Biswarup Bhattacharjee is a Sales Enablement Manager at Oracle, supporting the Business Development Group across APAC for the Applications portfolio.
Subscribe to Balance the Grind’s newsletter so you never miss one of our conversations about work, life & balance.
1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
I was born and raised in a small and cozy town in India. Being from a family that valued education and mostly a stable government job, I was always pushed towards academics. However, my interest was towards everything else than studies – sports, singing, dancing and whatever I learned in my childhood was more through experiments.
After school, I moved to different cities in India and landed my first job in Mumbai (the economic capital) as an Art Consultant. That’s where it all started. The title was heavier for a 23-year-old and everything I had to do is sell – paintings, murals, sculptures to some established architects and designers in the country.
People say you never forget your first job, the same goes for me. This was the time when the entrepreneurial bug bit me and me with a couple of my college friends, launched a company that designed software for the clinics and small hospitals.
Two years and I started feeling this is not my gig – experiment. However, the learnings were humungous. This was the period when I learned the very important aspect of any corporation – The people. People can make or break an organization and can take it to where it aspires to be.
And then my journey with Oracle started in 2015. From India to Malaysia, the journey has been enthralling.
I have grown to the role of a Sales Coach in Oracle and when I look back I see that it has been an experience of ideas, experiments, learning and most importantly people. It is the people and mentors I have worked with has shaped up my work, my life and the balance I have today.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
I am in a business of influencing behaviors for a better business outcome. As a Sales coach and enablement leader for my department, my role is to drive performance and ensure the business strategy is executed on the ground.
So my typical day involves working very closely with business development professionals and elevate their skill sets. Everyone out here and I share a common goal which is – sharing the right message and value our customers will have when they partner with Oracle to achieve their business goals.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
My role is demanding and equally accommodating because of the global teams I work with. So it can be anytime, anywhere – from early morning to midnight.
There are times when I wake up at 3 AM to be on a customer call in a different country or sometimes stay late at night to be on an internal call where west meets east.
I consider myself to be a global citizen and of course a global worker and so it never gets overwhelming because I enjoy it. My family understands and is quite supportive and accommodating.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
I don’t believe the saying of keeping your personal and professional lives separate. It can’t be.
It is one person who lives both lives in a day. So if you had a bad day at work, it plays in your mind when you go home. Or if you have your one of your family member not keeping well, you’ll be tense at work.
I think the key is to be mindful of everything around and most importantly within you, something that I’ve learnt over the last 10 years of my working life. And frankly, there are times when I work on the weekends, while there are times when I do not touch work or emails for a complete week.
I think I have learned the way of disconnecting myself when required. My friends tell me that I am doing so much, but never seem exhausted. That is because I am loving the experiments, the learnings and most importantly the balance.
5) What do you think are some of the best habits or routines that you’ve developed over the years to help you achieve success in your life?
One of the best habits I have inculcated is breaking patterns or a habit. It can be as simple as changing my morning routine or pattern of responding to emails. Of course, keeping the discipline factor in mind.
My boss says that – if she keeps me at one task for long, I get bored. Somewhere that is true even in my personal life. That doesn’t mean I change my role or my home every time. It simply means, trying things differently while maintaining the same goal.
6) Are there any books that have helped you improve over the years?
I recently completed two books. The first one is Ikigai which is a famous Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” This book helped me to reflect on my inner self – my values, my beliefs and most importantly my mental self.
The other book is The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. This book helped me to accept the fact that it is okay for things not to be okay at all times. And the fact there is nothing being extraordinary or being entitled.
7) What is the number one thing you do to make sure you get the most out of your day?
Actually, my day starts the previous night, before I go to bed. I make a to-do list on my cell phone about tasks that I need to do the next day.
This involves everything and not just work, even if I have to call the doctor to make an appointment for my daughter, I make a note of it and refer that back in the morning on my way to work. I think this is how you are mindful of how your day will unfold and also respond to any changes – which is inevitable.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
So many amazing people around me. However, someone, most of us will know would be: Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft and Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
The first thing will be to accept the fact that we all are inadequate in some or the other thing. And that is fine. We fill the gap by collaborating with people around – in work or home.
The second thing will be to learn to disconnect. Just shutting our minds to everything when needed. This might also apply to our social platforms which are found to have a larger contribution to mental distress nowadays.
The last thing will be to seek help. One thing about work-life imbalance is it surfaces up when the damage is done and the stress meter turns red. So at any moment, if one feels overwhelmed they should right away consult their trusted advisors or even take professional help.
If you’d like to have a conversation with us about how you balance the grind, get in touch with us!
