May 30, 2009

"The Wealthiest Gift" & "Mr. Milind Prabhudesai"


Milind Sir's Gift to me

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish” is a book for all those aspiring entrepreneurs out there in this world. I have read at least 10 mgmt books, however this one happens to be the first book that I have not bought. It also happens to be the “Wealthiest Gift” that I have received in my corporate life.

The road map to achieve this wealthiest gift started back in October ’08 when I joined Xpanxion. While joining this company I felt I would fail miserably as the role that I had been chosen for was something that I had really no idea about. I was supposed to report to the COO of the organization Mr. Milind Prabhudesai. Coming out fresh from college, I doubted my abilities because reporting to such a senior person in company was a challenge and I never had even spoken to a C – level person in my lifetime till then.

However, the journey began and slowly but surely I started grasping relevant stuff needed for me to be at least reasonably average in my performance. “Milind Sir” (that’s how I addressed him) never made me feel that I was not up to the mark but always guided me and played the role of a mentor rather than a “Boss”. This approach of his was surprising for me because being in continuous touch with my college friends all I heard was about their bosses, the way they pressurized my friends and made their life a living hell. I was lucky enough to be under the guidance of Milind Sir. Through out my tenure with Xpanxion I was more like a student than an employee. That is when I got more comfortable and started giving my best output probably after first month which I spent learning the business.

During my mgmt studies, I had many times heard from my teachers, professors the importance of possessing “right attitude”. I always wondered what this “right attitude” is. Well, needless to say, after working with “Milind Sir” I realized what it is and my goal in life now is to replicate it. Unfortunately, I had to leave Xpanxion because of certain unforeseen circumstances and I really regret not working with him anymore.

Now, I am waiting for that day when I will get an opportunity to work with him yet again and be a student to him yet again and work even more harder to receive another “Wealthiest Gift” from him.

May 27, 2009

Fitting End to a Fitting NRIPL

Deccan Chargers were crowned winners of the IPL following their six-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Johannesburg
IPL '09 Winners - Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad


37 days of non-stop action, it came and went like a flash. There we were sitting together on Saturday, April 18th ’09 at a friend’s place in Mumbai. Started the campaign was with Mumbai’s win over Chennai and since then it seemed as if the country came to a stand still. The event when shifted to South Africa had drawn many criticisms but with the way it went on not a single critic could stand up to his/her words. What an event it was???

It began with 8 equally talented teams, thanks to the bowler friendly conditions in South Africa and gradually we saw weaker teams making way for better ones. However, it would be really harsh for the teams Rajasthan, Punjab, Mumbai, Kolkata to be called as weaker ones. Just that they could not handle the pressure situations or else they always were in capacity of the other four; Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore and the Hyderabad Chargers.

My heart goes out to the Knight Riders and especially to a certain Mr. Ganguly. They, it seems forgot their lady luck back at India while leaving for SA. I always loved them as a unit for the talent they had but was always wary of their performance after looking at the players individually.

Mumbai Indians were and will always be my favorite team. The Master Blaster has been and till the end of mine will be the best player seen in this game but for his captaincy. They really started well but again could not sustain in pressure cooker situations. It’s quite surprising to see a team ranked 2nd from bottom with a +ve net run rate. This tells us that they were good, yaa…. just good but not better than their opponents.

Poor Punjab was hard done by rain in two matches. Though, they goofed up against Chennai while chasing small target of 116. I think they forgot that if they could defend 119 so could other teams, especially with the ranks of Murali to be faced.

Rajasthan……Don’t know why but I love this team. Least in talent off all other teams but way ahead of all in grit, determination and well led by one of the most charismatic player ever; Shane Warne. I wish they do better next time.

Delhi was the team to look out for according to me, but it seemed they got a bit complacent after qualifying for semis. It was apparent in their performances. I really missed seeing Mr McGrath in action. Though, his replacement Dirk Nannes really impresses the cricket fans.

Chennai picked up well after experiencing certain hiccups at the beginning of the tournament though with the kind of team they had, they managed to pull things back and make it to semis. Mr Hayden certainly was the player to watch for and my “Player of the tournament” as well.

Bangalore, I think were the surprise package of the competition that heavily relied on specialists. They hardly used bits and pieces bowlers and were ably led the wily old customer and a terrific leader; Anil Kumble. Thanks to Mr. Dravid, we have found yet another power house in the young lad, Manish Pandey. I am sure Mr Mallya has gone out on a long trip and might be relaxing somewhere on this planet after seeing a fitting performance from his lads.

Finally, coming down to supposedly the most deserving team of the year, Hyderabad aka Deccan Chargers. Undoubtedly the most devastating team to play against had some amazing power players like Andrew Symonds, Dwayne Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Rohit Sharma and Adam Gilchrist with good bowler inRPSingh.


To conclude with this article I would say overall it was a fanatastic tournament and I wish the coming 11 odd months pass away at the speed of knots and we gear up yet again for another fitting IPL with another fitting finish.

May 26, 2009

“Body v/s Mind” & “Master v/s Slave”

Gone are those days when people used to be fresh and bright 25 hrs a day,

Gone are those days when people spent 16 hrs at work and yet found time to spend with family,

Gone are those days when everything was possible in spite of absence of technology,

Gone are those days when people were satisfied with whatever they had,

Gone are those days when walking miles was not a tough task,

Gone are those days when sleep was beautiful and revitalizing,

Gone are those days when a person became old only after reaching 70s,

Those were the days when Mind was the Master and Body was the Slave.

And here we are today with one small yet big question……Why has the situation changed??????????????

Why have we become short tempered these days?

Why have we lost the spark?

Why do we these days decide to get up early and yet fail to do so?

Why do the same hands that set the alarm at night, crawl out of the bed and switch it off in the morning?

Why don’t we find time to spend with our loved ones?

Why have we become time bound?

Why we need missed calls as reminders?

Why do we become restless on missing a couple of TV shows?

Why have we started fighting on petty issues?

Why has our body started giving up so easily?

Why is there an increasing need of joining gym for weight loss?

Why have we become so dependent on a lift and why have stairs started looking like our enemies?

Why climbing up to a hill top looks like climbing mountain Everest to us?

Why is the need of sleeping pills increasing day by day?

Why has the old age started coming in the 40s these days?

Why has the Body become the Master and the Mind become the Slave??????????

Is it because that these days everything is available as and when we want it? Or Is it because of the arrogance that we have started earning in thousands and lacs per month? Or Is it because we have started feeling that we have achieved everything? Or Is it because that we are highly educated today that we have started devaluing our elders?

I don’t know the exact answer to this question, but one thing that I know is that we have changed and this change that I am talking about is not for our good!!!!!!!!!!!

Why can’t we focus and achieve our goals today with the ease with which our parents and grand parents did? Why has our mind become a monkey and has started hopping from one thought to other thought without letting us concentrate on at least one of those?

The time has come friends for us to switch off all the projectors but one that are ON in our heads and start concentrating on every task one by one.

The time has come for the Mind to take control over the Body, time has come for the Master to become master again and Slave to become the slave or else……………

May 22, 2009

Googling Tips


Needless to say, we all use this tool named Google in our day to day life but look at it as just an engine that acts as a facilitator for us to get our data. However, this so called engine is a powerful tool to get the relevant data in minimal time if used properly. There are various tips of using it in a way that will make our search more efficient and will help us save upon our important time.
Following are some of those;

· How does it search for the information?
Google places “AND” operator between the search terms entered in the search box. It also searches for plural and singular variants of the words.

If we enter: Cricket Player
Google searches for: Cricket AND Player OR Players. The result would be all the articles that contain the terms Cricket, Player, Players.

· How to eliminate unwanted results that come up when we type multiple terms in the search box?

Use Quotes “……”
If we enter: Cricket Player
The result would be as stated above. However,
If we enter: “Cricket Player”
Google will treat it as a phrase and will search for all articles that contain the term “Cricket Player” as it is.

· How do we find terms similar to the term that we have entered in the search box?

Use Tilde ~
If we enter: Infosys
The result would be all articles that contain the term Infosys.

If we enter: ~Infosys
Google will find all companies similar to Infosys. However, It doesn’t mean it will exclude Infosys from the search results.

· How do we eliminate specific terms out of the search results?

Use negation operator -
If we enter: Manufacturing Company
The result would be all the articles containing the terms manufacturing & company

If we enter: Manufacturing Company –Godrej
The result would be all the articles containing manufacturing & company excluding the articles that contain Godrej.

· How do we find stuff specific to file type, say only ppts or only pdfs?

Specify it in the search criteria
If we enter: Dubai Healthcare
The result would be all articles containing the above two terms.

If we enter: “Dubai Healthcare” filetype:ppt
The result would display only the powerpoint presentations containing the above terms.

· We can use Google as a Dictionary

We can use google as a dictionary to find definitions.
If we enter: define:management
The results would display all available definitions of Management on the web.

· How can we perform calculations using google?

What is the answer of ((56/2)x3)+4)?
Is it 88? Yes, it is 88.
Try typing the same in the search box and check out the answer.

These are some of the tips that I have used and am aware of. Will definitely add some more as and when I get to know more.
Do let me know if there are any more googling tips known to anyone of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May 16, 2009

My Farewell Speech as the President of the College


As the President of the College for the batch '06 - '08 I had to deliver a speech on our last day, 13th May '08. Following is the speech.

" Milke bichadna dastoor hai zindagi ka,

Ek yahi kissa mashahoor hai zindagi ka,

Beetey huay pal kabhi laut kar nahi aate,

yahi sabse bada kasoor hai zindagi ka"

A very warm afternoon to one & all present here.

Today, on the 13th of May 2008, I take a lot of pride to stand in front of you all as the president of the batch which is the archies of ISBS (Indira School of Business Studies). The batch today is armed with two years of thorough learning & the mettle to break through every barrier, the mettle which is the ammunition of every dare devil of this batch.

Every time when any one of us looks back, always remembers the first day of college, 21st Aug '06, a campus with number of classrooms, a batch of 180 new faces, new students, some shy, some outspoken, some aggressive, some submissive but with a common mission of melting the rock of the corporate world. It all started with the OMT (Outbound Management Training), continued with brain storming lectures & dazzled up with fun-filled events from "Jimmy Carter's Habitat for Humanity" to "Fundoo", from Marketing Excellence to "Foundation Day", from "Summits" to "Marching of Knights in the Campus".

A lots of things were seen & learnt in these two years, some good & some not so good experiences, but then some one has wisely said that it is better to get your hands burnt rather than getting them cut. Today, the once new 180 faces from different parts of country represent one name & will pass out with only one identity, identity of being an Indiraite. We the apprentice of Indira, now roll out with gimmicks of management & teachings of our beloved professors with whom we learnt the mantra of E = MC2,

where E = Excellence in Corporate World

M = Management

C = Confidence & Character

Confidence that beats within every heart of Indiraite & Character that will define the purpose of existence.

I take this as an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of faculty memebers for making we what I am today. The memories, unbounded support, team effort & most importantly the joy of working are a part of mine & would remain forever.

Today being the last day I cannot leave without mentioning the contribution of my college mates who not only worked as a team but always displayed grit & character to face toughest of situations.

I would like to offer a special thanks to out Director Dr. Renu Bhargava for always being present in our thick and thin, providing an interface between theorotical & practical world, introducing us with ground reality & making us believe that we can achieve our goals.

Now I would like to acknowledge the efforts put in by the junior batch & wish them all the best for their future endeavors & today I finally hand over the baton to next president Sumit Ghosh.

To conclude I would say,

With more than 300 people sitting in front of me for the last words of presidentship this is the ultimate moment of happiness for me. I take with me the best experience of being a leader, a brother, a student and most importantly as a friend.

I am grateful to all present here to be a part of our last day in college.

Thanks & Wish you "All the Best"

May 15, 2009

What differentiates you from others for an Employer to hire you?


Though it's too late for me to write this stuff, I think it's better late than never. With the recession clouds still hovering largely with very less positive signs of them moving out soon, with so many jobs being lost day after day, with so many graduates passing out of the colleges in less than week, months’ time the unemployment rates are increasing. An estimated 5 lac (half a million) jobs were lost in the period between September - December '08 in India (http://supari.org/lost-jobs/). Close to 20 million Chinese have lost their jobs (http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/20-million-Chinese-migrants-lose-jobs/418573/). More than 2 million have lost their jobs in USA in last 4 months (http://www.marxist.com/g20-capitalism-has-failed.htm). Combining all the lost jobs with the freshers in market the level of competition is increasing. The number of applications for a job which stood at x/job today might have reached 2x/job or 5x/job or may be more. However the point that I want to make here is "What is your differentiating factor?" "What x-factor do you have that makes you stand out from the crowd?"

Following are some ways that I feel would help the job seekers;

Well!!!!! To start with you should start networking, good networking. Millions of us use various social networking sites (don't want to name any specific ones, it's quite evident which ones I am talking about). It's not bad to use them. But why not use them to your advantage. Possessing good academics and marks is not the only requirement of the hour. You need to have something extra along with it. Only then will you be different. Linkedin, Facebook, Blogs are excellent ways to get into networking. We associate facebook with social networking. However we can use it in much better way. There are various educational, professional, corporate groups present on Facebook. Instead of posting party snaps one can post his/her snaps of office/college/social work. Don't you think such a picture of yours is better than the one where you celebrating in a party? Linkedin according to me is the strongest way to create an impact on recruiters. One's profile is completely visible on Linkedin. So why not use it to your advantage? It is a virtual resume of yours. Create good profiles and get some beautiful recommendations from your office colleagues, your classmates, your professors, your corporate partners which reflect your sincerity, your attitude, your passion (My Linkedin profile : http://www.linkedin.com/in/sumeetkshah). These things actually will make you stand out from the crowd and tempt the recruiter to shortlist your CV. Even here there are various groups to be part of and participate in the discussions that happen. Facebook has a 30% market share among all networking sites considered collectively followed by Linkedin at 10% (the figures that I know) and that does not surprise me a bit. Create a Blog and keep updating it regularly. A blog is a reflection of your thoughts, your mind and your attitude. Make an attempt to update it regularly with your thoughts on current affairs in society, industry, country and the world. It shows how active you are of the current on goings in and around you. And what more you can also display it on your Linkedin profile. There is this application called as the "BlogLink" provided by Linkedin which pulls in your blog titles (from your blog) and displays it on your Linkedin profile page. A single click on these titles and your blog is opened in a new page. All above sites I spoke about give you your dedicated user-link which you can mention on your CVs.

With the way things are going in market and the way the world is getting more and more tech savvy I feel and I would like to say it again "I feel" it's not only your skills but also your web presence that will matter a lot in coming days. The more your web presence the more is your participation/presence in the industry. The more will you be able to know what’s going on in your field. Physically you can be present only in fixed/limited/smaller geography.

One should also ensure that his/her CV is really well structured. All above things would be of waste if the candidate does not possess a well structured CV. Career Objective, Achievements, Participation should be presented in such a way that it catches the eye of the recruiter. The candidate should always be confident and should be able to answer every question that arises from the CV contents.

I can't assure that the above written stuff will guarantee a job but it will definitely help to make the task easy for you.

Do mention your thoughts over the content. Thanks!!!!!!!!

http://www.linkedin.com/in/sumeetkshah

May 13, 2009

The Joy of Going back to College

Its 13th may ’09 and exactly 1 year ago on the same day I moved out of the college life with a dream of conquering the world and creating an identity for self. Well!!!! That dream is in process of becoming a reality. However!!!! Coming back to college..... What days those were! The aroma in canteen, the noise in the parking space, the tussle for chairs in the coffee shop, the fear to stand on stage facing the overcrowded auditorium, all those time bound crushes, the nights spent with friends in studying where we did all stuff other than study, the slogging in the eleventh hour, organizing events, the tension of placements, the fish market in group discussions, the faculties, the office boys, the library, the fear to stand in front of the director, the tapori languages that we used, the two months of summer project and many more such things of the college life is something that I will never forget the entire life of mine.

Today when my juniors are going to move out of this college I felt I should go and meet all of them for all the support and help I received from them during the 1 year of interaction we had. I wanted to see them off and appreciate them for being with me during my thick and thin. I had gone to meet them, I met them, but then when I left the college I don’t know why, but my eyes were full with tears. Probably these were the tears of joy, the joyof going back to college and reviving and cherishing the couple of years that I spent there. For a moment I felt….. damn this world, this life, the office, the work and have a re-admission and re-live those two years again.

But then, this is life and this is how it goes. The couple of hours that I spent in the college today are more than enough for me to spend at least another year before I make a visit back to college and re-live that special life once again………..

May 4, 2009

Here I come

Wellllll,

Gud afternoon to the world as the clock ticks 15 past 12 in the noon and this supposedly is my first blog. But hold on, it's not. Yes. It's my 2nd attempt towards blogging and I wish this time I won't forget my blog ID as did the last time.