that I have enough time. And I think, to me, look, all of us need to be fresh at work. And for me, that recharging every day is my family and my family time. So, you know, I rarely do calls from home. I rarely do work from home. I don't open my computer too much at home. Yes, I respond to emails when they come whenever I have sort of time at home, but I don't really do too much at home because that's my recharge time. And I feel it's my duty that if I come back fresh to work, I can do much more than if I try to put in the long hours, which are then draining me out and draining everyone else in the organization. 
So, it's a, I would say, it's a bit of an approach question on, you know, I don't think hours define the quality of work you do. And, you know, let's do the work right. And yes, there are times where you have to put in a lot of hours. It's okay. You know, those will come and go. But by and large, my style is, you know, it's a balance. Life is a balance. And as long as you are then living with that balance, you'll be happy, and people around you will be happy. 
Brian Telis: You know, Rohit, I've got to say this one more time, but conversations with you—formal or informal—always leave you thinking, leave you happy, leave you enriched. And today is certainly not an exception. I've got to say a heartfelt thank you for joining us today. And obviously, we have our way—we'll have you right back here in just a bit. But thank you for sharing. Thank you for being who you are. And thank you for being so giving in the way you live life. 
Rohit Pathak: No, pleasure. Thanks so much. Always a pleasure speaking to you, Brian. And, you know, one of the areas where I have been spending a lot of time in the last several years is just coaching and mentoring people across the organization, across tenures—a lot of the young folks who are just coming into the workforce. I spend a lot of time with them just to ensure that they get the right, you know, perspectives as they get into the work life. Because there are a lot of, I would say, wrong things being perpetuated in the work culture, which are, I think, not healthy. And I think that energizes me. It gives me a lot of new perspectives and thinking, and it's something that I enjoy doing. 
So, I think, to me, the biggest service we can do—and, you know, business roles will come and go—but if I can make a difference to the lives that I come in touch with, that is the biggest, you know, thing that I can do and make a difference to. So, that's what I yearn to do. And so, pleasure talking to you, and thank you for this conversation.

Brian Telis: Let me assure you that you are making a difference right here and now. And I'm very, very sure in the journey ahead, you'll continue to do so. Thanks once again, Rohit, for joining us. Much appreciated. 
Rohit Pathak: Thank you so much. 
Brian Telis: And that was the end of today's Leadcast conversation from the Aditya Birla Group's podcast initiative, Soundbox. We do hope you enjoyed listening to this conversation. I mean, do share your feedback by dropping in your comments on the Soundbox page. We, I promise, will be back soon with another episode, another fascinating conversation like the one we've just had. See you soon.

Watch Full Video on Youtube: Leadcast | The CEO Reimagined | Rohit Pathak | Part 2