the role of role models

can you think of a single choice that you make where you are not influenced by some role model?

think about it!

whether we acknowledge them or not, and whether we are even aware of them or not, all of us have role models. and the way we think, act, speak and behave is largely influenced by our role models we have chosen for ourselves!

this might be difficult for some of us to swallow. but if you pause to think and ask yourself honestly, we model ourselves on people we look up to. and this basic truth reflects in almost all aspects of our lives - trivial or significant.

why do you choose a particular brand of toothpaste? why do you wear a particular type of dress? why do you read certain books, listen to music, eat in specific restaurants, and do most of the things that you do? why do you color your hair a particular shade, or decide to go bald?

why do you opt for a specific career path? why do you want to marry a certain kind of person? why do you want a particular lifestyle?

why do you want to go where you want to go? and be what you want to be?

in most cases there is a role model who is inspiring us to reach out and go beyond the boundaries drawn out by our own minds. i guess this is why our scripture/teachers/elders exhort us to choose our company well. because my choice of company, to a large extent, determines the quality and direction of my journey!

i'm so glad to be journeying with you :-)

good bye to SM

sunil mehta, vice president -nasscom, died of a heart attack on saturday (16th dec 2006) while on his way to work. this posting is my way of saying farewell to him.

sunil (SM as he was popularly known) was my first boss. i had joined infac (the company that he founded along with sv) as a complete raw green-horn in 1990. i had no clue of professional life and to make things worse, i had no clue of what i wanted to do in life. and infac was just taking off and things were very exciting and the pace was frentic.

it was a feast and a great learning experience to watch sm go about building the place from scratch. he was tough and stern when required. but he always made me feel useful. he inspired the whole team with his quite, efficient and professional approach to work.

he also made it a point to give personal attention to individuals, even if it meant discussing things which had nothing to do with the job. i distinctly remember sm having a chat with me one evening about my progress in preparing for the mba entrance exams. he patiently discussed the various alrenatives i could look at and made me feel a lot more confident about myself after the session.

and to a large extent, i owe my decision of becoming an entrepreneur to my stint at infac and to sm in particular. i wouldn't hesitate to say that, in this aspect, he was my role-model.

thanks sm, for coming into my life; for inspiring me to get to where i am and for being a wonderful human being!