Keeping one's dreams alive is key to success

Zia Mody is a quintessential workaholic, and thrives on long, busy days. She is among India's most prolific lawyers and a mascot for career women who pursue their passions despite familial responsibilities. She believes nothing should come in the way of your ability to work and you should give it your best shot. For me, she is truly among the women who have changed how women at work are projected. She is driven, honest, never shies away from hard work, and has to her credit some of the country's top deals. And this success has almost nothing to do with the house she was born in. Former attorney-general Soli Sorabjee's daughter may have chosen law inspired by her dad's experience but Zia Mody is a woman after her own dreams and passions.

In a career spanning three decades, she has built a formidable reputation in corporate law, and is known to clinch deals for clients when seemingly all hope is lost. She is heard. Her experience brings gravitas. She engages with the young and the greyed with equal élan. And that's what I admire the most about her. They say chase your dreams and keep them alive – every time I meet her it's that passion for reigniting energies that inspires me. From her I learn that the ability of a person to learn and grow at multiple moments and through different people, generations and talent is truly remarkable.

The last decade, one can say, has been Zia's. She has occupied headlines for cracking big deals. And behind the success is a story of remarkable grit and intuitive learning in India's courts which can disillusion and dissuade any hot shot lawyer in a single day. Dirty courtrooms, a male-dominated profession, tough colleagues and more. "Women were regarded as a mysterious exception, especially in litigation. But things have certainly changed for the better," she recalls with amusement. For someone who returned from overseas, and built AZB Partners, stepping into real courts was the turning point. Although it wasn't easy. "The agenda was to try and be an intelligent junior, who was willing to work double time and to look for visibility and consistently do good work that would be noticed." Zia has always emphasised there are no short cuts to experience. But with equal confidence, she asserts that young and energetic talent must be appreciated.

She encourages more and more young people to join the profession. "I believe today there is simply so much work that if you set your mind to working hard, cracking the problem and being available to the client, most certainly one has a super chance of succeeding." Zia started a small proprietorship called Chambers of Zia Mody around 1995 with a few lawyers. Later it transformed into AZB & Partners as we know it today.
Zia's approach to work is a remarkable proof to the fact that keeping up with the times, technology and talent is the new reality and environment we work in. For this, it's not just important to encourage and empower new ideas ut companies and executives need to have enough gut and grit to imbibe it within and make themselves more inclusive and agile.