We are delighted to announce that our CEO, Bankim Chandra has been selected to join the prestigious Forbes Technology Council. This invite only organisation is driving the technology conversations and is selected from CEOs, CTOs, CIOs and others based on their deep knowledge and diverse experience in our industry. A great accolade and allows Dotsquares to stay involved in shaping the future along with our peers.

Forbes Technology Council has a mission to bring together leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social-capital driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world. Members are selected based on their depth and diversity of experience, and Forbes provides the platform to share thought leadership and insights.

Dotsquares have always been prolific contributors in thought leadership, and by becoming members of the Technology Council can continue that amongst peers and extend our vision still further.

LEADERSHIP IN THE PANDEMIC Leadership has always been criticised under the microscope in every industry, but since the start of the pandemic, and whilst the world has tackled some of its hardest times ever in recent history, we as business leaders have had to adapt our skills and teams to navigate the challenges of the pandemic.

In the beginning, as like many others I’m sure, it was extremely difficult to get my head around the effects a virus could have on not only businesses but the economy and the rest of the world. I often found myself looking back on how far we had come over the last 19 years, and what we could do to address the rapidly changing environment, but then I decided I needed to reset my mindset on how to tackle the issues as a completely separate scenario.

For Dotsquares that meant providing support and motivation to 721 people across the UK, the US, Australia, Europe, UAE, and India, and as you can imagine that is an incredibly challenging task in itself. Then as more and more businesses started to struggle and people were either being made redundant or put on furlough, I felt an increased responsibility as an employer on how we could support the families of our employees as well. Simultaneously, I had to deal with my own personal struggles and challenges, but luckily there were and are positive influencers around me to keep going and to stay strong for the Dotsquares family, as positivity itself has been instrumental these last 12 months, whether that’s at home, in my employees, or even saying “hi” to people you pass on the street.

At home, my kind & co-operative wife and three daughters reinforce that positivity to keep on going, even when I have days where I lack the motivation myself. Then in the workplace, I lean on the core team to aeroplane over every project, team member and client, so that we can get through this pandemic together. COVID-19 has proven that it’s not just a one-woman/man job and that you need the team and people around you to work just as cohesively together.

I am also lucky to have a very strong sense of discipline which has been with me right from the very beginning when we started the company back in 2002. Back then the office was in my garage, I did everything myself at that point, sales, marketing, project management, you name it and I did it. Every day I would always get up, shave, and put on my suit, even when I was working from home. This gave me the structure I needed and still continues to help me through these challenging times, even more so.

Trying to spread that same positive energy and motivation in the workplace is a challenge without the effects of COVID between the other Dotsquares Directors and I, we expressed the importance of exercise, especially under lockdown circumstances. As a leader, it’s vital to lead by example so I have been doing some form of activity every day, whether it’s going for a walk or sitting on my bike. In fact, I am now a converted Peloton fan! When I'm exercising I can almost download and compartmentalise all the stress and challenges the pandemic has brought, which is so good for my mental health. As business leaders, we have continually encouraged the Dotsquares family to exercise and look after their mental and physical health.

We have hosted Zoom Zumba sessions and Meditation classes from India, over the weekends to not only support our employees but actually give them some sort of human interaction outside of their household.

We have also held many Joyride sessions which were in fact run by my father in India, and are all about sharing knowledge through motivational sessions. He helped us refresh our mindsets with positive thoughts and taught us how to remain calm and address real-time problems.

In a way, the pandemic has forced us all to be much more personable thanks to the need for MS Teams and Zoom Calls. Whereas before we would catch up over a quick phone call, so I do feel we have all grown a lot closer to one another. COVID-19 has actually made us more efficient, not only as a business but as a nation. We have been inspired by the NHS and key workers who have put themselves before others in order to keep our country going, under the most strenuous of circumstances, and seeing us all pull together as one large community has been truly inspiring.

Bankim Chandra
CEO Dotsquares Ltd