Kevin Shah, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Strategic Growth Advisors, talks about featuring in ‘e4m PR & Corporate Communications 40 under 40’ list, and more

 Kevin Shah, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Strategic Growth Advisors, is one of the 40 achievers to feature in the second ‘e4m PR & Corporate Communications 40 under 40’ list. The entrepreneur comes with a strong background in the public relations and communications industry and believes in team work and maximizing one’s strength rather than remoulding it. In an interaction with exchange4media, Shah spoke about featuring in the e4m’s coveted list, trends in the PR and communications industry, innovations to follow and more. Edited Excerpts: I feel extremely honoured to be a part of this elite e4M PR & Corporate Communication 40 under 40 list. I am earnestly grateful for the feature. My excellent team at SGA and clients’ support to our young team contributed greatly towards making this happen. It was an audacious move on my part to venture into the PR business with my finance background and a consulting approach. It was not easy to find the right people to carry my vision and tide over this unprecedented pandemic with more business and a bigger team on the other side of it. As a winner, I truly believe that with recognition, comes the responsibility of living up to the expectations by continuing to do some great work. What are the key skills required in the prevailing market? We are living in a world where the dynamics of various industries are changing by the day. It is imperative to keep a track of the changes, understand them. Only if we are aware and have knowledge about the industry and its trends, we can understand the client’s requirements. A one-size-fits-all approach will be unsuitable. Cost-conscious clients are looking for partners who provide value for money. One should be able to successfully tailor the communication strategy in accordance with the client’s business objectives to deliver measurable, tangible results which benefit them and add value to their business. What are the qualities that a leader should possess? It is very essential to understand your people and identify their strengths and skills. As a leader, the focus should be on maximizing an individual’s strength rather than remoulding. I have always believed in involving my team in various aspects of client strategizing and servicing. A constant dialogue with the team helps in gaining a unique perspective. Engaging with the team in an open environment fosters collective thinking for new ideas, opinions and suggestions, often leading to a successful brainstorming session and the inception of a great actionable solution. These sustained engagement levels lead to greater productivity and efficiency. An employee directly interfaces with the client daily, only if the employee is motivated and feels like a co-owner, will they deliver 100% performance. I believe in giving my team members that kind of creative freedom to grow because I know for a fact that only if my team grows, will the firm grow. Another important quality that a leader should possess is agility to adapt and align oneself with the changing dynamics of the ever-evolving industry. This leadership style has enabled me to scale up the business in a short period of time with a group of enthusiastic and vibrant team who are now a part of the SGA family. What trends have you witnessed in the past 10 months in the PR and corporate communications domain? The pandemic spelled crisis for organizations who never faced a crisis of this magnitude in their lifecycles. Adaptiveness and effective communication were key to tide over this constantly altering situation. Messaging with a personal connect has taken precedence during these trying times with brands looking for captivating considerate connect with key stakeholders who are relevant and helpful to them. Due to the sheer startling nature of this crisis, communication and engagement with the clients increased manifold, thereby creating a personal connect. How technologically ready and skilled are the PR and corporate communications professionals to move to the next level of digitisation? German aviator and leader Dieter F Uchtdorf rightly said, “It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop”.  The phrase perfectly depicts how organizations reacted to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Over the past 10 months, organizations across the globe have been operating virtually. With the spur in digitalization due to pandemic, PR and corporate communication professionals are more than ready to upgrade to the next level of sophisticated technology. According to you, what innovations will reshape the PR and corporate communications industry? No amount of digitalization can replace the importance of communication. Innovation can help you tailor your communications uniquely to suit the purpose. We cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach. Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, research and consultancy driven approach to find unique solutions will help in not just reaching out but will also help in building strong long-lasting connections for the brand across the length and breadth of India, which are often beyond the conventional reach of many, through a series of focused & integrated activities. Organizations are now realizing the importance of PR & social media as a medium to engage and build long-lasting connections. Research-driven content and tailored communications will have a superior edge in gaining visibility, likability, and credibility. We at SGA, strongly abide by the ethos of providing well researched content backed superior consultancy to each of our clients. How will this recognition by e4m add value to your profile and the communications industry at large? Each company has a unique journey and deserves a compelling story. This recognition will add a new dimension to my finance-dominated profile as I chart the public relations & communications business. Through the medium of this platform, I would emphasize the need for the business to evolve so that it is more consulting driven and based on skill and knowledge. What are your future plans? At SGA, we strive for excellence at what we do. We are an enthusiastic bunch of like-minded people trying to give value-based quality consulting services across our practices. Our goal is to grow the business multi-fold in the next few years with excellence superseding the number game. Our aim is to create the SGA way of doing PR as we have done previously with investor relations.