My 4th day in Viral. I am amused at how different ‘down with fever’ and ‘down with viral’ sound. ‘down with viral’ has so much more class to it, so much more panache, intensity, pride and ‘sense of importance’… I can’t help but revel into that extra touch of sympathy that it invokes into everyone who I talk to over phone… but sadly that’s what it is…frustrating but true, and it being Diwali, its timing couldn’t have been worse either…(here comes my masterstroke at invoking sympathy). Imgaine my misery, I even SMSed this Diwali context to a student who expressed her desire to come over to office to meet me for some advice (quite unlike someone like me, who is usually pretty understated in choice of his expressions). Anyways, before this whole stuff becomes a rant on my state-of-being, let me come to what prompted me to go online with my thoughts…
In the last few days, with all the time in the world to dip myself into self-pity, I gorged onto books on the rack. I chose the two newest entrants…Ramadorai’s ‘the TCS story’ and Wood’s ‘Leaving Microsoft to change the world’. I am still reading them simultaneously (Wait! I am not ambidextrous and even if I am, I still have only a couple of eyes), which means, reading one while taking a break from reading another. While juggling them a very important commonness dawned upon me. And a few minutes later, a commonness among all the bios/autobios…it is the concept of ‘role model’.
While the lesser mortals kept getting either infatuated to the ‘Roles’ (DDLJ’s Raj, KKHH’s Rahul) or besotted by the ‘Models’ (or for that matter supermodels), these fulfilled & contributive people had role-models to look up to. When Ramadorai talked about FC Kohli or Wood talked about his father, I had a sense of Déjà vu of Bagchi talking about his mother, Welch talking about his mother, Gates talking about his mother, Sergey & Larry talking about Rajeev Motwani (their teacher), Ratan Tata talking about Jeh, Sabeer Bhatia talking about his Math teacher, Imran talking about Aamir or Ballmer talking about his mother, Nilekani talking about his uncle and so on and so forth…
In their lives was a strong positive influence of a person who aspired for higher rather than mediocre. Amidst the waves of mediocrity, they had a lighthouse guiding themselves to higher contributions… better being.
So, have a role-model! If you don’t find one, search! If you can’t find one, change your orbit!
About Sandeep Atre
Dr. Sandeep Atre:
• Counseling Psychologist and an internationally recognized ‘Emotional & Social Intelligence’ Expert, with experience of more than two decades in helping people ‘sort out’ and ‘excel in’ intrapersonal and interpersonal matters. He holds a PhD in Management and a Master’s degree in Psychology (www.dratrecounsels.com).
• Founder of Socialigence – a venture specializing in development of ‘Social & Emotional Intelligence’ and its offshoot interpersonal skills through workshops and an award-winning online course rooted in neuroscience and psychology (www.socialigence.net).
• Author of two books related to his domain, namely - “Understanding Emotions Logically” and “Observing Nonverbal Behavior”; and third book on various aspects of life, named “Two Paras of Everyday Wisdom”. Moreover, the collection of his Nazms and Ghazals is published as a book titled “Baat Jazbaat Ki”.
• Corporate Trainer, with experience of close to two decades. Has conducted 150+ workshops/sessions for 50+ organizations & institutions like CSC, Cummins, Piramal, Ranbaxy, Lupin, Bridgestone, Michelin, Eicher, Maruti, Force, Idea, Airtel, NBHC, SBI, HDFC, L&T, Zydus, Thapar University, Banasthali, Narsee Monjee, Symbiosis, IIFM Bhopal, Azim Premji University, Nirma, Welingkar & IBS Hyderabad.
• Co-Founder and Director of CH EdgeMakers – a leading ‘Coaching and Training’ organization of central India for more than 24 years. He has trained close to 100 thousand students for ‘Soft Skills’ & ‘Entrance & Recruitment Preparation’ (www.ch-india.com).
• ‘Management Speaker and Orator’. Has featured at platforms like TEDx, IIM, IIT, NIT, CII, YI, CII-IWN, TCS, IMA, ICAI, ECA, ISHRAE, NEN, Sahodaya, Aditya Birla Education Academy, Round Table, LinkedIn Local, Rotary International, MP State’s Teachers’ Training, Academic Staff College DAVV, Police University Rajasthan, Police Training Academy Indore & more than 100 institutions.
• Member of noted associations and boards. Has been an ‘Executive Committee’ member of Indore Management Association. Associate Editor of IMA publications. Governing Council Member of Banasthali University’s SBBJ Centre for Research in MSME & Promotion of Entrepreneurship in Women. Executive Member of IMS, DAVV Alumni Association. Member of Rotary International’s ‘Group Study Exchange’ team to Minnesota, USA. ESI Coach with FWSA Australia.
Note: For glimpses of work, watch YouTube Channel ‘Dr. Sandeep Atre at Socialigence’.
