Meet Harris Khan, Senior Product Strategist

Enlighten us about your educational and professional experience/history.

With a degree of Bachelors in Commerce, I have always been inclined towards sales and the marketing industry; because of which I am in the process of pursuing my Masters in the same field. Working for over a decade now, I have served different mobile application and game development companies. Fortunately, I have had the honor of working and devising strategies for brands like Pillsbury, Alienware, Spencer’s, Estee Lauder and Swatch Group.

What aspects of your previous position did you find professionally challenging?

In our field, in my opinion, everyday is a challenge. But that’s what makes it so interesting. Previously, I was working as a digital media strategist for a local marketing agency, and one of the biggest challenge was to educate clients. The local clients we had had minimum, sometimes no knowledge of digital media in particular, so we had to educate them, advise them about all that their app needed, inform them about the potential benefits and disadvantages of the project, devise and propose numerous strategies etc. In this entire process, educating the clients was one of the most challenging element.

Now that you are a part of Cubix team, what areas would be most easy and challenging for you in this role?

I wouldn’t call any area of this job role as easy or as challenging, rather I would call it interesting. From the initial process where we listen to client’s inquiry, understand their goals, devise & propose strategy (at times just polish client’s current strategy) to the ending process of launching the app/ game, the entire process is really interesting. The part which makes me really happy is to see client’s satisfaction when their idea is translated in to an appby our team which is mostly beyond client’s expectation. The happiness of our clients can be judged by the number of recurring projects we are working on, which is one of the biggest achievement of Cubix and I feel proud to be a part of it.

Give me an example of a very complex problem or issue you have faced. How did you solve the problem?

I was working on an E-learning project for Estee Lauder, and their goal was to educate their shop employees (sales team) about their products. It took a long time, a ton of research and multiple in-house workshops with my team to brain storm different ideas. Proposing those ideas was interesting, as I had to explain to the client exactly what I and my team had thought of. Planning, researching, and brainstorming eight different ideas in accordance with the client’s thought process, expectations, budget and goal was one of the challenging but interesting task.

What particular skills or experiences make you the best match for this position?

One of the main elements, in my opinion, that has an important role is experience and an interest in the field. 10 years of working experience always comes handy. Also, a natural inclination towards technology, mobile apps, and games in general is something that helps enormously. One of my mentors once explained,

The more you use applications, the more you understand your client’s requirements and the better you can meet them.

To sum it up, listening to and understanding the needs of my clients is something I’m good at, and is imperative to excel.

In what ways could you contribute to this job?

My experience, interest in the field, knowledge of the industry, and my love for mobile apps & games makes me want to learn every day. And that is something I can use every day to bring new ideas to the table.

Joining Cubix, what aspect thrills you the most?

The one thing that appeals me the most about being here is that the main objective here is not only scoring projects, but we’re also focused on making our clients happy and satisfied by fulfilling our promises, always.

What would be your dream job?

Fortunately, this right here is what I’ve always aspired to do.  Although there is always room for a lot of improvement, which I hope to do for the rest of my career.

Do you see this position as a final destination or a stepping stone?

Definitely just a stepping stone, not the final destination. There is always room for improvement.

Tell us about a time when you were intensely motivated at work.

Every day, all day. I am always motivated to work.

Would you rather be the captain of the team, the MVP, the unsung hero, or a “solid teammate”? Why?

I would rather be a solid team mate, as one can progress only when his team does.

Describe a time when your professional know-how/ knowledge was put to a crucial test.

Happens every time I am in conversation with a client.

Give an example of the most detail-oriented positions you have had.

Being in a mobile app development industry is very detail oriented work in itself, no matter what position you’re at. As tiny details can make or break the success of any application or game.

You may have heard the term ‘emotional intelligence’ before. What does it mean to you to have ‘emotional intelligence’ in a work setting?

For me, it is very crucial. The main focus of our work is to deal with all kinds of different people with different temperaments. Because of which, it is important to compose oneself and understand another person. Also, knowing how to adjust yourself in an office environment is key and emotional intelligence plays a huge part in it.

In your experience, is it better to confront difficult situations, or to not “stir things up”?

Although it depends on the situation, I do prefer confronting it as soon as possible.

Whom do you idealize? How do you take admiration?

I don’t really idealize any person, I actually idealize their work and their passion towards their work.

In your opinion, which place is best to live in?

A peaceful place with a lot of excitement.

How would you sum up ‘Joy’?

An honest, challenging job with a content family to go home to, is joy to me.