Five Questions with Rohit Deep
At Walmart Labs, we want to know what makes our Item & Inventory Leadership team tick. What drives them? What lessons have been important in their careers? In this installment I sat down with Rohit Deep, the VP of Item & Inventory at Walmart Labs, to find out.
1. What distinguishes a manager from a leader?
Manager is a job function, they manage a certain set of things or people. Whereas a leader is more of a behavior. Leaders set a direction which other people follow.
2. What’s the greatest lesson you’ve learned in your career thus far?
Never underestimate the value of people. Three right people for the job can do more than 10 who aren’t suited for it.
3. If you could go back to your 20-year-old self and give one piece of advice, what would you say?
I’d have to say don’t underestimate the value of people. That’s really big for me. Understand the impact of change from a people perspective and not just the outcome. People are the heart of any organization.
4. What sets Walmart apart from other companies you’ve worked at?
At Walmart we have a real impact on real people. We keep prices down for people who need low prices, in many cases to keep food on the table or buy gifts at Christmas, and it’s really important to keep these options available.
5. If you could have one super power what would it be, and why?
Similar to the way you can listen to a podcast at double speed, I’d like to have the super power of working at triple speed. (Maybe then I can catch up to Nicole [Director of Technical Program Management at Walmart Labs]!)
