He Won’t Miss the Forest for The Trees and More Importantly — Vice-Versa

Someone wiser said, “Life’s a journey, not a destination”. The wise man must have been a globetrotter. We are all co-passengers in our indomitable pursuit of El Dorado but if you ponder awhile and reflect on the journey, you will see that many people come into our lives, shape them in ways imaginable (and unimaginable) and then they leave, never to return. For many of us, there will only be a few people who may have been around for a long time, running into several decades sometimes. Even more uncommon is to find from this select few, individuals who have retained the very same quality which got you connected to the person in the first place. That’s incredibly rare.

Today’s protagonist is someone who I have known for the last two-and-a-half decades.

Yes, I have known Sandeep Todi for that long! Admittedly, there were years when our connection waned only to return stronger. What’s most incredible about him is his eye for detail and his ability to ask probing questions — without making you feel uncomfortable — rendering the conversation a definitive direction. It’s cliched — the devil is in the details. And yet, as humans, we often miss out on the details with embarrassing consequences, sometimes.

Not, Sandeep. He had that astounding ability to remain laser-focused back in 1997 when I first met him, he has it now even as I see him in a different avatar — as a friend and business associate.

Let’s rewind.

It was a cold wintery morning in Delhi at Eros Hotel and Sandeep Todi, on behalf of AllIndia.com (a Calcutta-based company offering internet services) was recruiting for a Marketing executive for their Delhi office. I stepped into a large hall which initially made me feel colder but as I settled down, Sandeep and other recruiters alongside him made me feel warm and engaged. He asked me a rather probing question — how would I add value to customers through a website and gather more footfalls? We should be mindful of the year — 1997. The dot-com boom was still some time away. It was the era of print media and digital media at that time — even the word wasn’t coined — was seen as an audacious gatecrasher. I, of course, answered intelligently and what I can still recollect after all these years, is the nature of the follow-up questions. Probing and incisive — going deep in assessing the person’s understanding of the subject.

I did get the job.

But I didn’t join — not because I thought any less of the company but it’s just one of those things we do when we are young. We weigh our options which at that age come aplenty. I joined Trisoft Systems instead.

Six months or so went by and I was there at an event in Delhi, India Internet World. All India.com was an exhibitor at the event and lo and behold, Sandeep Todi was there. I had the audacity to go up to him and introduce myself and refer to the interview which had happened barely six months ago. He wasn’t particularly displeased to see me — at least there was no obvious displeasure written on his face — but he asked me why I didn’t join. I, of course, hemmed, and hawed but remember he is a detail-oriented man so there was no getting away. He took it sportingly though. Being ambitious himself he well understood how young people operated.

Then of course for many years, we lost touch and then one day at NASSCOM — by then I had switched — I received an email from a sender called Sandeep Todi. You would have guessed by now that I was rather excited. Immediately, I called back enquiring whether he was the same person who had interviewed me many years ago. He was taken aback because many years had passed. He sounded pleased that I remembered our brief interaction even after so many years. After that, there was no looking back.

Thereon, we have continued to work alongside in various organizations — NASSCOM, iSPIRT, and now SaaSBoomi. He is extremely passionate about the startup community and continues to drive many marketing efforts that community-building initiatives undertake. Currently, he is a very active & impactful contributor on behalf of SaaSBoomi’s US Chapter. It’s a great learning experience to observe the detailed manner in which he approaches marketing copies — he combs documents right down to the commas and full stops. He is an individual who doesn’t miss the forest for the trees but more importantly, vice-versa. And, he never shirks from speaking his mind. Equipped with a sense of humour, he connects very well with people and never shies away from sharing a good laugh.

It has been 25-odd years since I first met him. Over the years, we have developed a warm friendship as well. There are a few Product Managers who I look up to, and he is right there in that list.

Thanks, Sandeep for keeping this friendship warm and now that we have done such a long time, here’s wishing you great health and happiness. You’ve taught me to spot the devil in the detail, unerringly. That’s an invaluable learning!