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Vinayak Deshpande has a taste for adventure. Relaxation for him is trekking. It's been a passion of his for many years, especially high-altitude trekking in the Himalayas. "Our trip to Kalindi Pass has been the most memorable trip so far. It was 20,000 feet high and was absolutely breathtaking," recalls Deshpande, president, enterprise and high networth individuals (HNI), Tata Teleservices Limited.

He has also negotiated the Gangotri, Vasuki, Chaturangi and Sweta glaciers, and peaks such as Pin Parvati in Himachal Pradesh. Setting off at the crack of dawn for a tough climb has its own high. "This is the best way to relax. Nature makes me philosophical and refreshes me completely." A trip with his family every August is like an annual pilgrimage.

Deshpande's fascination for trekking stems from a love of the outdoors that goes back to his childhood. He was an avid sportsman who enjoyed playing football and hockey in school and college. There was something very appealing to him about being in the midst of nature, far away from the madding crowd. "There is nothing that can rival the pleasure of being with nature. It takes me back to my roots." These roots lie in a farming community where Deshpande used to spend his school holidays in his small village amid green fields and open spaces.

Nature has also taught Deshpande some tough lessons, which have, oddly enough, served him well in executing his job and responsibilities. These are qualities like patience, perseverance and the ability to think on your feet –­ not just for oneself but for the whole team. When a group is trekking, often in risky conditions, the difference between success and disaster can often be the ability to think for the whole group, which is the essence of good leadership.

This skill is something that gets developed on the kind of expeditions that Deshpande has been on. The strenuousness of climbing has also given him the confidence to handle adversity and challenges. In fact, when asked about his strengths and weaknesses, he laughs "I would say no weaknesses, only strengths."

Striking a more serious note, he says that what he believes has helped him and his team is his ability to listen to people."By letting people have their say, express their opinions in an honest manner, that for me is the best and most systematic way of getting a job done. Allowing diversity into the job, allowing different mindsets to work together and understand each other's viewpoint is what makes for a strong team."

Teamwork seems to be Deshpande's unfailing recipe for success. It has certainly worked for him as, over the years, he has built businesses, overcome challenges and climbed to the very top. "You just have to work as one team where all the players are leaders. Innovation and diversity are important. To ensure success, one has to bring together different thoughts and emphasise freedom of thought," he observes.

His team-centric management style is very much in evidence in his current job too where he has a variety of responsibilities. Among the three business units of Tata Teleservices (consumer, pay telephony, and enterprise and HNI), he handles the enterprise and HNI business unit.

"The overall organisational target and objective are to grow into a premium mobile service business. This implies providing voice and data services to our subscribers. The challenge before us is how to convert the technology to developing products and services that would help in accelerating the growth of the telecom industry."

The challenge is huge. But so is Deshpande's optimism. The telecom industry in India is doing exceedingly well, he believes, and is comparable now to China's. Until recently, India lagged far behind China in numbers. It still does –­ China has over 400 million subscribers to India's 130 million –­ although it is making huge strides towards catching up.

Analysts predict that by 2010, India will have 365 million mobile subscribers. That's a long way behind China's expected figure of 617 million but it still represents a big leap.

Deshpande is all praise for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the work it has done in taking the sector forward. He believes that the industry will continue to grow and evolve differential products and services.

A chemical engineering graduate, from IIT Kharagpur, Deshpande began his career with Century Enka. He spent five years in the company as an engineer, managing plant operations and moved on to handle projects to set up process plants.He later worked with Thermax, Pune, heading its sales operations, before moving on to Gujarat Carbon as project manager where he was responsible for executing turnkey projects.

In 1989, he joined Tata Honeywell.During a 15-year-long stint in the company, he held various leadership positions to eventually rise to the level of managing director. During this time, the company saw massive growth.

In fact, Deshpande was considered to be the principal architect of Tata Honeywell's enormous growth. He was instrumental in converting it from a Rs 110 million process control company to a Rs 3 billion technology company. Under his guidance, moreover, the company made successful forays into several areas, both in India and abroad –­ and this at a time when there was an economic slowdown, competition was stiff and companies were under greater pressure. However, he not only took up all these challenges, he also executed changes that helped the overall performance of the company. Honeywell recognised his contributions by awarding him the prestigious President's Club award. During his tenure, Tata Honeywell was also recognised for its impressive adoption of the "Tata business excellence model".

Although he has held many management positions in diverse sectors, Deshpande's favourite area of interest remains technology and its application to consumer needs.The telecom sector is particularly challenging –­ it is itself technology-driven and fast evolving. His current stint is most challenging as the telecom sector is booming, the growth is phenomenal and so are the opportunities. No doubt, that means stiffer competition but that makes it even more exciting.

According to Deshpande, 3G is the technology to watch out for. "Data will become very important in the future and markets will increasingly slant towards data-related premium services," he remarks. In his view an integrated experience of voice and data is a reality that will differentiate the quality of service in the times to come.

He also feels that operators will increasingly consolidate and that this will increase their overall strength in the market. On the same note, he believes that government efforts will become very prominent and focused to drive quality of service as well as provision of services in all segments including rural. This will lead to a rise in subscriber numbers and therefore greater telecom penetration in the country.

But before that happens, the competition will remain stiff and cut-throat with each operator elbowing for a larger market share. The fight will be over tariffs and outdoing one another in introducing value-added services. All players will be competing to get to the prospective users first with better offers and services.

It is a tough world out there. It is at such times that Deshpande finds trekking soothing, calming frayed nerves and anxieties. "I can face life without being afraid. I have had near-death experiences during my treks, so nothing fazes me now. Very often, I get a breakthrough thought and it gives me renewed strength to deal with situations," he says.

From trekking, he has learnt how to prepare campaigns and execute strategies.For one, he has realised the importance of meticulous planning before any steps are even taken. Once he knows that planning has been done carefully, it helps him to think ahead. This is what he wants his team to imbibe. When he delegates, he expects responsibility to go with it. "In a way, they are on a `work trek'. They have to support and lead their teams and handle business independently and thereafter emerge winners with the ensuing experience.Delegation and empowerment are a must if you want an efficient team that delivers."

Deshpande's two daughters have inherited their father's enthusiasm for the mountains and the adrenalin rush of climbing them. His wife has also accompanied him on several treks but is not perhaps quite as enthusiastic.