Keep it Tight to Keep it Right

Back in the olden days, well not that old, but more of those days when I was doing my undergrad in management studies, I had some major grievances against the management culture inculcated in colleges. To start with, there is Mr. Philip Kotler who decided to write a freaking bible on marketing management and his disciple, our professor, wanted us to join the “Kotler Cult” by knowing that book by heart!! Well in my defense, how is it supposed to be fun when there are no pictures in it? And like these, there were many minor and solvable issues, but the mother issue was something else. You know how excited people get about class presentations, well I hated it!! Not because you had to stand in front of the entire class and present to them like a salesmen selling the most boring product on planet earth but because you had to all the above wearing tight, uncomfortable formals with a tie ever ready to choke you!!!

Its no shame to admit that I was more of an informal person and a rebel without a cause at that. Means, when 90% of the class wore immaculate formals and had the clean shaven “I can sell the world” look, I was addicted to t-shirts with slogans like “allergic to morons” and my look was more on the lines of “I sold the world and made a huge loss but I don’t care”. Not to add that my popularity ratings were at a all time low then and looking back I did spend a lot of time standing with my head bowed outside the dean’s cabin. But then as an exception and a compulsion, we all used to wear formals for our class presentation, guest lectures or industrial visits, in short any activity where we were supposedly marketing ourselves to the outside world. The tight formals combined with the insane heat made me realize that instead of global warming the world should be concerned about the formal warming!

But today in the corporate world, the formals speak the tone of business without actually saying anything. The tucked in shirts and the checkered ties with their “samosa knots” are truly what add the super powers of business to a man, making him “The Businessman”. And “even a rebel still without a cause” like me has to admit that the formals add italics and make the statement “I mean business” bold and noticeable. More of with the choices of formal dressing and with the advent of media, formals have transcended in to a subtle level of coolness, though not for everyone! Also many offices have informal weekends these days where you can unleash your casual side but then its necessary to be mellow as Mondays do follow weekends and you don’t want to be touted as Rodney The Clown! But the bottom line remains, “to mean business, look like you mean business”.

While all of the above is true, being a part of the hippy generation and a avid fan clothes that don’t stick to my body like snake skin I stuck to a line of work that lets me be. I can quote a lot of situations where formals really don’t help (rains, heat, a quick strip etc) but they are equal number of areas where they set a tone and are necessary for the perfect look and feel of being corporate. But that’s me so don’t let the formal warming hold you back. We live in a age where the look makes the first impression and if management is your poison then formals is the perfect catalyst. After all even a non corporate and a casual person like me believes that “keep it tight to keep it right” and as my god, Mr Bachchan had once said “Tumhara tailor ka bill do humko, humko tumahara suit pehane ka style bahut pasand aya….Maloom!”

Attention… Details ahead!!

Growing up for most of us with an average human intelligence we had to face subjects of two kinds, one that is beyond our understanding and the second would be the one beyond our liking. In my case, the disastrous mathematics filled the spot of the former whereas a subject called craft & drawing occupied the later spot. In fact I was so bad at it that my father had instructed me to write the name of the object I was drawing beneath the picture so that the teachers don’t misunderstand it as doodling (happened more than once!!). With such intrinsic artistic abilities, it would be unnecessary to say what a torrid time I had drawing & erasing & redrawing my chemistry and biology journals. And when I would be barely make a decent drawing of a funnel, my efficient teacher would point out that I need to detail out the tip or the mouth of the funnel a bit more so that it’s not mistaken for a pot. I always wondered if my dad and my chemistry teacher were siblings sepereated in a Kumbh Mela!!!

Petrified with the lack of M. F. Hussain’s panache and skill in me, I decided to opt for commerce instead of science, post my 10^thstandard. But where drawing died, detailing remained and I am glad about that because to a big extent detailing has always helped me in studies particular in the management courses and work afterwards. The funda is simple, a little detailing and attention to mundane stuff make your work look extraordinary,more focused and gives you the stamp of wanting to going that extra mile for an extra mark. The party in front be it professors or clients feel that you have the urge to know more and it exhibits the sincerity towards the given work. This funda first struck to me during my thesis on “packaging of consumable items”, where the examiner was more impressed by the preserved silver foil of a dairy milk chocolate pasted on the first page of my thesis, than the cut copy pasted text that followed it. To be precise it took him back his golden days of his childhood and an “a+” from him took me to the golden days of my adulthood. The point is, most above you or those instructing you are looking for the bits they know exist but are rarely given importance. A sale pitch presentation for a talcum powder with jasmine essence can be on simple slides or with sides having a floral bordering. The text is the same in both but the latter gets more attention as the client feels that you have given importance to the smallest detail of the product.

Due to our ability to misconstrue or to read between the lines, it would be important to clarify that detailing only works when the content is solid. Let us not assume that floral slides with an average sales plan and negligible market forecasts will ensure you a happy client! The point if you gone the whole way what is an extra mile for that extra advantage. Detailing is a vast area and one statutory warning would be, if you want to do it, do it right. Because an average job without detailing might still pass off as a decent job but if the details are inaccurate you might as well climb on the crucifix yourself!! Usually visual detailing is much more easier in comparison content detailing as the latter needs heavy & focussed research to find those bits will add ingenuity to your work.

Many believe that in macro concepts, attention to detail should be minimum, I respectfully disagree, I believe, in macro concepts, the smallest detail will garner maximum attention…try it and you shall not dissappoint.

The Choice, The Choosing & The Chosen

Choice

• Noun- 1 an act of choosing. 2 the right or ability to choose. 3 a range from which to choose. 4 something chosen.
• Adjective- 1 of very good quality. 2 (of language) rude and abusive.

(As per the online oxford dictionary)

Now that the definitions are out of the way, one clarification… “the choice” I intend to talk about, is the one in the noun form, and if the verb form of it (chosen) isn’t proper usually the feedback is form of the adjective no.2 (check the definition above)! The idea here is not to analyze the category of choices, because according to me, choices are in the category of tenses i.e. past tense- the time thought of taking them, present tense- the time you were taking them and the future tense- the time you will have to face after taking them. I am sure many would disagree and rate them on the level of their importance, but my point here is, if they ain’t important then they are as good as choices of whether or not to wash your hands after using the restroom.

Now the choices that we usually come across as kids, students, adults or as senior citizens are those that demand intelligence, experience and expertise. While kids usually get away due to the under age factor, adults due to intelligence and expertise they posses and senior citizens partially because of a weak heart and grey or no hair which provides them consistent sympathy votes. It’s the students, and by students I mean undergrads, grads, post grads and the just completed studies & in a job, who usually find themselves in heat of choices. It is this kind of individuals who are usually judged for the choices they make invariably ignoring the circumstances in which the tough choices had to be made. Choices of career, choices of life and choices at work are usually the choices that can transform the “us generation” to the “was generation” due to immense pressure and expectations on us. I find it remarkable that when a choice is wrong or assumed to be wrong, people around us are ever-ready to point out what we lacked and how little faith they had in us right from the beginning, I mean, if you know it that we will blow it, then why didn’t you open your trap in the past tense?

Usually more often than not we tend to use our limited mind and limited experiences when it comes to taking tough choices and expect good results like everyone else. Well there ain’t nothing wrong with that but it’s just that more often than not, taking choices are much better if taken with adequate research of the pros and cons and if possible a case study of someone who has attempted the same choice before. While pros and cons help you decide, the case study is for you to know the situation that can befall you in case things go haywire and if it does you always have a case study to hold up as a witness to the fact that you are not the only one sailing in that wretched boat. As usual, institutions & individuals will always train, advice and warn you based on their experiences (get used to the “I have seen life” quote). If the choice isn’t great one what usually matters is how you react after the choice is made, either you admit you took it and stick to it or you chicken out and blame the circumstances for taking it. Personally I prefer the “stick to your guns” philosophy because either ways you will be getting an earful & better to get it with some pride!

Well if any of us thought that I had something new to share or something solution, I am sure by now they might have gotten disgusted cheated & logged off. The idea was to elaborate how bad choices can get for many of us and there is least we can do except taking them. And after taking them all we can do is wish and wish that, “Yehi hai right choice …ahan???”

Losing is sometimes an option!

It was once said that a game should be played with a sportsman spirit. The use of past tense in the previous line is just to indicate that we no longer believe in that thought. One of the biggest news hitting our TV screens these days is Team India’s loss at the T20 world cup. Being an avid cricket fan, even I felt the pinch seeing the dismal performance of our team and yet I do believe that at the end it’s just a game. But then I am also sure that not many would share my belief, especially people like my neighbor who thinks the whole team including the coach driver has taken money. And his suggestion was that the whole team should be fired, and I believe if uncle wasn’t a charted accountant he would have definitely applied to become a member of BCCI.

It’s like in our heads we don’t think loosing is an option no matter however skilled and formidable our opponent is.  The same is also our approach in our daily lives and at work, to always have an upper hand. Be it a seat in the train, a friendly debate or a corporate deal, we always want be one step ahead of the game. But we rarely sit back to think that at time winning might be more expensive that losing? Adults tend to defy logic when it comes to situations where competition is unnecessary, they egg their kids to finish their food fast with such fervor that the kid feels he will achieve a Nobel Prize if he can somehow increase his swallowing power. Parents expect their kids to top the exams but they forget that the 1 is not the only number; it is followed by 2, 3 and so on. The kids grow with this thought and soon work, studies & even life becomes a needless competition. Not commenting of about life but when it comes to work and studies it is necessary to distinguish the difference between competing and competition. “Give your best and let the fate handle the rest” is what we need to realize.

Surprisingly the emerging generation or so to say my generation (here is where I change sides) seems to be freeing itself of such notions and in our bid to be liberated we do bring a certain amount of illogical and impractical thoughts on the table yet it’s refreshing in its own right. For example, in addition to cricket being our game of choice, we add formula one racing to the list and cheer for the teams which are completely non -Indian which gives us very little scope of tasting defeat. But on a serious note, in life its necessary to some times ease on the aggression to see our option clearly. If we want to win we might lose it all but if we compete we give ourselves a fair chance to lead. its always been preferred to make profit and cut losses but at times immediate losses might be future profit. After all its never over till the last ball is bowled and when that ball comes we don’t want to be resting in pavilion due to exhaustion.

They say change is inevitable and change is good…well we are the change! And it is important to realize that we still want to win and we shall, but in case we lose, it’s not the end of the world for us, after all if the past has taught is that, failure is a stepping stone to success, then our new breed of rebellious minds should believe that, “ Losing is sometimes an option”…

Zindagi Har Kadam Ek Nayi Jung Hai…

If I ever had the chance to meet the great lyricist the late Anand Bakshi, I would have actually thanked him on penning down the words “Zindagi har kadam ek nayi jung hai” as I sincerely believe that song was meant for me. That song was an anthem every-time i got into trouble as kid, and would inspire me to take those legendary beatings with a lot of pride as if I was freedom fighter facing a lathi charge from the British. But then I guess we all are in the same boat of facing difficulties of life, at home and at work. Home issues are inherently touchy and personal so its would be safer for me to avoid them, as my suggestion to all simple “Shaadi is the stepping stone to Barbaadi”!!! But since my experiences and encounters with home issues minimal, it would be better to keep my mouth shut and avoid being labeled as the villain of romance…

Now after beating around all the bushes of the world, lets get to the point, because frankly speaking I am beginning to bore myself. Today educational institutions & corporate companies all over the globe focus on empowering their students or employees with the basic tact’s to handles issues and problems which may lead to sometimes serious damage. Be it management, communication, IT sectors or even a job of a waiter, problems do appear consistently like the 10.3% TDS cut in your paycheck (democracy ki jai…my A$%!!). Again, getting back to the topic, issues of all types, variety and quality can be categories into 2 basic genres…Micro and Macro! Micro as the name suggests is a small problem which has the potential to turn into a macro in-case it’s not nipped in the bud. For a simple example of the same…Micro Problem: Not being able to get up on time every morning (simple solution- Set all the watches of your house 30 minutes ahead of the actual time, so that you get the convinced that though its 7am on the watch you still have a half an hour of your beauty sleep). Macro problem: Ignoring the solution, reaching to work late consistently, ultimately resulting into a pay cut or even the loss job, both of which will invariably get you beaten up by your mom, dad, husband or wife!!!

So with the example and categories out of our ways let’s focus on trying to understand the intricacies of issues that are created in accordance with every loophole created by the society. Like they say prevention is better the cure, its necessary to keep an eye open for situations and happenings which will slowly mud-ball into a plethora of problems when all we had to do is to say a “yes or no” and seal the deal. But in a lot of cases, the power of vision is usually used to see a bright future and not the eminent danger that lies ahead. After all not everyone is as smart as my pop, who had the philosophy “a slap a day, keeps bad grades away”. He visualised, my short comings so early in time that he had already started saving by the time i was 8th, so that he could he could open me a garage when I failed my boards!! On a serious notes, a lot of micro problems faced by many are like the infamous “Bill Clinton scandal” just a stand alone problems which can be dealt with simple solutions (i.e. throw out president Clinton, problem solved). What we need to handle with extreme care are those micro problems which will have a lot of collateral, like George W Bush, becoming the president and assuming himself to be Rambo of the world!! All said, problems that are macro will involve, a lot of collateral and need to be dealt keeping the situation, emotions and more importantly the consequences in mind. They say if an itch is cured it becomes a rash, and rash can become an infection, and before i go further to gross you out, please understand that the itch has to be taken seriously.

At the start of this article if I had hinted on solving your issues, I extremely apologetic for the miss-communication and if I am assumed as a problem solver then God save the world!!! With my destructive thoughts and the tendency to say the wrong things at the right time, I am more like a problem for people around and there are rumors of a research conducted by my close ones as to how to deal with it, before I turn into a 6ft macro issue! But as i say, “Problems come in 3 sizes- Small, Medium & Bamboo-ed”!!! And the solution still lies hidden within Mr Bakshi’s lyrics…

“Hausla Na Chhod Kar Saamnaa Jahaan Ka
Badal Raha Hai Dekh Rang Aasmaan Ka..Rang Aasmaan Ka
Ye Shikast Ka Nahi Ye Fateh Ka Rang Hai
Zindagi Har Kadam Ek Nayi Jung Hai”

The Winning Pharmoola

Remember Mr India??? Well i am certain that you do, after all it was one of the rare Indian superhero movies with a common man problem, out of the world solutions, an extremely lunatic villain and a story with a Prakash Mehra angle to it. Such things can be done only by Indians and man we are proud that our superhero can not only beat the bad guys to pulp but also have time to do some scintillating dance moves with the heroine…Ekdum Jhakkassss!! But the guy who took the cake, the frosting and candles was the golden haired legend, Mogambo (not Anil Kapoor)!!! His, mine and the entire nation’s favourite line, “Mogambo khush hua”, a dialogue immortalised in the sands of time. But apart from that there was the plot, and pivotal to it was his henchmen, a relatively unknown oriental guy called Dr Fu Manchu (that’s the name i always wanted!!!) who was in search of the “phaarmoola”, which will make Mogambo so power full that he will control the world and will “be super-khush hua” ….

A very childish, immature and a fantasy based plot many would say & yet the movie went to become an all time classic simply because, deep within us we all want the phaarmoola and be “Mr India”. After all who doesnt want the secret to become invisible (imagine the things you can see when people can’t see you), be successful, rule the world and what not. As immature and unbelievable the thought is, I am still sure there is a formula to success and the best thing is that it’s not hidden but right in front of us. Completely unaware of it, we all use a bit of it in our daily lives but the majority lack the thought to understand it. The few who do succeed and by success I don’t mean just fame, money and power, of course all those are great (material wealth is the way to go) but I mean the success to succeed, to win, to have the feeling of being on top!!! Who doesn’t want to succeed? Who doesn’t want to prove that he is the best? And who doesn’t want the formula to do so? The answer is all of us do. Every job requires a set of skill, be it creative skills, managerial skills, communication skills etc and along with those we need intellect, hard work and the other set of basic talents demanded by our respective jobs. But what differentiates you from the other are the superpowers that you have and know about. Envisioning myself as a mad scientist (preferably named Dr. Khachak), I will tell them to you, and then the world will be ours (with a decent profit sharing ratio)..time for my evil laugh, Muhahahaha!!!! YEEEE, what fun, I always wanted to do this anyways here goes…

1. The Vision – Now I am not talking about your normal thakela vision, I am talking about the “sooper-vision”!!! Imagine if you can see into the future, well actually you need to have something called foresight like our Gujarati “DhoklaMan”, the great Dhirubhai Ambani, i am sure while lifting the oil can he must have seen himself as the head of a petrochemical company in the future, ekdum chokas!!! Try to understand the future, where you can be and then start paving the road for it. If you look beyond time and have a plan, you will be one step ahead of the game. Every move does have to be a right one in the immediate future but a base for the future you have envisioned!!!

2. The Grit - Well this is a must for every superhero…the grit, the determination, in short the ability to take some beating and give some beating! The policy here is to make sure that you’ve what it takes to endure and the determination to still move ahead. In short like our punjabi “Pagadi-man” Navjot Singh Sidhu says, “Ohhh Guru, What can’t be cured, must be endured”!!!

3. The Wit – The difference between Mr India and Mogambo is that, it take 3 hours for Mogambo to build rockets to destroy India but just 30 secs for Mr.India to find the right button to switch it off…now that’s smart!!! My college professor used to say “why work hard, when you can work smart”. Being able to do something doesn’t mean you have to do it, do it only if you have to do it (confusing???). Intellect is good but wit is deadly because it can be used at times when intellect fails many. Think fast and think right, and that’s the difference because wit determines your pace to move up, with the least blockages in your path.

4. The Common sense – Now this is a bit of a tough one, so i saved it for the last! How can a superhero who might fly or be invisible use common sense when everything around defies it, but soon we realize that like in real world, even in the fictional world, common sense is a rare commodity!! Where there is lack of intelligence, common sense will prevail and those who apply it will be looked up as if they have rediscovered gravity. It’s like asking superman to fly to the first floor when he can just take the stairs…its super dumb!!

My experiences and equations rate these 4 qualities as the energy source/the magic watch/or the mystical spider that can make a superhero out of anyone, but like our Mr.Spiderman said “with great power comes great responsibility” and the way we deal with those responsibilities will decide whether we will become a Mr.India or a Mogambo. In our daily lives, all of us do feats which an ordinary superhero can’t even think of doing, but yet we all want to be the special one. No denying the feeling but the possibility is within us, all that is left is just applying, “the winning phaarmoola”

Alvida Gaonwalon !!

To Whom It May Concern: or to those who have the time!!

Dear All,

This is my final goodbye to the world. I don’t blame anyone for this….wait a minute!! Actually I blame the whole world. And after I am gone, you guys can actually feel bad that you have lost one of the greatest minds in the world (what’s the harm in bragging, when you don’t have to prove yourself anymore???)

Fed up with the traumas and the tantrums of the world, in particular my mom and dad, I have decided to end my life. I haven’t decided how to do it till now, because it takes time to find the least painful approach to death. One tip for those who want to see the light on the other side, don’t ask a chemist for cyanide, if that’s the way you want to go down!! Also try not using rat poison, because firstly it might be adulterated (if the rats don’t die, how will we?) and secondly if you survive you will have a real hard time explaining to your mom where all the rat poison disappeared!! But I am committed to ending my life and this commitment is much different than the one I made to my parents about passing in my exams with flying colors.

Well I am sure you can understand the pressure for kids these days. It’s like passing one small exam directly proportional to getting a Nobel Prize. Not like I have a problem passing, but if I pass this, I will have pass the next ten and the circle will never stop. I mean it’s not that hard to study a bit, maybe during exams, score decent marks and it’s not like if I fail it’s the end of the world because there is always a second chance. And even if I fail, I don’t think a lot of bad things can happen, simply because my father has never completed his threat “if you fail….” Its like I am waiting for him to end the statement but he never does, maybe that’s his way of warning his son and at the same time trying not to convince him that he is a failure. Hmmm poor guy, a bit of expectation from your son isn’t that bad, after all it’s natural to want good things for your child.

But man, the pressures… do this, do that, do it like someone else!! So the Chintu next door is insanely good in his studies, but why compare? Actually comparing is not a problem because if Chintu is good in education, I am awesome in sports!!! Pity they don’t have a checklist for awesomeness in your report cards or I would be a topper in that section!! Also the scare of your future man, I mean, what line to choose,…engineering or commerce? What if you don’t get good marks? What if you don’t get into a good college???… all these whats are too frustrating!!! But it’s great that the education system today allows us to do what we feel like doing, with different courses, entrance exams and various quotas for areas other than academic excellence. So it’s not that only grades that matter but your overall performance counts, which means that, I have a good chance of getting into any nice college and pursue the course that I like. Wait till my dad comes to know of this, it’s like finding kyrptonite!!

Hmmm, well those were actually my points of concern, that made me take this drastic step of ending my life, also doubled with the fact that I have already told my folks that I did awesome in exams (I thought it might make my last 2 months on earth a pleasant experience)… but then my results are round the corner now and they are certainly not going to be awesome (frankly, not even close). Actually I don’t think it will be that bad, after all I will just have to narrate the kindergarten story of King Bruce & spider ending with “try try till you succeed!” and with a bit of spit under my eyes, I am sure the performance will be moving enough for my folks to break down in tears & give me a second chance. Take it in writing my friend; Emotional Attyachar always works with Amma & Appa!!!

Interesting, So idea mein thoda change rehneka!!! Suicide can be put off to a later date & like Dharamji said in Sholay “Suicide Cancel Gaanwalon”.

After all,

Life is one & there is a lot to be done,
Today might not be a day of mine,
But happiness will come surely in time
And if you want to know how
Melody Khao, Khud Jaan Jao!!

Warm Regards
Name withheld in fear of getting bashed by APPA!!!

Dairy of a failed intern… A successful professional!

For everyone pursuing their studies, the next few months will be a period filled with stress and anxiety because it’s that time of the year…nah, am not talking about the Ipl…well actually if IPL stood for ‘Internship Pe Lagiye’ then you are bang on!!! Colleges pride on sending out their star performers to organisations of great repute with such zest as if they have just selected the winning squad for the T20 world cup.

Campus internships are supposedly organised to give the present a glimpse of the future, or the future they intend to choose. The age old connotation of internship stands for doing menial jobs like getting coffee, xerox copies, stationary and sometimes even getting the boss’s lunch from his house (that was a life changing experience!!). Post the entire trauma and assumptions that an intern is burdened with before joining; comes the truth of life…any experience is good experience assuming we have an appetite to learn!!!

Someone who has had a horrid time serving coffees or making copies would want to give me a piece of his mind for saying that it’s a good experience. But understand this brother, if you did it once you won’t be doing it again, unless you are extremely useless, make very good coffee or if you are a graduate with a diploma in coffee making… just kidding! The policy of life is simple brother… crawl, walk, run, do so with a passion & soon you will be zooming comfortably in a swashbuckling convertible.

In my days of learning, I was legend of internships… three different internships, three different jobs I have learnt three rules of a successful internship, none of which I actually followed so it would be safe to say I learnt them the hard way and wish that I could’ve been more sensible.

1. Serve with a Smile…

Ever seen the water purifier commercials? The salesmen in these commercials have these wide grins, see it…learn it and try it… it works!!! Nobody likes to have a grumpy person around them especially when that’s not the most important person in office. Not suggesting that you be the office clown but just that you need to be pleasant & avoid an expression that makes you appear like a terrorist plotting to plant huge bomb in the office (that’s what they thought about me!!)…A smile makes people take notice of you and gives the perception that you are a bright energetic person. Also its makes your superiors take your case a slightly lesser, unless you have a sadist for a boss…then you’re in some trouble, so lose the smile & bring in the blank expression in. Situations at work tend to give you moments of disgust/heartbreak/angst and a frown comes on as quickly as flies on honey!… in such situations try not take it out on the very little work you have, doesn’t seem professional, does it? Also if you end up becoming the centre of the office jokes, try to smile rather than get agitated, after all he who can laugh on himself can laugh on the whole world!

2. Never Say No…

It is essential to let go any minute the enormous ego that you might carry around with you when you enter an office. From making copies to making a presentation always be prepared to do everything you are asked to. Any employee who will do his work efficiently no matter however small it is, will always be thought of as someone who can be trusted. ‘Trust is Must’ and to gain it you need to be ready to slog, for the one who endures is the one who matures. Most of the organisation employing interns think that they are doing the young minds a big favour and also assume that they own you… well they are kinda right and even if not, you are in no position to grumble! Do so, but in your little space with your set of friends, or best in a loo with the doors locked and the exhaust on!!

3. Observe & Absorb But Don’t Expect…

Observation is the key to understanding, and if you can observe with eye for finer details you will learn more in a month than others who are more like a permanent fixture there. The idea is to absorb but not expect, don’t expect to be called for important meetings but try to absorb the ramifications of the meeting by talking to people who were present at the meeting. Some of us will get to do some actual groundbreaking work while others might just spend their time doing basically stupid jobs. Sometimes doing nothing can actually be translated be doing a lot by ways of understanding the nature of work you will be expected to do in the future. Try to understand the workings of a firm, the client dealings, the office politics, the various job profiles and job descriptions and more importantly the flow of work so you understand who reports to whom ,who does what and then set your target of where you can see yourself when you start your actual job.. In my first internship I understood the importance of knowing who calls the shots in the office by cribbing about my job profile (i was the copy machine guy!!!) directly to my boss…well in my defense, he didn’t look like the boss!!!

Like in life, with internships we need to have as little impositions and conditions as possible. They say an open mind, has solutions to problems that you never thought existed. Working at a place think that you need to impress the people to become a permanent there – this approach which will only minimize your horizon. Take it more like an experience because if you like it and you think you will be good at it, many companies will approach you. My three attempts made me realize that the last attempt was the correct attempt, and that is what I should be doing. So for all you intelligent & to be interns, my advice would be, “Whatever you do, do your best & do it with a smile”….

Papa Kehte Hai Vs Dil Chahta Hai

Sometimes on the roads of life and in the car of living, we usually end up finding someone else on our driver’s seat, taking us on a smooth ride (or so they assume) towards our future. It’s usually our dear folks, our parents, our mummies & daddies who know the best for us and most of the times they are bang on accurate. I might sound a bit blasphemous for saying the unsaid but this fact is kind of a rude awakening from our dreams, “our parents are not always right”. They might be much more accurate than most of the things in the world but when it comes to a choice of your future, you would definitely want a second opinion, that of yours…

Well my parents always had an opinion and they were never shy to share/sugesst/yell and rare cases slap it to me. The point was, somewhere down the line I decide to be a rebel without a cause (like those political parties shouting “humari mange poori karo’”). Being so till the time I found something interesting to do with my life, something that bugged everyone was termed as a total disaster but in the end my folks did stand by me with my decision (though I still think it was to see me fail miserably and the say the classic “we told you so” but then that never happened). But the mistake of choosing their future for you isn’t theirs (if you want to call it a mistake don’t do it in front of them), as it’s all done with a touch of good faith and loads of expectations for the great one (you!!).

The bigger fight has always been the conventional against the crazy. Just to be clear, everything that your parents didn’t think of is crazy!!! Folks want an MBA, you want to be a rock star. Well in such cases I completely support the elderly brains, not because I hate rock stars…it’s just that a MBA degree will help immensely if the band-baaja doesn’t work. So study to get the degree and then rock on man! In such arguments it’s necessary to remember that any kind of degree will not determine your future but just safeguard it. A lot of graduates don’t end up becoming accountants or managers but the degree in their backpack helps them in their new direction, knowing that they won’t ever go out of a job if what they wanted to be didn’t work out as they planned.

Also don’t rush or panic when you are suggested to go for undergrad courses which might be a bit off your field of interest because management/ science/ commerce /anything else these courses teach you the basics and you might just have some fun learning them and then there are a lot of additional extra curricular activities which might appeal to the most of you. A lot of young minds who actually don’t know what they want to end up being and that lead to a lot of trauma. As a victim of this syndrome I would just say, keep you minds open, try not to follow what others say just because they said it and you never thought of it so its seems like a good idea…Answer for your future lies within you and you just need a flash of genius to understand what’s path your are supposed to tread on. All I would like to add is whenever the thought comes to you don’t judge it’s as something that’s written on stone just for you, instead try to find more about it so that it seems sensible to be ready to convince the world about it.

But then for all those whose are lost like once I was, find below 3 tips that helped me counter attack my father, it might help or for that matter might just help you get your folks more confused than you…

1. Be cool – Assuming your parents have chosen the career of your…eh mmmmm…their dreams for you. Be cool and don’t say a downright no, that would make tempers take off, so play its cool, say that you will think about it. Now rush to your room if you have a comp or to the nearest cybercafé, learn all about the path of glory chosen for you, find all the loopholes for a good debate, have an ace up your sleeve (e.g. I don’t want to be come a doctor because I can stand the sight of blood and nobody wants a doctor who faints every 2nd patient he attends). Keep your defense ready and then be prepared of an alternative or something for more time think (just don’t end you appeal by saying “main hero ban na chahta hoon”)
2. Act stupid- Dad says “I want you to study engineering”…you go “huh”…dad says “engineering”…you go “huh”…Do that till you get a slap or you are sent to your room and in the second session just say “engineering is good but I don’t think I have the aptitude for it”..Most probably he will end the conversation saying “I don’t think you have the aptitude plus the intelligence for it”
3. Be prepared-Finally if you have chosen a path for yourself, be prepared in the subject. Before you have the talk about your future with your parents, study as much as you can about the career you want to end up with. The pay scale, the big pros, the placement opportunities, more like a 50 years plan of your future for them to have a goodnight sleep. Now again you have to be careful that you don’t make any of this up because be sure they are going to double check and if something doesn’t fall into place, be ready to get bambooed!!

Marketing Maniacs Alert !

The age old mantra of marketing labels it as the “Art of selling ice to an Eskimo”, I respectfully disagree! In the age of globalization and fierce competition, a belief that hold true is that marketing is the art of selling a double door refrigerator to an Eskimo (to store his ice & other daily products). No wonder today marketing is taught with passion in management school worldwide. A degree of BA in Marketing is a dream that many pursue with extreme zest. From fmcg products to real estate and every other product that has the potential to sell will be marketed and that too marketed in style. Consumer and customers have grown smarter and the marketing tactics have become more vicious. B-schools today teach their students tactics and traits that will help them sell a pin to plane to an unsuspecting consumer who actually had just come for an harmless session of window shopping. Behind all the fuss created by a customer about him being bothered by marketing calls, he is actually happy about the services and infos offered to him free of cost. After all we are in a age of choice and that suits us the best.

For all those thinking about venturing in the field of marketing, don’t think hard… If you have the flair to sell and think you are good at communication, this is your field. Of course you have to get your hand dirty but who doesn’t??? Courses is reputed colleges like Leeds Met India, Bhopal teach you to deal with all kinds of situations and life provides the experience to handle such situations with care.

Everybody is a target and everyone a consumer, learn the art of selling and sell you will. Post these courses organization always look out for potential candidates and one thing is guaranteed, if you have the flair and the will, you will succeed. A point to remember is that a good marketer is not the one who sell his products to consumer but the one who convinces the consumer to buy the product.

One advice to all you out there, the long is hard and people are unpredictable, so keep the kindergarden mantra at the back of your mind ‘try try till you succeed”…

Click here to apply for BA in Marketing today.