Anshul Jain, Managing Director-India, Cushman & Wakefield

There is no easy way to define one's career. The progress in careers is often a very heavy mix of the old boring hard work, broad based experience, taking risk on perceived opportunities and most importantly Timing! My career,now spanning over 22 years, has been no different with its fair share of successes and disappointments.   I moved into a real estate job by sheer coincidence, wandering into a newly formed IPC’s office at that time in Connaught Place, New Delhi, for something entirely other than the intention of asking for a job. As it happened, a month later, I found myself employed as a financial analyst in an IPC start-up, providing consulting and valuation services to clients in India.   This was mid-nineties and lure of working overseas was very strong for any young professional. I took the first opportunity to work overseas in Indonesia, following my wife who had got a plum posting with her firm in Jakarta. The next ten years were spent mostly abroad, moving from Jakarta, to Singapore, and then London. I had the opportunity to work across the spectrum of real estate, from advisory side of the business, to corporate real estate and capital markets.   Somewhere in the middle of my career, I took a year off to work on enhancing my business skillset with an MBA from IMD in Switzerland. In 2008, I returned to India in a leadership role with DTZ, an IPC startup in India which grew over years to be a substantial firm in the country, which then eventually merged with Cushman & Wakefield. Today the firm has a rich legacy but is a youthful firm with a zeal to grow at a rapid speed. This is a challenge that I am happy to take on along with my team of talents.   People in my life have also played a key role in my growth. Apart from my friends and family, who are my pillars of strength, my team, and my colleagues, I am very fortunate to have worked with some of the best minds in the industry.   I have been lucky to have worked with diverse teams comprising of different age groups, cross functional expertise and gender diversities. This diversity has brought different expert ideas, newer directions and solutions to the table for brainstorming purpose.   In my personal time, I am fond of cooking and outdoor activities with a craze for tennis and aspirations to play respectable golf!  Being a foodie, I love to innovate, mix and match different ingredients to produce different dishes. It helps me have the required family time and bonding, which adds-on to the ‘feel good’ factor.   Golf on the other hand has taught me to be patient and perseverant. To quote Jack Lemon in the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance, "the golf game is not meant to be won, only to be played." The game teaches to enjoy the process of playing and the experience of golf swinging, irrespective of the outcome.   Tennis is one sport that helps me stay focused and hungry for results. You need to have a burning desire to win points game after game, set after set, match after match. This sport makes me very competitive.   Self-talk helps in developing attributes such as inner sense of confidence and self-respect that goes a long way in boosting your performance, both at work and off work. Telling simple words like ‘well done’ or ‘good try’ enhances your mental game, giving you that required boost.   Success is built upon good relationships. To develop these kinds of relationships among our peers, we begin with gentlemen-like behaviors that naturally instill confidence and trust. Good handshakes, honest scoring, playing by the rules, and kind words of encouragement are just a few of the behaviors that we should be proud to exhibit.   Looking back, it’s easy to see which experiences at which point has helped me get here, but at the time, decisions were governed by the set of circumstances then and the perceived progress they brought to my career.