Hottest young executives: Sarajit Jha has set simple rules for himself

Sarajit's Self Development Plan. That's the headline in bold on an A4 size paper pinned to a soft board in Sarajit Jha's cabin at his Hyderabad office. The 38- year-old, Chief Operating Officer of Tata Business Support Services (TBSS), has set simple rules for himself. The self development plan he has set down includes "Carve out family time" and "Do not make destructive comments".

Jha also appears very clear on where he should be headed and what he needs to do to get there - be it his personal goal of losing weight or professional ones, such as the kind of team he would like to build and lead.

Jha, an MBA from the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, already has numerous achievements. He started his career with Tata Administrative Services in the year 2000 and since then has been deputed to various Tata group companies, an invaluable experience for him.

Jha calls TBSS possibly the largest citizen services company in the world. "We provide the entire customer care support for the Passport Seva Kendra and for Aadhaar," he says. He also adds that he has learnt from his failures. "When things dont work out dont hang people. Nobody will then believe you when you say we need people who can take risks," he says.

A remark by R. Gopalakrishnan, Director, Tata Sons, left a deep impression on Jha. "Life can be treated either as a journey to be enjoyed or as a set of milestones to cross," Gopalakrishnan told him. To this, Jha adds another dimension. "I have looked at most situations as opportunities," he says.