Anurag Pal of Escalon: 5 things I wish someone told me before I became a CEO

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive. Can you explain what you mean?

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. 1. Never run payroll yourself for someone else — In our first month, a payroll associate was out and I ran payroll 15 minutes late and to make sure people got paid on time, I had to wire money from my personal checking to the payroll company. Still gives me nightmares.

1. 1. Hoard and plan your time — it is your most precious resource. I realized this when three months into the job, I was triple-booked and was 90 minutes late for a school pick-up, with two 6-year-oldswith tears waiting in the parking lot. The chewing-out I received that day changed the way I viewed and planned for time.

1. 1. Avoid getting too high or low — it is a marathon and not a sprint. The first 2.5 years I would have these incredible highs and then days where I felt the earth couldn’t open a hole big enough to swallow me. Keep in mind things are never as good or as bad as they seem in that moment.

1. 1. Communicate, communicate, communicate. That doesn’t mean everyone needs to know everything at all times; it means be as open and as transparent as possible, and make sure people have the information they need to continue to stay inspired and be effective. Sometimes you assume that just because you have formulated a strategy or plan or even a tactic, everyone else can magically read your mind. I did not realize that just the basic two-minute elevator pitch of what we were trying to do was only known to me and my co-founder three years into starting this journey internally, and that was eye-opening.

1. Don’t put off the difficult conversation. Sooner or later, you will need to have difficult conversations, with your team, your customers, your partners. In the early years I would desperately avoid these conversations, hoping some of those situations would resolve themselves. As I look back on those situations, in each one the conversation would have made things significantly better if had done it right away. The difficulty of those conversations is always overestimated in your mind while the severity of those situations becomes magnified by delay.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

Author

Escalon