As a part of my new year resolution, I am gonna pen down 1 post (min 500 words) every fortnight.
So here I am, day 1 of the second month of 2015, writing my third post from Goa. Yesterday had an opportunity to talk to some 250 MBA students on a range of topics. And I must say I am enthralled by the idea of the enormous possibilities human imagination can have.
The talk was about the 'What-How-Why' of Thought Leadership, and my focus was on the 'Why' aspect.
So here I am, day 1 of the second month of 2015, writing my third post from Goa. Yesterday had an opportunity to talk to some 250 MBA students on a range of topics. And I must say I am enthralled by the idea of the enormous possibilities human imagination can have.
The talk was about the 'What-How-Why' of Thought Leadership, and my focus was on the 'Why' aspect.
You know that it’s a great start of the year when find yourself in Goa in the very first month. This was my first visit to this beautiful city, (which I have told everyone that I was saving for a special trip).
Well, this was special.
Having been invited by Goa Institute of management was in a feat in itself and I spent some nervous couple of weeks preparing for a topic which couldn’t have been more vague than – “Thought Leadership”. With the vagueness comes the freedom to experiment, or so I thought.
Preparation:
The best part of the talk/ event was the preparation. I read a lot. Watched many videos from TED talks. And then it occurred to me. First 10 days I was under the impression that I wasn’t the right candidate to stand in front of MBA students and talk to them about Thought Leadership, because I’m not a Thought Leader myself.
This can be a difficult feeling to get, because every single video which I sought on the internet was about and by a seemingly established Thought Leader.
But then I had a long chat with my mentor and the organizers of the committee at the GIM. It was then that I realized that I don’t have to be a Thought Leader to facilitate a discussion on the topic. I am a facilitator, and my role is to facilitate a discussion on a topic. I don’t have to a content expert.
While researching for the topic I came to know about a lot of tremendously simple and effective steps to establish oneself as a thought leader. The key is breaking down the process into simple steps and taking those steps regularly. One of the examples being – authoring a book.
Authoring a book seems to be a gigantic task, seemingly impossible for an average person. But the very thought that it can be achieved in a matter of a month, makes it worth a trial.
The Talk:
The final talk wasn’t up to the expectations. The audience was forced to stay as the attendance was mandatory and the discussion never caught momentum for me to be able to drive the idea home. There were some high points when I showed them that there were Thought leaders among them and that actually got them going. The twitter handle worked as well and I got some 30 new followers over the next few days.
The Need to look inwards:
While this was a great opportunity for me to travel to Goa, stand in front of India’s finest MBA students and share a few ideas on a given topic, it gave me an opportunity to understand the need to look inwards. There were so many conversations which started in and around the cafe area while the most interesting one lasted for over 3 hours.
While the life is full of opportunities and options, the most difficult challenge is to realize your calling in life. What is that I want to do?
There are a few very important questions which need answers. I seek their answers.
Whatever is being written here are the personal views of the author and are subjected to agreement or disagreement.
And a request to all members, Please share your views !!
