6 Years with E2M: 6 Most Important Life Lessons Learnt from Manish Dudharejia

Back in March 2013, I wasn’t sure if I’d made the right decision by joining E2M.

Today, I’m still with E2M as Project Manager – Local SEO Campaigns. I was Local Search Specialist in 2016 when I wrote a post titled, 5 Indispensable Business Lessons.

I’m still wondering how I spent 6 years in a job that I was thinking of leaving every day in the first 3 months of joining.

I celebrated my 6th work anniversary at E2M on the 13th of March and I’m happy to say that I’m still here.

Changing jobs may be good for growing your career and skills. But honestly, had I left E2M, I’d have never learned the six best life lessons from my mentor, Mr. Manish Dudhrejia.

I consider Manish a visionary – the man you can turn to when you’re looking for inspiration.

But before he became a visionary, he was a common man. And while I cannot be exactly like him, I can certainly learn from his extraordinary life.

So without wasting time, let’s take a look at the lessons I learned from Manish.

1. Always Be Positive and Expect Great Things Will Happen

“Let’s do it!”

I have heard these words coming from Manish many times upon putting forth new ideas. There were also times when he said no, but he didn’t leave it at that and walk away. He took the time to explain the errors in my way and told me how I can avoid the same shortcomings in the future.

Manish’s confidence allows him to approach challenges with a positive attitude, which stays with him as the company grows. While not every decision guarantees a favorable result, it is more important to ensure a positive approach towards every situation.

Not so long ago, he came up with the idea of Pool Funding so employees who are in urgent need of money don’t have to look elsewhere. Every employee willingly contributes Rs. 100 from their salary each month and the company matches the same amount towards the fund. The cumulative amount is available in the form of an interest-free loan to employees in need.

The amount can be returned in installments so that if someone else needs money from the pool, it can be managed without a hitch. Employees can view the balance amount at any time as the system is fully transparent.

Don’t you think this positive approach can bring a smile on someone’s face?

While we’re on this subject, I’d like to admit that I’ve made a lot of mistakes and the company has suffered because of them. But, Manish always focused on the cause and the learning from it rather than the mistake itself.

Now that’s called being positive!

2. Learn from Others and Learn Quickly

Sometimes life hits you hard, but it is important to not lose hope. Learn from other people’s mistakes and learn quickly. I’m convinced that one of the things that keep Manish going is his eagerness to learn new things.

Manish makes a conscious attempt to find where he is lacking and what he is missing along with ways to build his strengths. This applies to his work as well. This is because work is going to fill a huge part of our lives, and the only way to do justice to the time we spend on it is by doing nothing but great work.

I still remember, 2012 wasn’t a great year for the SEO industry, but he founded E2M that very year. Today, we are a small, yet a renowned brand in our domain.

What did he do to beat the odds? He learned what was not working and what will work in the future. When I joined E2M, we were around 10-12 employees. Now we have a bigger team with talented people across departments such as Digital Marketing, Content Creation, Web Designing, and more.

3. Take Care of Yourself and Stay Energetic

Physical, as well as mental fitness,  is crucial when running a company.

In an attempt to assess and improve his fitness level, Manish found that yoga can help him achieve both. Manish considers yoga an excellent tool for improving health. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting from or how old you are, movement and yoga can help.

He joined the ISHA Foundation, which offers yoga programs for inner transformation and personal growth. Manish is a big believer of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, often referred to as simply Sadhguru.

#IshaYogaAndMe2018

I did Surya Kriya (21 minutes intensive Yoga Practice) back in October. I’ve been doing it on a daily basis since then. It keeps me energized for the entire day. Here is a time lapse of my practice

🙏 to @ishafoundation and @SadhguruJV for this opportunity. pic.twitter.com/cubZyE9edE

— Manish Dudharejia (@Manish_Analyst) December 30, 2018

I noticed how these small steps transformed his life. He is now:

• More Organized
• Works with clarity. His vision for the future is clear.
• Capable of adapting himself to handle different kinds of situations.
• Open to try things he never did before.
• Remains calm even in difficult situations.
• Able to gauge situations and gain deep insights from them.
• Full of energy and enthusiasm.
• Constantly inspired, he looks at the whys and the whats of his actions.

He has learned immensely from his seven days at the Isha Foundation camp and is happy to pass on his learnings to us. He also frequently organizes indoor and outdoor activities for all employees to ensure that work and play are balanced.

Every day, he works towards creating his own happiness just the way he works towards developing any other habit.

4. Take Calculated Risks

I’d heard the adage ‘No guts no glory’ many times, but I’d never actually met anyone who lives by it until I joined E2M. Only strong-willed entrepreneurs take calculated risks to take their business to great heights. Manish is among them.

Taking calculated risks does not mean going in blindly and expecting great results. It involves hard work and careful planning.

In my opinion, Manish does not want to regret not taking educated risks. He knows very well that he may fail, yet he goes for what he thinks will be good for the company.

Risk-taking helps Manish in the following ways:

• He feels happy because he has made a firm decision.
• He is able to introduce new things by putting ideas into practice.
• He gets to create more opportunities.
• He gets to learn if he fails.

He believes in taking smart risks and focuses on achieving the end result. This helps him win.

5. Travel the World

In 2016, Manish went to the US for a year, which took us all by surprise.

When he started exploring the new place, he made many new friends, gained new experiences, and shared new stories.

He learned the invaluable skill of connecting with different people by understanding new ways of communicating ideas and feelings.

If you often wonder how visiting a different country is helpful, the following three points are for you:

• You can expand your learning when you experience another world.
• Withstand/adjust better or recover quickly from difficult situations when things don’t go as planned.
• A new place, new circumstances and opportunities can teach you critical problem-solving skills.

I have seen Manish step out of his comfort zone. Somehow, he becomes more imaginative and brings more original and creative ideas to the table.

Upon returning from the US, he brought his experience back home and applied his learning to the business.

6. Value People Rather than Money

Your employees are more valuable than money. When you have happy people around you, you feel happy.

I’ve personally felt that Manish holds our hand and walks us through all kinds of tricky situations with ease. His enthusiasm and vigour come from the people/community around him.

Manish believes that being a part of a community comes with benefits that no amount of money can buy.

He exchanges ideas with us and offers advice when we are down, which enables us to strengthen our talent. When you value people, they give you more than you can imagine, which in turn, makes you a happy and successful person.

Conclusion

There are many inspirational people all around us and we can learn something from everybody’s life. I’ve shared my observations from my last 6 years at E2M. You may have a different take as not everyone thinks in the same way.

My endeavor is to bring in front of you a few glimpses from Manish’s way of life, which may help you learn, change, and think better. I learned some of my most important life lessons from him and am still learning what I can from others.

What you have learned from your boss/teammate/colleagues/friends? Do let me know in your comments.