Management Lesson - Reinvent Yourself

 

Reinvent yourself. Yet Again. A voice told me. 

It was a cold winter morning and I was sitting in the house, doing nothing. This was when I was back after an onsite trip with my husband. I was exploring some opportunities but nothing was materializing. I didn’t want to get into a job, yet I wanted to do something.

An Empty mind is a Devils’ workshop. And so true it was. I kept thinking of my past, what a wonderful professional career I had and how much money I made. And then, it all vanished like a dream. Days, months and years flew away in front of my eyes and tears rolled down. 

I didn’t know what to do. With no work and moreover with no hope of getting work, I was shattered. A man can survive without food and water. But surviving without hope is impossible. And the same was happening to me. Tears kept rolling off my eyes. The Devil told me, there’s nothing left for you in life. So, Give Up. Just then, A Voice told me, Reinvent yourself.

I had done this earlier. Many times. A transition from Infosys to Amul was one of the biggest reinventions I had done. Being a software engineer, wasn’t exciting enough to keep me motivated to pursue this as a career. Even though I was good at it, I decided to reinvent. 

I got attracted to a very special college known for its contribution to the development sector. I had heard that IRMA changes your DNA. It wasn’t easy, I would be visiting villages, spending time with the underprivileged and learn to empathize with them. Thus to learn the ways of the world, to be a person who could make a difference to others’ lives, a voice told me, Reinvent yourself. With Open mind I embraced the ways of the new world I was in.

But this was only the first step. The choice of assignment I made after college was amusing to many. I had taken up sales in a dairy cooperative organization. After a very posh work environment in one of the largest IT companies in the country, when I landed in office on the first day at work, I was culturally shocked. The office was in a hot warehouse with the walls covered with a tin shed on top. There was no Air conditioner, and the fans were not working because the electricity often went off in the area. I did not have a place to sit. I decided to leave the place right away. I came out of the warehouse and called my husband. I told him I am quitting. And guess what He told me, Reinvent yourself. Slogging hard without the luxuries I was used to, I made a mark for myself in the industry.

So, That Winter morning, I thought to myself, I’ve done this before. Why not again. I have not let anyone else control my life earlier. And I would not let it happen now. I heard the voice again. Reinvent yourself. And I decided to.

Just then, I came across a wonderful technique called The Art of Living to fix myself. I learnt the art of meditation which helped me to flush out the emotional garbage I had collected in me over a period of time. To add fuel to fire, Toastmasters happened and made me believe in myself. During my initial meetings, I used to crave for ribbons. Those days, I was not able to gather courage to stand up and speak. Under guidance from my mentors, I took up the role of a club mentor. The more responsibilities I took, the better I became. Things took a turn and with a little rework, I collected a bundle of ribbons for myself. Parallely Work started pouring in. and I have never looked back since then. 

It was easy to give up. But I decided otherwise. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference. 

I realized that life is all about persistence and resilience. Its about reinventing yourself. All the time. 

There is so much more to life. It may be near, when it seems afar. So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit, Its when things seem worst, that you must not Quit. 

I urge you, not to Give up in times of distress. Instead, Reinvent yourself. 

Management Lesson - Commitment

“Most people fail not because of a lack of desire but because of a lack of commitment.” -- Vince Lombardi

All an Entrepreneur aspires for, is success in her domain. What she needs to know is how to conduct herself in business & personally, so that she is able to pull off what she started. But how will that happen? To become a successful businessperson, one needs to evolve into a dynamic leader who is fully committed to the assignment at hand. Thus Commitment is a necessary quality that Entrepreneur needs to inculcate in herself.

Commitment, which means the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity, is not just a word, but it encapsulates a leader’s entire personality. It is not a one-time activity but a habit, a continuous promise that once you have confirmed to take-up an activity, you will deliver, come what may. The famous epic sentence “Praana Jaaye par vachan na jaaye”of Ramayan clearly demonstrates the values effective and revered leaders of those times practiced. This essentially means that whatever i have said ( or committed ) has value more than my life and i will stick to it, come what may. 

 An opportunity to demonstrate commitment is seen in every walk of life. It can be as little as attending your club meeting every week, or delivering to your client at the promised time in accordance to what you have promised. I will share an incidence here.

I always knew that it was important to commit and have always delivered on what I said I would. I realized its value, when I saw the manner in which our club’s founding president Ajay conducted himself. He would attend club meetings even when he was unwell and would leave all else for another time. I was filled with astonishment. After all, missing a meeting, creates no imbalance in the universe. But the impact he created on us was humongous and with that we became even more committed to the club and all other responsibilities that we took. 

In a recent incidence, I was required to travel to Raipur for a preliminary discussion with the client. The flight was from Mumbai and was booked by the client. Excessive traffic on expressway got me delayed in reaching Mumbai and after parking my car, I took a cab to go to the airport. I would have been in time, had everything gone well. But I got stuck in traffic again and the traffic was not moving on the road. I had two choices – First get down from the taxi and walk across the traffic for another cab, Or Second keep sitting in the taxi and wait for the traffic to clear. If I didn’t reach the airport in time, I would definitely miss my meeting. Learning from commitment lessons, I decided to take the former option. Walking through the traffic with my luggage for about a kilometer, I took another cab to reach the airport just in time for my flight. It probably would have been easier to let go of something that painful, but was worth every ounce of effort eventually.

It is not always that you get a chance to demonstrate commitment. And not everyone decides to go through the hardships to maintain their commitment. But, when u get an opportunity, it is imperative that you grab it, because it is said, that Opportunity knocks once. Prove yourself, as it would open doors for many other opportunities in different forms. There are very few people in this world, who would be able to keep their commitment. Had I not decided to give it my best and reach for the flight in time, I would not only have lost the project that I was going for, but also all future projects from that organization. 

It is definitely well said in the words of Robert Frost,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-- Robert Frost

Thus commitment plays a larger than life role in all facets of life and those who have been able to manage this spirit of commitment have always come out as a winner. I am sure we all will Commit and Fulfil.

Conference Sponsorships - Will you Walk into my parlour ?

 "Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,

'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to show when you are there."

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again."

As Mary Howitt tells us, the spider goes on, to lure the fly who finally gives in to the temptation.

Isn’t attending a conference a tempting yet tedious task? . You need to dress up well, be on your feet all day long and specifically be prepared for table topics full day. Pretty stressful.

What is worse than attending a conference? Organizing one. Organizing a Conference is like a black hole. It takes u in, consumes u and you are never going to come out of it. 

You have to find the right venue, get participants / speakers, organize the lunches and dinners, etc. It is all too stressful and steals away your work and family time. This is the perception of most of us. We feel that this is a useless activity and there is nothing beneficial associated with it.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. 

I had been struggling with setting up my client’s brand. Incidentally we stumbled upon an opportunity, where architects from all across the country had come together for a special event. The client acted on my suggestion and took up sponsorship and got a speaking slot at the event. The benefits were immense.

1. Networking

2.  Get New Ideas

3.  Access to decision makers

Generating sponsorships for a conference is the most daunting task of all. And this is precisely what attracted me to taking up the responsibility of getting Sponsorships for the annual conference of District 98, Eloquence. Toastmasters is a well-known brand. But not so well known in the business world. 

My Vision is to bring about acceptance in the business community about the value one can derive by participating and sponsoring a Toastmasters Event.

1. Building a positive brand image sends out a message that the org is in the growth phase
2. Reconnect to older connects and Increase reach to new clients automatically leads to growth
3. Generate leads and get stronger ROI than mass media – which is the aim of all businesses.

This means that a sponsor should be able to clearly understand the target group and the ROI which he will be able to derive from it. Accordingly, he should himself be keen to participate and fund the event.

Who Can Sponsor?  – Anyone looking at growing their business should sponsor. There is a bakery chain, and they have stores across Pune. They are in their expansion mode and have invested a lot in their infrastructure growth and want to recover their money faster than normal. They want more clients to come to them and clients in turn get a good place to go to for their bakery needs. It’s a win win situation.

Along with the benefits the sponsors are going to derive, my team and I stand to gain tremendously from this activity. We will learn to approach people without hitch. Thinking off the cuff while answering questions, learn sales techniques, make friends and develop contacts which eventually benefit us in the times to come.

It was a bright morning in October last year, when I walked in for an interview with the Eloquence Convener. And like the fly, I was lured into this fascinating world of Sponsorships.

The Surya Namaskar Benefits for Entrepreneurs !

 

Hanuman, The Monkey God from Ramayan was very strong and possessed supernatural strength since birth. He was intrigued by the Sun God. When he was a little boy, he looked at the delicious mango in the sky and soared in take the sun in his mouth. As soon as he enveloped the sun in his mouth, the balance of the universe was disrupted. The gods from Indralok requested him to release the sun. A request, which the little monkey simply denied. It was then that the king of Gods, Indra, hurled his Vajra towards him. The Vajra hit the little boy on his jaw and left him unconscious.

Hanuman released the sun while falling on the earth, which brought the balance of the universe back. Because of the trauma he had to undergo, his mother Anjana, who was a celestial maiden got angry at the gods, who to please her, bestowed Hanuman with boons and celestial powers of Strength, Speed, Shape changing, Gift for Celibacy, Prodigious memory including reverence & love for God. 

When Hanuman grew up, his mother wanted him to get the best education. Since the Sun god was the one who went around the world and was knowledgeable about all scriptures, Anjana suggested that he approach the Sun god and become his disciple. Hanuman now approached Sun god to become his teacher, but Sun was apprehensive. He was too busy fulfilling his duties, moving around in his chariot and couldn't afford even a moment of delay. Teaching Hanuman would require him to take pauses which didn't go well with his duties as Sun.

Hanuman promised to keep moving with the Sun and keep pace with him if he taught him. This meant that Sun wouldn't have to stop to teach him and the education can go on seamlessly. Hanuman then positioned himself facing the sun and moving backwards with the speed of the sun, so that the sun can complete his round of the world with his prescribed speed. Hanuman learnt all the Vedas in a week's time and was ready to return. He asked for Sun's fees to which Sun refused. He was very happy with his disciple and did not want to take any fees from him. Hanuman dedicated his backward movement poses to Sun God as gratitude towards him, which came to be known as the Surya Namaskar.

It is said that as you perform the Surya Namaskar early in the morning, with gratitude and love, the Sun god will guide you, keep you healthy and keep your life illuminated with knowledge, success and happiness. The sequence of Surya Namaskar is a well designed sequence of alternate backward and forward bending asanas with a well regulated breathing pattern. It is such that it builds strength, reduces weight and stretches the spinal cord along with giving meditative orientation in the process. The mantras chanted along with each pose bring in rejuvenation to a specific centre of energy called the Chakras which get aligned and energized.

What does getting so much energy and stability do to us ? Let us derive an analogy with the Entrepreneur. An Entrepreneur needs to be focussed in their approach and work. If their mind wavers away, it is very difficult to bring it back, since in most of the cases, there is no accountability to anyone else. This makes it extremely difficult for the entrepreneur to be disciplined. On a parallel analogy, if the body is not healthy and ailments arise from time to time, the entire energy and focus shifts towards solving the urgent problem at that time. An Entrepreneur does not have the luxury to spend time on recovering from health issues consistently. Thus, the policy of prevention is better than cure works best. This means a tool which helps you maintain your body and mind, is a must for everyone, more importantly for entrepreneurs.

A healthy body is a gift to us & it is our duty to maintain it well. This will enable us to study well, work well and do physical activities well. The mind is fickle. It is the natural tendency of the mind to waver away. The sequence of Surya Namaskar is such that it brings stability in practise. It stabilizes the mind and body along with giving better digestion and appetite.  It energizes the Body, Mind and Soul.  Surya Namaskar is a tool passed on to us generation after generation to enable us live a healthy and happy life. 

आदित्यस्य नमस्कारं ये कुर्वन्ति दिने दिने।
जन्मान्तरसहस्रेषु दारिद्र्यं नोपजायते।।

Aadityasya namaskaram ye kurvanti dine dine |
Janmaantarsahasreshu daridryam nopajaayate||

The shloka in sanskrit says, that a person who does Surya Namaskar every day, is untouched by poverty for his thousand lifetimes. For some people, the World is not Enough, but, for me, even this much is enough !

Management Lessons for Entrepreneurs - Inspiration from Everywhere.

Yawn. It was time to sleep, the movie I was watching was too interesting to leave midway. I decided to finish the movie and then sleep. It was way past my bed time. An hour later, when the movie got over, i decided to go to bed. I tossed and turned but there was no sign of sleep. The incidents of the movie were still lingering on in my mind. I put on a meditation music and quietly rolled off to sleep.

The alarm bell rang at its usual time and i cracked open one eye to see who was disturbing me. The twilight brightened the sky and the sun was about to rise. I wanted to sleep more. I pulled the blanket on my face to cover any noise and light that may fall on my face. Then i made a sigh. I thought to myself, if I didn't get up in time, all the work will get rolled on. It will spoil the entire day's routine. I turned around and stuck my face in the pillow. 

I decided to lay in bed for few more minutes. Then i suddenly remembered my friend Madhur. It didn't matter what time he slept the previous night. He would always get up on time in the morning. It was easy to catch him and speak to him at that time. This helped him to be a regular in studies and never had any pending work on him. We used to envy this quality which always kept him ahead of us always. I was inspired.

Kids are the source of inspiration all the time. My daughter Nandika, takes up a task and doesn't stop doing it until she is satisfied with it. Eating, sleeping, playing, everything comes to a stand still for her, until that activity gets completed. You cant cajole her to do anything else. She doesn't budge. This dedication is a result of an innocent and sincere fascination to do some activity. It does not matter whether or not it is a points earning activity or just fun. It has to be finished once started. So true for us Entrepreneurs. I was inspired.

Being a generally positive person may not be very difficult but being always positive is definitely a challenge. Further to motivate others to be positive makes it even more complicated. We had once decided that we will start drinking at least 3 liters of water everyday. So the first day, 3 bottles full of water were kept on my table for me to have a count of what i did. I managed to finish two, which was by far a great achievement by my standards. To take a stock of the progress, next day my hubby, Malay, asked me, how much water did you drink yesterday? I was definitely not proud of my achievement and shyly told him, one bottle was remaining. He smiled and told me to look at the glass as half full rather than otherwise. This made me realize how we make our life complicated by making simple things negative and then its all downhill from there. Keeping Positivity Up lets us have a right approach to situations. I was inspired.

I was a part of Toastmasters club and was generally regular one at the meetings. Once in a while i chose to skip the meetings as well. Our founding president, Ajay, was a regular. He never missed a meeting. One meeting i saw he was not too well. I asked him what happened and he explained how a medicine had reacted while treating his fever. Had I been in his place, I would have decided to stay at home and relax. But here he was, all dedicated, participating in the meeting. It was no wonder, that in due course of time, his speeches improved drastically and the hold on meetings became better. He has been consistently winning contests, making the club members proud and the fans happier. This kind of commitment doesn't come in one day. It is the result of long sensitivity and genuine interest. Commitment delivers results. I was inspired.

I don't want to become DTM, i told him. But Amol wasn't listening. He always believed in getting results out of any activity. Put in good effort and derive value out of whatever opportunity you have. Don't do an activity without any results. Do not leave it in the middle. He said, if you are putting in efforts, why not derive something out of it. You have put in efforts and now it's going to take a little more push and you will be able to achieve it. Logically it made sense. Focussed effort will always deliver results. I was inspired.

Inspiration brings in Hope. It brings in the confidence. Yes, Even I can do it. It tells us, that we should also commit. Dedicate ourselves to a cause and give our best with positivity. Then, nothing will be unachievable in life. It tells us that focussed efforts will deliver results. All these above, are little, day to day stories of people who inspire us. People around us, motivate us, make us realize that aha moment we get because of actions of others. It is about being aware and noticing these little things which we are surrounded with. And get inspired. 

Thus, i decided to get up and make myself useful. Since, i remembered Madhur, i remembered that i had to read his daughter's blogs and give her feedback on them. A morning nicely spent, reading lovely blogs from Kashvi who is growing up to be a darling child. But more importantly, her blogs inspired me to write. For Entrepreneurs, self discipline and inspiration works the best. Keeping our eyes and ears open and get your inspiration. Its high time we open our eyes and see around us. Get Inspired.

Management Lessons from Failure - I am Happy I Lost.

Failure can be emotionally draining but it has its benefits too. I am happy I lost the contest.

I was a regular at my club meetings and the practise made me a winner in a contest series. I used to be very excited and happy. More than me, there was someone else who was excited. My then 8 year old daughter. She used to be very excited and happy whenever i won those contests. In due course of time, she assumed that I was the best and that I will always win. 

For the past two years, due to work commitment, i was unable to participate in my club meetings. One thing is sure, that when you reduce the effort tap into your pitcher, the water coming out if it will naturally reduce. The same happened to me. Due to reduced participation and with the advent of online meetings, the challenge of performing became tougher. While others improved, i went down on my quality of content and time management. This was the red signal which i didn't realize and it led to my failure. I lost in the contest.

What i didn't realize was that someone else was much more upset than me. Yes, my daughter. She is ten years old now. She has this image of a perfect mother who always wins in contests. She was unable to take the blow when i lost. She was angry and blamed someone else for my failure. I realized the good that had happened to me and thanked god for my failure. 

I sat down with my daughter to share the benefits of loosing. It is important we inculcate the acceptance of failure in our children. This makes them stronger and enables them to face failure in future. I shared with her that;

1. It is okay to Fail -  There is no one on this earth who hasn't tasted failure. This means that it is normal to fail. This needs to be understood and demonstrated in your emotions and actions both. 

2. Do not become over confident - Once you realize that you are not invincible, you will always strive harder when you participate in competitions, events or life. You will prepare well and give your best to it. 

3. Do not blame anyone else for your failure - Its not right to blame anyone else, but yourself for your failure. Identifying the reasons for your failure, helps you eliminate them effectively. As is said - असफलता केवल यह सिद्ध करती है कि सफलता का प्रयास पूरे मन से नहीं हुआ। Find out what is missing and improve on it.

4. Failure presents an opportunity - Failure in itself is an opportunity to identify what efforts were missing and improve upon them. You should do exactly that. Plan in advance, Practise and Execute well.

5. Derive inspiration from Failure - Observe people and animals around you. Take inspiration from poems like कोशिश करने वालों की by - सोहन लाल द्विवेदी (Sohan Lal Dwivedi) - (appended at the end of my article). Even a tiny ant does not give up when it falls from the wall. A diver doesn't give up when he is unable to find pearls in one dive.  It is important to keep the faith and rise again. Rise and try again and again with more vigour every time.

6. Remember, No effort goes waste, you will succeed ultimately - Efforts are always rewarded. In different forms maybe. But whatever efforts we put in will be rewarded. If you have decided that you want to succeed nothing can stop you. Keep trying till You Succeed. Put in all your efforts. And You Will Succeed. Like in the saying -  If you think you can, You WILL. If you think you can't, You're RIGHT. So, believe in yourself, and nothing will be unachievable. 

All these aspects of failure are equally applicable to Entrepreneurs and Businesses. It is said that Sports or extra curricular activities inculcate the fighting spirit in us. I can see that happening. I learnt, whether it is work or business, it is important to rise again when you fall. And Again. And Again. And In the end, you will be able to walk.

 

I am glad that this failure gave me an opportunity to share all these facets and more with my daughter. She shared her emotions and love for me and in turn, I gave her the gift learning to accept failure. I am happy I lost. My next step is to work harder and win. After all, Winning is my habit ! 

 कोशिश करने वालों की

- सोहन लाल द्विवेदी (Sohan Lal Dwivedi)

लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,

चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है।

मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,

चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है।

आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,

जा जा कर खाली हाथ लौटकर आता है।

मिलते नहीं सहज ही मोती गहरे पानी में,

बढ़ता दुगना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में।

मुट्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,

क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।

जब तक न सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,

संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।

कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

Keep Your Transactions Clear - Management Lesson - from Sava Ser Gehu by Munshi Premchand

Sava Ser Gehu by Munshi Premchand is an intriguing story of a farmer, Shankar, who is a clear hearted and well spirited human being. He believes in god and is a religious person. For those who have read the story, know that Shankar gets cheated at the hands of the village priest. For those who haven't read the story, this is a true story of its times, which not only happens with people in the villages but also happens with anyone of us in our daily life. 

This story often reminds me of the hard reality of life that one must be clear in their transactions when dealing with people. Humans can be very cunning. If not dealt with properly, you will end up loosing a great deal in life - only because of the fact that you didn't care to clarify your transactions. This happened to me once.

My friend runs a designing agency. It was then that i used to blindly trust people and friends. I had a small task of designing my Logo and visiting card for my startup.  When you have a friend who is a designer, you wouldn't think of going out in the market to enquire what work they do and how much they charge for it. I did the same. i asked her the charges for it to which she replied, I am not going to charge you 10 thousand for it. I was happy and shared with her that I am still in my initial phases of business and cannot afford an expensive design. 

This gave me peace and i was relaxed that my work will happen well within 5 thousand, maybe in 2-3 thousand. I didnt clarify. I happily shared my thoughts with her and since she was not going to charge me much, i kept the idea of my logo extremely simple. Didn't make too much of a - to and fro and accepted a simple design offered by her. She sent me an invoice of Rs. 6 thousand for the same. I enquired in the market and got to know that people charge anywhere between Rs. 500 to One thousand for a job like this. I was slightly flabbergasted at the approach but the fact that i got my work done was more important to me than anything else. So I decided to move on. 

I shared my logo with the lawyer to get it registered for trademark. To which he came back and wanted a little change in the design due to some legal requirements. And I went back to my friend asking for relevant changes. She complied and finished the task and sent the design to me on priority. And business carried on as usual.

A few days later i received an invoice of 12 thousand from my friend for 2 logo designs. One which she sent to me originally and the other which she modified for me. This was it. It was like Brutus stabbing Caesar in the back. But the point of significance here is not Brutus. The very fact that this situation arose, does not mean that someone cheated someone. It's about clarity of transactions. It's about managing expectations well. It is also about preventing yourself from being cheated.

Self Pity creates havoc on your mind and you enter into guilt conscious. Being so well read and informed, how could I let this happen to me. The thought that this would never happen to you was itself a piece of fiction created by your mind. It can happen to anyone. Just as it happened to Shankar. He was a genuine kind hearted soul, who not only got robbed of his entire belongings but was forced to enter into slavery to get repay his interest, leave alone the principal. What was worse was that his future generations also were forced to carry on the burden of his deceivable, immature and naive disposition.