One common misconception that exists today is that CEOs do nothing all day. This could not be further from the truth. As a CEO, your job is to set strategy and culture, incentivize and delegate.
Industry Leaders executive interview series ‘A Day in the Life of a CEO’ is all about breaking down the misconceptions that exist and showing aspirants that the C-suite is a hugely rewarding career with endless opportunities. We have a whole host of inspiring female founders and CEOs (take Denise Cesare and the Swimsuit Liberation Movement) who are really showing the world what it takes to balance the grind.
Today, we are journeying with Yamini Bhat, Co-founder and CEO of Vymo, to get a closer look at things that come into play in the ‘typical’ business day.
Yamini’s Morning Routine
My morning routine starts with waking up along with my eight-year-old son and eight-month-old daughter and cuddling them for half an hour. I believe that those 30 minutes set the tone for the rest of my day and make it more meaningful. This is followed by breakfast with the family before I head out to work. I know, this is not one of those ‘super-inspirational starts’ to morning, but these simple routines rejuvenate me and give me both clarity and purpose.
I diligently follow a ‘inbox zero’ philosophy by the end of each day and have automatic filters to cut out noise.
A Typical Workday
My workday begins at about 8:30 a.m. and runs an intense course until noon. This is the time I try to complete most of my business and strategic work (deals, planning and so on).
Post lunch, I utilize my time coaching, interacting with teams to understand the company pulse, and interviews – I try to accomplish at least 2-3 interviews a week because I learn how peer companies and competition think, through these interviews. I also do my learning calls during this time where I talk to other SaaS company founders and exchange top-of-mind thoughts.
Evenings are for a workout and some downtime followed by family dinner and tucking the children into bed. I then get back to work between 9-11 pm where I interact with my colleagues in other parts of the world.
We want to build an organization culture that brings together like-minded people, where they feel they belong, own, and build the organization while achieving their personal career goals.
Managing Emails
I diligently follow a ‘inbox zero’ philosophy by the end of each day and have automatic filters to cut out noise. I make sure I am helping folks close the loop on things that require my attention and respond to all emails that need answers. And I ensure that I never leave anyone without clarity. I also stay on top of letting my team know when they do not need my approval or when I do not need to be looped in on something. This helps them understand that they are trusted and encourages them to think deeper and take ownership.
Vymo is built to uplevel salespeople to the top quartile!
One Thing That Grounds Her
Family time. Always.
On Leading By Example
As the founder, I fully believe in walking the talk. I work closely with my teams and mentor managers in their career journeys. And I encourage them to emulate these conversations as they work with their teams. I believe in:
- Hiring only the best and building a culture of equal ownership and opportunity.
- Outcomes over activities or hours.
- Transparency; treating the team like co-owners.
I aspire for my team to pick up the skills to become founders and CXOs and leaders of change.
Challenges
Working across multiple time zones and working with some of the world’s biggest banks and insurers. What we do isn’t just convenient, it is critical for our customers to enable their salespeople and delight their end customers. This has set a really high bar on how we organize ourselves and deliver consistently every day.
I believe in outcomes over activities or hours.
Ambition
I aspire for my team to pick up the skills to become founders and CXOs and leaders of change. I also want Vymo to architect sales industry standards for the future. And while we’re at it, to challenge existing notions that bottom-quartile salespeople need to be let go. Vymo is built to uplevel these salespeople to the top quartile!
I want Vymo to architect sales industry standards of the future.
Decision-Making
I take decisions that are an outcome of a strong hypothesis backed by consultative validation. One of the biggest decisions I have taken when Vymo was just born was to shift my focus from small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) to large enterprises. Selling to SMBs was relatively easy, but their processes were yet to mature and most of them didn’t even have basic technologies in place. On the other hand, larger enterprises were ready for Vymo and it would be a sustainable market, but entering it and creating a brand presence was an arduous uphill climb. I decided to pivot to solving for scale at large enterprises. I was pushed to the wall as we were a very young team with strapped resources, but we measured the risks and went ahead.
I take decisions that are an outcome of a strong hypothesis backed by consultative validation.
Creating A Sense of Purpose at Vymo
Customer obsession.. from this value we create our goals across the team that guides us through choices we might need to make at any point in time. For example, building not what the competition is trying to but what we believe will drive real business outcomes for our users and customers. I am also working with the team to build an organizational culture that brings together like-minded people, where they feel they belong, own, and build the organization while achieving their personal career goals. Bringing this culture to life through every single thing we do, gives me a huge sense of satisfaction and joy.
We are bringing culture of belonging and ownership to life through every single thing we do, gives me a huge sense of satisfaction and joy.
On Decompressing
Spending time with my children and traveling as a family is the best way to unwind and reset. I am an extrovert, so hanging out with friends and colleagues after work is refreshing and very helpful.
A Day in the Life of a CEO is an exploration of ambition, grind and strategization in a typical corporate setup. If this sounds like exactly what you’ve been looking for, you may read more of Industry Leaders’ coverage on C-suite life here.
