Chetan Bhagat - Spark Keep it Shining Speech! - What about the ACTION?

Summary: I liked the speech given by Chetan and they way he showed the 4 thunderstorms of disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation trying to thwart you. What I couldn't notice in his speech was the Umbrella or the Rain Coat to save yourself from these thunderstroms: THE ACTION. 

"Sincere ACTION is the Umbrella that can help you brave the thunderstrom!"

-Sachin Uppal, 1st August 2008

I was reading Chetan Bhagat's speech at the inaugural function of Symbiosis College in Pune, India. He spoke about a simple concept that keeps people kicking and striving to reach higher success. He likes calling it Spark, and urges to keep that Spark Shining. It is nothing but your will power and your passion to achieve something more in life and your continuous drive to reach it. 

Download the complete Speech in a PDF format along with comments here.

In my life I have learnt that this spark comes to you if you are passionate about something and that passion is driven from your goals. If you set your goals (short term and long term) you always have a direction and you can measure and strive harder to achieve the same. Some time back I wrote about Goal Setting and how it's important to achieve and bring a direction to your life.

When I look around I see a lot of talented people and see a lot of them with new ideas but what I fail to see is people taking action to fulfill their dreams. Having a long term and short term goal helps you get focused in your life and you can actually achieve what you have set out to achieve in your dream.

I liked the speech given by Chetan and they way he showed the 4 thunderstorms of disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation trying to thwart you. However, while saying that don't take life too seriously, instead sincerely, what he missed out was a BIG point: ACTION. 

What differentiates people from being Great and not good, is ACTION. Having dreams, living life sincerely and keeping yourself focused towards your goals need ACTION. Not taking life seriously shouldn't make you complacent and shouldn't make you lack in Action. Action comes to you from your passion. There are thousands of people out there who like to talk about doing something great, but how many take action to achieve it? These days with the competition increasing at such a fast pace, you are going to face one or more of these 4 thunderstorms.

Have you ever thought what's going to differentiate you? 

To SUM it up in a sentence:

"Sincere ACTION is the Umbrella that can help you brave the thunderstroms!"

For many people reading this the obvious question would be - How do you do that?

- Set up your goals.
- Be realistic or upgrade your self.
- Believe in yourself.
- Follow some dicipline.
- Breakdown your goals in small milestones.
- Congratulate yourself on achieving milestones. (get yourself a pair of new shoes, a tie, a watch, a perfume or whatever you think you like)
- Bring your passion to everything that you DO.
- Let your passion Permeate  amongst the people around you.
- Show the world that you are not just about the Talk, but you prove it with your small Actions.
- Small steps go a long way to achieve a goal.
- Influence people in believing your goals.
- Ask for help (don't feel ashamed).
- Give help - It's a 2-way road.
- Follow- Ethics and Integrity.
- LIVE your dream and don't give up. Even at a failure learn and stand up again and give your "passionate best shot".

Enough of talking. Let's DO!

PR 2.0 – PR + Hiring - naseba Hired LIVE on Radio Indigo jobs@naseba.com

I hear a lot about PR2.0 and how conversations are making things happen and then social media and blogs are driving the new sales and marketing strategies, here is something that I would like to call the PR2.0 LIVE Experience, a PR 2.0 strategy!

naseba, a French MNC, did a big PR campaign with Radio Indigo 91.9 FM where they initiated and accomplished a hiring campaign for the first time in India to hire their sales executives LIVE ON AIR.

I wrote earlier about the stress interview which Scott Ragsdale, CEO of naseba is going to take LIVE ON AIR and that’s exactly what happened this Friday, 30th May 2008 when the history was made by recruiting LIVE ON AIR on a radio channel first time in India.

This can turn out to be a successful PR strategy for any organization to enhance their presence and support their recruitment drives. naseba started a recruitment campaign with promoting a LIVE stress interview on Radio Indigo, where Scott Ragsdale the CEO of naseba hires live on air.

2 weeks of teaser and live campaigns on AIR just added the appropriate Indian spice in the whole recruitment drive and candidates resumes started flowing in and Global Chief Marketing and CRM Director of naseba, Liam Findlay introduced the company and culture to the listeners and finally the team short listed few candidates. Dhruva and Nagarjuna the final short listed candidates were interviewed LIVE on air and they went through the stress interview and both of them emerged as the winning candidates!

While companies and individuals worldwide are talking about what they are going to do, naseba is just making it happen!

jobs@naseba.com naseba is hiring LIVE ON AIR on Radio Indigo 91.9 FM

Monaco based Multinational, naseba, is hiring LIVE ON AIR for the first time in the history of Indian Radio. Today morning Mr. Liam Findlay, Global Chief Marketing Director was in interview with Morning RJ Ayesha Dsouza and introduced naseba in Bangalore, LIVE ON AIR on Radio Indigo 91.9 FM and talked about the culture of the company and what naseba does. Also, he gave some tips on how to handle stress interviews and how Scott Ragsdale, CEO of naseba will fly down from Monaco to Bangalore to hire sales people LIVE on Radio Indigo in a stress interview.

To learn more about jobs at naseba visit http://www.naseba.com/index.html?pagecode=careers to get some tips on how to handle stress interview visit this previous entry of mine. To apply for jobs at naseba send your resumes to jobs@naseba.com.

What Does naseba do?
naseba is a business information company. naseba produces, promotes and hosts strategic business platforms using a conference, congress, expo or forum format - depending on the market - with the ultimate focus on knowledge expansion, networking but most importantly maximizing deal-making opportunities for all our executive clients.

naseba is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.

naseba now has 10 streams of international products:
- CXO Strategies
- Healthcare
- Human Services
- Infrastructure
- Transport & Logistics
- Energy & Environment
- Travel & Tourism
- Investment
- FIS
- Telecoms & IT

Some more TIPS to handle the interview and what are we looking for:
-We are looking for Sharp people who are aggressive and have a “Make It Happen Attitude”
-They should dress sharply … here are some sharp business dressing tips on to what to do and how to dress in a professional atmosphere.
-They shouldn’t take NO as an answer.
-They should be very confident and should be able to talk to the CEO level audience over the phone.
-Should be quick thinkers on their feet and should be crisp, clear and to the point.

I will be updating this section with more tips and points soon…keep posting your comments!

Radio Indigo 91.9 FM + naseba (French MNC) hiring LIVE on AIR – in a Stress Interview

First Time ever in history of Indian Radio, Radio Indigo 91.9 FM and naseba, a French MNC would be hiring its sales consultants LIVE On-Air. To accomplish this task, the CEO of the company Scott Ragsdale is flying down from Monaco to hire the person LIVE through a stress interview ON-AIR on Radio Indigo 91.9 FM, the colour of music.

My team member Subhashree, who initiated this idea, is making it happen. She comes from a diverse background of advertising and production in radio. This special recruitment drive will not just be a job opportunity for candidates but this is a brilliant opportunity for all the listeners of the channel to learn how to handle a stress interview and how to communicate with the CEO of a company in an interview.

In a stress interview generally the interviewers are trying to assess how quickly you can think of your feet? Can you handle situations which you didn’t expect can happen? They want to see your attitude and analytical skills even in a time of shock or stress. Here are TOP 5 tips on how to manage a stress interview.
1) Leave your fear @ home – People who are fearless are the most confident people. If you are confident, you can handle awkward situations as you would be able to take out quick 2 secs to think and then respond to the situation. If you are fearless, it doesn’t matter who is interviewing you, the hiring manager or the CEO. Know your basics well and you would sail well.

2) The interviewer wants to hire you – As much as it’s your prerogative to get the job, interviewer also wants to hire the best candidate. So your confidence, your ability to think creatively and your response would only help the interviewer to decide on hiring you or not. Keeping the calm in your head and answering questions to the best of knowledge would be helpful.

3) Aggression – Sometimes companies are looking for aggression through a stress interview as this might be for a sales position. You need to be aggressive though aggression shouldn’t let you loose your cool. As tomorrow, when you are at a customer’s office, you need to aggressively push your product/service but you can’t misbehave with them.

4) Ask counter questions – If you think you are being trapped in a “Situational case” or a “Ridiculous Puzzle”, ask questions. You can start analyzing the situation in your mind and at any roadblock ask questions. This was you will be very clear on what you have to answer also you will get time to think about the same.

5) Mannerism – Sometimes strange mannerisms are shown by the interviewer, its just to push you in a corner or distract you from thinking. You can simply ignore such mannerisms and continue to focus. Don’t get bogged down by loud voce, shouting or dirty stares etc. Remember the tip 1 – Leave your fear @ home, that’s it!

Post your experiences earlier with stress interviews or your ideas or comments on this innovative recruitment drive LIVE ON-AIR on Radio...

Scott Ragsdale's - Black Gucci Loafer - Selling the Benefits and Brand Power

I was reading Scott Ragsdale’s blog, CEO of naseba, the entry on Black Gucci Loafer, on how to sell people on the benefits and make them buy a service or product at a premium. I am very impressed by the way he gives his sales pitch to motivate the sales team to sell more. Here is a small story from my experience to re-enforce the fact on what Scott has written.

In my previous job at one of the largest India IT MNCs, I was the marketing manager and I was responsible for launching a new Software Product in the SME market in India. India is a very price sensitive market and people are not ready to pay big amounts. However, if sold well on the concept and brand, people do buy it.

So after launching the product and doing marketing activities, I launched a special offer of 50% off on the initial price. Obviously, the price was marked up according to competitor’s price and there was an actual profit margin kept. In the first 2 weeks none of the sales guys sold it. They all thought it’s an expensive product and won’t sell.

I got pissed off and I asked my manager, that I am going to prove them wrong and sell it at a higher margin + I am going to get an annual maintenance contract (25% of the actual cost of product) also signed in a month’s time.

Within 1 week of scanning the market I found 2 potential opportunities and I went and pitched and showed the product demo and closed the deal much higher than the actual price and also sold the AMC for 25% of the product cost.

My simple pitch was that it is exclusive as the service provided is unmatchable and the convenience that the hospital (buying it) is much higher than any of the cheap competitor’s product. The brand name and the over all packaging along with the smooth sales pitch highlighting the benefits made me sell and I won the “Operation Market Storm – BDM of the Month”.

This is the power of branding, sales and individual’s ability all put together to build a strong sales organization.

Changing Language of 21st Century Leader - Accountable Communication

As the 21st century leaders come in the field to lead and empower a team of high performers, they need to develop and inculcate the New Language to motivate and bring more accountability and personal integrity. I am sharing some of the New Language words which are set to change the boards.

Some important day to day examples which can help you excel in day to day conversation. These examples are nothing more than some well thought and well crafted sentences which can guide your way to growth. Initially you might find difficulty to implement these in your day to day dialogue, however with the positive mindset complemented by a conscious effort, you are bound to excel and bring more and more accountability in the system.

> Avoid: “You’re acting ridiculous. How can you expect me to respond to a question that has absolutely no logic to it and doesn’t relate to anything that we’re talking about?”
ü Replace with: “I’m having difficulty understanding how what you’re saying connects to the issue we’re discussing. Would you please elaborate…?”
Ø In short harnessed words are accountable!

> Avoid: “Everyone needs to get on board fast to handle this mess.”
ü Replace with: “I need everyone on board fast. I can’t do this alone. Together we can turn this situation around.”
Ø In this case, You are triggering action and not reaction!

> Avoid: “I’ve made a decision to move ahead with a program that will help us achieve better performance.”
ü Replace with: “I see a possibility for us to be the first group to lead the way in building a high-performance organization. I know we can accomplish this together.”
Ø Inspiring people is the key, not derailing them!

Do share more similar lines, words or sentences that you have seen effective in difficult situations.

Communication!

Say it Right the First Time

There are many different ways to produce high-performance results in organizations. Some companies create an internally competitive environment where the toughest, but not necessarily the most competent, rise to the top. Other organizations build a consensus culture where agreement replaces quality by reducing decisions to the least common denominator. Organizations of the future, however, are choosing a longer term approach to producing results by investing in people. The most prized possession in these companies is the high level of accountability and collaboration among people.

Communication, language in particular, is the vehicle for unleashing the power of people. Words are potent and they can drive or retard the growth of an individual or a company. So they should be cautiously utilized. I am hereby sharing some thoughts and some daily use language, which forms the communication dialogue between people everyday. These language snippets, aptly used with the right timing can do wonders for people at different management levels.

Your Purpose
To inspire positive action in others by communicating accountably at all times!

You need to help other take 100% Accountability. What 100% accountability means is:

>Choosing to be an OWNER of everything you do.
>Accepting responsibility (not blame) for your impact on results and people.
>Focusing on what you can do instead of waiting for other to act.

7 Keys to speak accountably:

Talk straight responsibly – Being appropriately direct, honest, and straightforward raises trust and credibility.
Inspire positive action – Communicating in an up-lifting manner.
Collaborate with others – Working well others gives more speed and flexibility, competitive advantage in market.
Build ownership – Taking accountability for results and their impact on others.
Commit with integrity – Commitments should be made only when they can be fulfilled, else bargain for time.
Hold people accountable – By holding yourself and people accountable for high standards, morale is raised along with performance.
Recover quickly – Perfection is not the wuest; recovering quic kly should be the goal. Admitting mistakes, using breakdowns and problems as learning experiences increase creativity, innovation, and risk taking.

Short Statements that inspire Accountability

Speaking Accountably

“That’s the problem in a nutshell”
ü Add: “Now it’s up to us to turn this around.”

“This is an issue we must address quickly.”
ü Add: “I’m confidant we can do this.”

“We will meet on Friday at 8 a.m. in the conference room.”
ü Add: Let’s use this time to generate new ideas together.”

“I haven’t had the chance to read your report.”
ü Add: “I always appreciate how you look at things.”

“We are facing a number of challenges this next year.”
ü Add: “I’m happy to be on a great team. We’ll need everyone’s thinking and energy.”

“Good Morning.”
ü Add: “It’s always good to see you.”

Here is the document, read it and let’s talk.
ü Add: “I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.”

I am just at the starting point; I would be sharing some more thoughts in coming time. I would highly appreciate your comments and suggestions to improve my posts. I hope this would be helpful in bringing an all-round high performance leadership in your organization.