afaqs! Pause - Jaydeep Deshpande, Group Field Marketing Manager - Google Cloud, India

Jaydeep Deshpande, Group Field Marketing Manager - Google Cloud, India

Jaydeep Deshpande is a dynamic business leader who brings two decades of business and marketing expertise to his roles as Group Field Marketing Manager at Google Cloud, India. Here’s a little sneak peek into his workday, leadership mantra, and advice to young professionals.

The best part of my job is

The opportunity to work on impactful projects that have the potential to make a real difference in the world. I'm constantly inspired by the talented team around me and the innovative solutions we develop to help businesses transform digitally. Additionally, I always appreciate the collaborative work environment that encourages personal growth and learning.

My leadership mantra

My leadership mantra is to always keep a sense of humour, even in the most challenging situations. In the fast-paced-ever-changing world of marketing, it's important to maintain a positive and lighthearted attitude. I find that humour helps diffuse tension, foster creativity, and encourage open communication within my team, as well as outside. After all, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

My career-defining moment

A marketer typically can never have one career defining moment. We have career definition moments! Besides launching some ground-breaking campaigns where I got to host hundreds of CEOs of India Inc, to leading and learning from amazing team members across organisations; one of those moment that I will always remember as a learning early in my career was apologising with intent, for something that may not be a fault of yours - never hurts and in fact averts a major crisis! I learnt this from my erstwhile CEO of a global advertising agency who had to say “sorry”, to the Chairman of a global conglomerate. That day I realised the power of this simple yet hard word!

My advice to young professionals

Throughout my over two decades of work experience, I’ve adhered to two guiding principles that have consistently helped me: First, stay curious and always keep learning. The marketing landscape is constantly evolving, so it’s crucial to stay ahead by continuously expanding your knowledge. Second, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable, but growth comes from how you learn from them. Don’t let the fear of failure prevent you from taking risks and trying new things.

Books/movies/shows I re-read and re-watch

My go to books are: Valmikis’s Ramayana, Content on Mahabharata, Adventures of Tintin, Good to Great, Blue Ocean Strategy, 

My all-weather movies/ shows are: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Friends, Two and a half men, Top Gun, Schitts Creek 

A recent ad campaign I liked

Not recent, but one of my favourites and I believe is perhaps one of the most successful advertising campaigns in India is the "Incredible India" campaign. I loved the way this campaign was able to promote India as a tourist destination and showcased our rich cultural heritage, natural beauty, and diverse experiences. I personally feel this campaign is an iconic one and always makes me say “wish I was part of this campaign”!