How to take your life from average to awesome
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Meet Anjum, the Head of Communications and Sustainability at Jazz in Pakistan. In this interview, she tells us about her career, her goals at Jazz, and how she pursues her passion for improving lives. Also, she gives some cool info about her personal life.
lf you’re thinking that it’s five o’clock somewhere before you’ve even hit lunch, stop — and take a step back. Go splash some water on your face. It’s time to get some inspiration.
Fortunately, we’re interviewing Anjum today. Her story can help you. Because at Jazz, Anjum’s been tasked with improving the lives of 50 million subscribers in Pakistan — more than 25 percent of the country.
So, without further ado, read about Anjum’s career, how she approaches her work at Jazz, and what she does to improve this world. Her insights will motivate you to go out there and rock the world.
1. Adults just don’t understand
There is a reason why Anjum’s favorite book is The Little Prince. That’s because, as the fox says, “What is essential is invisible to the eye.” The most important things are in our imagination.
The Little Prince teaches us to explore the mysteries in life and hold on to our sense of wonderment — something adults lose. Ironically, in the adult world, it takes the creativity of a child — that sense that the wildest fantasies can come true — to achieve what was thought of as impossible.
At Jazz, Anjum works to improve the lives of more than 50 million customers. In addition, the CEO, Aamir Ibrahim, and the rest of management have a primary goal of making Jazz a leader in digital technology.
Needless to say, coming up with solutions to these challenges is tough. But Anjum goes to a special source for inspiration.
“My toddler son gives me inspiration,” Anjum says. “How he does things is amazing. His solutions are so simple yet powerful.”
The lesson here is clear: If you want to change the world, unleash your inner child; it’s the only way to realize the full potential of your curiosity.
2. Make every flavor shine
Anjum’s passion is cooking. Her favorite dish, Khow suey, consists of coconut milk, yogurt, chicken, and spices. The way she cooks this Burmese dish is awesome.
“I first marinade the chicken for two days in the spices,” she details. “Then, I let it cook for two to three hours so that when you eat it, you can actually taste every flavor that goes in there.”
Other than the fact that you need to eat this (like right now), there is something to be learned here: Dedication to an endeavor ensures you’ll leave a lasting impact.
One look at Anjum’s career proves that. Having started as a journalist, Anjum has a very extensive media background. She’s worked for CNN, where she covered 9–11. She’s worked for the Canadian government in Pakistan. And, with Express Media Group, she hosted her own TV show.
After that, she worked for another major telecom company before joining World Bank, where she would continue to improve society.
“At World Bank, I worked on a project that impacted over nine million people,” Anjum recalls. “I helped improve urban drinking water and waste management in cities in Pakistan.”
Anjum’s career path holds important lessons about making a difference. Summing up her experiences, Anjum states, “The underlying theme of my career has been that I work to make an impact.”
3. If a tree falls but no one is around, make it heard
You’ve certainly hold the old philosophical question: If a tree falls in the forest and nobody’s around to hear it, does it make a sound? Before we debate that, let’s go back to Anjum’s career path.
While remembering the most influential thing she learned while working at World Bank, Anjum states, “The biggest epiphany I had was that everyone has a story to tell. And they deserve the opportunity to tell that story.”
Even after leaving the workforce to be a mother, Anjum’s desire to make people heard can be seen. Recalling her time at home with her son, Anjum says, “One of the problems I faced as a mother was that I had limited access to quality information on reproductive mother and child health, especially nutrition.”
This issue Anjum faced as a mother motivated her to get back out there. That’s why she joined the Center of Communication Programs, a sister organization of John Hopkins University.
“At the Center of Communication Programs, I was responsible for getting citizens to voice their health concerns to the government,” Anjum describes. “Our goal was to get the government to respond and help.”
Clearly, for Anjum, making an impact means making voices heard. That’s part of what led her to Mobilink (now Jazz).
“Mobilink has just merged with Warid (putting the company over 50 million subscribers),” Anjum explains. “I want to tell the story of this merger between two huge entities because we need to document it. It’s something that will greatly impact Pakistan.”
So, to return to that philosophical question. The answer is that it doesn’t matter if people don’t hear the falling tree. Because it’s our job to make the falling tree heard.
4. It’s just as simple as asking a question
If you want to improve something, there is a simple yet bold idea to just ask people for suggestions. Even the great entrepreneurs are doing it. The CEO of Airbnb asked all his Twitter followers how to improve the product. A week later, Twitter’s CEO did the same.
Anjum points to this simple solution of just asking questions as one way she’ll help Jazz realize its vision of improving lives.
To bring positive change to Jazz’s customers, Anjum wants to directly ask what her team should do. “If we actively reach out to our customer base, the response can be amazing,” Anjum believes. “Not only can we better engage with customers, we can easily find solutions.”
Anjum is already seeing success with this strategy. From engagement with customers, Anjum’s realized that Jazz needs a working definition of what the company means when it says it’s going to be the number one digital company in Pakistan.
“The customer has dictated my first assignment at Jazz,” Anjum exclaims. “Define what it means to be a digital company and then ensure we’re fulfilling that role.”
5. Try to clone yourself
From making a strategic partnership with Uber to improving mobile financial services, Jazz is busy these days. That means so is Anjum.
“We’re working hard to show people how their life can be easier with technology,” Anjum says. “We’re also trying to being the first telecom company in Pakistan to undergo a digital transformation. There is so much to do.”
Because of all this work, Anjum has contemplated trying to clone herself. But we aren’t quite there yet. If you have any ideas, let us know.
Anyway, with so many challenges in front of her, Anjum makes a point to see the path, not the wall. Since she doesn’t have a clone, she finds other ways to make certain things get done efficiently.
“I leave notes for myself. I always have an agenda,” Anjum says. “I’m a bit strict when it comes to not wasting time. For example, I excuse myself from meetings when I feel my presence isn’t needed.”
Now, that’s pretty smart. Anjum is also a master of dividing up work among her team, which allows her to focus more on strategy.
So, if you’re overwhelmed, consider a similar strategy. Just remember: Though you may know that two of your own heads is better than one, cloning isn’t there yet. You’ll have to find other methods and work with other people to make great things happen.
6. Lay bricks every hour but don’t forget about breaks
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but there were bricks being laid every hour. If you want to change the world, work for it every day. Gradually, improvements will come.
Anjum knows this. And that’s why she makes the most of her time outside of the office. It’s vital to furthering her knowledge and relaxing her mind.
“I have a 90-minute commute, so I find inspiration by listening to audiobooks and the classical music of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Giacomo Puccini,” Anjum tells. “I listen to a zen podcast. I also love Shakespeare and drama podcasts because I used to act.”
Once she gets home, Anjum also emphasizes setting aside time for her son. “I let people know that I may be unreachable then,” she says.
So, what’s the key takeaway? To be your best at work, emphasize learning, relaxation, and personal time outside of work. It’ll give you the mental energy you need to change the world.
Just go for it!
If you visit Pakistan, Anjum has a suggestion: Try the food and listen to the music. “Pakistani food and music are our best ambassadors,” Anjum says. “You’ll love them both. My favorite song is Jazba-e-Junoon if you want to listen.”
So, in addition to following Anjum’s splendid advice above, if you want to change the world, approach the challenge like you would visiting another country. Keep your mind open, embrace the unknown, and be ready to solve problems in a new way.
In the end, to do any of this requires that you can take a leap. Just jump in! The world could be a better place because you had the guts to try to change it.
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