The Mentorship of Observation

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My Encounter with V. Kumaresan

by Albert Schiller

We are often told that finding a great mentor is the key to success. But what if the most effective mentor is not a single person but a curated collection of observed behaviors across disciplines?

The modern narrative of professional development is built around the ideal of mentorship. We are told to find that one senior guide who will illuminate the path forward. Velu Kumaresan’s career, a 25-year strategic ascent from clerk to country head, offers a more pragmatic counter-narrative. When asked about his mentors, his answer is direct: “I don't have a particular person to be mentioned as a mentor or a guide for me”. His success was not the product of a single guiding hand, but of a distributed, observational approach to learning that relied on proactivity and synthesis.

A Distributed Curriculum

Velu’s model was to treat the entire industry as his classroom and its most effective players as his unwitting faculty. He explains his process: “Wherever the good things that I take note of, that person, that particular thing that he does, it comes to me like that. It's being picked up from different personas.” He did not wait for one teacher to emerge, but instead, he actively curated his curriculum by observing and "imbibing" specific, high-value skills from a variety of experts.

He studied the management techniques of his two bosses from IIM Ahmedabad, noting their unique “memory power, how they present”. He learned about quality control by observing technical experts and how they could identify “small differences” in sensory tests. From his non-technical chairman at PepsiCo, he learned the value of a critical soft skill: the ability to manage government agencies. This was a distributed and highly strategic form of mentorship, where he identified the best-in-class practitioner for a given skill and made them a subject of his study.

Learning in the Margins

This observational learning was paired with a relentless and disciplined process of self-education. It was not enough to see what needed to be done; he had to teach himself how to do it. Lacking a technical background, he systematically closed the 15% academic gap by "learning in the margins". He recalls spending “extra hours” after work to master his company’s system, using his colleagues’ access to learn the intricate processes of every department, from purchasing to production.

This was not part of his job description, but it was a necessary component of his long-term strategy. The combination of observing experts and then dedicating his own time to mastering the underlying systems allowed him to fuse his innate soft skills with hard-won technical knowledge. This proactive effort turned his observations into tangible, career-altering capabilities.

Velu’s journey reframes the concept of mentorship. It is not one relationship you find, but a process you design. It combines keen, strategic observation of those around you and an unwavering, disciplined effort to teach yourself essentials. It is a framework for anyone who feels they lack a formal guide, proving that the most effective mentor could be one’s own structured curiosity.

What can we take from his approach?

Questions for Audience

1. Velu’s model of a 'distributed curriculum' requires a high degree of self-awareness and discipline. How can organizations encourage this type of proactive, observational learning in their employees, rather than relying solely on formal, top-down mentorship programs?

2. The idea of being your own mentor can be daunting. What is one small, concrete step you could take this week to start building your own 'distributed curriculum' in your personal or professional life?