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One of my personal favorite questions during an interview is

What do you think matters more – the institute from where you story or the course that you study?

Over years, there is an emerging pattern. Individuals performing external facing roles (sales, marketing etc) invariably say the institute name matters more. While internal facing roles say the course

Might be easy to explain. A good institute name can take you far in life. Present a socially desirable image of yourself

A course might find it hard to achieve this

Here, is hands down the best response I received in all these years

The institute matters more to me. Because that determines the peer group I will be studying with. And while the best course will simply allow for the best content to pass through, the best institute will allow for the best learning to happen, irrespective of the course.

I felt this was a powerful way of looking at things.

The course you study doesn’t determine your education. Your surrounding does.

Congratulating an entrepreneur on raising funds is like congratulating a chef on buying vegetables

It’s a milestone well passed

But not a journey that’s yet over

You are smart enough to predict what will happen

But are you wise enough to know how to react, when it does happen?

You are amazing
because
you read my mind, you comfort me, you say exactly what I WANTED to hear at that moment

or

You are amazing because
you speak your mind, you direct me to the truth, you say exactly what I NEEDED to hear at that moment

Its easy to find people amazing if they agree with you
Instead
Find people that care enough to help you find a better you

A famous sculptor wanted to sculpt his final masterpiece on top of a hill
He had time left for only this one – and he wanted it to be his best work ever
He worked, day and night, creating patterns and bringing the mountain stones to life
And when it was all over, he asked a friend to come and see the end result

The friend saw a stunning piece of art, from the foot of the hill and knew instantly that this was indeed the sculptor’s best work ever
And so he climbed the hill, to congratulate his friend

Once he reached, the sculptor insisted that the friend take a closer look and admire the finer aspects of the sculpture
The friend noticed a crack, and reported the same to the sculptor

The sculptor paused for a minute. Stared at the crack. One could see his expressions changing.
Without any warning, he took his hammer and destroyed the entire sculpture

The friend was shocked. What just happened
“Why did you do that? No one would have noticed that crack from such a distance. People would have still liked it”

“But I noticed the crack”

This week, we were releasing a youtube film for nearbuy.com
And I wasnt happy with the final outcome

So I asked myself the question that I have previously asked
“Will people like it?”
And the answer was – probably yes. It wasnt that bad

But then I asked myself a different question
“Will I put my name behind this film? Will I be proud that this is a nearbuy production?”

Everything suddenly made sense

Don’t let the world define your standards

We humans have this rather unfortunate habit of checking the strength of our relationships, every how and then

Let’s see if he calls me today

Let’s see if he picks up my phone if I call him right now

Let’s see if they figure out this loophole without me pointing to it

Let’s see if I can trust this person

Here is the deal about trust

The minute you test it, you have broken it

Trust shouldn’t be tested

It is either earned, or established through conduct

To test trust, is to not have it

Yesterday Times of India flashed a news article on paytm’s acquisition of little and nearbuy as part of a distress sale.

The journalist had reached out to me on Sunday evening, asking for my comments.

I declined to comment, adding that his facts were wrong and if he waited for a few days I could share all the information formally and accurately.

I assume he had to file the story nonetheless, so he asked if I could go off the record and talk. I declined that too (PS: there is nothing in this world called off the record! Everything you say is on fucking record!)

When th article came out, I felt let down. I had clearly mentioned that the facts were wrong but all that was stated from my side was that I had refused to comment.

I wanted to understand what the protocol is

So I wrote in (recall: if you don’t ask, the answer is always no)

What could I have done to ensure my stand that the facts were wrong, were also represented in the article

Apparently, there is a simple way to do this

Go on record :)

I hereby go on record to state that I cannot comment on this matter right now, but do wish to share that the facts as stated in the article, are wrong.

in hindsight, this is obvious. Should have thought about it :)

#lessonlearnt

There are people who tell you that you are wrong

There are people that help you see where you are wrong

Guess which ones are more than the other?

Now do you see why choosing the right crowd isn’t easy?

And why that’s precisely the reason why you should spend a lot of time on it?

Ever has this situation where you were extremely happy and content with your situation UNTIL you came across someone else who was better off, with similar attributes as yours?

And this made you feel sad and shitty about your state?

While your grass was green all through

The existence of supposedly greener grass disturbed you

Make a subtle distinction there, that might help

Did the opposite side of the grass always exist and you were simply made aware of it?

Or

Did the opposite side of the grass come up after you?

If it’s an awareness problem – you are fighting your own self.

Not the grass