Game Changers Interview with Award Winning CEO from SNN Builders - Srinivasan Subramanian
A few words about your journey.
I joined SNN in the year 2009, August, and I have been in the company for close to 10 years now. And the journey so far has been wonderful in terms of our achievements from the corporate point of view and from being a single project company, we have now moved to multiple projects. Currently, we have about 7 ongoing projects and at least another 4-5 projects are going to launch.
How do you deal with setbacks and facilitate a positive work environment?
We take the feedback from the homeowners and homebuyers and then we course-correct ourselves and then we move on. We don’t say that we can’t do this and we won’t be able to do it, no, if there is a possibility that their problem could be resolved, we get it done at our level itself and then we move on.
What are the most important qualities required to succeed in your industry?
Trust, truth, and transparency are most important as far as business is concerned. Even now, at SNN, when we make a mistake, we go before the owners and then tell them we have made a mistake, please, we will make sure that we will course correct soon. I think that the trust level improves when you’re true to what you’re saying, number one and be honest and transparent in whatever you do, that’s the most important key aspect of any business, be it a start-up or a running company as well.
What keeps you motivated and going?
I strongly believe that nothing is impossible and you need to bring in the change whatever you want to bring it, be it your personal life or your professional life. And then don’t bring it for the sake of bringing it and you need to bring it really honestly and truthfully and follow that relentlessly.
What do you consider as your greatest achievement?
You go to see the retention level that we maintain at SNN and you will be amazed actually, it’s close to 97-98% of people those who join, they never leave the company. Even if, at all, they leave, they leave for betterment in terms of either going abroad or getting married or some other reason. I’ve come across very few people, 2-3, who have left a job for really bettering their career because we provide all possible career growth opportunities to everybody. And, for four consecutive years, I have been voted as the best CEO in the real estate industry. I think that's one of my greatest achievements that came basically because the trust level of the homebuyers has gone way above.
How does one stay relevant with the changing times?
Not at just SNN, even in my personal life, I feel that technology is one thing which is going to take the world by storm. It has already done it and it will keep on only enhancing. So, people need to adapt themselves and need to take care that they are well informed as far as the technological transformation and advancement are happening around us.
What is your family’s role in your success?
Your family is everything for you. No, it’s not just the first circle, it is, of course, my wife, Uma, and my daughter, Shruti, they play a major role in whatever I am today because, minus them, nothing is around you. Unless and until they give you that confidence level and then they take up all those pressures and tantrums I put in, after working for say 8-10-12 hours a day and come back home, they make it easy for you as far as your life is concerned. So, needless to say, that these two persons Uma and Shruti have played a major role as far as I am concerned, particularly, my daughter Shruti.
What is the one thing you wish to change about your past?
I have never been a great academically strong person as far as my schools and colleges days. If ever I get an opportunity, I definitely would like to go back to my younger age and then at least dream that I could have studied either in Harvard or Stanford.
What’s your advice to young entrepreneurs?
See, I would always give certain of the examples of the way they started off McDonald's, and the way they started Kentucky Fried Chicken and all these are done by individuals. They saw that the category has got a huge potential and then they came up with such ideas so we need to come up with ideas which is, definitely, it’s very difficult in terms of how you want to bring up that business but there has to be a disruptive element and a reverence attached to it.
Click here, to watch Srinivasan Subramanian’s interview.
