"I prefer simplicity. From food to clothes, everything is simple, I don't like to complicate where unnecessary. I value personal satisfaction and approval more and living up to my expectations makes me happy. A day gone by is good for me if I bring a smile to a frowned face, be it a client, employee or friend. I like to question the usual way of approaching things, that the world thinks is the norm and in-process develop novel methods to look at and solve any problem. Travelling is not just a hobby or passion, but also a necessity for my self-development. Lastly, I am one of a kind ambivert who likes to manage and optimise everything in life."
Name an instance where you wanted something and went out of your comfort zone to achieve it OR Tell us the biggest risk you have taken so far in your life.
This reminds me of the time when I was determined to get qualified for the Foreign Exchange Program which takes place in the 5th term of MBA curriculum. The entry depends solely on the grades and rankings of the first term results, the higher the marks more options you get to choose the University of your liking. Since I had the Umeå University, Sweden in my mind (College of my dreams), I would have to get a decent ranking (within top 50 ) in the batch. Since the first term of MBA has courses from all domains, Operations and HR courses were not the ones I was really confident of, and Finance & Marketing courses were a cakewalk for me. Still, I had to get a good grade in all courses, in order to get into the College of my dreams. I studied hard, put in the extra effort and rose above my mental blocks to finally attend the fall semester at Umeå which were the best 3 months of my life. Had the courses been of my choice, scoring wouldn't have been that difficult, but in this case, I had to move out of my comfort zone to achieve my goal.
When was the last time someone relied on you? OR What did you do which was purely for someone else - a truly selfless act.
This story is from the time I interned at Waste Warriors NGO, Dehradun as part of my Social internship under IPM. I had the opportunity to work with some of the most passionate and socially conscious individuals whom I am glad to call mentors, friends now. My contribution to the team was in terms of management at the workplace. But, as a part of the NGO, I had the beautiful opportunity to go out of the way and spread the message of Waste Management and sustainability to a range of audiences, School Children, Teachers, Army Officials, Society Workers, Daily wage workers as well as trekkers and hikers. This experience of conveying and spreading a message not for my benefit but for the greater good instilled a sense of purpose and self-content in my workings. Although this example does not illustrate an act done for someone else, I definitely consider it a selfless act for the betterment of the environment we live in and hence the humanity as a whole. I made it a point to include sustainability and never forget the learnings I received there in all my future managerial endeavours.
Tell us about a time when you disagreed with an opinion/idea/decision. What did you do about it?
Many times in my life, I had to disagree with the people around me and take stand for something I believe in. One of those instances was when I was quite young, in 10th standard and wanted to take up Commerce as my stream in Higher Secondary. Being from a family of Science enthusiasts and typical orthodox believers of 'Weak students opt Commerce', everyone was shocked when I showed an inclination towards the stream. Since I was adamant about my choice and interest in Business and Accountancy, I put my foot down. Many days of convincing and flattering went by, many extended relatives called to rescue for helping me 'realise my mistake' through arguments like 'You can do anything after opting for Science', I succeeded in maintaining my grounds and my family had to heed into my choice. This was one of the earliest recollections for me when I took a decision and implemented it and this habit has been ingrained within me, now I hold my grounds wherever I feel necessary. When something's wrong according to me, I can't go forward with it, but now I have become receptive to other's opinions and thoughts and change my stand if I am convinced that I did not consider all angles or there has been misinformation or misinterpretation on my part.
What is the one thing you can claim to have some level of expertise or depth of knowledge in - it could be anything - a subject, a sport, a hobby, a venture, an initiative which has led you to do deep work in that field?
Although I can talk about a few Finance and Marketing fields here, since the question also includes 'a hobby', I'd like to talk here about my interest, knowledge and hence self-proclaimed expertise in Travelling. Having travelled a lot (any opportunity I get), to 15+ countries in Europe and Asia & 20+ states in India, I can say with conviction that the expertise comes from experience and not only knowledge.
How to go about travelling, the Do's and Don'ts, How to make the best out of your short/few days trips, efficiently exchange cultures, meet new people, experience the best of the attractions, optimising time and energy, taking appropriate precautions are the few among infinite other topics I can guide an individual on before going for a trip.
For me travelling is not just about visiting the new land, but about meeting new people and exchanging cultures and ideas with locals. This interest of mine developed from Couchsurfing (To meet and stay with locals for free) and Airbnb which are platforms I used extensively during my Europe Travel. Travelling gives me new perceptions to approach life and understand there is so much to explore and experience in this world after all. The same gives me the ability to approach my work from a new angle every time I come back from a self-revealing and wholesome trip.
If 10 Million Dollars (approximately INR 75 Crores) is given to you to use it any way you deem fit what would you do with this corpus?
I will divide it into 3 equal parts of 3.3 mils $ each. I will use it to consume, donate and invest Policy
- Use it to cater to my families' and my own materialistic wants (House, Car etc.), self-development (Courses, education) and investment for the start-up I always dreamed to develop. But ensure that I have enough for at least 10 years.
- Use it for Charity, upliftment of the underprivileged and unfortunate.
- Invest in medium-term security with less risk to get back to 10 million dollars after a decade of compounding.
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