Working for a Tata group company had always been Anand Dalal?s ambition, right from the time he was pursuing an engineering degree at MNREC, Allahabad. Luckily, he got a chance to realise that dream.
?As a child, I wanted to explore several careers, including medicine, a stint in the armed forces and engineering,? says Dalal. After doing his engineering, he began his career with HCL and later moved to Bharti Tele Ventures Limited. He joined Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) in 2004.
Today, with 20 years of telecom experience under his belt, Dalal knows what to expect from the market and is ready for any surprise that comes his way. ?With telecom being a crowded market and multiple players offering the same set of services and products, the challenge lies in being able to offer something new to our customers every day in order to retain them. With mobile penetration at over 100 per cent in urban areas and multiple players vying for the same audience, creating a distinct identity is a challenge,? he observes.
Going forward, what trends does he expect to see in the sector? ?3G is the next big thing,? Dalal notes. ?With 3G, the sector is likely to achieve greater growth rates, particularly in the areas of wireless broadband and value-added services (VAS). We can look forward to an entirely new set of services coming in over the next few years.?
Of course, he is confident of TTSL keeping pace with these developments. ?I believe that every challenge can be an opportunity, if taken in the right spirit,? he says. ?TTSL has what it takes to recalibrate the market and raise the bar in many areas. We face the same challenges as other players, the market being as competitive as it is.?
Meanwhile, in his current capacity as senior vice-president, corporate regulatory affairs, he is responsible for all corporate and regulation-related activities at TTSL.
And how does he tackle his daily workload? ?By involving my team very closely with every project,? he says. ?I believe that working closely with people is very important, as the best ideas often come up this way. To sum up, managers must empower their teams and encourage them to take timely decisions.?
Between meeting daily deadlines and gearing up for future challenges, he successfully manages to strike a work-life balance. ?I ensure I spend quality time with my family. I try to play golf at least once a week, which helps improve my concentration levels and sometimes I join my son and his friends for a game of street cricket,? he says.
