The current economic environ- ment has put tremendous train on all of us and definite- ly on new MBA graduates of 2009. While students should
be aware of this, they shouldn’t be directed in their efforts by this.
Their dividend will come from focusing on themselves and how well they are
able to interact and network with people
who may be able to open doors for them.
A solid interaction with just three to four
influential individuals can be more valuable than applying endlessly in response
to job advertisements, etc.
Networking is not about
how many hands you press
or how big your rolodex
becomes. If you focus on
just one or two individuals
and ensure that they will
remember you and become motivated to
connect with you and your needs, then
your mission is accomplished.
Success is not a continuous state
It is ironic that we keep addressing
individuals as successful as though success is a continuous state. The reality is
that success is just a point in time, an
event in one’s life and the more lucky
ones have many such points in their life.
If you sat with a successful businessman like Bob Dhillon in a relaxed environment so that he is open to share his
information with you, then I would guess
he might convey that in his professional
and business life he has encountered
more misses than he has had hits.
Let me take my own case. Five of us
started our software venture in late 1990
with an initial investment of $1,000, and
after three-and-a-half years it got
acquired by Sun Microsystems for a low-three-digit-million dollars. This was definitely the pinnacle of our professional
and entrepreneurial life. However, today
when I am referred to as a highly successful individual or a business role
model, I cringe as I know that I have not
been able to replicate any more such success points or events in our life.
Having said that, I think that entrepreneurship is one of the best pursuits of
excellence in one’s life. The highly effective entrepreneurs are good at understanding the power of multiple layers of
leverage. It is multiplicity of leverage
that is going to win because the thin edge
of winning is so thin that the multiplicity of leverage would be the clincher.
ADITYA JHA
Pursuit of passion
