Let go... or should I

The quintessential question is back to haunt me. To-do or not to-do? This time it is relinquishing power, the toughest thing leaders face. I hope it's not an over statement to say I've done decently well to build a team over the last year and a half to build the operations a.k.a 'KingsGambit' vertical.

But then when i come to think of it, some things can only be so memorable.

As a leader and as somebody who wishes to be one through out, it's a conscious effort on my part to let others grow with me.

So with other things having taken higher precedence in my scheme of things, I've decided to be a supporting member of the Operations vertical of 'IBS-B Tarkash'10' and wish Rakesh Bharti, Vertical Head, all the best!!!

~Sanjay

Few Lessons un-learnt to learn a few more

How would it feel if you were dressed for some impending meetings and presentations for the  day and you were apprehensive about how presentable you look? 

A week ago I was in a similar situation and right at that moment a senior gentleman walked by and asked, "Which organization do you represent"? 

And when I answered "IBS-Bangalore", he said "Very Smart" looking at our outfits!!! 

That was all necessary for the confidence meter to shoot up and without a doubt, the rest of our day went very well. Subsequently, I was thinking about this incident and realized that everyday we see so many of our friends and feel "wow! do they look at their best or what"? 

But then, do we really take that second off to say "Mate you look good today"?  Personally speaking, I have come to know that there is never a wrong time to say it and not a whole bunch of us do so. 

What stops us from doing so? 

Is it the high context culture that we grow up on? By high context culture I mean to say, that we don't actually have to say things, to let people around us know that we mean it. 

In case of the Westerners it is the low context culture they have got accustomed that enables them to extravagantly display their emotions.

Take the new generation kids in urban India for instance. You would actually see them shouting out to their parents how much they love them and exchanging pleasantries. From my point of view I think this would have been something I would struggle to do easily. Not because I don't, but because nobody expects me to.

I was attending this lecture from my marketing professor who handles the subject of international marketing. It was attendance time by the end of the class and i was still struggling to come to grips with some of the concepts he taught that day and started discussing with friends while the attendance was on. All he did was to call out Sanjay and stare at me. Seeing me fall silent he said, now this is what is "High Context Culture" and I'd learnt my lessons for the day.

But thinking about the world we live in now, and as a truly global professional it pays to understand culture both from a high and low context perspective. Like my professor's say we have to unlearn a lot to learn newer things.

By the way I'm glad this post has taken away the burden of learning one chapter from my to-study list for the impending exams.

Till the next time.... Stay safe!!!

~Sanjay

That dream on a mid-winter's afternoon

What's on the mind these days? It has practically become a dairy which contains the to-do list with so many entries. Amidst all this when you try and chug on, there are quite a few things that happen. Like this afternoon I saw the body of my TVS victor on display on a road, and the number plate reading "I'm no more Sanjay's". I wonder if this a sign of something to come. I dreamt of having parked my bike somewhere and I forget about it completely, and when I do remember about it, its too late. As it is my dream recollection  capability is really hazy and like you see its no different this time.

Is there some gyaan about a dream in late afternoon or early evenings that I should worry about? I don't know. There are times when one has got to be absolutely positive about everything and I'm in one such phase. For too long now, I have been thinking of turning lean to go with my Victor. Accordingly, I wish and foresee my long cherished dream to complement my size with a Royal Enfield soon.

The many other things I mentioned above that happens in a busy day's schedule don't find place in this post. I only wish and hope my foreseeing is part of my special powers :)

Cheers

Sanjay

A great first time experience

We all yearn to do something we haven't done before, and I'm no different. Before getting down to speaking about what it was that has me so excited, I must tell you world looks totally different when you see it in perspective. And today I heard from a person who has seen reality the harsh way, who writes about these realities, and then those, who sometimes also film them reel.

This was the first time ever, I attended a book launch event. Fortunately for me it was of 'The Professional' by Subroto Bagchi at 'CROSSWORD', Residency road. The occasion also saw Kannada cine star Chetan Kumar release the book. 

But the whole event would have been a dampener without the protagonist Mahadeva whom Mr. Bagchi has written about in his book and refers to as the Professional's Professional. Mahadeva's story is one which is an embodiment of the spirit of humanity. 

On the occasion Mahadeva spoke about why he does what he does, being a public undertaker. It's not love for the profession, but its the spirit of service that matters to him, the spirit of giving something back to his motherland Karnataka. It was a humbling experience to listen to the man speak after Mr.Bagchi undertook a public reading of the first chapter of the book.

I liked the event because of the sheer magnitude in the stature of these people:

• A full bright scholar from Yale, born to Doctor parents, who found his calling in the land of Kannada cinema and theatre.
• A corporate honcho who writes about the greener pastures one should look towards in their professional career.
• And then, Mr. Mahadeva!

I can't wait to start reading 'The professional' and maybe imbibe a few professional values here and there. All thanks to Sona for letting me know about the event. It surely was an evening that I will cherish.

Cheers

~Sanju