Tips and ideas for new managers (and students) on starting out in 2012 or later in Corporate India, inspired from personal experiences and many sources. Career Advice for MBA and BBA students or just a refresher for folks already in the corporate world.

1. if i had
to start
all over
again? #MILE1214
linkedin punit modhgil
twitter @modhgil

2. what others said-1/3

3. what others said-2/3

4. what others said-3/3

5. my journey
failures lucky
# iit jee # unicorp, niit, ravel, oracle, siebel systems,
# mba talisma, allied worldwide, microsoft
# one start up # one start up, one in progress
# ‘settled’ # lived: ranchi, delhi, san francisco,
# financials bengaluru, london
# 40 states in the usa, 15+ countries, drive in
20 mega cities
# a national report (creation of ministry of it)
# business manager to ceo and co-founder of
niit
# 5 mentors
# klout score of 80
# indian

6. how would i start all over again?
“..getting fired from apple was the best thing
that could have happened. the heaviness of
being successful was replaced by the lightness
of being a beginner again, less sure about
everything.”
steve jobs looking back at hugely public firing in 1985

7. 2 quotes
“if this day was the end of my life, how would i
live each day? do i have many days when i feel i
haven’t done justice to what i wanted to do and
achieve?”
“if you have 20 crores of rupees in your bank,
what would you do?”

8. so what changed
4Ps, when not meaningless, they are useless. read them for a
historical perspective
“hyperlinks subvert hierarchy”
atomselectronsneurons
(manufacturinginformationattention)
push marketing doesn’t work and is expensive (roi?)
information deluge, real time, measurable and trackable
honesty and the need for an authentic and a remarkable story
digital natives vs. digital immigrants
wom or word of mouth (or earned media) still is the most
credible source of leads for business

9. so what changed
internet users cross tv households
(IMRB/IAMAI/internal GOOGLE)
100m
90m
80m
Net users
70m
C&S TV hh
60m
50m
40m
2007 2008 2009 2010
2 hrs 15 mins a day rivals or exceeds TV consumption

10. so what changed
there are over 84m desktop internet users and over
50m mobile internet users in india as of this
moment
to put this is perspective there are only 103m cable
& satellite tv sets in india. and a total of 134m tv
sets
and all of this is larger than the national circulation
of print
every single day, facebook in india gets you greater
reach of sec a/b than an ipl match

11. so what changed
keep your head down be remarkable
follow instructions be generous
show up on time create art
work hard make judgment calls
suck it up connect people and
ideas

12. so what changed
• abc: attendance based compensation; poorly
paid, low in respect, high in turnover
• what’s your ‘passion quotient’?
• ‘not my job’ is a career limiting attitude
“we hire for attitude..”

13. so what changed
the linchpin leverage

14. starting up
“the difference between what we do and what
we are capable of doing would suffice to solve
most of the world's problem.” gandhi
“to believe in something, and not live it, is
dishonest.” gandhi

15. starting up
• listen: do you have listening posts? what
are they saying? If not, create them
• learn: pick up trends, like what you see.
else move on.
research
• leverage: so you think you can make a
difference? build and test with your
ecosystem-network and mentors. ready?
• lead: go launch yourself. if need be, take
pitch
baby steps. get early success in first.

16. why should i care about you
brand you: soft power trumps hard power
soft power assets: your image, reputation,
network, communication skills, alliances,
speaking, visibility, intellectual property
(articles), etc.
hard power assets: tangible things you can list
on your resume such as education credentials,
years of experience, job titles, training programs
etc.

17. cheat sheet 1/2
network when not needed (remember sant kabir?):
learn linkedin as if it’s an art form, twitter anyone?
written word stays (be careful), no flaming please
start a ‘trust of favors’: a favor a day/act of generosity
with 0 expectations
when in academia, connect with industry through
research and survey outreach
switch off automation: personal messages, custom
status updates, send a personalized invite on linkedin
get the act together: business card, business suit,
business language even if you are a student

18. cheat sheet 2/2
no experience will go waste, dots will connect don’t
worry
build a network of diverse mentors, say 3 or 4
internship is a job, not a training; please start your
job search now
on whose back is the monkey? it’s your home work
relatively free time assets: innocent coffees,
breakfast meetings, and airport drop/pick up car
conversations
one book a week will help you tell better stories

19. minimum 2 out of 3 have to be a yes
you deliver on time

your work is good often
exceptional

working with you is
such a pleasure


20. 2 humble requests:
one life saving, one nation saving
side view mirrors and side indicators, you
actually paid for them. why not use them next
time you drive?
there’s national change around you. why not
pick at least one cause close to your heart?
please.

21. curious. now go to the source 1/2
videos:
steve jobs’ 2005 stanford commencement address
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
neil gaiman - inspirational commencement speech at the university of the
arts 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikAb-NYkseI
anu aga: investing in the living
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbfvZeyeBhE
anupam mishra: the ancient ingenuity of water harvesting
http://youtu.be/eJCTAXb_BWs

22. curious. now go to the source 2/2
books:
breakthrough branding by catherine kaputa
the power of habit by charles duhigg
linchpin: are you Indispensable? By seth godin
i is for Influence by rob yeung
the greatest secret of success- your passion quotient by dr. virender
kapoor
how we decide by jonah lehrer
the paradox of choice: why more Is less by barry schwartz
smart calling by art sobczak
permission marketing by seth godin
outliers: the story of success by malcolm gladwell
the cluetrain manifesto by rick levine, christopher locke, doc searls,
david weinberger, mckee jake
various presentations and posts by mahesh murthy

23. #MILE1214
thank you and let’s continue
our conversation
linkedin punit modhgil
twitter @modhgil