What’s your Decision?

Work hard and succeed is the mantra we have been taught all life. Wonder how our education system has been so dim-witted and obsolete. We have never been educated enough to decide what to work hard for/on? The emphasis here is not to point out the flawed education system so let’s come back to the main topic about making decisions, tough decisions. It’s only after burning our hands & cracking our heads we realize we are better at something else. Come this day and now we are entangled in the life-web where we have realized our strength but are bound by n number of other responsibilities that keep us pulling down from following the path we should always have been. That’s when we end up with no decision and continue the mediocre life. But have you ever realized “I did not take a decision” also means that you took a decision? Life is all about making decisions, tough at times. Our inability to have the guts to do so pushes us in to the rat race. A single rotten mango spoils others but in our case all the mangoes are rotten which clearly spoils us towards indecisiveness. We need to have the heart to stand up and believe in self. The day we start believing in our ability we will be able to take head-strong decisions. The day we believe in standing up in spite of faltering we will be able to take decisions. The day we realize we can do the undoable and beat the unbeatable we will be able to take decisions. But for that we need to take a decision…that we need to decide and not leave it to the almighty. The decision might turn out wrong but the attitude will definitely be not and as we all know it’s the attitude and not the aptitude…

So….. What’s your Decision?

Know the STATUS!

It’s 01:45 AM and I am still up. Okay, let’s put it this way, sleep is evading me. I m trying to, but just not able to and so I am, as I said “UP”. Thinking, thinking and thinking and even more thinking... I am writing 1 and deleting 2 and result of which I am just not getting started. Ohhhh!!! So there lies the problem; I am yet to get started.

I work as a consultant but that’s just on my vCard. I am for more than a year trying to convince myself that I am consultant. Well, I am, I think so, ohhh, I think I might be close to one or I actually am one….What d hell, I am so bloody confused. Having said that I also have to concur to the fact that, hmmmm….. Yes, I m much better placed than where I could have been if I rewind the clock tick by more than a year and find out where I was. Anyways, that’s another problem, “being satisfied”, you never should be, I say.

Back at my workplace we set up processes to run on their own. Those poor guys keep on running, running and processing, processing and more processing. Ohhhkay, please do not be confused…by guys I meant processes. I am confused, I said it or did I? Nevamind! So we set up processes to pick up data and process it. So beautifully it has been set up by some really brilliant people who I feel are the real consultants. The processes run on their own, we just need to set them off. Once started, they begin processing the data fed in and once done the process sends out an email to our outlook. These are nothing but notifications for us to know the status of the process. Depending on the kind of data that has been put in the process completes and sends out an email stating process “Completed successfully”, “Completed with warnings” and “Completed with errors”. It’s pretty obvious from the statuses what they mean. When it completes successfully we know all is fine, when with warnings, it is like…Okay – you need to look into it, looks like something needs attention. When it errors out then….boss, the process is screwed and we need to get into it to find out the issue and resolve it.

As a student we have always had three options; study on time, study just on time (mind you, there is a big difference between those two) and don’t study at all. Let me safely assume that at least 90% of us fall in the “just on time” category as a result of which we get into the details of the process of our life only when it errors out. We have grossly assumed that are processes of life are “completing successfully” as a result of which we are running away from introspecting where we stand. And with the talent that we all possess we manage to hold on by the skin of our teeth when we see “completed with errors” by doing some kickass firefighting. We are good at inspecting which is done after an error. Eventually, after a hell lot of firefighting we know we have done saved our asses and while doing so have learnt the system. Now the third status; completed with warnings is Okay kind of thing for us. We kind of overlook this notification and assume all is right and proceed. So the thing is when on time we are successful; when an error, we are good and on towards the path to be successful, obviously with lot of firefighting involved. However, the most dangerous one is the one with the warning. We just tend to grossly assume that it is successful because it is just a warning and not an error.

Coming to the crux of the story for which I am penning this down…we succeed only when we do what our parents and teachers taught us i.e. always keep measure of the time and do not let it slip out of hand. We can also succeed when we fail i.e. we see errors; we stand up and try and face it which gives us courage and confidence of being smarter for the next time. The issue with all of us is that the life is sending out warnings which we need to look out at like errors, but as smart as we are, we read it as “completing successfully” and ignore it. To make matters worse we know that warning is a warning and needs to be looked into but we wait for someone to tell us.

We need to be a good student of the life and try and learn and understand these status updates on our timeline lifeline. We will only succeed when we will be proactive in our life and stop assuming that getting a 9-10 hour job in a cozy conditioned environment, a laptop, few onsite visits means we have won the world cup. The day when we start reading between the lines through the above statuses and stop being satisfied we will create a LIFE out of our life.

The Story of "Fire Extinguisher"

This is a story of a teenager; now in mid 20s and a completely different person who has been through couple of phases through his life. One phase during the teens and the next one, the current one in the early & mid 20s. These two phases have been a marque of complete disparity. All those people who know him would be extremely happy with the way he, his career, his life has shaped up now. They would definitely vote for the second phase of his life being outstanding and brilliant because he was a real rough and arrogant guy during his teens while today he has settled down and is much like every other lad in the town working morning to evening, 5 days a week, and enjoying the weekends. However, he was not like this always. He gave a damn to the life and lived it like a king. He was arrogant but witty; he was naughty but with an entire bucket full of fire in the belly; he was irregular to classes but bright enough to cover all the stuff within days; he was a joker but never a joke himself. He had a huge reservoir always full with ideas that would make him stand out of the crowd. Making tough stuff look easy was what he liked. He loved chilling out when others slogged their asses out. He did numerous things while in college that only few would do. He rode his 97cc bike like a MotoGP bike. People were scared to sit behind him and the kind of arrogance he had he never ever cared slowing down at least for that ride, not even for the one sitting behind him. It was just a “My Way or Highway” scenario. He sold T-shirts; he sold customized sweatshirts; he burnt CDs and sold them. He stuffed up the entire Car with around 1000 management novels, drove in to the campus, set the boot open and sold almost all of them like a roadside bookseller would do. He never felt “What would others think?”, “Would I look stupid while doing this?”. He did what he felt he should do.

Pages of life have been flipped and a new chapter has begun. He has changed. He has mellowed down. The fire in the belly doesn’t seem to be the same that was there earlier. The fire has started extinguishing. Today the same guy after half a dozen of years has moved ahead and got into a cozy desk job. Making money out of nothing which he once loved has now made its way to a salary account that gets credited every month. To be realistic he has not moved ahead; he has gone a couple of steps backward. He has entered into a comfort zone. All his closed ones like the current phase of his but deep within he knows he is not heading into the right direction. He has become mechanical. His life is now nothing but a routine. He has got lost in the crowd and is in search of mental satisfaction more than anything else. He needs to know soon that there is someone who is acting as a “Fire Extinguisher” and he also needs to know that ‘that someone’ is no one else but himself. He has been a bad “Fire Extinguisher” because he has forgotten that he is dousing off the fire that actually needs to be fuelled with more and more oil, fuel; whatever you wanna call or anything else that you wanna use.

Dear Readers, I know majority of you would find yourselves in the same position and would definitely relate the above story with yourselves. We all have got immense fire and talent to back it up but we do not use it to the optimum, in fact we dont use it. Don’t become a “Fire Extinguisher” to douse the inner fire that will take you nowhere. Let the fire spread not only within yourself but also among your friends and peers only to be successful and create something unique in our life. Remember, there's only 1 life and believe me it's short. Let's work towards creating a legacy that will be remembered and discussed forever.

What is it about our "SELF-IMAGE"?

For a few days now I have been reading a book which persuaded me to be back to blogging after a break of more than 18 months. 18 months!!!!! It’s long time that has gone unnoticed and flown away like the sand falling down from closed fists. It seems it took no more than 18 days for these 18 months to pass. Well, coming back to the point that I want to emphasize here; what is it about our self image? I seriously never gave a realistic thought to it, but now I sincerely understand and feel that our growth or for that matter our downfall is the outcome of how we perceive the self-image of ours.

Imagine you are playing a game of Cricket and it’s you who is going to decide your fate for that game. Before we even play the shot we visualize what’s going to happen. We visualize missing the shot and failing to tear it apart across the boundary line. We play the shot and end up missing it. Our mind thinks in advance and we complete the thought. But why do we think so negative? Maybe because we are intimidated of the opponent’s game, stature, pressure or maybe because of less confidence that we have on our own. I would go for the last reason. That’s the reason Sehwag has succeeded. His mind is so uncluttered. He gives a damn to who the bowler is. He has said it hundreds of times that it’s the ball that matters and not the bowler. He has immense confidence on himself because he has created a positive self-image of his own.

Why do we always compare ourselves with peers, friends, society? Why do we feel “I wish I could be as good as him/her”; Why? God has never been partial. If your friend, peer is better off in one specific skill or aspect why don’t we understand and derive confidence from the fact that we would definitely be better in some other skill, aspect. In fact, the very fact that s/he is better than us in one skill, aspect should motivate us to work even harder and improve ourselves to such a level where we could introspect and conclude that “Yes, I have improved compared to the last time, I have now become a much better person”. Instead, we end up cribbing. That’s because we don’t see ourselves as potent enough to better ourselves. We have created a very poor self-image of ourselves. We are just adding negativity to our inner being. With all these negativities (from every individual) coming together we are just viciously multiplying the negativity in world.

The solution to this I think is setting a benchmark where we would be competing with our self and not anyone else. Let’s stop cribbing and enjoying the life, let’s start to have a positive outlook towards the life, let’s build a healthy self-image,.

Have you ever noticed that when anyone gives a call or for that matter speaks with you in person and says “Hey, you were outstanding at doing it”. How do you feel? You start feeling “Wow!!!!” That adds up to your confidence levels and you start feeling healthier (inner being). So to all those people who would read this post I would request you to pick up your cell or walk down to one of your peers, friends, colleagues and appreciate him/her for that one thing that he/she is better at. Let’s at least help them build a healthy self-image. Sometime, someday later he/she might reciprocate something similar to you and this will help us create a virtuous (multiplying positively) cycle of “healthy self-images”.

My First Guest Lecture!!!!!!

It gives me immense delight to write down the following stuff. As we rewind back 3 years from today that is in the year 2006 I never imagined of whatever, wherever I am today. The fire was there but it was just as lost as I was. What to do, how to do, when to do, I had no clue. My career took a radical shift once I joined Indira, Pune for MBA in Marketing. Those two years are the best phase of my life where I learnt the actual meaning of my existence, I found, I understood, I learnt my limitations and strengths and I worked harder than ever. All the hard work of those two years has paid off. I received a call from my college. They wanted me to deliver a guest lecture to the new batch that joined recently in the month of July. I took some time to think and then I called them back and gave an affirmative answer. 10 hours is what it took for me to create the presentation for this batch. I decided to speak on the importance of personality traits to succeed in MBA and hence in life. A batch of 240 students was supposed to attend the session in two slots of 120 each. I doubted my capabilities of speaking for 3 hours as told by the management to me. However, to my surprise I actually had to cut short few topics and managed to finish it off in 3.5 hours. It was an awesome experience to be on the other side of the class for the first time in my life. I thought this would be the first and also the last time for me to deliver a lecture to students. However, with the response that I got from students I understood that I had done a decent job and I am sure I would be doing this stuff again, and again, and again…..

For all those who are in hunt of their first job

First job probably (yes….. probably and not definitely) architects our future because though we move out fresh from college with loads of talent and exuberance, couple of fancy degrees in our hand, the ability to take head strong decisions we are not aware how much the corporate life plays an important role in deciding our future. We can get away with an overloaded pocket at the end of month but then it is of no use if you are not into the job that you do not like. In today’s world, getting a job is not tough, sustaining in the job is. And it is increasingly tough to do so if you do not like your job even if you are taking away a fat six-figure cheque back home.
I would like to pen down some points that a fresher should consider while hunting his/her first job.

1. The 5 important parameters while applying for a company.
a. Brand of the company
b. The Sector in which the company operates
c. Salary offered
d. Location offered
e. Profile offered
These are possibly the 5 most important points (not in the sequence that I have noted them) to be considered while looking for a job in any given company. Now, you need to rate every parameter according to your priorities. It’s highly improbable for all 5 parameters to be fulfilled. So while applying for any company you need to consider above parameters. If at least 3 of them are fine with you, then I would suggest going ahead and giving a try. For fresher I would suggest to rate profile and industry above everything because as I said earlier, the work you do in first two years will probably be the base of your future work.

2. Importance of a good CV; not a Resume or Bio-data. (Know the difference between them? No!!!! Click here)
The contents of a CV are and should be written in following manner
a. Objective: Objective should include
- the job you are applying for
- why you would be great in this position
- what assets will you bring to company if hired.
Never copy-paste the objective of others. Create one of your own. It will be easy for you to justify it if questioned for the same.
b. Professional Details: You need to bullet down the important facets of work done in the internships. Try avoiding following ways of writing;
- I covered the Western Mumbai region
- My work was to handle the Western Mumbai region.
- Never write I, Me, and We in your professional details
Instead, write in this manner
- Covered the Western Mumbai region and was responsible for….. etc etc
c. Work Duration: If you have work experience, try avoiding following ways of presenting it;
- XYZ tech (25th July ’07 – 24th Nov ‘08)
Instead, write in this manner
- XYZ tech (July ’07 – Nov ’08)
Note: The contents of your CV should be entirely written by you and they should not be copied from anywhere else. I small point that you have copied be it objective or a weakness, if you are asked to justify the same, it will be really tough for you to do so. The reason being, whenever we write specific details about ourselves we actually think about it while writing which is enough for us to justify while facing the interview.
You should know every single word in your CV and should be in a position to explain the reasons behind it.

3. Group Discussion
I will write down the basics of a GD and not what topics to prepare on. That is something that needs no guidance at this point of time when you are about to apply for a job.
There are certain myths involved around Group Discussions. Following are the points to be considered.
- Speaking first gives you advantage: A highly wrong notion that we all carry. Just to speak first we concentrate more on that rather than thinking constructively about the topic. Instead spend the time in constructive thinking and listen to what first 2-3 candidates speak about. You may then get an idea and accordingly you can guide the entire discussion (provided your preparation in the initial time given to you was good).
- Concluding first gives you advantage: Again a wrong notion. Same things written above apply here. Never be in hurry to do so. Conclusion is that part of GD where no one will interrupt you. Effectively this is the most important point in GD where you can create the maximum impact with a good conclusion.
- Speaking more and in high tone works for you: Guys, it’s a GD, a corporate is examining you. So try and maintain composure, don’t be soft but be firm enough in while speaking to create impact and it also looks sensible and decent. Speaking more and in high tone will land you in wrong place and possibly in wrong job.
- Stats and Figures: What of the following sounds good?
a. Indian organizations acquired many MNCs in USA in last two years.
Or
b. At least 143 MNCs in USA were acquired by Indian organizations in last two years.
I don’t think there is need of further more explanation on this point.

4. Personal Interview: Some important points to consider
- Be yourself. Do not try to pretend. If you are not good at something you are not good at it. As simple as that.
- Admit if you are nervous. The interviewer is a human being and won’t eat you up if you try to hide it. In fact, he may then go a bit easy in your case.
- Be thorough with your objective, strengths, weaknesses, scores in all the examinations, justification for low scores, reasons to join that specific company, industry study (stats and figures), company study (key executives, revenue details,)

If freshers follow these steps I am sure they would be better prepared to get the right job and not a job that they are not interested in because as I said in the beginning of the article, "Getting the job is easy, sustaining in it is tougher".

I will like to wrap up the article here though would keep on updating it as and when I get some more points to add to it.

For anymore queries mail me at sumeetkiranshah@gmail.com

"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.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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