As I successfully conclude 3 months of my Sales Stint, I had a fantastic experience exploring the rural markets and have my first ever on-ground experience in sales.
During this time, I had the opportunity to hone my skills in sales and customer engagement while achieving some significant milestones.
1. Customer-centric approach: I've learned the importance of a customer-centric approach, alongside building strong relationships with dealers and distributors and ensuring customer delight. Provide exactly what the market demands at the right place and time.
2. Market Insights: My time there provided valuable insights into customer preferences, consumption habits of certain shows/apps, trial drivers, and trial barriers in the rural markets.
3. Recognition: I'm grateful to have received the 'Gold ASM' title for achieving 110% target of a critical parameter, further motivating me to excel in market expansion.
IT Professional | Service Desk Analyst | Experienced in ITIL-Based Environments | Cybersecurity & Forensic IT Graduate | Proven Track Record in Fast-Paced Environments
Happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Manager, Content Strategy & Partnerships at Tata Play Ltd! Looking forward to more experimentations and learnings up ahead.
I just watched "Air" the movie; as usual, Ben Affleck never disappoints! An amazing drama behind the origin of Air Jordan. It takes a genius to find another. A must-watch if you love sports. The unique part was that the first Air Jordan 1 only focused on the form rather than the functionality! (We all design engineers have been there - to find the optimum balance between form and functionality). An effective marketing campaign made sales of $126M in its first year alone, against a set target of $3M!
And as I finished watching the movie, my inner football fanboy could immediately recall only one advertisement which was as inspiring as the movie. The 'Take it to the next level' campaign. A pure embodiment of 'Just do it'. No flashy product display, nor any indication of 'What the product solves for the consumer'. Just pure emotions, top players' endorsement, the iconic swoosh, creativity, and inspiring the target audience to 'Just do it' to convert their passion for football into a professional career. (An ad with emotional benefits with an underplay of functional benefits)
Truly Nike has solidified its reputation as the marketing genius (marketing dog, if you may) in the athletic footwear industry by finding the creative gap at every moment.
(Dopamine and Addiction: post 2 of 2)
Now the next question is, how do I break the cycle?
The solution lies in biology. The Pain-Pleasure system of dopamine works healthily by giving it time to rebalance itself to 0.
Dopamine is naturally subconsciously associated with goals. The craving for that dopamine to reach higher happiness is called motivation. Consciously practice experiencing the pursuit of a goal as the reward and not the goal itself as the reward. Celebration of a goal < Pursuit of the goal.
Capturing your goal is wonderful, but do not attach dopamine to achieving that goal. Celebrating the win more than pursuits sets you up for failure in the future. Adjust the celebration of the goal internally. Be laid back and stoic about it; you won’t crash as hard when the Pain sets in.
Wait for some time after success/achieving the goal for the Pain Pleasure scales to reset. Many people immediately go for the next goal pursuit, and the baseline keeps reducing. Later, no amount of seeking a goal will allow you to experience the craving or motivation.
You will reset it with time. Rather than going out, wait for the scale to reset. It might result in a few days of uninteresting and dull days. Adjust and relax. Postpartum depression is a real thing. A few days won’t be exciting, but go through it.
In short,
1. Treat Dopamine as a motivator, not a reward -> healthy mindset. Enjoy the process rather than the outcome. Don’t do a celebratory end zone dance after achieving a goal, and try to be laid back so that the dopamine Pain crash isn’t as hard.
2. Once you experience that huge Pain (lack of dopamine), wait for your body to naturally reset your dopamine level to 0 and then go for the next pursuit of dopamine.
(Credits: Mr. Andrew Huberman)
My views:
Now it makes sense why ancient people practiced stoicism, why Lord Krishna told Arjuna to do his ‘Karm’ without thinking of the outcome (attaching dopamine to the process rather than the outcome), why Buddhism and some contexts of Hinduism practiced the art of not getting attached to the desires (outcomes) of the world.
In my definition, this is Kaliyuga, the world of instant gratification that your internal pain pleasure scale is imbalanced, and you go to any means to get that dopamine hit.
#science#neuroscience#addiction#dopamine
(Dopamine and Addiction: post 1 of 2)
Here is a summary of an excellent podcast for today’s generation by Mr. Andrew Huberman with the host Dr. Anna Lembke. The bottom line is that we all are addicts.
Let’s take a case of addiction – social media, cigarettes, porn, alcohol, Youtube, OTT platforms, etc. Every action we take is associated with motivation. The molecule associated with motivation is Dopamine. What you sell to social media isn’t your data/privacy. What you sell is your mental health and screen time to use these apps. Now the next question is, how is this harmful?
Let’s build a simple Mathematical model.
Imagine your happiness as an attribute on a scale from negative to positive infinity (like a Y axis on your graph sheets from school). Now on the positive side of the scale (i.e., score > 0), you feel happy, and on the negative side of the scale (i.e., score < 0), you feel sad. Score of 0 means you are neutral, i.e., neither happy nor sad.
The way Dopamine works is that it gives you Pleasure (positive score points) and Pain (negative score points). Say you do an activity, ex: Watching an episode of your favorite TV show. This results in Pleasure (positive score points) due to the release of dopamine. But the flip side is that as soon as the activity ends, this same dopamine gives you Pain (negative score points). And this Pain is always more than the Pleasure - pure Biology.
To simplify it, say doing an activity gives you instantaneous Pleasure (+50 points on the scale of happiness mentioned above). As soon as the activity ends, your body experiences instantaneous Pain, which is more than the Pleasure (-100 points on the scale of happiness mentioned above)
Now I start with the baseline level, which is a score of 0 (Neutral, neither happy nor sad). Now if I watch one episode, I get +50 points, with a net score of +50 which makes me happy. This dopamine immediately makes me experience Pain, by which I lose -100 points, with a net score of 50-100 = -50 points, which makes me sad.
Now I crave more dopamine hits to be neutral, and I watch another episode that gives me Pleasure (+50 points), which results my score being -50+50 = 0, neutral mood. But dopamine’s side reaction is to give me immediate Pain by which I lose -100 points again, resulting in a net score of -100.
The cycle continues, and my net score/mood/happiness goes on to -150, -200, -250, and so on as I watch continuous episodes. The cycle is never ending with the infinite scrolling on social media. And chronic exposure to being sad (negative net score) makes us feel depressed.
Another exciting thing is that with chronic cycle of this dopamine kicks, your baseline/neutral level keeps going down. It will no longer be at the 0 score line; the neutral state of emotion is on a net negative score: sadness.
Now the next question is, how do I break the cycle? Check out the next post.
#science#neuroscience#addiction#dopamine
Dear Network,
I am thrilled to share that I have completed my MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, one of the most prestigious business schools in India. This has been a rigorous and enriching experience that has pushed me to develop new skills, expand my knowledge, and grow both personally and professionally.
I am incredibly grateful for the unwavering support of my parents, family, and friends, who have been my pillars of strength throughout this journey. Their encouragement and belief in me have been instrumental in helping me achieve this milestone.
I also express my sincere gratitude to my teachers and professors at IIM Lucknow, who have been the guiding force behind my success. Their expertise, mentorship, and support have helped me navigate through the challenges of the program and emerge as a better leader.
I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and I look forward to applying the skills and knowledge I have gained to make a positive impact in the business world.
Thank you all for being a part of my journey.
If there is one key thing to learn from Big Ben's journey, it would be - Consistency is the key.
At the age of 34, this guy has aged like fine wine. He has achieved it all. Although a player from the rival team, I can't find one single reason to dislike him. A humble, talented, hardworking player who never doubted himself even when the entire world, including Real Madrid fans, didn't believe in him. This person has stepped up in all the crucial matches in the Champion's League last season and clutched RM to the win. Although Lewandowski deserved the 2020 Ballon d'Or, I'm glad Benzema finally got what he truly deserved.
I am excited to announce that starting last week, I embarked on a new phase of my MBA journey at iaelyon School of Management, Université Jean Moulin (Lyon III) as an Exchange student from IIM Lucknow, to pursue a specialization in Marketing.
Super excited to see what's in store for me this Fall.
Accenture Strategy | P&G | XLRI | BIT Mesra
1ySo cool Rishi, love it!