Thursday, July 08, 2010

Seth Godin c/o Acumen@ ISB!

I felt I was back in class-attending a revision lecture!! Listening to the same lessons again and again :(!

Having read a couple of books ( Linchpin &The Big Moo), listened to an audio book (Purple Cow) that spurred me to subscribe to his pod casts and follow his blogs, I was overwhelmed when I came to know that Seth Godin was live in India!!

I cannot pin point the exact nature of my disappointment-or even the root cause of it!

-was it that Seth's visit to India -was connected to hiring a CEO for Acumen? I was curious to know how the blog post was likely to be part of a social media recruitment strategy!

-was it that I tried to register for a free invite for the talk by reaching out to Acumen local office immediately after seeing the blog post?

-was it because I didn't hear from them, I invested 50 USD for the status of a 'special guest"! It is another point that the acknowledgement of this -was just as great a leveller..came in 10days later "we need to be sure you're still able to come and so are asking you to fill in ONE LAST FORM to confirm you'll be there -otherwise we''ll assume you can't make it and will seat the others who are patiently on the wait list"?


-was it because it was an event meant to market Acumen's domain of social enterprise & pay tribute to ISB being a catchment area for future hires for the company?


-was it that presentation as ISB was marred by a poor quality of mikes & the abysmal videos?

(Thank goodness for google, one can see 90% of the ideas he conveyed in this 18 minutes presentation two yrs agoo -the slides are same, the jokes are similar!!)

No looking back, the last straw was the learning's one could have got during the 1 hr Q&A session that was to follow the promised 105 minute presentation...it was abrupt & didn't last half the time!!.

But then, the positive point was that it was a fantastic reinforcement -as he drummed in those pearls of wisdom-that forces all of us be aware and re-think and make a difference!

-Generations have been brainwashed -by school and by the system-to" do our jobs and follow instructions" and conform- a la interchangeable/replaceable parts in a large machine ( ref Henry Fords theory of industrial model of cheaper labour) or lizard brains ( to be safe and average!!) and taught to fit in !!

-We need to awaken the genius in us ( Real Artists Ship!)

-The age of mass marketing of idea (spam or ads on TV) are over. It is now the time for leading a movement! Finding what we believe in, and creating a tribe -leading and connection people and ideas..and time to make a change!!

Well, this morning, after a good night's sleep, I reflect- well..I did get my 'paisa vasool' (more than the return on investment) :)!! The most profound concepts come from most simple ideas.

Make a difference. Are we doing things because we know it is the right thing to do? Are we bringing in emotional labour to work- a la an artist? Are we making ourselves valuable-indispensable?


PS- For those who missed the talk yesterday, here is a tip. His blog posts on marketing are a treasure..you get a great insight every day!!. And one can also mine for a wonderful treatise as

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