Akshay Ruparelia is the founder of doorstep.uk, an online estate agency business that has recently been valued at 12 million pounds, in just over a year. Ruparelia had to balance school work and his business that sells properties for a fraction of the cost that other bigger firms charge.
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A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action Please
“As much as starting a business is not an easy choice, we should do more to fight the stereotype that entrepreneurship is not a female career. We need to show more examples of successful businesswomen and female-led businesses to inspire younger generations”
Investors must show more than just good intentions if we’re to realize the full potential of female-founded startups. It is well known that, in the UK, for every £1 of VC funding, female-founded businesses receive just 1p. Worse than that, for the last 20 years only 10% of venture funding has gone towards businesses that even include a woman anywhere in the founding or leadership team. This is a terrible statistic, especially when it’s also been shown that female-founded businesses generate around 78% return on investment compared with 31% for start-ups founded by men. The industry has launched countless initiatives in recent years to encourage more funding into female-founded businesses, from dedicated accelerator programs to office hours aimed at expanding investors’ and founders’ networks and allowing women to get a foot in the door. Yet nothing seems to be working. In fact, in Q3 of 2020 funding into female-founded businesses dropped to its lowest level in three years.
Fighting Stereotypes
As part of Investing in Women Code we collect data to better understand the reasons behind the underrepresentation of female founders. Although it is still a work in progress, we can confidently say that more male-led than female-led start-ups approach investors. As a result, the chances are that male-led start-ups receive funding more often. This might be because, in our culture and mentality, entrepreneurship is not seen as a career for women, as a consequence of which young women are not encouraged to take this direction.
As much as starting a business is not an easy choice, we should do more to fight the stereotype that entrepreneurship is not a female career. We need to show more examples of successful businesswomen and female-led businesses to inspire younger generations. They need to see that entrepreneurship is an option they can prepare for.
Over-Incubated And Over-Advised, Just Invest
With that in mind, there are many laudable programs out there that are designed to give women advice and support on seeking funding, all of which do have a role to play. However, we have to ask the question of whether we need all of them, and whether they are having the desired effect? In fact, recent research has shown that in some cases accelerators actually exacerbate the equity funding gap between male- and female-founded businesses.
Instead, investors need to commit to actually investing into female-founded businesses. Women are perfectly capable of identifying a problem on their own, creating a solution, and drafting a pitch deck. This is not knowledge that is kept secret from them. Rather than burying female founders under mountains of advice, we just need to ensure that they are being encouraged to start businesses in the first place, give them a fair chance, and back them.
“Women are perfectly capable of identifying a problem on their own, creating a solution, and drafting a pitch deck”
“…mantra should always be, if you are a good company, with a strong team, and strong proposition, and have realistic expectations, there is a high chance you will secure investment”
For example, at SFC Capital in 2020 we took the conscious decision to ignore often ineffective programs, office hours, and accelerators, and instead made a public pledge to invest at least 50% of latest fund into female-founded companies. This has resulted in us investing in some truly ground breaking companies such as ETIQ, Esther, Jack & Bry, and many more.
We haven’t lowered our quality bar, and we haven’t passed on other deals. The mantra should always be, if you are a good company, with a strong team, and strong proposition, and have realistic expectations, there is a high chance you will secure investment.
The First Step is the Hardest
Although an industry-wide problem, we believe that setting ourselves high targets at the seed stage, even if we fall slightly short, starts to make a difference in the wider industry. Securing early-stage investment provides companies with the capital and tools necessary to go on to secure further funding and expand their businesses. By working hard to achieve better gender balance at the earliest stage, we can change the long-term fortunes of many female-founded companies. For example, without seed investors we would not have many of the successful companies like Onfido, or Transcend Packaging that we see today. By investing in women now we can see global companies founded by women in the future, and ensure the successes of future Whitney Wolfe Herds aren’t as exceptional as the recent Bumble IPO was held up to be.
“By investing in women now we can see global companies founded by women in the future, and ensure the successes of future Whitney Wolfe Herds aren’t as exceptional as the recent Bumble IPO was held up to be”
“Female founders do not need any more ‘how to’ sessions. They need action, and proactive investors willing to look at the opportunity their business represents, rather than their gender”
Unfortunately, we did not quite hit our 50% target for this fund. However, simply through being proactive and issuing the public statement, we saw significantly more female-founded companies proactively approach us for funding – evidence that there are plenty out there who deserve it. This has meant we have invested in significantly more female businesses than the market average, and we hope this number will only increase as word continues to spread.
It is clear that if the investor community keeps doing what it has been doing for the last few years, nothing much is going to change. Female founders do not need any more ‘how to’ sessions. They need action, and proactive investors willing to look at the opportunity their business represents, rather than their gender. By taking these first steps, we can make the start-up ecosystem more representative of our society, and also create some incredible companies along the way.
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12 Essential Pieces of Advice for Graduates
“Everyone makes mistakes, it’s how we learn”
Chief Executive Officer of new zealand’s international Travel College (ITC), Claire Huxley has a background in international travel and tourism. Her personal extensive travel experience, paired with her marketing background, make her an incredible leader for ITC.
Claire recently offered up some words of wisdom for graduates, and for those graduating over the coming months.
“Remember the lessons you learnt during this year – resilience is about learning from what you have been through and don’t forget you’ve come this far, you can do so much more! Focus on progress not perfection.”
Here are her 12 essential tips for graduates:
1. The 4 Ps
Be positive, principled, pro-active, and productive.
That’s a powerful combination that will appeal to any employer in any industry in the world.
2. Discover yourself
Be self-aware, learn what you are good at, what you love to do, what you dislike, and discover WHY. And don’t forget to challenge yourself.
Taking your first steps into a career is a great time for self-discovery, and it will help you to decide where you’d ultimately like to end up.
3. Be open to change
Don’t say NO before you know, and don’t give up.
If there’s one thing we’ve all learned over the past year, it’s that things can change rapidly. Being open to change and not giving up will help you navigate changes throughout life.
4. Don’t hide from mistakes
Everyone makes mistakes, it’s how we learn. So when you do inevitably make a mistake, own up to it, remember that no one is perfect, and take it as an opportunity to learn and improve for the future.
5. Keep moving forward
Any career is about moving forward and keeping up that momentum to always improve and advance. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback to help guide you, and don’t let problems or challenges fester as they can slow you down or hold you back.
6. Learn from everything
Every moment is an opportunity to learn from those around you – even if you have more experience than them!
Look for a mentor who can take you under their wing and help you continue your education even after you have graduated.
“Every moment is an opportunity to learn from those around you – even if you have more experience than them! “
“You will likely meet people you don’t get along with during your career, but kindness is free, and respect will get you a lot further than petty feuds”
7. Make connections
Stay in touch with those in your graduating class – everyone you meet is a possible future opportunity or job. Your biggest asset is your network, and you’ll be amazed how it can help you in the years to come.
8. Be patient
You might not find your dream job right away, but if you keep working towards it, you will get there.
9. Utilize your co-workers
Your co-workers once started in the same place you did – they were in your shoes as a new entrant into the industry. That’s why you can use them and learn from them, ask them questions and take their advice to help you move from being a recent graduate into an industry professional like them.
10. Treat everyone with respect
Always be polite, and never stab anyone in the back.
You will likely meet people you don’t get along with during your career, but kindness is free, and respect will get you a lot further than petty feuds.
11. Keep your own counsel
When you keep your own counsel, you keep your negative opinions to yourself. It basically means if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.
Of course, if you have ideas to improve a service, you can discuss them with your manager, but straight-out negativity is never appreciated.
12. Prepare for the future
You never know what the future may hold, but you can prepare for it now. A big part of that is getting into good habits now that will carry you through your career. Be sure to develop good time management now, and you’ll use it every day for the rest of your life.
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The ‘Business’ of Giving Back
“..in a world that is ever conscious of our global footprint both environmentally and socially, companies are being forced to re-evaluate their contribution to the sustainability of our communities and the planet as a whole”
A community is only as strong as the businesses that support it. In this post-COVID business world, we are recognizing that our businesses can no longer be islands of isolation, fiercely guarding our IP, operating in the cattle chutes of customer retention, competition and profit-making. While these elements are important to the strength and success of a business, corporate social responsibility and ‘giving back’ is becoming more and more essential to a strong, forward-thinking business model.
Once upon a time, a business would make a charitable donation, accept the tax write-off, and continue with their operations, focusing mainly on profits and the bottom line. Now however, in a world that is ever conscious of our global footprint both environmentally and socially, companies are being forced to re-evaluate their contribution to the sustainability of our communities and the planet as a whole. Companies are standing up non-profit foundations, supporting social enterprises, and choosing to support organizations that can yield an ROI (return of impact) that they can pass on to their employees, customers, and stakeholders.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have given us a powerful framework for collective responsibility. As businesses must now have a conscience in order to truly make a sustainable impact, and by incorporating the SDGs into their business models, companies are choosing to support non-profit causes that prioritize the SDGs, helping these businesses to improve their environmental footprint and contribute positively to the unity of our societies, thus giving their customers and stakeholders a compelling reason to choose them over competitors. But to achieve the full measure of effect from corporate social responsibility, ‘giving back’ needs to be embraced in a systemic fashion, with companies of all sizes – from the large multi-national to the microenterprise – taking measurable action.
The ‘give back’ economy will be integral to the future of business. Giving back does not merely mean contributing to charity, it means that we give back to our planet by ensuring that we have a responsible supply chain, reduce our carbon footprint, and help to contribute positively to our diverse society. It means that we recognize the role we play as business owners in our collective community economy, ensuring that we thrive, rather than decay. It is no secret that together we are stronger. But we must now consider how we can collaborate with one another to support and improve our communities.
“It is not disingenuous to promote your commitment to social good, rather, it is important to share your value with the public, as this allows customers to make an informed and responsible choice when considering your product or service”
“Together, we have the power to heal our global fractures. Together, we can reach new heights of innovation and achievement”
The most obvious form of giving back is through charitable, tax-deductive contributions. While this is an easy and valuable choice, it is essential that we clearly understand the mission, vision, strategy, and fiscal management of the charities we choose. How much of our contribution is going to administration and how much is actually going to impact? Out of the amount of time and money that a business prioritizes to impact, can the value of this impact be quantified? If it can, and a business is satisfied with measurement, they must make sure that they share this contribution and measure of impact in their annual report, on social media, and weave it into the ‘story’ of their model of operations. It is not disingenuous to promote your commitment to social good, rather, it is important to share your value with the public, as this allows customers to make an informed and responsible choice when considering your product or service.
Through the formation of a company-aligned foundation, a company can make a direct impact in line with the mission, vision, industry/sector in which they operate. Tying business operations to a vehicle for environmental and/or social impact can be a powerful mechanism for impact, easily allowing customers, partners, employees, and stakeholders to not only have a clear line of sight into the social responsibility of the company, but to actively participate in this impact. When a company has an associated foundation, they can closely manage the mission, the administration and fiscal responsibility, and they can better align the purpose of the foundation with the operations of the company.
“..a company, one of your greatest assets, aside from the quality of your employees, is your reputation. You can’t have one without the other”
Companies who make their employees, customers, and stakeholders a part of their mission of ‘giving’, realize a measurable uptick in the attitudes, performance, and happiness of their business environment, which further translates into enhanced productivity, less turnover, an environment conducive to innovative thinking and greater profitability. Encouraging and rewarding employees for volunteering in the company foundation, for other non-profits or in the community shows the employee that the company respects and understands their responsibility to be a good steward to both people and planet. Creating a workplace environment where employees are given the means to contribute to the company foundation or to a non-profit of their choice through payroll deductions, allows them to participate in a company culture based on unity, philanthropy, and accountability. This gives the company a distinctive edge over competitors, and brands them as a ‘company with a conscience’, which translates itself into reputational acceleration. For a company, one of your greatest assets, aside from the quality of your employees, is your reputation. You can’t have one without the other.
In this new era, where we all recognize how fragile we are as a global society, we must work together to be a part of the solution. Genuine and quantifiable impact will require all businesses, from Fortune 1000s to microenterprises, to embrace a platform of collective responsibility and a prioritization of the ‘give back’. We owe it to humanity – the future generations who will be responsible for healing the damage that they themselves did nothing to create – to adopt a cooperative mandate of social responsibility. As business leaders, we must take deliberate steps to embrace the SDGs, minimizing our footprint and the damage we cause to the environment, while uplifting, inspiring, and empowering societies. Together, we have the power to heal our global fractures. Together, we can reach new heights of innovation and achievement. Together, we have the power to ‘give’ the future to the hopeful generations who will be charged with carrying our world forward, ensuring that we will continue to thrive, environmentally, socially, and economically.
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Find Your Voice and Serve With Impact
‘‘Finding Your Voice’ is about finding YOUR authentic vibration and then playing ‘tunes’ in your way – and what I mean by ‘tunes’ are the ‘Songs of Life’, how you play life! ‘
Before we begin to unravel how to Find Your Voice and Serve With Impact, let’s first get clear what this really means and why it’s so critical, for not only achieving success but even more so for experiencing fulfilment.
I like to break it into two obvious parts, yet there is actually a third part too:
Part 1: Finding Your Voice
Part 2: Serving With Impact
Part 3: Creating Your Legacy that Continues to Create Impact for Generations to Come
So let’s unpack the first two, beginning with ‘Finding Your Voice’. When most of my clients first present to me, they believe this is the part where I will share with them how to become world-class professional speakers. Yet, this part is so much more than public speaking – it’s about finding your core energy.
If you have joined me at any of my events you’ll be familiar with my line, “we are not talking about ANY JI, we are talking about ENERJI“.
As Indians, when we visit our relatives we are conditioned from a very early age to show respect when addressing our elders, so when we greet our Aunty we show respect by addressing her as “Aunty Ji”; and same for others such as, “Nani Ji”, “Papa Ji”, “Uncle Ji”, you get the idea!
At my events, especially with young people, I ask, “Which ‘Ji’ is the most important Ji?”
The most popular response is, “Mummy Ji.”
I pause and then abruptly say “No”, to the shock of the audience; and then with a smile on my face I share, “the most important ‘Ji’ is ENERJI”.
So, now armed with that, I want you to know that ENERJI is your Authentic Energy.
This then leads us into why ‘Finding Your Voice’ is about finding your ENERJI.
We can all agree that musical instruments communicate through vibration and that vibration is energy. Also, when those instruments vibrate at certain frequencies (notes) they create a sound or tune, which some may perceive as noise and others as music! Either way, the interesting thing is that a piano can play the same song as a guitar and we can easily recognize the song from both of them. Yet, is it not true they have a different way of playing the same tune/song? Even though it’s the same song, they have their own unique, distinctive and AUTHENTIC way of playing it, as does the saxophone, violin, flute, and so on.
‘Mastering the ‘Science of Achievement’ is one thing, yet applying that science to ‘achieve’ fulfilment is futile. As fulfilment is an art (not a science) and that requires you to get in tune with YOUR instrument and play tunes YOUR way through your Finding Your Voice your authentic energy – your ENERJI.’
Do you know our Voice is classified as an instrument? In fact, it is actually classified as a musical instrument. I can personally vouch for this as my daughter Rosie enters the prestigious ‘Musician of the Year’ contest every year and in the application section where it asks to specify your musical instrument, she enters ‘VOICE’, as she is a singer.
Thus ‘Finding Your Voice’ is about finding YOUR authentic vibration and then playing ‘tunes’ in your way – and what I mean by ‘tunes’ are the ‘Songs of Life’, how you play life!
As one of my favorite songs states, you’ve got to…
“Play your own type of music, sing your own special song. Even if no one else sings along”
There’s plenty of evidence that we can become elite performers in business, sports, arts, and as parents and achieve phenomenal success, yet not be vibrating from our authentic energy (ENERJI).
I am blessed to serve many elite performers in business, sports and arts and it is not uncommon, especially from certain cultures, that they are vibrating from other people’s ENERJI’s; especially those that they love, cherish or even fear, for example Daddy Ji, Aunty Ji, or even Professor Ji! This is what creates a feeling of emptiness and lack of fulfilment in so many elite performers, even though to everyone else it seems they ‘have it all’.
As you go on in your professional journeys, I would ask you to be aware that we can follow pathways of success and achieve phenomenal success in any field we desire as long as we invest resources of time, money and energy into it. Mastering the ‘Science of Achievement’ is one thing, yet applying that science to ‘achieve’ fulfilment is futile. As fulfilment is an art (not a science) and that requires you to get in tune with YOUR instrument and play tunes YOUR way through your Finding Your Voice your authentic energy – your ENERJI.
“Serving others is the greatest vehicle for fulfilment and being able to serve others from our authentic core being is the highest level of bliss I believe we can experience, as that is when we are closest to our spirit, source, God, Universe, or whatever label you may choose”
Onto the second part, ‘Serve With Impact’. Once you have found your voice – your ENERJI – it’s now time to Serve With Impact. Which means that it’s time to bring that ENERJI into everything you do, including whatever you are already doing in your career and life, as well as other vehicles that allow you to express even more of your ENERJI consistently.
Serving with greater impact can include serving more people and serving deeper with those that you already serve. It also means serving from the real authentic you. This is where fulfilment comes into play. Serving others is the greatest vehicle for fulfilment and being able to serve others from our authentic core being is the highest level of bliss I believe we can experience, as that is when we are closest to our spirit, source, God, Universe, or whatever label you may choose.
Next, let’s move onto ‘How To Find Your Voice and Serve With Impact’. How do we find our true self, our ENERJI?
There are many tools and disciplines available to help us ‘find our passion or purpose’, with the common denominator that we are searching for experiences that allow us to connect (vibrate) with those core emotions which make us feel most alive. The most effective processes include identifying with our values, beliefs and identity.
Here it is important to remind you once again that there is a big difference between the ‘science of achieving something’, including identifying our values and beliefs, and the ‘art of experiencing something’. The key distinction is not what we are doing, but how we are doing it and from where. Allow me to explain.
If I were to ask you to stop reading this article right now and begin to list your values and then follow a process to illicit the hierarchy of your values (that is, what is their order of importance), do you think your answers would be the same if I asked you to do the same exercise during times when you are experiencing trauma, grief or stress? I would guess not, and the scientist in us would be evaluating which is correct, yet the artist in us may see both as correct. This is why so many people get frustrated by not knowing with certainty their ‘purpose in life’.
Allow me to share how I support my clients to connect with their ENERJI. Firstly, I remind them that our ENERJI is best found in the moments when we do things we love, and when we:
- Conquer Our Fears
- Overcome Adversity
- Release Ourselves From ‘Emotional Constipation‘ (a term I created based on my own personal experience and that of my clients. It is where we hold onto things from the past in the form of suppressed energy)
- Immerse in Deep Meditation
I urge you to implement the above or find someone who can support you to do so, because the truth is, it is when you feel and experience your greatness that your limitations are removed and you may illicit your core values (emotions) that light you up as they come forth, whilst connecting you with your true source.
“It is when you feel and experience your greatness that your limitations are removed and you may illicit your core values (emotions) that light you up as they come forth, whilst connecting you with your true source”
AND ‘Serving with Impact’is putting that unique vibrational energy into some order, so you may make your own music (service).
In fact, this is where public speaking actually comes into play, as it is about creating some order out of the noise and, in public speaking terms, it’s about creating content that is memorable for you and your audience and also positions you as an authority in your topic. Then it’s about communicating, or delivering your content/messages with confidence, in an engaging and transformational way by using secret proven systems of the world’s greatest speakers – thus allowing you to express your ENERJI in all areas of your life.
Finally, we come to the third part, ‘Creating Your Legacy’. This is for those who want to express their gift, their ENERJI to others through different mediums; outside of their current vehicles, such as business, career or home life. This is where my clients fully utilize their tools as world-class speakers; as once they have tasted authentic fulfilment, the desire to serve is greater. Thus, I take them on a journey to create systems and organizations (their foundations) that allow them to serve their message / music in their authentic way with even more impact, now and for generations to come. It’s their ultimate gift back to God / the Universe.
I wish you all the best on your journey as you Find Your Voice and Serve With Impact, and I look forward to the day our ENERJIs connect again!
Until then,
Keep serving – authentically and consistently.
- The article was originally published in Career Ahead April 2021 issue.
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Steering Your Entrepreneurial Ambition
“Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle. It transforms you as an individual, completely”
So, you want to be an Entrepreneur? This is indeed a great thought. And like many other great thoughts, this could be a flight to fancy, or an actual, strenuous yet rewarding journey. It all depends on you what you make out of the spark in you.
How to become an entrepreneur cannot be taught in a classroom. It requires ground-level execution, as in a real-life lab. To give you an analogy, it is like being on a war front. You really cannot have many choices, you have to take decisions, you have to live by your decisions, and you have to be confident, resilient and be ready to play every possible role there and then to win the battle. And to your next battle, you cannot afford to carry the baggage of failure, you can carry only the learnings from there.
Let’s engage in a little self-introspection. But before that, let me tell you that no two entrepreneurs are exactly the same. Hence, do not compare yourself, and do not make the decision of becoming the entrepreneur, or not becoming one, by comparing yourself with others. Every entrepreneurial success or failure has its own set of footprints, its own journey over the years, its own DNA, and reasons of the state of the venture.
Coming back to self-introspection – understand yourself very well, your circumstances, your abilities, your responsibilities and your gut and determination to create an impact. If you have that fire in you which can push you to extreme levels and can make you challenge the status-quo and do something innovative to solve the problem you have observed, you could be relatively better placed to take the plunge as an entrepreneur. Having a huge bank balance to back you up does not guarantee your success as an entrepreneur, just as not having money cannot stop you from becoming an entrepreneur. Investors put their money on people and in the execution of ideas, not just on the idea.
Being an entrepreneur is a journey that might be taken up as a lone ranger, but it is actually enabled through great teamwork. So, learn to share, to let go, to set expectations, and to meet expectations. On top of this, one must learn to celebrate success together, and also to share the pain of failure together. Remember, if a venture has failed, it is not the failure of ‘you’, or your team. Do not play the blame game to pin the failure on someone. It was an idea that failed, hence, move on with what you have learnt for the future. Earn respect, earn die-hard loyalty – you will become a successful entrepreneur if you have a team you trust, and if the team trusts you, completely.
“Trust people, build processes, put in place checks and balances, and manage your emotions”
Every venture faces huge pressure during the scaling up phase, which includes the pinch points of ‘let go’. As an entrepreneur, you have conceived the idea, nurtured it, gradually scaled it up to a level that it now needs large teams, maybe multi-locational presence as well, and you start feeling the pain of losing power. You assume that once you let go of control, your business will be snatched away from you. You do not find the same degree of passion in the professional managers appointed by you. You do not find the same alignment of thinking and vision. Well, it will never be. Your business is a job for them. Yet, you still need to ‘let go’ of the single-handed control, else your business will not grow beyond certain limits. Trust people, build processes, put in place checks and balances, and manage your emotions.
Even though there are degrees and diplomas in entrepreneurship available in every part of this world, it is only your hands-on experience as an entrepreneur that will get you the right wisdom. Yes, it is true that a good education can increase the probability of success and will give you opportunity to build and leverage networks. Do not compromise on basic build-up and education.
There is no ‘right’ age – we have seen examples of successful ventures with founders having started them in their 40s and 50s. Yet, the sooner you begin, it could enable you to be better placed because of your energy levels, a comparatively less binding set of responsibilities at the personal front.
By the way, entrepreneurship is not a career option at all. It is not a job. You cannot run a venture with the mindset of an employee. It has to be a complete change in your thinking and perspective. You have to wear the hat of a business owner. You cannot have a 9 to 5 work clock as an entrepreneur. You have to constantly think, innovate, find ways and means to grow your venture, to find solutions to your challenges. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle. It transforms you as an individual, completely.
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The Significant Impact of the ‘New Normal’ on Education
“In 2020, Covid-19 hit the education industry like a tornado and accelerated growth in a completely different direction”
The Covid-19 virus is not the only thing that has undergone several major mutations over the past year. In fact, it is quite clear that the complete revamp of our education system is one other significant change we have seen over this period. Even the most erudite of scholars could not have predicted this epic modification that the entire education system, especially teachers, has had to go through to merely survive. It is nothing short of a miracle that, without any formal training for the most part, teachers adapted and reinvented themselves in a matter of a few months and took to remote learning like fish take to water.
As an educationist who has been associated with various schools in India and abroad, I am elated, to say the least, that the coronavirus pandemic has completely turned the idea of education and its delivery on its head – something that hundreds of coaches, teacher trainers, mentors and change makers had not been able to achieve over decades.
In this article, I will try to explore various factors that have influenced the education industry and whether curriculum delivery has changed for better or for worse. The burning question of the hour is whether we should we continue hybrid education and shake things up or go back to our old ways?
Compared to other industries, the Indian education industry has been known to be extremely rigid in its ways of working. It is fascinating, as well as mindboggling, that any parent who went to school in the nineties would still be able to, broadly, relate to the syllabus and curriculum content of their own children; who attend school in today’s day and age. Was their world similar to the world of today’s children? Of course, not! Well, leaving aside a younger workforce, fancy ICT tools, laptops, tablets, and so forth, there isn’t much that has changed in terms of education. And is that really what you call change?
In 2020, Covid-19 hit the education industry like a tornado and accelerated growth in a completely different direction. Those who were resistant to distance and online education were forced to seriously consider remote learning as the future of education. Companies involved in content creation, knowledge development, professional development are having a field day taking training workshops for teachers who were technologically handicapped, or whose ICT knowledge was limited to checking emails or making PowerPoint presentations.
Distance / online education is the name of the game now. Teachers who have adapted and adopted the necessary skills are reveling in their new-found glory. Students who are self-motivated and focused on personal growth and development have shown remarkable improvement in understanding. Lesson planning now incorporates tools like MS Teams, Zoom, Nearpod, Wakelet, YouTube, Padlet, and many more.
Home schooling, which was almost taboo in the Pre-corona era, is now a practical alternative for stay-at-home parents. It is already a popular option for children with special needs or those who have no access to education, also for parents who aspire to an early start in the careers of their children (like music, sports, etc.) and might prefer that they invest hours in practicing tennis or riyaaz in music instead of acquiring text book knowledge which will be of little use to them. This could also now become a popular choice for parents who wish to get an international education for their children but do not wish to dive deep into their pockets for exorbitantly priced international schools.
In fact, home-schooling or remote learning can also offer flexibility to students who want to explore and undertake professional courses like theatre, gardening, cooking, gaming as compared to a time when their life had been all about attending school, tuitions, prepare for entrance exams, and going on to becoming doctors or engineers. I have nothing against these professions but, as a teacher, I am empathetic towards children who have no interest in them but are forced to take them up due to parental pressure or lack of other viable options.
Another radical shift that has occurred has been from an excessive preoccupation with academics towards a focus on developing life skills, as well as strengthening emotional and mental health. According to Wikipedia, education is defined as the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits; but, the focus had been on certain professions and on training students to take entrance exams. Learning for the sake of learning and the joy of discovering new things had completely disappeared from the education system. The erstwhile Indian Gurukul system centered on living a fulfilling life, where each individual worked towards maximizing their own potential, but that philosophy was most conveniently ignored when education transformed into a profit-making venture.
“As an educationist who has been associated with various schools in India and abroad, I am elated, to say the least, that the coronavirus pandemic has completely turned the idea of education and its delivery on its head – something that hundreds of coaches, teacher trainers, mentors and change makers had not been able to achieve over decades”
“The erstwhile Indian Gurukul system centered on living a fulfilling life, where each individual worked towards maximizing their own potential, but that philosophy was most conveniently ignored when education transformed into a profit-making venture”
Coming back to the most important stakeholder – the student – I am extremely happy for them, because their double income-earning parents have been coerced to shift their focus back to them, and to tending to their social, emotional and behavioral needs. Having said that, too much parental involvement is a double-edged sword and can thwart the personality of children. Parents must walk a tightrope between being too involved and completely disconnected with their child’s well-being. This period, when parents have had to monitor their children while they attend school from home, has unquestionably made parents more appreciative of teachers than ever; but at the same time, their ever-increasing demands from teachers can be unreasonable at times.
When a survey in the US was conducted to assess the emotional health of teachers during Covid-19, responses from over 5,000 teachers underlined the same emotions I have been experiencing: “frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed, tired, and happy”. Yes, these are the words I will use to describe my exhaustion right now. Teachers have been constantly working from home and delivering lessons to keep their students engaged. It is a pity that many schools have let their staff go as they were not able to retain them. To make matters worse, the salary that teachers earn is not commensurate with their working hours. One of the most common grievances is that teachers need to complete notebook/online corrections, assessment papers, lesson planning in their own personal time, cutting back on their own family time. Besides, one must now answer emails constantly and be available to students all round the clock.
However, we must take a step back and reassess the situation that we are grappling with. This is the time for some self-introspection and to redefine the roles of the three most important stakeholders in the business of education – the student, the parent, and the teacher.
To conclude, I will leave you with a question – have things changed for the better or for worse? That, only time itself can reveal; but it is essential to reflect from the perspective of the teacher who is most often overlooked, but whose social and emotional well-being is as important as the students’; because you cannot ‘pour from an empty cup’. As far as the education industry is concerned, I think Oprah Winfrey sums it up beautifully in her quote, “One of the hardest things in life to learn are which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.” I hope we, as Covid-19 survivors, can discern which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.
- The article was originally published in Career Ahead April 2021 issue.
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Q&A with Chef Manjunath Mural
Chef Manjunath Mural’s lifelong dream is to be able to present Indian cuisine in a manner that is relevant to diners from across the globe – to make ‘haute Indian cuisine’ as accepted as haute French dining. He resents the “niche”, “family restaurant” image of Indian cuisine that is so common in big cities around the world, and wishes to showcase the depths of history, tradition, ingredients and techniques that are profoundly ingrained in Indian cuisine.
As the Executive Chef of Song of India in Singapore, Chef Mural was the first Indian Executive Chef to earn a Michelin star for an Indian restaurant in Southeast Asia. Song of India went on to earn a Michelin star four times in a row with him at the helm. For Chef Mural, earning the Michelin star was just one way of working towards his dream of presenting Indian cuisine at its pinnacle on an international stage. Those who have worked with him are impressed by his passion and his everlasting desire to learn. His dedication to his craft, eye for detail and strong work ethic are qualities that lend to his success in the international arena.
Born into a family of doctors, Chef Manjunath carved his own path and followed his dreams to reach great heights of success. He recently opened ADDA, a neo-Indian restaurant that presents Indian cuisine in an innovative and approachable manner. We have much to learn from such inspiring individuals, and we were fortunate to have the opportunity to ask him a few questions!
Q1. When did you first realize that being a chef was your calling? What or who inspired you the most?
A1. It was during my training at the Taj President where, while training in the Thai restaurant, I met two Thai lady chefs who really inspired me with the feeling that being a chef is a respectful career which requires a great deal of passion. Apart from this, my mother and father both supported my dreams of becoming a chef, even though they were both doctors.
Q2. What are the character traits that you think are essential in this line of work?
A2. Humility, passion, hard work, dedication are some traits that are important for a chef. You should try to show your personality through your cuisine. At the same time, there should be a constant desire to learn more, these are some of the things that make a successful chef.
Q3. How important is it for an aspiring chef to undertake a professional program in culinary arts?
A3. A professional program helps to learn the basics, the technique of cooking. It proves one’s interest in being a good chef and provides the advantage of adding skills, which are needed to survive in the tough hospitality industry.
Q4. How was your journey towards achieving your first Michelin star? Were there any hurdles?
A4. I have always been extremely oriented towards quality and consistency as a chef, without compromise. I also consider myself a good team leader, and I try to keep my team motivated to achieve greater heights. In the end, they are the actual winners. I believe these traits helped me on my journey towards the Michelin star, and I never experienced any hurdles or pressure.
Q5. How do you cope with the day-to-day pressures of work, especially in the kitchen?
A5. So much experience, spanning over many years has made me a very patient chef. I hardly ever take on any pressure, rather I enjoy teaching my chefs to make consistency and quality a habit, as I believe these two things make cooking an enjoyable and happy experience.
Q6. Over the past year, how have things changed in the kitchen on account of Covid?
A6. Things have certainly changed over the past year; chefs have given greater importance to delivery platform food, created affordable menus, worked on cost control in terms of kitchen operations. The focus has shifted more to easy, casual dining. The target clients’ budgets have reduced, which has also made chefs turn to sustainable ingredients to help keep costs lower.
Q7. Apart from culinary training, what skills would you consider important for a budding chef?
A7. A positive attitude, humility, desire to learn and utmost respect for other chefs, whether they are young trainees or experienced chefs – these are all important in my opinion. Stay away from the trap of overconfidence.
Q8. What advice would you give to students of the culinary arts who dream of becoming Michelin-star chefs some day?
A8. Believe in yourself and in what you want to do. You must have the confidence to think differently, without caring about the opinion of others – this will always help to differentiate you from the crowd. Make sure that your basics are strong.
- The interview was originally published in Career Ahead April 2021 issue.
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The Professional Value of Your Network
“..recognizing the importance of a strong network and knowing how to build and nurture that network are often two very different elements”
In business, it is not what you know, rather it is who you know. The value of building an expansive, intentional, trusting and accessible network can never be understated. Each and every introduction and engagement that presents itself is an opportunity for you to increase your worth to others and add their worth to your own personal Rolodex (for those individuals born after 1990, Google it). However, recognizing the importance of a strong network and knowing how to build and nurture that network are often two very different elements. Your business can expand and accelerate, you can find new employment, you can form dynamic business partnerships and build lasting friendships by having a well-developed and regarded network. It takes hard work to build a network, and even harder work to maintain it, but it is one of the most important assets in your portfolio.
How do you turn an introduction and handshake into a friendship, partnership, business opportunity or collaboration? Knowledge is key. Learn, think, research. If you are attending an event, look at the bios of the keynote speakers ahead of time. Familiarize yourself with details or recent news about their company. Learn a bit about the country they come from, key points about their industry or sector, or conceptualize ways that you or your company could be of service to their them. Pay attention to key intersections that you share with a speaker – and if not with you specifically, think of ways in which you can add value to the speakers or special guests through meaningful introductions that you can make for them with someone else in your network. Be the conduit of significance. It is all about being prepared to add instant value to the person to whom you are being introduced – capturing the moment instead of letting it pass.
“How do you turn an introduction and handshake into a friendship, partnership, business opportunity or collaboration?”
“As Zero Deanin said in Being Awesome Doesn’t Mean Simply Existing, “If your presence doesn’t add value, your absence won’t make a difference”. Always strive to add value to those you meet so that they look forward to seeing you, speaking with you, and/or working with you again in the future.”
Whether you connect with someone at a conference that you mutually attend, or if you are alone in an elevator with someone for 60 floors, or connect with someone significant through LinkedIn, all of these connections are only valuable or monetizable engagements if you find a way to extend this encounter beyond the circumstance of your immediate connection. Carry the introduction further, even if it is just a follow-up with an “it was a pleasure to talk with you” message. Perhaps you won’t have an immediate opportunity to cooperate, but one may emerge down the road, and the ability to dip into your network to be able to facilitate a connection for someone else or to enhance an opportunity when it presents itself is immeasurable. As Zero Deanin said in Being Awesome Doesn’t Mean Simply Existing, “If your presence doesn’t add value, your absence won’t make a difference”. Always strive to add value to those you meet so that they look forward to seeing you, speaking with you, and/or working with you again in the future.
Some of the most extraordinary people and prospects come when we least expect them, but only when we are paying attention. Put down your cell phones and look up, see the world and pay attention to the people around you. Strike up a conversation, pay someone a compliment, ask someone a question – acknowledge the people sharing your space. opportunities for business, employment, partnership, and friendship will walk right by those who are too busy taking selfies, surfing social media or texting.
You can only realize true value from your network if you have one. Your network is like a garden. Your connections are the seeds. How well we nurture and care for those seeds (our connections) determines how large and fruitful our garden (network) will become. How many times have you met someone and forgot to get their business card or were too shy to introduce yourself? How many times were you introduced to someone and you wanted to share a thought, an idea or identify a mutual interest, but failed to capitalize on it? How many times have we reflected in hindsight, replaying moments in our minds, wishing we could go back and do things differently? When we meet new people, the goal should be to carry the conversation forward to a follow on, allowing us to water that seed of a connection turning it into a long-term business relationship or friendship. However, adding connections to our network is only the beginning. We must keep those contacts fresh. You can’t expect to let two years pass between engagements and then assume that that person will remember you, be compelled to take your call, or want to listen to what you have to say. As you build your address book, take time each week to reach out to a few of your older contacts…send them an email to say hello, reminding them where you met (if necessary), ask after their business and summarize what you are working on. This will keep you fresh in their minds and allow that professional relationship to grow and be available when and if the opportunity to cooperate presents itself.
“Be the conduit of significance. It is all about being prepared to add instant value to the person to whom you are being introduced – capturing the moment instead of letting it pass”
“Your network is an asset having a monetizable value. The time to build your network is before you need your network…the time to build your network is now”
No one is responsible for the strength and size of your professional network except for you. How you are regarded, remembered, and respected comes from how well you care for the people with whom you interact. Naturally, there are many people with whom you have the regular occasion to interact, but some of the most important connections are the people who lie quietly dormant in your address books until the right opportunity for collaboration or partnership presents itself. You MUST nurture, prioritize, and add value to your network regularly throughout your career – even if you change jobs, industries, or sectors. There will be many unexpected situations or intersections that you can benefit, enhance or repair by dipping into your carefully watered garden of connections. An opportunity lost is, well, an opportunity lost. A connection that is not nurtured and cared for like a seed in that garden will wilt and fade away, and it is almost impossible to reconnect when time has removed the necessary familiarity needed for maintaining a trusting engagement.
Your network is an asset having a monetizable value. The time to build your network is before you need your network…the time to build your network is now.
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Why Internships?
“This means new hires today have an even greater need for hands-on training and soft skills than ever before, for example, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills”
“My advice for young people is, study what you love and intern in what you want to do. And I think it’s okay to pivot as many times as you need to.”
– Eva Chen, director of fashion, Instagram.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
– Steve Jobs, founder, Apple.
An internship chosen with care is a learning experience that empowers you with the skills that are needed to perform tasks which are specific to your career and can further enhances one’s performance while giving a big push to your career. Very specific and practical training is ideal for new age working professionals.
Individuals need to know their strengths and weaknesses and most importantly decide where their real interests lie. This step is important, because for the rest of your life you will either be enjoying what you do or be straddled with work that you detest. In the long run, a career should help you grow professionally as well as personally.
These days, rather than crunching numbers or preparing reports behind the scenes, many entry-level workers and interns are meeting with clients, identifying and resolving issues on real-time basis, and serving on cross-functional teams and processes. This means new hires today have an even greater need for hands-on training and soft skills than ever before, for example, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. From a larger perspective, you may say that an internship is the new entry-level job. Employers want to hire college graduates who not only have the required education and training for the job but relevant experience as well.
“Individuals need to know their strengths and weaknesses and most importantly decide where their real interests lie”
Image Credit: Lagos Techie Through internships, you can:
· Keep up with Emerging Trends – With the way businesses are constantly changing, one needs to continuously learn to keep up with these changes and internships help with this.
· Network – One of the most effective ways of creating strong networks in the industry is by joining professional internships. They help you interact with peers in the industry and there is great scope to create business contacts and connections.
· Take a career test drive – You can gain deeper insight into who you are and the type of work environments and tasks you enjoy most.
· Understand the practical aspect of work – Internships sharpen your skills and improve how you handle your work as they are practical and teach professionalism.
· Transition from “College to Career” – Lots of things change after college, starting with the time your alarm goes off in the morning! By building good work habits during your internship, the big adjustment from campus life to work life will go more smoothly.
· Earn more college credits – Your college may offer academic credits for internships. In fact, growing numbers of schools require you to complete one in order to graduate.
· Level up your CV – Internships are offered by professional institutions that are the setters of industry standards. Employers are generally interested in what professional courses and internships you have taken to improve your capabilities and your power to negotiate for a better salary or job.