Editor’s note: In an ongoing series, INMA is profiling our most engaged members — our super fans. Today we profile Shailendra N. Jaitly, senior vice president for Jagran Prakashan Limited/Dainik Jagran in Kanpur, India.

Shailendra N. Jaitly, senior vice president for Jagran Prakashan Limited/Dainik Jagran in Kanpur, India, found himself facing one of the biggest challenges of his career in April 2020: 

“[It was] the first month of COVID-19 and we, as a team, got one-eighth of the [normal] monthly revenue for that month,” he recalled. “It was much more difficult than getting eight to 10 times more revenue during peak performing times. Getting nearly 600-odd feet-on-street staff to work offline — with both caution and precaution —was a mean job. [I am] proud of having such a dedicated team.”

And it taught him a valuable lesson: “Keep contributing your drops to the ocean.”

INMA recently caught up with Jaitly to learn more about what’s on his mind. 

INMA: What big lesson have you learned over the past couple of years that helped shape your plans moving forward?

Jaitly: No matter how hard you work to get taller in your organisation, society, city, profession, or country, there is nature that actuals dwarfs you.

INMA: If you had your career to do over again, what would you want to know in the beginning?

Jaitly: My immediate responsibilities on getting into “career mode.”

INMA: What makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning?

Jaitly: The four-letter word — “WORK.”

INMA: What success within your company are you most proud of right now?

Jaitly: Amongst other things, I would associate success in conceptualising, introducing, and successfully running different subject-wise revenue-centric projects on retail, medical, and small and medium enterprises. We are working on a few other fresh topics/areas which would keep contributing for a few more years.

INMA: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?

Jaitly: While one needs to be a “differentiator” to have a mark in the workplace, one should not aim to be a “messiah of change.” Change is cyclical, but it is timing that needs to be waited for. So “wait for the right time!”

INMA: What do you do to relax?

Jaitly: Meditate, travel, and interact with like-minded people from other walks of life. 

INMA: If you hadn’t gone into news media, what was your backup plan?

Jaitly: Consultancy.

INMA: What is your favourite thing to read?

Jaitly: I rarely read. Having spent close to 30 years in the advertising field, the first thing that strikes me is revenues/cost, etc.

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