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Arora Engineers staff taking part in Red Nose Day, a campaign with the mission to end child poverty.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE, from page 7
TZL: How do you maintain a culture of collaboration and “hyper-responsiveness?” MA: We combine face-to-face interactions with the use of technology. I believe in the lost art of, “If someone calls you, you must at least call them back.” Also, if you cannot get something done, communicate that to your colleague. Communication is vital to productivity. I’ve always believed that it’s not about correcting someone, it’s about connecting with someone. If you do not connect, they may not be there for you when you need them. I also make it a point to personally visit people, sit in their offices, and have discussions about what’s going on, instead of just reading an email. TZL: In one word or phrase, what do you describe as your number one job responsibility as CEO?
a multiple that we feel is tied to our industry, as well as looking at our year over year revenue growth, all of which we outsource. We also do a benchmarking analysis to evaluate where we stand in the industry compared to our peers. “My parents have played a big role in my career. I grew up in the business and have worked with them for about 28 years. Even though they are retired, they still play a role and come into the office to work. I learned how to work hard for them and how to be genuine and sincere in our work.” TZL: They say failure is a great teacher. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve had to learn the hard way? MA: Early in my career I learned that you cannot be nervous to pay for extensive experience. I discovered that the amount you put toward a less experienced employee and the subsequent turnover would have equated to what you would have paid for the right, qualified senior employee in the first place. I also learned that we cannot allow our firm to become lopsided with too many managers and not enough skilled workers on our team to efficiently complete all aspects of our projects.
MA: Growth is not an option, it’s required.
TZL: Diversity and inclusion are lacking. What steps are you taking to address the issue? MA: Internally, 48 percent of our firm is made up of minority and female employees. We are proud of that fact and we consistently look for ways to improve and create diversity across the firm. Externally, as a diverse business, we work with multiple equal opportunity agencies to promote diverse primes in the marketplace.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, ISSUE 1360
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