Post coming up soon …… stay tuned ..
March 12, 2007
March 10, 2007
Doing what’s required …
Missus Em has been bugging me day and night to post something long and thought-provoking (ie. fluff). Now, I tried reasoning with her, saying I’m not good at writing fluff, however my plea falls on deaf ears (or blind eyes, to be precise).. And then, I remembered this magical quote from Churchill … and decided to post .. not fluff, but something tangible, which is my flavor.
It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required.
- Sir Winston Churchill, British politician (1874 – 1965)
Just to give this post a little context, I’d like to advert to a post by J. Shortly after reading this post, I am the recipient of some instant messages from her, whining and complaining about the lack of “career opportunities” for graduates from a certain university. I listen patiently, and then explain why it has nothing to do with being from that university. My friend persists with the argument, saying people are bagging jobs for the wrong reasons. I disprove that argument and then go on to ask my friend about everything she has done to work her way out. She says, “I have done xxxxxxxxx. I am getting nowhere, life is being unfair to me.” This is precisely when I remembered Churchill.
Not too long ago, I had been in a predicament similar to my friend, however; I had fought my way out of it in a fashion not adopted by many – to the extent I was surprised I could do so much. To blend this situation with Churchill’s quote, my friend is obviously trying her best. The problem is, the best ain’t enough. Firstly, the person in question is doing only her best. Lets say, that out of a certain population of her peers, x% are each doing their best Now, the next question arises – who will win ? Obviously, the best among those doing their best. It is here that Churchill’s statement makes most sense. Doing your best might not be enough. In order to win, to steamroll the competition, you need to outsmart, outwit, outdo and outperform them. You need to do whatever is necessary, often better than your best – and quite often, better than the best …
I’d like to illustrate this with an example, a good friend, a great mentor and former collegue, N. Now N was hell bent upon a Marketing position in the world’s largest software maker. The usual route to this was getting a MBA in marketing from a Top-5 B-school, usually after at least 5 years of work experience. Now N had none of these qualifications. He applies to this position, and gets rejected. He tries a second time .. same story. The third time around, N tries a couple of different approaches, and manages to get a first-round interview for an intern position in the company’s marketing department. This is all he needed, he aces the first round as well as seven subsequent rounds, and becomes 1 out of 25 interns selected from thousands of applicants worldwide. Now, his next goal was to convert his internship into a full-time offer. Once N gets to his workplace, he finds that his peer interns (read rivals) are MBA candidates from Top-5 B-schools. But N is determined to nail the job. He signs up for more projects than he is assigned to, and volunteers for projects that others push away. He then works like crazy to over-deliver on all fronts. By the end of the summer, he had literally killed 24 of the best candidates in the world. Company approaches N with an offer to come on board full-time. The tables are now turned, N calls the shots about the salary et. al … Inspiring story, eh ?
Lets now quickly compare J and N … J is stuck in a box, and doesn’t know whats going on (nothing wrong with that). However, when someone tries to show her ways to opportunity, she refuses to accept it, and thinks the other person pointing a finger and trying to accuse her of being incompetent. On the other hand, N keeps his ears and eyes wide open for the slightest hints of opportunity, and swoops down on them the moment he spots them … In short, he does whatever is necessary, and more often than not, ends up outperforming not just himself, but all those around him…
Speaking of outperforming onself, I can’t but help thinking of my encounter with Y.G.. I had a chance to meet with Mr. G a few weeks ago and boy, was I overawed .. During our conversation, I couldn’t help casually brushing off that oft-heard shibboleth, “work hard”. Coming from a corporate hot-shot, I beleived it must surely have a profound foundation, and I decided to question him further. When asked to clarify if his advice was really as obvious as it seems, it started to make sense… Here’s what he had to say,
How many people actually work hard? I’m not asking about extra hours, but real work. How much time do you waste on the 9th floor of Technology Park sipping coffee in the cafe, or gossiping at the urinal (yes, people do that), or reading blogs at 10:00am in the morning? The answer: A LOT .. Cut the wastage, and do real work. Put in the kind of effort that adds value, take on important projects that no one wants to do, and just see where your career goes.
An introspection revealed – from the average 14-hours-a-day, I realized I “actually worked” for far lesser. And the creepy part: I’ve “worked harder” than my colleagues …. “Hard work” may not be that obvious after all.
Lots to learn here .. for me, for J, for N .. for everybody … like Churchill says, we need to do what’s required …
February 18, 2007
Vitabase … selling Vitamin pills
Folks, Vitabase is a great place to buy vitamin supplements !!
Here is the link to the website … http://www.vitabase.com
Now, you might also want to browse through their website carefully, there’s some free Starbucks cards being given away … heheh … 
January 3, 2007
Google Earth ..
almost everyone today knows about Google Earth, the software application from Google that offers maps and satellite images. Google Earth has transformed thousands of lives across the world. Drivers seeking directions at the click of a mouse; architecture and design folks who dream up ideas for snazzy new structures; military strategists planning attacks .. you name it ! .. everyone’s onto Google Earth. Gone are the days when I would call a friend to ask for directions to his / her house. Instead, just log onto Google Local, key in the start and destination addresses, and voila ! – there are the directions, step-by-step .. simple enough for a 6-year old to follow ..
And then there are some who prefer to raise a hue and cry over the possible security threats posed by Google Earth. For them, here’s some relief ..reinforces my view that technology itself is not at fault .. only man is ..
December 23, 2006
A realization …
I realized all of a sudden that the “coming up next” column on my page has turned rather feckless .. my posts seem to have a mind of their own, regardless of what’s written in that column … time to clean up my act …
I am reminded of George Bernard Shaw’s words … “We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience.” …
October 31, 2006
October 7, 2006
The year that went by…
PS:
1. Readers, first of all, thank you for your patience and untiring reminders for me to post .. ( esp. Missus Em )
2. Looking back, there seems to be too many posts made in 3rd person … Doesn’t sound or look very appealing … And so here’s a change .. Posts will be in first person from now on …
3. Make note of the column on the right-hand side that says whats coming up next …
The year that went by hath seen much …
- One super-long flight
- 11 shorter ones
- Lived in four different cities
- Visited about four more
- Four great new friends for life
- Many forgotten “friends” ( Note the quotes )
- A quantum of workload I never imagined myself capable of doing
And I could go on with the list …
The point I’m trying to make is … Life is quirkier than the quirkiest people born … I was inclined towards thinking that life evolves the way one perceives it should … I wasn’t just wrong .. I was completely wrong … And yeah, of course it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out such a simple thing, does it ?
So, next year, around the same time (hopefully 18 days earlier than today’s date) … I shall write post with the same title …
Stay tuned for more Quirks in the meantime ..
September 16, 2006
Tempus Fugit !
The Prophet’s humble apologies for the super – lengthy lacuna.
In the world he now lives in, time is constantly ticking towards the next deadline, and those deadlines come in groups, stacked on top of each other … And somehow, impossible amounts of work get done before the seconds tick away.
A brief respite from the preoccupation makes one suddenly realize how time has flown by at the speed of light ! Look at all the scores of things that passed by since the last post from the Prophet appeared on this page … Whew !!
Lately, there has also been an impediment to blogging. Some like to call it “Writer’s Block”. The Prophet calls it the “Blank-Page Syndrome”. This essentially describes a situation where the blank page sits in front of the writer, and stares back at him / her, in a mocking, disdainful way, reminiscent of the way the elite masters view a rookie.
However, encumbrances exist solely for the purpose of being overcome … So keep watching this space !!
