Leadership Journeys [183] - Bimal Shah - "Our customers are probably our biggest sales people"

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this captivating interview, Bimal, founder and CEO of Elemental Concepts, shares his remarkable journey from chartered accountant to technology consultancy trailblazer. Discover how his experiences in mergers and acquisitions, including privatizing the Ministry of Defense's research agency, shaped his innovative approach to business. Bimal’s insights delve deep into the importance of understanding clients’ needs, fostering transparency, and empowering diverse voices within the team. Get ready for an inspiring conversation that showcases the power of integrity, resilience, and genuine leadership in navigating today’s complex business landscape. Tune in and unlock invaluable lessons to fuel your own leadership journey!You can find Bimal Shaifta at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bimal-shah-32973517/https://www.elementalconcept.com/In the interview, Bimal shares"We help businesses figure out if they need to use technology to solve a problem. Quite often, we end up building the solution to help their business grow and continue to maintain and improve those systems over time.""Starting as a chartered accountant taught me to understand what drives a business. The numbers reflect the importance of what’s behind them.""I worked on the privatization of the Ministry of Defense's research agency, now Kinetic, which had 9,000 scientists researching future technology.""Joining Nomad Digital, I learned valuable lessons on running a company and grew it to be the largest internet provider on trains worldwide, signing contracts in 14 countries.""One of the biggest lessons I learned was how crucial it is to have a dedicated team that shares your vision.""We value understanding our customer's business and identifying the return on investment metrics to measure the success of their projects.""Transparency is key for us. We are open with our customers and invite them to our daily standups, sharing our progress and challenges.""It's important for everyone in our team to have a voice, regardless of their culture or background, because diverse perspectives drive innovation.""We prioritize doing the right thing, even if it means losing money or a contract. Our decisions are guided by what’s best for our customers and our team.""A young boy's idea to create a marketplace for second-hand school uniforms inspired us to build a platform now used by 400 schools in the UK, demonstrating the power of simple, impactful solutions."