I have never had role models but individuals who in my viewpoint definitely come in the ‘top-bracket’,the people who I would really respect for one or more reasons.Till this point in my life I would say I can only think of 4-5 people like that & one of them ironically is my ex-boss , Deepak Goel . ‘Ironically’ because a boss is typically someone you are supposed to dislike,who’s a pain in the ass & generally in the case of the advertising agencies a blood sucking soul to some extent or the other ! As a boss Deepak was anything but those.
However the reason I & probably a lot of others respect Deepak is not just because of these qualities,they are other bosses who are warm,friendly & a lot of time best buds with their team.It is basically because he is genuinely a nice guy! He is someone who is always tried to help us out as far as possible,doesn’t loose his temper or use words loosely,is ambitious but hasn’t ever come across as someone who would step over others to achieve his ambition. In this age of competition & dog eat dog world he is one of the few people who seems to believe “let the best man win”.
Deepak has managed to build an organization which is ethical.In the media world where a lot of times it’s about bullshitting your client & finding various ways of cutting your costs ,he is someone who always speaks about adding value. Not to get the project or serve the bottomline at any cost but where it made sense in the long run for the business.
It’s also not that we have completely agreed on everything 
, there are lots of things I would have a different perspective on but that’s not the point …a great boss is not about being dictatorial or Mr please all ;it’s probably about being a nice guy,being pretty damn good at your work & having a strong value system which others can look upto .Who gives you space to have a different perspective ,gently reminding you in the end who the boss is .
So boss you definitely come in the ‘top bracket’!
( This was due for some time but it had to go beyond a ‘Linkedin recommendation’ & written at a time when I was no longer working in the system.)
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