Anil Virmani – Strong Technical Background Leads to People Focus Leader

Name: Anil Virmani

Anil Virmani is an experienced technology executive most recently with Adara.

Anil has had the opportunity to work at some great companies, including VMware, Coraid, Juniper Networks, Stratus Computers, HP, and Wipro. During his time with these companies, Anil has managed all aspects of product development and support.

Anil has his degree in computer science and throughout his career has worked on deep areas of technology across compute, networking, and storage. He has also worked most recently in big data and machine learning.

I got to know Anil while at Juniper. He was one of the seasoned leaders that I had the opportunity to work with while we were transforming the way JunOS was built and tested.

Anil is a leader who is deep technically, but his focus is on people. It is this combination that has made him successful, and the reason I wanted to have him on the show.

I know you will enjoy hearing from Anil.

Questions Interview

I asked Anil three questions that were specific to him.

1. You have worked at big and small companies. What are the pros and cons of working at each?
2. One of the topics that I have focused on this year is goals. Talk about how you use goals with your team. How do you decide how challenging to make them? What do you do to track progress and adjust along the way?
3. One of the things that I really like about you, and one of the reasons I think you are so successful, is that you have found a way to be yourself while managing. Tell us how you do this. Please give some examples, including things like delivering feedback communicating “bad” news, or dealing with conflict.

I then asked Anil the same six questions that I ask all interviewees – in a lightning-round format.

1. What’s the most important factor you consider when hiring someone?
2. Who was your most effective boss, and what made him or her stand out?
3. What was the most difficult transition that you made in your career?
4. How do you approach helping someone with their career development or path?
5. What tools and tricks do you use to find work-life balance?
6. How do you go about building relationships with your peers and other leaders in the company?

I had a great time interviewing Anil. One area we covered was the difference between working at small vs large companies. I love how he characterized small companies.

“”Every day is unpredictable. There is chaos, but there is order in that chaos.

You want to always build a Minimal Viable Product to test the market – that’s what startups do…”

Another area that Anil had some great insight into was the importance of connecting with your people.

“It’s all about people… every successful leader connects very well with people.”

I hope this gives you a sense of what you will hear in the interview.

Career Path

I had the chance to talk to Anil about his career journey. Even though I have worked with Anil at two different companies, I had NO idea that he started off pursuing a career as a pilot! He quickly determined that this was the wrong path, and the rest is history…

I know you will enjoy hearing about Anil’s career journey and the decisions that he made along the way.

 See Also

How To Build a Great Team

Laura Ortman – Achievement Driven, People Oriented and Customer Focused

To Be a Great Manager – Be Just What You Is