Arthi Rabikrisson is the founder and managing director of Prerna Advisory, where she plays multiple roles as a solopreneur. She not only delivers services as the key individual, she also undertakes administrative and operational tasks while continuing to think strategically about the business’s purpose. As a small startup, this is all part of the process, but as Prerna Advisory scales up, Arthi has begun to outsource certain tasks to external providers, especially those that require specialized expertise or those she doesn’t necessarily need to undertake herself.
Arthi is driven by the freedom to make choices and the agility to adapt to the market context as needed. As a business development professional, she enjoys building and advancing relationships and excels in creating networks from scratch. Her natural intelligence preferences include interpersonal skills, which she uses purposefully to fulfill her mission and that of Prerna Advisory.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Arthi Rabikrisson:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
As a child, people would describe me as “dynamite in a small package.” I am petite and dynamic, enterprising and resourceful, kind, and an active listener. Being ambivert by nature, I’ve learned to straddle both social endeavors and isolated pursuits with ease. I imbue all these qualities and more in all facets of my life, as I’ve learned that when you’re inauthentic, it can take a toll on you and those around you, emotionally and mentally. I value openness and freedom. Openness in the form of communication, honesty, integrity, and accountability. Freedom is the ability to choose, create, make, and explore. In essence, you have complete control over your path.
Describe your background and what did you do before you started/joined the company?
My background, from an academic perspective, lies in finance, economics, and investments. When I began my working career within one of the 4 largest banks in South Africa, I knew I would be figuring out where I fit. Initially, I thought investments and analysis would be my forte. While I enjoyed it and did well in my role, my personal development saw me thrive when it came to managing relationships. Thus, my roles with the financial services sector led to new experiences within stockbroking, private wealth management, and asset management. This was spurred on by my curiosity to try different things and expand my understanding of the industry. Increasingly, my role became more client-focused, and by the time I left corporate life behind, I was a business development executive for the largest asset manager in Africa, securing institutional investor capital for the funds I was representing. I travelled and gained wonderful exposure in the UK, Europe, Asia, and Africa. All the while continuing to build relationships.
Tell us about the inception of the company. How did it all start?
In 2019, I left my position in business development to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams full-time at Prerna Advisory. This was not a decision taken lightly. I was turning my back on a number of perks that come with being a senior in the industry, including salary, awards, and employee benefits. Yet I was gatvol, which is an Afrikaans language word that means fed up. The company that employed me was in the process of restructuring. Its priorities were shifting, and I was placed in the position of having to make decisions that didn’t suit my stage of life at that time. It had been a couple of difficult years leading up to this point, so I was mentally fatigued. My gut had been telling me for a while that securing another corporate role was not the correct decision for me, not at that time. It was fortuitous that an opportunity materialized that would earn me my very first paying client within Prerna Advisory. It was with that humble contract in hand that I opted to start building my dream. No perks. No benefits. Just my ability and willingness to put in the necessary effort
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?
Culture starts with the value system of those who lead the organization, and how they want to extrapolate that into the purpose of the organization. When there is alignment, these businesses typically create a culture that is based on these values. Even the sub-cultures initiated uplift the engagement of staff, leading to a thriving workforce and teams driven to succeed. For Prerna Advisory, our belief is that companies and individuals are ecosystems—resilient, synergistic, and efficient in working towards a common outcome. The outcome is mostly aimed at being optimal for people, planet, and profit. However, in many instances, through either internal or external forces, this optimal balance becomes destabilized. The results can range from constant change or flux to succumbing to some form of defeat. We aim to bring balance back, take a systematic view of where the failure points are, and offer solutions to overcome them.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in the company?
Generating innovative ideas can be considered a measure of the agility of the organization. This lends credibility to the firm and its brand while also increasing esteem and reputation.On a more detailed level, it means that employees are possibly feeling empowered, motivated, and driven. They may also be mentally agile and capable of connecting cross-laterally to generate new ideas. Ideas are also born out of questioning and curiosity. The more we ask questions, the more we unravel what may be unproductive, spotlight it, and look towards solving the problem. Thus, the significance of a firm is determined by both the internal and external contexts. Innovation creates freedom for others to put forward more innovative ideas. The key is to harness these ideas and implement them smartly.
Give us your opinion on; do organizations rely heavily on individual heroics or team processes.
In many circumstances, individual recognition for solving the problem far outnumbers a team-based solution. The reason for this is that reward and recognition structures are highly individualistic in nature and meant to drive competition against each other instead of maximizing cooperation. When is the last time you can recall multiple team-based rewards being proliferated in internal memos or rewards ceremonies?
And yet, in almost all of these cases, it was the support and collaboration across a number of processes that led to the individual’s success. If companies truly want to drive employee engagement and secure psychological contracts, these archaic ways of rewarding individuals mean they may be missing out on 99% of the brilliance that actually made things happen.
What is the happiest part of your daily routine?
Conceptualizing and extrapolating ideas fulfills me. I am typically struck with ideas daily. It’s exciting to see where the web of thought can take you, and sometimes these are acted on quickly because the timing is right or it makes economic sense. Others make it into my book of ideas, to be considered and refined at a later date.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Do not doubt your ability to lead. These doubts can disable the best of intentions. However, continue to develop your leadership lens. Be open to suggestions, listen actively, and respond. Offer thanks and recognition where it is due. Think carefully about change and how to implement it without breaking psychological trust with your staff and other key stakeholders.
Written by Steve Sanchez.
