S4E4: Ritu Bhargava, xPresident & CPO, SAP CX/CRM - Build "OrgIQ", Manage Up and Across

Ritu Bhargava is xPresident and Chief Product Officer of SAP Customer Experience (CX/CRM) & Consumer Industries. Prior to that she was SVP of Software Engineering at Salesforce for Sales Cloud (CRM) and held various engineering leadership roles at Oracle. Ritu is a sought-after advisor, investor and has also served as a Board Member at Qualtrics.   

In this conversation, Ritu is disarmingly honest and candid as she narrates stories about her experiences rising up in the organization, balancing getting visibility and being a team player, and learning from people six levels down in the org chart.

Key takeaways:

1. COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS

- A boss is also a human with a job, not just a title. 

- Surface real issues and what they need to move forward.

- Ask “What would help you?”

2. SAYING NO TO MANAGEMENT

- Earn the right to say No

- Avoid the temptation to please

- Cover No’s in Yes’s

3. BEING A TEAM PLAYER

- Play the long game instead of little wins

- Be selfless, its not about you

- Can you give up the limelight when you could have claimed victory?

4. RISING UP IN THE ORGANIZATION

- Raise your hand and put yourself out there

- If you want to grow, make yourself redundant

- Earn the trust of peers who may report to you

- Hire people smarter than yourself without feeling threatened

- Build “OrgIQ”

5. DEALING WITH STRESS

- Apply five Why’s 

- Have a growth mindset

References:

• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High by Kerry Patterson, Josephy Grenny
• Radical Candor by Kim Scott
  
  

Connect with Ritu Bhargava:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritubhargava/

Connect with Rahul Abhyankar:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulabhyankar/