Abraham Lincoln

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"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds.... "

- Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born Feb 12, in Hardin Country, Kentucky. His family upbringing was modest, his parents from Virginia, were neither wealth or well known. At an early age, the young Abraham lost his mother and his father moved away to Indiana. Abraham had to work hard splitting logs and other manual labour. But, he also had a thirst for knowledge and worked very hard to excel in his studies. This led him to become trained as a lawyer. He spent  8 years working on the Illinois court circuit; his ambition, drive and capacity for hard work were evident to all around him.

He married Mary Todd and had four children, although 3 died before reaching maturity.

As a lawyer, Abraham developed a great capacity for quick thinking and oratory. His interest in public issues encouraged him to stand for public office. In 1854 he was elected to the House of representatives and he tried to gain nomination for the Senate in 1858. Although he lost this election, his debating skills caused him to become well known within the Republican party. This reputation caused him to be elected as Republican nominee for President in 1860

The election of Lincoln as President in 1861, sparked the South to succeed from the North. Southern independence sentiment had been growing for many years and the election of a president opposed to slavery was the final straw. However, Lincoln resolutely opposed the breakaway of the South and so this led to the American civil war. The civil war was much more costly than many people anticipated and at times Lincoln appeared to be losing the support of the general population. But, he managed to keep the Republican party together, stifflying dissent by promoting the various Republican factions into the cabinet. Lincoln oversaw many of the military aspects of the war and promoted the general Ullysees S Grant to oversee the northern forces.

Although the war was primarily about succession and the survival of the Union, Lincoln also issued his memorable Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.

Eventually after 4 years of attrition the Federal forces secured the surrender of the defeated south. Lincoln had saved the union and also brought to head the end of slavery.

Dedicating the ceremony at Gettysburg Lincoln declared

"that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Lincoln was tragically assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, an actor on, April 14, 1865. He is widely regarded as one of America’s most influential and important presidents. As well as saving the union Lincoln was viewed as embodying the ideals of honesty and integrity.

Adolf Hitler

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Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)

"I want war. To me all means will be right. My motto is not "Don't, whatever you do, annoy the enemy." My motto is "Destroy him by all and any means." I am the one who will wage the war! "

- Adolf Hitler

A Short Biography of Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler has become infamous as a personification of human evil. His name is inexorably linked to the Holocaust and extermination of Jews and other 'undesirables'. He is also seen as the principle cause of the second World War in which over 70 million people died. Yet, in the midst of the Great Depression he captivated a nation with his mixture of charm, xenophobia, and almost supernatural allure.

He was born in Austria in 1889 to relatively humble beginnings. His early life gave few hints as to his future destiny. He was a comparative failure and something of loner. He was twice rejected from his application to study art and after struggling to survive in Vienna, in 1913, he moved to Munich. In his early life he imbibed the anti-semitic feelings which were common for the times, but displayed little political interest. On the outbreak of the First World War he joined the German army and got promoted to Corporal. He survived the war and in 1918 - like many other German officers was bitterly disappointed with the perceived 'betrayal' of the German surrender and the harsh retribution meted out by the Versailles Treaty.

Against this backdrop of defeat and threat of turmoil within Germany, Hitler turned to politics and set up a fledging political party - the Nazi party with its mixture of nationalistic and fascist policies.

In 1923, Hitler led his small Nazi party in an attempted seizure of power - known as the Munich beer hall putsch. The putsch failed and Hitler was sentenced to a lenient jail sentence. It was in jail that he wrote 'Mein Kampf' a rambling exposition of his philosophy which included his growing anti-semitic ideology and ideas of an idealised Aryan race.

"… the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew. "

- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, Chapter 11.

On his release, Hitler then turned his attentions to gaining electoral support and contesting the elections of Weimar Germany. The onset of the Great Depression provided fertile ground for his radical and extremist policies. Against a backdrop of 6 million unemployed people - many in Germany felt there was a clear choice between Communism and the Nationalism of Hitler's Nazi party. With the help of his powerful rhetoric and his own private militia, Hitler, led the Nazi party to victory in the 1933 elections. He was made Chancellor and in 1934, on the death of Hindenburg the President in 1934, Hitler declared himself the supreme leader and ended all pre-tense to democracy.

His rise to power was swift and comprehensive. Many ordinary Germans were enthusiastic at the success Hitler's Germany soon started to achieve. Hitler began an extensive programme of road building, rearmament and this helped to radically solve the unemployment which crippled many economies at the time. At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Hitler tried to showcase his country as a model of dynamism and progress. But, in addition to the economic successes, Hitler began a systematic policy of discrimination and harassment of the German Jewish population and any other segment of society that did not fit in with the Aryan ideal. This became increasingly brutalised and vicious. No dissent to the regime was tolerated and this totalitarian state was enforced through a ruthlessly efficient secret police - the Gestapo and SS

Hitler also sought to regain territory lost in the Treaty of Versailles. This was the justification for the anschluss with Austria and later the reclamation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. But, Hitler's ambitions did not merely rest on regaining lost territory. He also began eyeing new territories and in 1938 successful gained the whole of Czechoslovakia. Anxious to avoid war, allied leaders pursued a policy of appeasement and gave into Hitler's demands.

However, when it came to Poland, Britain and France decided to oppose Hitler's intentions and when Hitler invaded Poland, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Yet, it soon became apparent that Germany had built one of the most poweful armies ever created and were technically superior to the allied armies.

Until the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, Hitler's war machine appeared unstoppable. A parade of stunning military victories led to one of the most successful military conquests in history. Yet, by invading the Soviet Union and on the entry of the US into the war, even Hitler's Germany had overstretched itself. Slowly the tide of war turned and in 1944, the Soviets in the East and Allies in the West began their long march through occupied Europe to eventually meet in Berlin.

Almost until the end, Hitler retained a fantasy of gaining a last minute victory through imaginary weapons and now imaginary armies. It was not until Soviet troops were within earshot of his Bunker, that Hitler finally admitted the inevitable and committed suicide.

During the war, Hitler met with his other Nazi henchman to agree on a plan for the 'final solution' of the Jewish problem. This involved the systematic and complete elimination of the Jewish population. Over 6 million Jewish people died in various concentration and extermination camps. These camps also saw the deaths of millions of other undesriables, from Russian prisoners of war to Communists, homosexuals and Gypsies. It remains a crime of unprecedented scale and horror.

Lord Buddha

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The founder of Buddhism. Lord Buddha was a prince, who forsook the comforts of a palace to seek enlightenment. He realised the essential unreality of the world, in the bliss of nirvana and spent the remainder of his life teaching others how to escape the endless cycle of birth and death.

Buddha was born approximately 400 BC. He was a noble prince and it is said his father sought to shield the young prince Siddharta from the pain and suffering of the world.

However, at one point, Buddha sought to find a greater meaning to life. So, in disguise, he left the Palace and wandered around the Kingdom. Here, Siddhartha came across, death, old age, illness and suffering. This showed him the transitory nature of life, so he resolved to seek the meaning of life.

Siddhartha left the Palace, including his wife and child, and travelled into the forests to spend his time meditating with other ascetics.

In his quest for enlightenment, the Buddha fasted excessively so his body wasted away; however, enlightenment remained a far cry. At one point, a passing women gave him some food to eat and the Buddha realised it was a mistake to seek enlightenment by torturing the body. He regained his strength and resolved to follow a 'middle path' of avoiding excesses of fasting and feasting.

On one day, the Buddha decided to sit under a Bodhi tree until he attained enlightenment. For several days, he sat in meditation seeking nirvana. He was tested by various forces which tried to prevent him realising the goal.

However, the Buddha was successful and entered in the blissful consciousness of nirvana for several days. On returning to normal consciousness, The Buddha made the decision to spend the remainder of his life teaching others how to escape the inherent suffering of life.

For many years, the Buddha travelled around India, especially around the Ganges plain and in Nepal, teaching his philosophy of liberation. His teachings were transmitted orally and not written down until many years after his death.

"For centuries the light of the Buddha has shone as a beacon beckoning men from across the sea of darkness. Like lost children, millions of seekers have reached out to the light with their heart's inmost cry, and the Buddha has shown them the Way. The world stood before the Buddha with it's ignorance, and the Buddha, the Enlightened One, gave man Truth. The world offered its age old suffering to the Buddha's heart and the Buddha, Lord of Compassion, showed man the Dharma."

- Sri Chinmoy

Teachings of the Buddha

Some of the fundamentals of the teachings of Gautama Buddha are:

* The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an inherent part of existence; that the origin of suffering is ignorance and the main symptoms of that ignorance are attachment and craving; that attachment and craving can be ceased; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of attachment and craving and therefore suffering.
* The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Nelson Mandela

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"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. "

- Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918.He was the son of a local tribal leader of the Tembu tribe. As a youngster Nelson, took part in the activities and initiation ceremonies of his local tribe. However, unlike his father Nelson Mandela gained a full education, studying at the University College of Fort Hare and also the University of Witwatersrand. Nelson was a good student and qualified with a law degree in 1942. During his time at University Nelson Mandela became increasingly aware of the racial inequality and injustice faced by non white people. In 1994, he decided to join the ANC and actively take part in the struggle against apartheid.

As one of the few qualified lawyers, Nelson Mandela was in great demand; also his commitment to the cause saw him promoted through the ranks of the ANC. In 1956, Nelson Mandela, along with several other members of the ANC were arrested and charged with treason. After a lengthy and protracted court case the defendents were finally acquitted in 1961. However, with the ANC now banned, Nelson Mandela suggested an active armed resistance to the apartheid regime. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe, which would act as a guerrilla resistance movement. Receiving training in other African countries, the Umkhonto we Sizwe took part in active sabotage.

In 1963, Mandela was again arrested and put on trial for treason. This time the state succeeded in convicting of plotting to overthrow the government. However, the case received considerable international attention and the apartheid regime of South Africa became under the glare of the international community.

Mandela’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and from 1964 –1981 he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town. In prison the conditions were sparse; however, Mandela was with many other political prisoners and there was a strong bond of friendship which helped to make more bearable prison conditions. Also, in prison Nelson Mandela was highly disciplined, he would try and study and take part in exercise every day. He later said these year of prison were a period of great learning, even if painful.

During his time in prison, Mandela became increasingly well known throughout the world. Mandela became the best known black leader and opposition to the apartheid regime. Largely unbeknown to Mandela, his continued imprisonment led to world wide pressure for his release. From the mid 1980s, the apartheid regime increasingly began to negotiate with the ANC and Mandela in particular. On many occasions, Mandela was offered a conditional freedom. However, he always refused wishing to put the political ideals of the ANC above his own freedom.

Eventually Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. The day was huge event for South Africa and the world. His release symbolic of the impending end of apartheid. Following his release there followed protracted negotiations, (often interspersed with tribal violence). However, eventually in April 1994, South Africa had its first full and fair elections. The ANC with 65% of the vote were elected and Nelson Mandela became the first President of the new South Africa.

" The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us."

- Nelson Mandela

As President, he sought to heal the rifts of the past. Despite being mistreated he was magnanimous in his dealing with his oppressors. His forgiving and tolerant attitude gained the respect of the whole South African nation and considerably eased the transition to a full democracy.

"If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness. "

- Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela retired from the Presidency in 1999, to be succeeded by Thabo Mbeki. Recently ill health has curtailed his public life. However, he does speak out on certain issues. He has been very critical of the Bush led invasion of Iraq. He has also campaigned to highlight the issue of HIV / AIDS in South Africa.

He is currently married to his third wife Graca Machel

Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 (jointly with F W De Klerk)

Jesus Christ

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Jesus Christ is the central figure of Christianity and undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in the development of western society.

Due to lack of accurate historical records, there is some dispute over the exact details of his life, and teachings. The most widely used sources are the 4 canonical gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is estimated that these were written over 70-200 years after the death of Christ. There are also many other non-canonical gospels such as Thomas, Peter and Mary. Of particular importance was the discovery of the dead sea scrolls, which uncovered texts previously lost.

Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph of Nazereth. According to the gospel of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. They also suggest Mary was a virgin and the birth was a miracle of the 'Holy Spirit'

According to the Gospels, the birth of Jesus was proclaimed to shepherds in nearby fields. Later on Jesus was visited by 3 wise men from the east offering gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

Not much is known about Jesus' early life, the Gospels concentrate on the last couple of years when he was active in his ministry. However, Jesus is believed to have followed in his father's footsteps and trained to be a carpenter. Some have also suggested during this period Jesus travelled to India and Persia where he learned something of India's spiritual tradition before returning to Nazareth to begin his ministry.

All three synoptic gospels say Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist, at the River Jordan. This symbolic baptism was the beginning of Jesus' ministry.

Following his baptism, Jesus spent 40 days in the desert where he was tempted by the Devil. However, he passed the test and refused any temptations of wealth or worldly gain.

Jesus's teachings were characterised by short pithy statements that used striking imagery to capture the imagination of listeners. His most famous teachings are the sermon on the mount.

Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

-----

A key characterist of Jesus's teachings are an emphasis on forgiveness and unconditional love. These represented a departure from the old scriptures which emphasised an eye for an eye. Jesus taught his followers to 'love their enemy' and 'turn the other cheek'

"But I tell you not to resist an evildoer. On the contrary, whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well." - Matthew 5:39

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you". (Matthew 5:38-44)

Jesus Christ also taught that the Kingdom of heaven was within. To attain this state he taught it was important to be willing to give up attachment to the world and maintain humility and simplicity - to be like a child.

"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!' or `There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you (or "within you") Luke 17:20

It was the radical nature of his teachings and a growing following which aroused the suspicions of the authorities.

Jesus was also known as a healer. The gospels recount many miracles where Jesus was able to heal the sick and even resurect the dead (Lazarus)

In the last months of his life, Jesus entered into Jerusalem and was greated enthusiastically by crowds who shouted 'hosanna'. Jesus then entered the main temple and created controversy by overturning the tables of the money lenders; criticising them for conducting business in a sacred temple - claiming they had turned the temple into a 'den of robbers'

Later that week he celebrated the passover meal with his 13 discples. He foretold he would be betrayed by one of his own disciples and turned over to the authorities.

This later occured. Judas betrayed Jesus to the temple authorities by kissing Jesus. Judas was paid 30 silver coins for his betrayal. But, he later repented of his action and hung himself from a tree.

The Jewish elders asked him if he was the Son of God. Jesus replied 'It is as you say.' The Jewish authorities passed him to the Roman authorities with the recommendation he be charged him with blasphemy. It is said Pontius Pilate was reluctant to have him executed as he didn't see the crime against the Romans. His wife had a dream he which she felt him innocent and his wife tried to persuade Pilate to release Jesus. Pilate ordered Jesus to be flogged in the hope this would appease the Jewish authorities. However, they still wanted to see Jesus executed. On the feast of passover, it was traditional for the Roman authorities to release one prisoner. However, the crowd chose not Jesus but Barabas - a convicted criminal. Pilate washed his hands saying it was not his crime.

Jesus was then led upto the calvary to be crucified. He had to carry a cross and at one stage fainted - and was helped by Simon of Cyrene.

The three synoptic gospels say that Jesus died on the cross, with a Roman soldier puncturing his side with a spear to prove that he was dead.

Nature of Jesus Christ

In the history of early Christianity there was much debate about the nature of Jesus Christ. Some felt Jesus was a direct incarnation of God, others felt he was both divine and human. There were different branches of Christianity emphasing different aspects. For example, the gnostics emphasied the immanence of God, and the ability for followers to have a direct relationship with God.

In 325 AD, the Nicene Creed formalised the Christian church teachings about Jesus. They accepted 4 gospels as canonical and rejected many other gospels. The Nicene creed also gave great emphasis to the writings and letters of St Paul. St Paul emphasised the divine nature of Jesus Christ and the importance of the crucifixion and resurrection.

Different Views of Jesus Christ

Enlightenment views
Many key figures in the enlightenment / renaissance felt Jesus to be a supreme teacher of moral and religious ideals, but rejected claims to divinity and miracles such as the virgin birth. For example, Thomas Jefferson wrote the 'Life and Morals of Jesus Christ' (known as the Jefferson bible. Benjamin Franklin also looked to Jesus Christ as a great moral teacher, but, didn't accept all the teachings of the Christian church.

In the Hindu / Indian tradition Jesus Christ is seen as a realised Spiritual Master. A person who has achieved self-realisation or God-realisation. Jesus Christ is also looked upon as an Avatar - a realised soul with a special mission to uplift a wide number of souls. Many Indian spiritual Master see Jesus Christ as divine an 'incarnation of God' But, do not accept that Jesus Christ was alone in achieving this spiritual realisation.

In Islamic tradition, Jesus Christ is seen as an important prophet of God.

My Mentor -Mr Jehangir Nagree

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He has always been a source of great inspiration for me. Just watching him work was a pleasure. He had an eye for detail and never accepted anything which was not perfect, initially I use to think why is he being so perfect even for small thing which was not important, but  over a period of time you realize what he meant. I had heard from people of the days when the living room was started, he worked very hard in very difficult circumstances to make the living room a brand which is respected by millions of people around the country, the days when no customer use to come in the store for weeks he had seen those days and kept his patience and drove the living room co.

All the staff use to get intimidated by him but I was never afraid as I did my work perfectly and always took responsibility, my business was very good and I had a good rapo with the staff.

You learn so much by talking with him.

One quality which i admire of him is he always took advice from people junior to him.

In my 6 years, he never yelled at me if I did any mistake.

He always gave me good opportunities like opening Pune Showroom.

He also gave me an opportunity to present the contest winner with his prize and take a snap with him for the photo which was going to come in the newspaper. My Mom was very proud when she saw my picture in the newspaper. I was on the cloud for that day.



Worst day of my life -

The day i had to tell Jehangir sir that I was leaving The Living Room for abroad offer was a big challenge for me and the worst day of my life. It was very difficult for me I was in tremendous stress that day.

What I did that time was not right from the living rooms perspective as the store in Pune was going through bad patch from low business and problems from the landlords, Jehangir sir was banking on me, he never expected that I will leave the company, what I did wrong was not giving him enough time for replacement, I still regret it and if I were to go back in time and do that thing all over again, this time I will give him enough time.

In Pune, it was like a dream job for anyone as you can play with your ideas as no one senior is around you and Jehangir sir gave me enough freedom to do things differently. But I thought to myself that I can do more than what I was doing and you have only one life so I had to take a stand to leave the living room, it was not easy I can tell you that, I had good salary,Jehangir sir had given me a two bedroom flat for myself, gave me a bike ,I had it all.

One big reason I had to leave Pune was also that riding bike in Pune had given me some serious back troubles. In Pune you cannot do without a bike.

I made one mistake that I should have asked Jehangir sir for a transfer to Mumbai back ,but I dint.

In life you make lots of mistake, but I have made it a point to learn from them and not repeat them, this wrong decisions which we make gives us experience .plus I don’t like a simple life, I like struggle in life, without tension there is no fun that is the way believe in spending my life.

If you see my profile I have always taken the road which is less traveled, like quitting a good call center job which was paying good money for a low salary job in living room, like going to Pune as a Store manager when others were not going there and quitting the living room job which was paying me good and freedom for a job in Bahrain for 2 years contract which I have to stay away from the family.

This decision has made me more and more experienced which helps me in my daily decision making in personal and professional life.

The other Director Shakeera Nagree - She is an extremely creative person, her ideas are unconventional which people take time to understand. She always thinks ahead of time.

I admire for the way she carries herself & her style.

The Living Room – Journey.

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I am what I am is because of The Living Room store today ,it’s  not some other furniture store ,it’s an institution. I cannot thank the employees ,carpenters & peons, office boys of the store enough to teach me what is life all about.

How I got selected in The Living Room:

After I finish my graduation, i got a job in a call – centre as a customer service representative in

TATA  with a very good salary of 11000 Rs during that time in 2002 , Call centre was booming those days ,everyone wanted to work in the call centre as they were paying handsomely to all who knows how speak English. But in my life I never cared about money so much, I don’t know why , On the 4 th day itself I decided to call the job quits as I was fed up of talking to customers on phone most of all , I

Did not enjoy what I was doing. I had some sales & marketing experience before my graduation & I was enjoying it & now I wanted to do something related to customer interaction.

One sunny day I was sitting at my house and was going through some job search in the newspapers, my neighbor Kishore Kothawale walked in & sat next to me.

Before we go further, I would like to describe something about him, he had a good personality, his dress sense was excellent, he use to wear expensive clothes & our parents always wanted us to be like him ,when mobile phone had just come in the market some 15 years back, he owned one. He was very soft-spoken, during those days there was a rumors that Kishore was earning around 25000 Rs in commission. per month. In short he had style.

Coming back to the point Kishore came & told me there was a vacancy in The Living Room, why don’t you go & try ,he recommended  me, I went for an interview & passed & got selected.

Early Days in The Living Room :

My first day was nice & I just spent 1 month observing other people selling furnitures.I learned a lot from observing, I never directly worked under Kishore as he was in the other store & I was in other.

I use to spend lot of time in the manufacturing unit as I was always eager to know the technical details as I had seen that those salespeople who do maximum business were the ones who had good technical know-how, these salespeople use to convince very easily with their knowledge , & I observed very keenly that when this salespeople use to say more technical details in their presentation they use to get very less objections, Till the time I was in the Living Room I used to spend around 2 hrs/day in the manufacturing unit to learn details & you can go on learning everyday new it never ends.

That is the reason, I was the Best Salesperson for a long time till I use to directly handle clients, I also use to give trainings to new recruits on the Selling Skills & Product Knowledge.

Other sales people use to be in the store through the day, I use to spend most of my time in the manufacturing unit still my business was much higher than others, this was the power of knowledge & I use to manage my time very well, for e.g. Other sales people use to go to customer visits in the office time & I use to go during lunch breaks & after office hrs so I could spend more time on the floor & do more business.



I would like to mention about 3 people in The Living Room who mentored me to be a good manager a good salesman & a good human being.

1] Sudhir Shelar -

He was a very cool manager, with a very good temperment,i never saw him getting angry & panic in difficult situations, he management style was very different, he used to deal difficult situations in a very systematic way. Was very positive in approach & he use to trust his people & fight for his people no matter what. I have picked up lot of his style of management, in his soft style there are some negative points & positive points also.

Negative points – People tend to take advantage of you & try to bully you initially but Positive point is after some time you never lie to the manager & you work very honestly because the manager completely trust you & you feel guilty to break that trust. Plus you will take lot of initiative without the fear that you will fail & the manager will fire you.

I can’t thank him enough for being there for me in my difficult situations professionally & personally.



2] Moosa & Arshad -

This 2 people are genius in selling stuff.

I learned smart selling from this guys, how to talk to clients, how to handle angry clients, how to convince people in selling your product.

Arshad Sagar – was the person who had abundance technical knowledge, because of him I started going in the manufacturing units as I use to see that he had the maximum percentage of customer conversions.

Moosa – I learned from him the art of selling comb to a bald man. He proved that in furniture business you don’t need to know good designing to sell items, he was the only one was so bad in sketches & he use to get more business in contracts than any other salespersons, I also learned from him the art of bluffing with confidence, I mean all know if you are a salesman you need to bluff a little right!



This 2 people use to challenge that they can make any client buy their products & they did that always.



The Living Room – Pune.

Our boss had planned to open a store in outskirts of Pune. Pune is very expensive, so they had got a place on the 4^th floor in Viman Nagar -  Pune.

I never thought they will tell me to go & open the store from concept. As the store was located on the 4^th floor my seniors did not agree to go & handle that store,

So my boss called me in the office with Sudhir & asked me if I can go in Pune & handle the store from concept, I immediately said yes. That moment I just knew that out of all the seniors they took my name as I was just 3 years in the company & the seniors were all more than 8 years. I thought I can go & see for a change , even after I accepted, lot of my colleagues told me not to go as no customer will come on the 4^th floor & plus it is not in centre of Pune , it’s in the outskirts.

I was very thankful to them for giving me such a good opportunity & considering my name.

But still I went & opened the store singlehandedly, I did my research before the store opened & did extremely good business which no one expected, I started my own in store advertising but making attractive danglers & catalogues.

My boss was very happy as it had crossed the business as he had not expected & we went on to open 1 more store in the other side of Pune in 6 months time.

We also opened a manufacturing unit with some carpenters & polish people.



I was given complete in charge of 2 stores & 1 huge manufacturing unit .



You must be wondering I am saying My Boss but who is the Boss.

Well in my next post I will write the details about my Boss Mr. Jehangir Nagree & how he helped me in my life & he was like a family also.



Leaving The Living Room was my biggest decision in my life & I can’t apologize enough to my boss who treated me like a family.

Henry Ford

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Henry Ford was n Industrialist who changed the face of automobile manufacture in America, becoming the epitome of American Capitalism. He lent his name to Fordism - efficient mass production.

Henry Ford Early Life

Henry Ford was born in 1863 on a farm in rural Michigan - near Detroit. From an early age he expressed an interest in mechanical devices. He was given a pocket watch at the age of 15 and he developed a reputation for being an experienced watchmaker.

Shortly after his mother passed away, Henry left the family farm to gain employment in Detroit. He worked his way up to becoming an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company. By 1893 he had become chief engineer and gained the recognition and encouragement of Thomas Eddison. Henry Ford retained a deep affection for Thomas Eddison throughout his life.

It was working as chief engineer at Edison's that he was able to work on a petrol drive quadricycle. His testing was successful and this enabled him to develop this into a small car. This proved the basis for the famous Model T motor car introduced in 1908. The Ford motor company was formed in 1903 with backing of $28,000 from various investors.

Working Practises of Henry Ford

Henry Ford astonished the industrial world by offering a daily wage of $5 a day. Even by 2008 prices that is a very good salary. This wage was far above what anywhere else offered. At a stroke it solved the problem of labour turnover and encouraged the best workers to come to Ford. Through paying high wages, Ford was able to encourage the highest level of labour productivity. Although many criticised his seemingly over generous pay, he also pointed out, that the high wage helped the workers to be able to afford the cars they were making.

However, Henry Ford was hostile to the role of trades unions. For a long time he battled against the trades unions refusing to have anything to do them. However, by 1941, with the workers on strike, his wife encouraged him to finally capitulate to the United Auto Workers UAW.

It was Henry Ford who also revolutionised the production line processes. He helped to develope the assembly line method of production and was always seeking to cut costs. Alhough he did not 'invent' the assembly line he did make one of the most successful commercial applications of its potential. This led to his famous decision to give customers any colour they choose so long as it was black. This was because black was the quickest colour to dry and therefore the cheapest.

The impact of the assembly line was to help reduce the cost of the Model T Motor car. It helped Ford become the dominant motor car. In 1932, it was estimated Ford were producing 33% of the world's automobile production.

Henry Ford had a strong dislike of war. He helped to fund a peace ship to Europe in 1915. He spoke out against the 'vague' financers who encourage war'. He never really got involved in the Second world war effort, though he allowed other officials in the Ford company to transform Ford into one of the biggest military plane builders in the war.

Henry Ford also subscribed to various anti semitic pamphlets. Although he later apologised for some of his anti semitic views, he was deeply admired by Hitler. Ford is the only foreigner mentioned in Mein Kampf and it is said, Hitler had a photograph of Henry Ford. Hitler wanted Volkswagen to mirror the production techniques and philosophy of Ford motor company.

8 Rules for Good Customer Service.

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Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long.

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

If you’re a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell that person anything else. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers – a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue.

How do you go about forming such a relationship? By remembering the one true secret of good customer service and acting accordingly; “You will be judged by what you do, not what you say.”

I know this verges on the kind of statement that’s often seen on a sampler, but providing good customer service IS a simple thing. If you truly want to have good customer service, all you have to do is ensure that your business consistently does these things:

1) Answer your phone.

Get call forwarding. Or an answering service. Hire staff if you need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. (Notice I say “someone”. People who call want to talk to a live person, not a “fake recorded robot”.)

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2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.

Not plan to keep them. Will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. If you say, “Your new bedroom furniture will be delivered on Tuesday”, make sure it is delivered on Tuesday. Otherwise, don’t say it. The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise – because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.

3) Listen to your customers.

Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer’s point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches and the product babble. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.

4) Deal with complaints.

No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time”. Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service.

5) Be helpful - even if there’s no immediate profit in it.

The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band – and charged me nothing! Where do you think I’ll go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think I’ve told this story to?

6) Train your staff (if you have any) to be ALWAYS helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.

Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn’t) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, “I don’t know, but so-and-so will be back at...”

7) Take the extra step.

For instance, if someone walks into your store and asks you to help them find something, don’t just say, “It’s in Aisle 3.” Lead the customer to the item. Better yet, wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people.

8) Throw in something extra.

Whether it’s a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And don’t think that a gesture has to be large to be effective. The local art framer that we use attaches a package of picture hangers to every picture he frames. A small thing, but so appreciated.

If you apply these eight simple rules consistently, your business will become known for its good customer service. And the best part? The irony of good customer service is that over time it will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!

Fruits Of Moment of Truth in Retail.

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Moments of Truth is a term popularised by Mr Jan Carlzon – the famed CEO of SAS Airlines who had written a book of the same name highlighting the efforts he had made to turn around the ailing airline.

Moments of Truth is defined as those touch points in an organisation where the customer directly interacts with the firm. These are the moments where the customers come in direct contact with the company. The interaction can be with a man or a machine. The touch points are critical because it is where the customer makes a decision to continue or terminate a relationship.

Moments of Truth concept has a wide application in marketing of services. Since services involves close and frequent interaction between the consumer and the service provider, managing these moments acquire strategic importance. The moment where the sales person visits the customer or when the consumer visits the office are opportunities to create an impression and build a relationship.

Identify Moments of Truth

The first step in managing these critical touch points is to identify the points where the company comes in contact with the customer. Kingfisher Airlines had the wisdom to understand that one of the first interactions between the Airlines and the customer comes when the customer reaches the airport. This moment was often neglected by most airlines. Kingfisher capitalized this moment of truth by introducing ushers who would welcome travellers and direct them to the boarding counters. This small step created a huge positive impact on the customer service perception for Kingfisher Airlines.

Organizations often fail to correctly identify these interaction points which often results in a negative customer experience. Hence it is important for all firms to identify and map the customer touch points so that those points could be made an opportunity to make an impact on the consumer.

For example, most of the firms think that the first touch point for a customer who is visiting an office will be the front office personnel. But in reality, the first touch point is the security personnel at the gate who makes the first interaction with the consumer. One of my colleagues discontinued his relationship with his car service centre because of the raw deal given to him by the security staff.

While the front office personnel are trained, security staffs are often outsourced and may / may not be trained in customer service. Smart companies even train these personnel on effective customer service behaviour because first impression is so critical.

Hence it is important for firms to have a service map which gives the marketer an idea about the instances where consumer tries to interact with the firm. Once this is mapped, the marketer will be able to create strategies to create an impact during these moments

Create Moments of Truths

While service organizations have a constant interaction with the customers, product companies may not have any direct interaction with the customers. A soap marketer may not directly interact with the end consumer at all.

In the highly insightful book The Game Changer, the CEO of P&G - AG Lafley identifies two moments of truth for product consumers. The first moment of truth is when the consumer goes to the retail store to purchase the product and the second moment of truth is when the consumer uses the product. The product marketers should make sure that they positively touch the consumer at these critical points.

How ever marketers should not resist from creating new touch points with the consumer. Brands like Sunsilk have taken the initiative to make a direct connection with the consumer by building a community – Sunsilk Gang of Girls. TVS and Maruti Suzuki has tried to connect with the consumer by opening driving schools for the consumers. Fastrack is constantly communicating with the consumers through social networking platforms like Twitter.

Internet has opened up a new platform for marketers to create and manage new moments of truth. Although internet penetration is low in India, it never the less produces a platform to meet consumers who are often the early adopters. Blogs, Twitter, social networking sites like Orkut and Facebook offers an opportunity for marketers to create a community and thus understand the pulse of the market.

People are the key

People are the key to managing moments of truth. Whether it is the front office personnel meeting the consumer who visits the office or be it the sales personnel visiting the customer, people form the most critical media through which the impression is made. It is important for people across different levels in the organization to understand that they have a role to play in managing these interactions.

In a highly insightful book on customer service titled “Hug Your Customers”, author Jack Mitchell talks about the importance of involving every member or organization in meeting and interacting with the consumer. Jack Mitchell is the CEO of a premium clothing company Mitchells/Richards which is well known for their extraordinary customer service. In Mitchells & Richards, every member of the firm from the CEO to the Accountant interacts with the consumers so that the concept of customer service excellence runs through the entire organization.

Encourage Interaction

"The customer (client) is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is a part of it. We are not doing him/her a favour by serving him/her. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so."

Mahatma Gandhi

This famous quote is seen displayed in most of the offices but seldom have we undertaken the activities in true spirit of this famous saying.

The critical questions that should be asked by firms in managing customer interactions are

• · How easy is it for the customer to contact you?


• · How fast will his query be answered?


• · Is there a mechanism to measure his satisfaction?


• · Do we reach out to him or wait for him to contact us?


• · Do we discriminate our customers into large & small or do we have a culture that treats customers as equal?


• · We have a promotions budget, expenses budget etc. Do we have a consumer relationship budget?


• · Do our staffs are given sufficient authority and responsibility to make customer interactions fruitful?

Managing moments of truth is an expensive initiative. The fruits of which will be only visible in the long term. But this investment is worth it.

Brand Extensions / Add-on Brands.

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Brand extension is a strategy where the company uses an existing brand name to launch products in the existing or new category. This brand extension strategy is often the most used growth strategy for brands by marketers. The popularity of this strategy has given rise to a host of discussion among the academic and professional community about the efficacy of brand extensions.

Why Marketers go after brand extensions?

Exploiting existing brand’s equity

Brand extensions often are perceived to be a less risky strategy for launching new products. The logic behind using the existing brand name for new products is to exploit the brand equity of the existing brand. Recently Sundrop which is a famous sunflower oil brand launched Sundrop Peanut Butter. The use of the prominent brand in the new product is expected to trigger trial usage by the consumers of the parent brand.

Costs of launching brand extensions are low

Compared to launching new brands, brand extensions are perceived to be less costly to launch. The reason is that both the channel members and the consumers are familiar with the brand. Hence the extensions are tapping on the existing awareness of the brand. The marketers can thus use their budget to increase the trial usage rather than spend money on creating brand awareness. In one way using existing brand names helps marketers to skip one step in their brand building process.

Experiment

Brand extensions also prompt marketers to explore new categories for the brand. Since the cost of launching brand extensions are lower compared to a new one motivate the marketers to leverage the existing brand’s equity into new categories.

Expand

Brand extensions also expand the scope of the brand. Ponds, which started off as a cold cream, is now an umbrella brand that endorses a wide range of beauty products. Dettol which is a highly successful antiseptic lotion brand has now a basket of products ranging from soaps to plasters. The brand extensions increase the scope and turnover of the brand and thus give more revenue to the firm.

Brand Extensions have its own set of negatives. Brand extensions are based on some assumptions which if gone wrong can affect the parent brand’s equity.

One assumption in brand extension is that consumers like the brand hence will like all the products endorsed by the brand irrespective of the categories. The second assumption is that the parent brand’s equity can be leveraged across various categories. Hence brand extensions will have similar positive equity as the original brand.

Critics argue that brand extensions will dilute the original brand’s equity. Sometimes there is a proliferation of extensions that dilute the parent brand’s positioning. So when a soap brand extends itself into shampoo, the core identity of the brand as soap is now irrelevant. If not clearly defined, the parent brand may lose its product associations in the consumer’s mind.

Another danger in brand extensions is the positioning confusion. For brands which are extending to related-categories are better off in positioning because the brand can continue with the same positioning when extending to related categories. But when the brand is moving to unrelated categories, the same positioning may not work in the new category. A change in the positioning for brand extensions will have adverse impact on the original brand’s position.

However, brand extension is an invaluable strategic tool for marketers looking for expanding the scope of the brand. Marketers have to get their basics right before embarking on the extension strategy.

To Extend or Not to Extend

This may sound too basic a question but every marketer should ask this question about the brand.

“Whether this brand should be extended in future?”

The future of the brand lies in this question. For a new brand, the decision to extend or not to extend in future will have its implication in the selection of brand name and positioning. A brand name which is highly associated with a product feature or category will have limited scope for future extensions. The positioning strategy will also have to be crafted in a manner which will facilitate future brand extensions. For an existing brand, this question will bring about a need for a change in the current positioning strategy.

Have a Vision

The most important task for a marketer looking for brand extension is to have a vision for the brand. Brand extensions as a short-term marketing strategy will be damaging for the parent brand. The development of a long term vision starts with the critical questions as to whether the brand should be extended or not. Once the marketer has decided on the extension, he has to chart a growth path for the brand. The vision involves deciding whether the parent brand should be used as an umbrella brand or as an endorser. Should the brand be used for unrelated extensions or limited to a category?

The careful planning of the brand’s future will eliminate lot of confusion in terms of positioning, category decisions etc.

Line Logic

Marketers should be clear about the impact of a line or brand extension on the product line of the company. Authors John Quelch and David Kenny in an Harvard Business Review article – Extend Profits Not Product-lines suggest that the company sales officers should take a line logic test where they should be able to explain in one sentence, the strategic role played by each SKU (stock keeping units) in the product line .The consumer should also be able to understand the how these extensions fits his/her needs.

Focus

The biggest threat of brand extension is the possible loss of focus on the parent brand because of extensions. Brand Extensions are opportunities for growth. While extending, marketers should not forget that the extensions are based on the equity of the original brand. Any change in the marketing mix strategy of the extensions will have an effect on the parent brand. This strong relationship between the extensions and parent brand should be taken into consideration during every brand promotions.

Lost Opportunity

Every brand extension is lost opportunity to build a new brand. While extensions take away lot of pressure from the marketers, one should have a clear understanding about the potential loss of an opportunity to build a new brand.

Creating Brand Experience

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We are living in an experiential society. The consumers are moving towards selecting products based on experiential factors and marketers have the opportunity to sell products at a premium if the product is able to deliver the right kind of experience.

Bernd Schmitt in his book Customer Experience Management: A revolutionary Approach to Connecting with Your Customers; has defined customer experience management as the process of strategically managing a customer’s entire experience with a product or a company. Experiential marketing aims to engage the consumers so that he gets a complete experience of the product or service. Rather than depending on features, brands are looking at ways to deliver a holistic experience to the consumer.

There are many factors that drive this experience economy. Consumers are now armed with lot of information. This information has made many a differentiation irrelevant. Hence more than the product’s features, consumers tend to evaluate products based on their experience with the product and the company.

Marketers earlier had tried to create brand experience through standalone promotional activities. These activities were short-term and were intended to give a peek into the brand’s projected experience. But the situation now demands that the brand deliver its experience every time the consumer makes a contact with the brand or the company.

In this period where product feature based differentiation is hard to sustain, marketers must create a brand experience which can act as a sustainable differentiation platform.

Understand consumer’s world.

The first task for the marketer is to thoroughly understand the consumer’s world. Consumers live their experience from their own world. Hence when the marketers try to create brand experiences it should resonate with the consumer’s own world.

Brands which target children practice this principle very effectively. Take the example of Cadbury’s Diary Milk Wowie. The brand takes the kids through a chocolate world where the hero Mickey Mouse helps the kids to enjoy the chocolate world and protect them from harm. This fantasy world appeals to the kids intensely and the level of involvement of kids in this campaign is very high.

Be Relevant

Another critical factor for creating effective brand experience is the relevancy of the experience. For creating relevant brand experiences, marketers must get inside the life of a customer. In the highly insightful book “The Game Changer” P&G CEO: A G Lafley describes the importance of understanding the life of the consumers. P&G made it compulsory for its marketing team to involve deep into their consumers life so that they could come out with products that made their life easier.

Credible

The brand experiences that marketers create should be authentic and credible. Fantasy works best for children but for adults, the experience must be based on realism. The promise has to be delivered. This calls for the organization to be highly customer centric.

Kingfisher Airlines created a very meaningful credible experience by making the most of customer touch points. The ushers who helps the traveller at the entrance of the airport to the cabin services and food served created a new brand experience for the travellers.

Memorable

Consumers should cherish the experiences created by the brand in their memories. The experience should appeal both to the rational and emotional mind of the consumer. Catering to the emotional self of the consumer will help the brand to build attachment with the consumer. Appealing to the rational self will enhance the credibility.

Asian Paints in its clutter breaking campaign “ Har Rang Kuch Kahta Hain “achieved both these objectives. The campaign touched the emotional chord with the consumers and also appealed to the rational mind of the consumers. The brand made the experience more rational by launching sample packs where the consumers can paint a portion of the wall to see how the colour will actually look like.

Involve

It is absolutely important for a brand to involve the consumers in any brand related activity if it wants to create a complete experience. The popularity of internet has opened many opportunities for the brand to involve the consumers. The brand can motivate consumers to sign up in an online community, visit the website or play games, share experience etc.

Brands can create involvement offline too. Kinder Joy has a unique method of creating a brand experience by bundling its chocolate with a surprise gift. Kids eat the chocolate and play with the toy and it created a unique brand experience for them which compel them to buy more.

Brands can create involvement by devising interesting brand rituals. Kitkat smartly taught its consumers a unique ritual of eating KitKat. Consumers willingly adopted this brand ritual making the experience of eating Kitkat unique. Brands can extend the involvement with the consumers by introducing memorabilia and collectables which will further enhance the brand experience.

Retail Training

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Six Ways to Improve an Employees Productivity Today

Here are six simple actions you can take to help someone be more productive today.

1. Challenge her. From time to time we all need a little bit of extra motivation and focus. Challenge a person who has a $200 average sale to strive for $225 today.  At the very least she will be more aware of where her average sale is that day.

2. Observe and give feedback. Take a few minutes to watch your employee with a customer.  Afterward, share with the employee one or two ideas he can try with the next customer.  Even better, continue to observe the employee so that you can give him feedback on how he applied your suggestion.

3. Teach him. We often take for granted that our employees know everything they need to know to be productive, but just because we've taught it doesn't mean they learned it or remember it.  Ask yourself what is the one thing you can teach an employee that will help him/her be more productive.  Then do it.  There's nothing wrong with quick refresher courses or a pop quiz.

4. Show him. Most people they learn better by watching rather of simply being told.  If you want an employee to improve his add-ons (or as we call it, enhancing the sale) you or another employee can demonstrate the expected behaviors.

5. Reward them. Contests and spiffs are a great way to increase productivity, but don't expect the motivation to continue after the end of the contest or spiff.

6. Tell her. Sometimes you just have to tell someone that her productivity is below your expectations, and you expect her to do better today.  This only works if you know the person has the skills to do what you're asking.

Here's what doesn't help someone be more productive today

1. Hoping they do better.

2. Spending time in the office.

3. Thinking about what they need to do.

4. Putting it on your to-do list.

5. Avoiding the person you need to talk to/work with.

6. Doing it yourself.

Of course I've totally oversimplified the very big topic of coaching and developing employees.  Which was also my intent.  Most of the ways I listed to increase an employee's productivity only take a few minutes of your time.

You don't need fancy forms or hour-long meetings to improve an employee's productivity.  It just takes a commitment to make it happen

My Journey from College to Work .

Fresh out of school ,Like everyone I wanted a good college life,wanted to enjoy it, but very soon in my life I realised that I cant have that life for a long period , I decided that I will do correspondence studies

after 2 years of junior college,as planned I passed 12th in 1999 & enrolled for correspondence studies for my graduation.

Benefits of correspondence studies -

You get a lot of free time for yourselves as you just have to go & sit for the exams without attending lectures.

You can work part time or full time jobs & earn yourselves some money to enjoy life.

You dont have to study all year long.

Forgot to mention the reason I wanted to do correspondence is in my college I saw professors teaching students right from the Guide books & not anything from their experiences, I got fed up & I was mature enough to realise that that kind of studies I can do on my own, & I did & passed Graduation by securing 1st class [ 64 % ] which was very good for anyone who did not attend classes regularly.

After the results when I saw lot of my friends who were in regular colleges & were studing throught the year for the graduation, most of them failed & some got less marks than me.

I had to think why I fared better than most of my friends , & I got my answers in no time.

I had nothing to lose as I did not study throught the year.

Most of the friends were nervous writing the paper as they thought they will forget the answers when the question comes in front of them.

I had more experience in real life situations ,beacause I had some work experience from doing full time jobs.

I just read the topic & tried to understand what the author says without mugging up all the answers like my friends did.

When I saw the questions , answers just came naturally to me.

I knew that even if I fail , I was having enough experience for the job which will give me more money than the fresh graduate jobs.

I was fearless at the time of exams.

Now I earn more than my friends who had gone to college full time , but yes I still regret that I did not enjoy college completely , but you have to pay the price for everything , I had to pay the price of full time college to earn more.

Experience made me more mature than my other friends ,which helps me in my day to day life in making decisions for my work & my personal life.

My First Pay Cheque-1999

1999 - The memory of getting my first paycheque is still so fresh in mind as it had happened yesterday.

When I was in my seventh standard in school, me & my friends starting smoking for fun.

My close Friends in school -
Pratik Mhardolkar. [We are still very close & in touch on a daily basis]
Ranjit Chavan. [We are not in touch, he is vamoosed without a trace , I miss him a lot]
Tarvindar Saggu. [We are not in touch,its been a long time I spoke to him , he is shifted to Thane]

My first Job in Real Value Ltd , it was a Public ltd co ,with all sorts of perks like daily allowance , Medical facility & others. It was a outdoor selling job , In 1999 Bank Manager salary would be around 6000 Rs .& I was earning 4500 Rs as my first job in organised market.
It was a dream job for me as lots people were searching a job in Banks & Admin sector where they get security & medical & allowances.

Coming back to the point ,

We friends had made a habbit to go in our school ground every evening for smoking cigarattes.
That moment I still remember as my friends were the first to see my salary cheque & give a reaction.
Pratik said he was very happy to see the cheque & happy for me, Ranjith gave a pat on my back & Tarvinder was smiling from his eyes.

It was a proud moment for me as I had worked very hard for that.

It was a very difficult job & I had that fire in my belly as it was my first job.
That job going office to office with that 5g fire extinguiisher to give demonstrations has taught me lots of things which are still helping me in my personal & professional life.

Everyone wondered how I got this job .

5 Days before I got this job,i was unemployed & was searching a part-time job when going through the newspapers I saw an advertisements saying earn 25000 Rs per month, this ad fascinated me & I went to the adress of this ad , what I saw in this place was a marketing office where all the people were carrying Big Sack of Bags in & out of the office & I was wondering that what this people are doing.

I asked the receptionists that I want to earn 25000 Rs per month,she guided me to the manager in that marketing office, the manager called me next morning in the office.
Next morning I went to the office , that manager told me it is a door to door selling job , I thought if it is a door to door selling job how can you earn 25000 Rs, I was wondering that the salesmans who comes to our house to sell the household items ,do they really earn 25000 Rs ,i had to find out.
The manager told me to go with a salesman on the feild & see how he works & earns.
The salesman name was Tiwari he was from U.P & had that UP accent when he use to talk broken English.

I went with him , he did not talk too much . He took me to the nearest garden & told me to sit ,he spread the newspaper on the grass & he lied down.

I was confused , I said to myself that in the morning where we have to go for work , this guy is sleeping without any tension.

I forgot to mention , it was a only commission job with no fixed salary.

When he was sleeping I asked him , what he was doing, He replied after a long pause in hindi , look Kiran this is the morning time when Husbands are gone to work as they have the money ,& Housewives are busy in their daily chores, in the afternoon people eat & sleep for sometime, Nobody likes a salesman in the afternoon & morning , So we will start in the evening.

To my amazement, that guy started from 5pm to 7pm & earned 750 Rs as commission for himself in 2 hours.
As they say people from UP are the best salespeople.
So next day I took my sack & went on my own on the field to sell & earn some commission.
I did not look like a salesman , I was in my Levis Jeans & an expensive T-shirt & shoes.
My mom make Tiffin for me & I use to eat that on station with some tea.
For 4 days I could not sell a single item , it was summer season , was difficult to carry that bag & walk but still I was trying very hard.
On the 4th day in Vikhroli at around 1pm I went to the Real Value office to sell my items , I was desperate & tired , there was an executive in the office , he told me that their Regional manager is going to come at 3pm, so he asked me to come at 3pm.

I came again at 3 pm & their was their Regional manager sitting in his office , that executive guided me to his office, he told me to give presentation, as I was desperate for a sale , I started lying to him about the product with complete confidence & conviction ,that manager was very experienced & was knowing that I was lying to him, when I finished the presentation ,he told me that he liked the way I presented the product & gave me an offer to work for him , & I accepted the job.

This job moulded me the way I look at things & made me a professional very early in my life.

My Great pleasure was not after seeing my Salary Cheque , It was after seeing the Salary Slip with all the Perks & Allowances & Medical Expenses,

My Mom was proud of me , that was enough :o)