Advice from my mentor, Chakra
I first met Chakravarthy AB when I joined Villgro. In the first week of my job, I set up intro chats with as many folks as I could — mostly leadership team members who had been there for many years. The chat with Chakra stood out the most. First, his clarity of communication and ability to speak to my (non-existent) level of understanding was refreshing. He walked me through the genesis of the organization, major events and milestones, and what he thought were the priorities going forward. But more importantly, he spoke to me — a 22 year old newbie, as if I was his peer.
Since then, and over the last seven years, Chakra has officially become my mentor and coach. I’ve gone to him with all sorts of questions and dilemmas and struggles in my career. Chakra has been part of every major career decision of mine and I hold his opinions in very high regard.
Last month, Chakra was visiting Seattle for work. So obviously, I had to go meet him! I spent a day with him in Seattle, we ate MTR Dosa, and I got my share of wisdom from him which I am sharing here.
Chakra’s advice Nov 2, 2025
in the long run, soft skills matter more than hard skills. a large outcome will only be possible with the help of your team.
build a stellar reputation for yourself with every single stakeholder you interact with
people give money, power, and responsibility to people they trust
trust is built slowly and steadily, with repeated interactions and consistency in action and behaviour
for a career in sales, go beyond your duties and care about the customers outcomes. check in with them after the sale if they achieved what they hoped to achieve. you need customers to speak good things about you behind your back. a few strong customer testimonials can go a long way for your career
the path to leadership is going to be filled with thousands of cuts and plenty of blows to your ego. take them with grace, control your emotions and ask “will this matter in the long run”
make it your responsibility to support to your peers, especially those at the same level as you. it is not correct to look at them as competitors and try to “win” against them. share your knowledge openly and freely, support them and keep them in your good side. always remember to play the long term game, decades out