People Networking

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You would have observed people will usually go to the conferences & seminars to do "Networking", and the only way some of them know to spread themselves is by exchanging cards. I have observed these guys, approaching exchanging cards and telling about themselves quickly whether or not my interests are aligned to it, and then pushing off to find somebody else to give their card. Their whole objective remains, to Be Short, Cover More in Less Time & Be Fast. Moreover the combination of Short & Fast gives them the sense of "Being Smart!" but truly speaking "Being Fast doesn't mean Being Smart".

If they call this as "Networking", they are failing in their objective! Because you don't get to figure out on what the profile of guy is as he left pretty quickly, secondly you'll stare more at the card after he is gone to look at his designation and company to figure out in your thoughts where he can be actually a fit in your connections. Lastly, after few months if you happen to see the card again, you would have forgotten him or you'll put that in your trash!

Just because of being short & fast the guy was not taken seriously. And in turn guy measured his "Networking" by no. of exchanges he did, instead of making the true connections.

Networking is not just about broadcasting, but building the trust to have the greater possibility of come back in the future!

Share not just the "Knowledge" but the "Obvious" things too

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I work on one of the US Accounts, and it requires me to host meetings over phone. My company has provided me a passcode to dial out on a toll free no. to attend US calls such that bill is generated directly to the company and not to me by phone service provider. Thing is, passcode helps you to just host a call, and if you wish to dial out, there is a feature set of combination to be punched in to join a meeting hosted on US bridge.

Truly speaking, it takes couple of weeks to get the passcode from the company. Last week, one of my colleague asked "Mayank, how much are you billed on phone every month?". I said "Below Rs.800/month". She gave me a surprised look and further asked "Don't you attend calls from home?". I said , "Yes, I do, but I use combination set to dial out to US nos." & she was happy to have discovered the solution to the problem which was worrying her since three months.

I explained on how can you minimize your phone bill and send it directly to company, & still make calls to US without worries. Further she asked me a question "What was your phone bill when you were not having passcode?" I said "Zero!” And guess, she was more happy to have the solution of another bigger problem. She was dialing personal calls to US, and paying much higher than me, because I subscribed for Yahoo Voice for $10/year to make unlimited calls to US toll free nos(most of the meeting bridges are toll free) & other US numbers on 1cent/min. And I am using it since 4 years now to make PC to Phone calls from anywhere in the world!

Same glow I see on faces of people when they see me searching for places and finding route on my GPS phone using Google Maps. But it is nothing special to me as I am doing the same since one year now in India.

Giving the thought further, I analysed that something which is "obvious" to me is "knowledge" to somebody else. And all "obvious" things in our life don't hold "something special" within, where as new "knowledge" is all "special". Getting down to one more level, things like Alphabets on our Keyboard or doing calculations while giving money in the market goes further to "backside processing" of our mind. We truly don't notice it, or acknowledge it, because we had been doing the same since decades.

It is recommended to "share" not just the "knowledge" you hold, but "share the obvious" things too. You never know your "obvious" can be somebody's "knowledge" today!

Three things I learnt from Traffic

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These last 3 days, as I was driving an average of 100 Kms daily across NCR, I noticed quite a few things.

Roads in Delhi are quite wide in comparison to Hyderabad and Bangalore, cities I had been living in earlier. However, despite the roads being wider, the amount of traffic in Delhi is higher.

The Delhi Government has done quite a number of good things for traffic management, among them is the construction of flyovers & the removal of maximum possible red lights (and hence stoppages).

I have observed that when the light turns red, people stuff their cars and 2 wheelers as near as possible to the next vehicle. The vehicles are so 'tight' together that is appears ever air cannot find a way between them. What makes it a point to ponder is that because of this tight space (which is done to get moving as soon as the light turns green) the intended agenda of fast movement DOES NOT get achieved.

So, something which is just temporary and known to be un-mounted or unassembled should not be given effort more than the requisite level. Else it will require same amount of effort while un-mounting or un-assembling. In a relationship also, if you give more love, care, affection to people in life, it hurts, harms & makes you upset with same degree when those people move away from you!

While driving on wide toll roads and straight stretches, I encountered few people who were fast drivers. Their only aim is to drive fast, and make the way through by jumping lanes, and reach destination at the earliest. They don't apply any other principle except for driving fast.

I respect Speed Limits, and adhere to them. Driving within speed limits gives me appropriate time to decide on accelerate and brake. Like while approaching the Toll Gate at 50Kmph I can judge the length of queues, and decide on which is the shortest one to drive my car thru. Where as fast drivers at 90Kmph don't get enough time to make the judgment and have to push their car in the queue straight ahead.

Moreover, fast drivers accelerate & brake too frequently in city driving. Especially when they brake, they forcibly stops on what they have given effort on (acceleration), reaching destination with consumption of more fuel. They consider themselves 'fast drivers' but certainly they are not 'smart drivers'.

Three things I learnt from Traffic in Delhi:

1. Give only required effort on Temporary things in life to stay efficient.
2. Go within limits to give optimum time to think & decide.
3. Don't just be 'Fast', but be 'Smart'.