Business Leaders interview: Upendra Gulrajani

Upendra Gulrajani 

Founder & CEO https://nextgenhotelsandresorts.com/about-us/

Upendra has over 38 years of experience working with major hospitality brands in India and North America. Devoted to the idea of ‘hospitality’ as an opportunity to curate an experience, he has created and conducted numerous training programs on subjects such as Attitude Development, Management Development, and Wow Guest Experience. Upendra holds a degree in Hospitality Management and specializes in product development, operating systems, creating standard operating manuals, menu merchandising, event planning, developing marketing strategies and budgeting.

What motivates you in your work and what do you find most fulfilling about being a business leader?

The most fulfilling part about being a business leader is being able to make contributions to the industry and the people in the industry to more successful

How did you develop your leadership skills and how would you define your leadership style?

I developed my leadership style through constantly learning and development keeping an open mind interacting with experts, taking part in podcasts, trade fairs, conferences, reading, taking career development courses. my Leadership style is collaborative style building a team to provide the best intelligence and then making decisions.

Innovating is crucial in our very diverse industry. How do you stay ahead of trends and incorporate them into your global strategy?

Constantly interacting with the decision makers speaking to people who are actually buying the products then compiling reports of their requirements and introducing concepts based on their needs at a fair price.

What do you consider to be the key component(s) of effective business operational development?

The key component for effective business operational development is people and process if you have invested in people constantly developing them and have processes in place that will bring success to the business

How do you approach identifying areas for improvement within a company's operations?

Conducting detailed audits of the operations on a routine basis, online reputation of the business.

Where do you think the most promising investments should be focusing on and/or made on?

Investments should be made in people as they create experiences which leads to business growth 

What is or are your biggest career achievement(s)?

I biggest career achievements have been launched the business www.nextgenhotelsandresorts.com and the book Customer Centricity in Hospitality  

Do you have examples where your leadership made a difference? If so, what were they? 

The leadership that has made a difference is being hands on and visible Interact at the grass root level with employees and guests. 

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

Listen, listen, listen…and have an open-door policy and be constantly open to change

How did you identify and seize opportunities for advancement in your career?

Constantly look at trends and which business is scaling and making decisions do not procrastinate

Have you achieved everything you wanted in your career so far? 

In a way yes and no and I have the constant drive to achieve more I start each day with Great day to be alive, what can i do today to make this day better 

How important is personal development to your success, and how do you approach it?

Personal development is extremely important I approach it with activity focus on mental health and physical health 

How do you prioritise tasks when everything feels like a priority?

I break down my tasks by writing them down then assign a number to it the scale is A) is accomplish now B) is Today and C) is Week

What was the hardest decision you have taken as a leader? 

The hardest decision I have taken is when I have had to make operational changes which involved cutting jobs  

What steps do you take to measure your own performance?

The steps I take is confidential surveys, and opinion polls

What does success mean for you as a business leader?

Success as business leader to me is Scale the business and have a culture where people thrive