A day in the life of: Arun Kaimal, HR Director, Danaher Water Quality Asia

Arun Kaimal, Human Resources Director, Danaher Water Quality Asia, tells Priya Sunil about the the simple rule he lives by, his role model, and his favourite way to end a long work day.

Q What is the one thing that gets you out of bed every morning?

The ability to impact at least one life positively every day by living the compelling shared purpose of our organisation, "helping realise life's potential", is something that excites me to come to work every day.

Each day is full of possibilities in my current organisation, some days it is a discussion about developing a current associate, some days it is about looking at the emerging business challenges (opportunities) and mapping talent to meet future talent needs.

My role also involves a fair deal of hands-on work on some days and this provides me a good ground level view of the challenges and opportunities for our team.

Q What's on today's task list at the office?

A couple of PD meetings to start the day (policy deployment is a tool used in our company to drive long-term strategy for the business). This is based on the Japanese concept – Hoshin Kanri; followed by lunch with a visiting colleague.

Post-lunch time is planned to clear some emails and the evening is for a couple of "listen in" calls (one is from a missed global meeting, and the second is a FYI call on a global project roll-out). On my way back home, I have an interview call planned (more about selling an upcoming role to a prospective candidate).

Q What's for lunch?

Lunch is almost always at my desk. I get a packed lunch from home and most days I prefer to watch a video (TED video sometimes) while having a quick lunch.

Every once in a while (may be two to four times a month), I look forward to stepping out with some colleagues and friends at work for a nice meal at a local joint.

Q Back to work: what's on the agenda, and how do you manage your time?

I have been using MS Outlook extensively of late to help me manage my time (and energy) better.This approach has helped me a lot to manage my time and energy in a more effective manner. I also use colour-coding for my meetings and do a review at the end of the week to evaluate the buckets where I am spending time so that I can re-prioritise as required for the incoming week.

Q Who is your role model in or outside of work, and why?

Lord Hanuman (a central character from the Indian epic, Ramayana) is my role model outside work. The leadership qualities he embodies, grounded by a service mindset and coupled with problem-solving abilities and a solution mindset, encourage me to emulate him at work and in my personal life.

Q It's the end of the long work day - what's your favourite way to end it?

A brisk walk with my wife followed by some quality time playing with my two-and-a-half year old son is my favourite way to end a busy day at work.

---

To all our CHRO friends: We’d love for a sneak peek at what motivates you, your favourite lunch menu, how you manage your time – anything that completes your day. If you’re keen to share, do reach out to Priya Sunil at priyas@humanresourcesonline.net.