The glistening dewdrop

The translated lines of a famous poem by the great bard- Ravindranath tagore-

"I traveled miles, for many a year,
I spent a lot in lands afar,
I’ve gone to see the mountains,
The oceans I’ve been to view.
But I haven’t seen with these eyes
Just two steps from my home lies
On a corn of paddy grain,
A glistening drop of dew."

(Copied from the blog of Mr. Rajib roy)-

On an usual lonely evening- after a hard day's work , when emails just get replied, and still i say to myself- two more presentations to prepare...and these lines get to me. Does it happen to you too? some old lines of favourite poem, some half forgotten lines of old song and you feel .. maybe.. maybe.. it should linger.

It happens with me, these feelings actually keep me sane. It is odd- for a sales person to have lonely time. but yes, it happens to the one- who just keeps his head inside the work and life. I realised today- there is no need to be worried too much about one's own self. You are not that important.

Means- you, me.. nahh. not important atall. we are all so self centred that we have lost the ability to care for others. The precious life is entwined in linkedin, facebook, whatsapp and what not? we are very much into ourself.. so much that we have forgotten to care for others. so that gave me an idea. who care what i think or feel for? who cares a damn.

But maybe I care for--that long abstract shadow-- which i can see of the tall tower all over the okhla phase1. imaging itself on the glistening rainwater -- drizzling and the fading sounds of traffic from the 8th floor. Beautiful moon beckons life from yonder and i wonder--- what is the real meaning of life. the life is full of giving, if I donot - then it is fallacy. Now what will others think?

Then it comes to me like a bolt- I am not that important that someone will care for me. that gave me lot of comfort. The feeling that it does not matter anymore to be correct and proper as long as I have the heart and will to continue doing good for others. without malice, without expectations.  so many things to be done, so many things remain unexplored. then that shadow playing of cloud and moon made me remember the poem...."glistening drop of dew" Ekti sishir bindu....

Is it really necessary that people will see eye to an eye. may be most of the time no. but that does not mean that we stop caring, that we stop loving, or stop doing what we are supposed to do. Onwards always onwards.

when deep love and longing make you feel very important. .... it is prudent to remember- it does not matter much.

Because if you haven't felt your heart and soul being torn apart , then you haven't really loved with all your heart.

So continue loving... life will take care of itself.

continue doing good for others.

I resolve to continue learning and inspiring...

Why I chose sales as my profession?

It is 18years as a sales person for me. 18th August,2000- the day I first did a field visit as a sales person. The customer was Tata elxsi. I just remember - it was to pitch for training services of Bitmapper and that it was Friday. I remember- I was sweating and to make matters worse I wore a tie (the Tie was borrowed from Praveen??).

 I was completely a misfit among a crowd practising casual dressing. I remember the long bus journey from Majestic to Whitefield.
After so many years- I wanted to deal with this question.
Because it was really very difficult for a shy , timid and very introvert kid to take this leap of faith and join the ranks of Alpha males getting their bread from World's second oldest profession.
Today I think I need to do a self evaluation and answer this myself. It was same like the other questions of my life... I was afraid of water- so i learnt swimming , I was afraid of heights (still i get sweat if i have to climb stairs to fix something!!)- and i learnt to love mountains.
I have no hesitation to admit now that like many sales pro- i also joined the rank without ever aspiring to be a sales person. I have heard many kids telling that he wants to be doctor, engineer, scientist, but to think of it noone ever aspires to be sales person. no not even progeny of sales people. Also have you ever noticed--- many few people ever introduce themselves as sales people. But this was one profession which has given so much to so many people. The circumstances were tough for me in year2000. I was average student and there was nothing remarkable to showcase. yes- i did got trained well in technology and got through first stage of many companies which was recruiting en-masse. I kept a count... I attended 28 interviews (Was politely rejected in most. I got into final stage for only 5, but those 5 -gave me enormous confidence).Mehta sir- allowed me to work first and the JD was fuzzy, but i understood I have to do some sales. I was good in doing hard work- so it was not difficult for me to call upon more than 8 customers in single day.. which was routine for me each day and everyday. the training was very hands on... much to the credit of Rakesh Mehta sir-- who taught me literally how to understand that spark in customer's eyes. Lot of help from Naga sir-- our distributor. He made me part of his family. and then i started falling in love with the work. It was addictive and gave enormous kick. It also helped me to forget all the rejections. It was fun- it was ecstasy. I used to be very apprehensive in making friends- i found i can always have a kind of 2 persona. On a typical work day- i can talk with anyone, make friendship under 10 seconds, influence anyone, win anything. It made me forget all my past failures, It made me forget all my pain. I always had the curious mind of explorer-- and i could take up any kind of discomfort. So the nigh bus travels-- long bus travels- 8 hrs, 10 hrs, 24 hrs, long train travels- with multiple hops. They helped me become strong mentally. By Jan 2001- I was completely taken. The first order- 2.5lacs....ohhh.. i went wild with joy. The PO copy in hand, i remember going to that malabar tiffin room ( it was unaffordable for me most days)- and i ordered soup and gobi manchurian. and celebrated- me, my po copy and gobi manchurian. Then slept peacefully .. same room (Rs110/per night)- Renuka lodge.

Then the years rolled by- in form of Quarters and success.the territory- which started with Pune region, then south Maharastra, became Goa, then Tamilnadu, Kerala. finally Bangalore & Karnataka. When i moved to coreel- i had visited each nook and corner of maharastra, Goa, Kerala, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Hyderabad was always lucky for me... It just rocketed me up and further. some time in 2007- I started having national roles. more cities.  It was always a forward thurst. so it will not be wrong to say--- the profession chose me. and yes, i did the right thing.

An Interview in bis infotech online.

SOC design- in future .
Was trying to search my other articles in EFY and other older journals. This one is most recent- on soc design- link above. Rest I will put up for own reference.. later.

Edit-1-
got this old one-EFY- Memory article
 or copy paste- in browser-
https://electronicsforu.com/electronics-projects/electronics-design-guides/know-designing-memory-embedded-systems/2

Edit -2-
Another article came up in BIS infotech-Feb12-
https://www.bisinfotech.com/electronics-article/how-far-exactly-can-an-electric-vehicle-ev-travel/

Growing with our old friend, the customer (An excerpt )

There was an internal request in my company-- that I write on topic- 'what's on my mind?'
I ended up writing a piece on customer support. After writing- I felt it was very preachy.
Some colleagues took trouble and time to good comments. I am still doubtful about the quality- but before i lose it ( like i have lost my other poems, short stories, and essays!!- let me try to preserve from now on). Thanks to Hannah for helping to edit and my Amrita to say as always ' bhaloi hoeche!!' (Bengali-- 'it is nice').

Thanks always to my organisation for letting me flourish in so many ways. Avnet is truly a great place to work. So here I go--- ================================================================================================================================================ It was a mildly hot May afternoon as I pulled up in my car to a customer’s premises. I signed my name in the visitor registry (while taking a glance at who had called recently) and exchanged a few pleasantries with the receptionist. Both actions assured me that the other guys had still not called, and perhaps were not yet aware of the opportunity.

 Good for me. Bad for them.

 I then sat in that familiar sofa and even after so many years in the field – the familiar adrenaline rush. Am I prepared? Did I miss something while doing my homework? Quickly revisiting in my mind the pending (and burning) issues and my main point – I kept thinking, can I ask for that next step for that new project? Or will the fire-fighting issues take over? In due time, I was in front of the technical director and new product manager. The meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes, but after an hour and a half, we reached an impressive conclusion: eight action points, two great words of appreciation and yes, the “go ahead” for the next project. The customer agreed to work on all four proposals that my team gave the previous week.
 Success! Small, but significant.
I am sure the above scenario is very familiar with most field representatives. It’s the same routine which keeps people like me looking forward to jumping out of bed and just doing it. Each day when I wake up with a plan in my mind, it is for our customers. Each day is different and comes with so many problems to solve. One customer at a time, one supplier at a time.
 It has been 12 years and counting in the field for me representing Avnet India. I began as a key account manager in Sales. From there, it was on to serving as a product manager for two key line cards before working as an FAE manager for the past few years. I feel privileged that I work for a company which has given me an opportunity to exceed the budgets and expectations in different roles. I doubt any other job can give me the satisfaction of working like a business owner, as a leader with ample scopes to make a difference to society. Customers and suppliers always ask me about our transformation. They ask whether they will see better turn-around timed, more technical support, more effective solutions. Suppliers ask if we will bring more value than the others. With a smile, we answer them, “Yes!” We then effectively demonstrate it again and again. Avnet is the true bridge between different technology providers and innovators. A true-blue Avnet field representative must balance both. Both are very important for us because, in crude terms, “customers give us resale, while suppliers give us the margin.” The customer, however, is the most important piece in this entire journey. It gets very cloudy when it comes to execution in real-time. Often there are days when we are challenged by suppliers to push a particular product at a particular price. Project timelines are often very fuzzy and it can be very easy to forget the basics. Being in a high-tech world, many projects do not realise their full potential. We all need help during those times and the beautiful teamwork at Avnet helps us through them.

 Here are a few practices which have helped myself and my team keep the basics in focus daily:

 1) Be responsible and responsive :-
Customers are loyal to us (even in our typical B2B business environment) because we own the project and problems. Proactive calling, informing and responding helps a lot. There will be many problems, delays in samples (stuck in some documentation), longer than expected lead times, price errors, delayed order loading and AR issues. But, all these issues can be resolved and we should own up and tell them the what and why of it. It may not be good news every time, but we must tell them fast.

 2) Ask for referrals:-
  Customer contacts are for life. Nurturing key relationships is very important. If we bring value to customers, I see them coming back to us even when their roles or responsibilities change. It is always easier to get incremental business when we apply ourselves and do our jobs with a lot of love and passion.

 3) Always advocate for our customers:-
 When we advocate for our customers and get them the best possible solutions – whether it’s the most economical choice of components, a better way of doing things, or a new lead – they become ours for the long-term. This is the simplest technique and we should use it more often. Last year, when we faced a sudden drop in revenue due to a few suppliers taking different paths, I found many customers supporting us. When we told them we couldn’t further service these parts, customers asked what can we offer instead? And, can we help them change in new projects? Many new customers, such as independent design houses, love to work with Avnet because we help them when it matters most.

 4) Respect competition but leverage their weakness:-
  I personally feel that when fear and mindless negativity gets to us, it is stronger competition than any one of them out there. Some other electronic component distributers may have better services, better prices, or a better sales system, but none have it all. In each customer situation, we must find their weaknesses. When we find it, we should be quick to leverage them. It is always sweet to win, but when we lose we cannot go into excuse mode. Instead, we must quickly learn from the mistakes and make sure not to repeat them.
 We at Avnet India pride ourselves that for 23 years Avnet has been number one in our region. We recognise that our success is due to our customers, as well as our supplier partners. We have grown with our old friend – the customer – because our success is mutual.

To bare my soul-- Shall I try again?

Seven years went by like a fast paced river. This blog was forgotten, the website that i created-- long lost.I think the responsibilities weighed me down- and i forgot that I could create something other than some reports or good product presentations. Then on this Tuesday on Independence day eve, something very strange happened. It was again a midnight travel spree- relaxed mind with a new book in hand. The book 'footprints on the rocks' was awesome , I was hooked. Nowadays there are so many distractions of social media that focusing solely on feeding your soul is a chore.Thinking has become a luxury.But somehow a very charming, fuzzy & lovely interaction triggered it.
 I remembered my blog... Most of the writings- are personal notes on the flow of my life. Very short but full of truth. I know it is not important. Beauty of this format is- hardly it will get to be read by anyone- unless I point it to someone. Unlike what i write in facebook, IG or Whatsapp.So it will be easier for me to note down again. Does it matter? I donot think so-- who bothers whether there is one more star or nebula in this vast universe. The data explosion is so much that some random notes of mine will be again lost in time wrap of 1 & 0. But I promised myself- I will start writing again. The flow of words were halting, timid - just like small steps of the kid who left the small town and found everything wondrous in big city. The thoughts which were jumbled then became the words- in process- as if the sales pro has taken over that kid's soul. That kid is still alive, still the hopeless romantic, still the same procrastination plague his every decisions. But somewhere down the full flow of life- which is very exciting- he still likes to inspire, still wants to do good. Hoping that I will be honest and be able to bare my soul again. I hope I will be able to write a full fledged observation on life as it happens.