“When it comes to corporate strategy,” says Surabhi, “the name
might sound very difficult but it is actually a very simple concept.
It is just about knowing the best way to go from one point to another point.”
Tasked with driving digitalization across India, Surabhi has helped Siemens build a wider portfolio while also figuring out how to apply success stories from one division to another. “Strategy is just an action plan that helps you achieve your long-term goals,” she explains. “It outlines how to work towards these goals in a structured manner.”
Of course, everyone’s masterplan will be different, but she’s identified some tips to keep in mind when charting a personal or a professional path.
1. Understand your approach
Tackling a problem might feel productive, but how useful is it if you haven’t taken the time to consider the best approach? Understanding your thought processes can help you to objectively follow why and how you came to certain conclusions. “First off, you have to define what elements you need to focus on,” Surabhi says. “It’s about being really aware.”
Surabhi began her career as a commissioning engineer running a water treatment site in Qatar. After traveling the world working on various projects she returned to her homeland of India, and wanted to work in a role that allowed her to make a bigger impact in the world. “You cannot do the same thing for a long time. You need to change gears and learn new things,” she says.
Now she helps drive digitalization in India. Working across divisions she helps foster collaboration between teams that have historically been worlds apart. She credits her adaptability to the fact that, every time she is presented with a new project or goal, she begins by trying to define the very best approach. “Essentially,” she says, “it’s about understanding what path to take and why that’s the best solution.”
2. Make the most of every situation
Saying ‘yes’ to networking opportunities, fresh challenges, and new projects can certainly further your journey to where you want to be. But making the most of every situation also means looking for solutions along the way that you didn’t even know you needed when you started out.
Surabhi’s job is about planning for the future — she has to envisage what the world will be like in three, five or even 10 years’ time. It’s crucial that she’s aware of any new developments and what else they could lead to, later down the line.
She uses the example of maintaining motors in a factory. In the past, a Siemens engineer would inspect them each quarter. If one broke, it would slow everything else down. That was before digitalization. With advancements in sensors and digital communications, new smart motors now have the ability to alert people to a problem, before it even happens.
Surabhi scrutinizes the data she is presented with to source as much information as possible, in order to further future-proof equipment. For example, if a data reading tells her the temperature of a motor is 60ºC, and it stays like that for 10-15 minutes, there’s a good chance it’s going to overheat and fail. “Not only can we tell if there’s a problem,” Surabhi explains, “but we can also extract other information. As the data is processed, over time our data scientists can spot any trends, and see how they behave in the real world.” By solving the issue of maintenance, Siemens has unlocked new potential for data collection.
3. Seek out collaborators
If someone on your team already has the knowledge or experience you need, it makes sense to collaborate. For Surabhi, growing up with family members who were also engineers meant she benefited from constant exposure to the kind of problem-solving skills she would eventually call on in her own career. “My brother is a mechanical engineer and my father is a chemical engineer,” she explains, “ever since I was a child, I’ve been inspired by them.”
The ability to make strong connections is often at the heart of any good plan, and your fellow students or colleagues will usually be your biggest resource. “Strategy involves diverse topics,” Surabhi explains, “which can only be addressed when there is a good culture of collaboration among teams.”
That’s why she researches anything that could potentially impact a new area, not just to aid her own understanding but for everyone else involved. “I do a lot of work for the CEO and prepare a lot of the groundwork for board meetings and events. It’s a very collaborative role.”
4. Learn endlessly
“The ability to learn is crucial,” Surabhi says. “Even after working for Siemens for several years I still have lots to learn about the company. When dealing with any topic, first, I carry out a baseline assessment. It’s a clear analysis of the situation, as-is. Then I do an evaluation of all the influencing factors of the topic under consideration.”
Different people work through problems in different ways, and it’s easy to forget there’s a whole toolbox of approaches available to help you tackle a problem. “We spend a lot of time in workshops helping us to get a perspective on our work,” Surabhi explains. “Because it’s important we keep an eye on the broader objectives.”
Staying at the forefront of innovation means knowing your competitors inside out. “I need to keep on top of the competition to help me understand the market,” She explains. “For that I use news agencies like Reuters to see what’s happening in the wider world, which impacts us. Extensive reading is absolutely essential to capturing the right data. Reports published by governments, and other recognized agencies, are incredibly useful to find the right information.”
Outside influences are just as important as internal ones, so keeping abreast of the wider world is essential. Over the past decade Siemens has been on a fast-track to digitalization. “Just 15 years ago we were very focused on automation, and now that’s one of our strengths,” she says. “The next 15 years will be about connectivity and using digitalization to help us get there.”
Starting her career as an instrumental engineer in 2004, Surabhi Bapat decided to take her years of experience and go into corporate strategy. She is today a Digitalization Consultant responsible for digitalization in the Process Automation (PD PA) business unit. She lives in Mumbai, India, with her husband and children. Find out more about working at Siemens.
Illustration: Magoz
