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Stand out. Review of ‘Personal branding for Dummies’

Stand out. Review of ‘Personal branding for Dummies’

Susan Chritton helpfully informs us that ‘success stories inevitably involve people who stand out from the crowd’ and that ‘no one is going to manage your personal brand except you.’ Combining the two we know that a well understood and well managed personal brand is what success is all about. Obviously then, ‘taking charge of...
GRAND entry can be smart as well

GRAND entry can be smart as well

What is a grand entry all about? Fanfare, joyous moods, perceived advantages, interactive advantages, scope to move ahead, possibilities, favourable moments, and an accent on ascent are all in one way or the other associated with a GRAND entry. Well, almost all of them are there with the new smartphone that Samsung has just introduced:...
On Book Reviews

On Book Reviews

You’ll be reading my book reviews in this column week after week… and as I sat pondering on which book to review for you first, I said to myself, ‘Hey, let me begin by defining what a book review is and how best to write one.’ The decision was made in less than a minute...
The distance dream

The distance dream

I woke up late that day and as I slowly walked into the study, I found my wife totally immersed in the day’s newspaper. ‘Anything interesting?’ I asked. ‘Not if you aren’t interested in scams and murders and rapes,’ she answered and then added, ‘but there is one small piece of news which is making...
Just a death

Just a death

She is dead. The incredible fact is that even before she died, she managed to infuse life into a lot of men and matters. Well in this case, when I say men, I mean women too. Now that she is dead, will we let it pass by as just a death? Just another death? Passing...
Biting bits and bytes

Biting bits and bytes

The digital age is here and will stay. It is quite possible that very soon we will start having the effigies and idols of our Gods and Goddesses too with both the traditional instruments of learning and their new-age version. Just image Lord Ganesha with one of her hands holding the palm-leaf scriptures hard-bound with...
The fine art of photocopying

The fine art of photocopying

I really did not know that there was artistry involved in photocopying until I met ManMohan Singh. No, not our honourable Prime Minister, this guy is a delivery boy working with a photocopier somewhere in the North Campus of Delhi University. I saw him struggling near the lift in our block of flats, with a...
A party called ELECTIONS

A party called ELECTIONS

No, I’m not talking of the national or state assembly elections. I am not talking about the forthcoming 2014 elections too. I am talking about the university elections in India… and why they tend to be lacking a direction. The only focus that is ever visible in a student election is a convergence to creating...
Defending smartphones is easy

Defending smartphones is easy

Does a new smartphone in your hands really signify that you are one with a great tech lifestyle? I’m asking this question because wherever I go I find people holding their mobile phone as if it were something that could take them a notch or two beyond all the other ‘lesser mortals’! Let us go...
What’s the matter with you, teacher ji?

What’s the matter with you, teacher ji?

The first thing that I noticed this Teacher’s Day on 05th September was updates literally tumbling out of my Facebook page… no they were not meant for me. They were all by teachers themselves and said the same thing. A great number of them said: “If you can read this, thank a teacher!” The entire...
Lifting the veil off MBA

Lifting the veil off MBA

A single tweet made me make up my mind about this article. The tweet from Rahiel ?@RahielT said: ‘I have so much more to learn about growing and sustaining a business but experience is often the best teacher. Life has been my Harvard MBA.’ I then searched a bit more and came up with a...
Rules, formulas, and writing well

Rules, formulas, and writing well

Everyone dreams of writing well. No wonder then that we see so many books that call you through book store show windows, so many websites that beckon you demurely and sometimes in a crass and gross manner… there are e-mailers wanting you just click and become a writer and then even SMSes aren’t so far...