Rajeev Khandelwal’s portfolio connects international advisory with enterprise and infrastructure work in emerging markets. A recurring challenge in such settings is the temptation to arrive with a complete solution before understanding the local business question. Listening is therefore a commercial discipline. It helps distinguish a genuine unmet requirement from a problem described inaccurately by someone viewing the opportunity from a distance.
Ask how the need is met today
Customers and institutions usually have some existing way of responding to a requirement, even if that response is imperfect. Understanding it reveals what the new enterprise would replace or complement. It also shows why people may be cautious about changing. A solution becomes more relevant when it respects the practical reasons the current arrangement exists rather than treating those reasons as evidence of a market waiting passively.
Local expertise may be understated
People closest to the work may express their knowledge through examples and experience rather than formal strategic language. An outside team needs to recognise the value of that knowledge. The best commercial insight may come from an explanation of a recurring difficulty or a workaround that keeps a service functioning. Translating that insight into the project discussion is part of the international team’s useful contribution.
Listening should influence the plan
A series of meetings has limited value if the conclusions remain unchanged regardless of what participants say. The business should be able to identify how new information affected its understanding or priorities. This does not require accepting every suggestion. It requires engaging seriously enough to explain which observations mattered and why the resulting commercial approach better fits the actual circumstances of the enterprise.
A grounded form of ambition
World Trade’s business-first perspective and Rajeev’s cross-border journey support an approach that combines ambition with close attention. For a new collaborator, the strongest opening is often a well-framed question rather than a finished answer. It creates room for local knowledge to shape the opportunity. The resulting enterprise can then pursue a larger vision through an arrangement that makes sense to the people who will use and deliver it.
