When you get a chance, the question is-Are you ready for it? But Vijay Yadav has never missed an opportunity, and he knows precisely how to capitalize on a golden chance. Imagine becoming the country mananger of an MNC with only 12 years of experience. But then that's Yadav, who is the country manager (India & SAARC) of 3Com India. Yadav always wanted to fly, and in fact, wished to play a major role in India's ever burgeoning aviation industry. But he picked up telecom as his career and dialed up success. In fact, you can't stop an achiever, can you? An alumnus of BITS Pilani, he completed his engineering in 1989 and joined HCL as a sales executive.

For Yadav, it was the learning process during his first job that proved to be a motivator. Starting in the central division of the company, Yadav was involved in setting up the regional office in Bhopal. According to him, it was not just an opportunity but an important lesson for future. "It not only helped in evolving myself to the needs of a new business, but also made me aware of the functioning of the market. Since then I have always tried to involve myself in any new assignment, which will give me the challenge of building something new," he says. Then came another challenge-setting up the regional office of Tata Unisys. He joined Tata Unisys as senior sales manager, heading the central region and within two years, he managed register a record revenue.

But Yadav wanted to move on a fast-lane, and didn't hesitate to change jobs to get a better position. He started looking for better avenues. His idea was to shift to Delhi as his parents were in Haryana. "I wanted to be nearer home so that I could spend time with my parents during weekends and also help them," he said. He then joined the erstwhile Digital (now known as Digital Global Soft) as area sales manager. He had to look after the entire northern region. It was in 1997 that he got the opportunity of a lifetime. A former boss offered him the position of regional manager, north and east, for high-end networking products in 3Com's enterprise business. Even though he did not have much knowledge about the segment, Yadav grabbed the opportunity as a challenge.

"The end customers have the same kind of expectations. One should know the basics of establishing a healthy relationship with one's customers. One must understand customer psychology. Till the time you are able to do this, you can be successful," Yadav has recently commented. He assumed the position of country manager in July 2003 and his responsibilities cover heading 3Com's business in India and the SAARC region. Based in India, Vijay today also monitors the LEVoIP business for the Asian region. What's then is his recipe for success? "I always believe that the processes are subservient to the ultimate purpose", Yadav is clear about his goal.