LinkedIn Citizens Who Can Be Movie Titles

 

Almost Famous – The ones who humblebrag their badge of honor or newly achieved certificate every other hour spent on LinkedIn. They will always be almost famous!

 

Slumdog Millionaire – The ones who have rags to riches story to share and that has a potential for another rehash of a been there done with that Hollywood movie.

 

12 Angry Men – They are arm-chair critics who may not have a single worthy post to share but get immense pleasure in jumping to conclusions and harshly judging others' achievements or attacking naïve LinkedIn posts.

 

Vertigo – They are that rare breed whose meteoric rise on the career ladder is so heady, it can give an attack of vertigo.

 

Django Unchained – These are the swashbuckling cowboys who aggressively promote their organization and its products every day (even if it is a lame product/offer). Just short of getting the company name tattooed on their heart which rests on their sleeve.

 

Miss Congeniality – Her posts are about encouragement and motivation and stories about kindness, courage, and empathy. Their posts make you let out a deep sigh, make you teary-eyed and melt your heart.

 

The Pursuit of Happyness – These are the glass-half-full type of people who are hopeless optimists even in the face of adversity. Despite personal setbacks and challenges, they share utopian posts that can make even super-achievers doubt themselves.

 

Hidden Figures – With diversity being the darling of the season and possibly many more seasons in the future (and rightly so!), these LinkedIn users have found their niche. They won't stop posting about the hidden figures till the cows come home.

 

Jurassic Park – There are few early adopters out there who make you feel like a relic. Their posts are everything about the newest and the latest in technology space. Their posts spew cutting-edge topics and reading them makes you feel like a stunted shrub living under a rock inside Jurassic Park.

 

Avatar – These LinkedIn citizens are out there to make a difference but to their own Avatar. They want to save humanity from the clutches of climate change, pollution, overpopulation, hunger crisis, lack of education, corruption, and many global issues with their posts. Yes, just their posts. These are the armchair activists of the LinkedIn world.

 

The Return of the Living Dead

They were invisible on LinkedIn, but certain compulsions have made them go ballistic in recent times. Possibly, the merits of being active on LinkedIn have just dawned upon them.

 

The Social Network

They are the overtly obliging ones who are commenting on other’s posts “for better reach”. In a covert way, they are expecting the same return of favour.

 

Up in The Air

These citizens (or foreigners) were quite active in pre-Pandemic times, posting about their event appearances, achievements, and professional bravado gallantly struck across different countries/ continents. In recent times, this breed has vanished in thin air.

Image source: Pixabay

Birds of a Feather Flock Together! - A Poem

 

Free of any rein, harness, or tether

An invisible bond holds them together

Given any time, situation or weather

An adventure, leisure, or under pressure

Birds of a feather flock together!

Voice opinion, whether generous, incongruous, or displeasure

Being what you truly are and accepting is the endeavor

No judgment whether tender, moderate, or aggressor

Birds of a feather flock together!

In times of need whether Jan, June, or December

Whatever, whichever, wherever, and whenever

Whether a loud shout, quiet share, or a gentle whisper

A friend will be there for you forever

Birds of a feather flock together!

Sweet n sour, spicy, tangy, salty, or pepper

Like two peas in a pod, or different as apples and oranges flavor

A special bond that can remain forever

Only if we give it time, attention, and savor

Birds of a feather flock together!

Fluid - A Poem

The times have changed, and how!

To nature’s bounty and fury, we now sincerely bow!

The seasons as we knew then and now

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, I avow!

A thin line between work and play

Our life is how we mold the day

Nothing is black and white but all gray

Life, as we know, is more fluid today!

They say necessity is the mother of invention

In tough times a need for a new dimension

It’s time to find solutions through collaboration

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, with no exception!

When he/she/they gender pronouns matter

Nothing is what it seems on a platter

When all your earlier impressions scatter

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, and it’s no idle chatter!

How we do business today has changed

Brick and mortar to e-commerce, interchanged

A wave of digitalization unchained

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, unstrained!

School and office buildings have become redundant!

And yet the work gets done by the incumbent

Being self-reliant and yet interdependent

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, a judgment not indulgent!

Less is more, and minimalism is indeed the new maxim

What was indispensable has gone through many subtractions

While true essentials of today cost us a fraction

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, no retraction!

In the pandemic, the mask may have covered the ground

In truth, it laid bare our relationships and trust, unbound

No matter what, love and empathy stand finally crowned

Life, as we know, is more fluid today, I strongly propound!

But who knows what’s in store for us in the future?

As travelers in a time capsule, as actors, and as viewers

Adapt, adjust, hang in there, play our part, and maneuver

Life, as we know, is more fluid today and tomorrow, another adventure!

The lighter side of The New Work Eco-system.

1. Virtual calls with international colleagues becoming a daily norm, most have finally started understanding the concept of the Time Zone difference. Your global colleagues finally know where India is located on the global map.

2. We have understood it is not apt to wish a ‘Good Morning’ to everyone on a global call as there are colleagues in the meeting from different locations across the world. More correct would be just saying, ‘Greetings to all’. No need to ramble off with the time-consuming time-specific salutations to show you are inclusive.

3. Turning on your video for virtual meetings does not mean showing up at work anymore. If it was required last year, in 2021 it is ok to keep the video off. Your good work in the last year allows you that. If you have not worked hard enough, good luck to you. Even showing your face may not help. Your manager and colleagues can see through you anyway.

4. Logging in a few minutes early is being on time. Logging on time is not enough. And logging even a few minutes after the scheduled time is rude and discourteous. With no traffic woes, no excuse has been yet found to be good enough to report late. Maybe if you say, the previous meeting overran it could be tolerable but otherwise be ready with an apology.

5. Saying that a brand launch is in late summer/autumn is not appropriate if we have a global audience. There may be folks from the southern hemisphere who may totally miss the red-letter event. I say, just spell out the month.

6. Upskilling and taking up new courses has been the hottest trend of COVID19 that may not go out of fashion. An overwhelming majority has joined the (not fire) brigade and taken to drinking straight from the fire hose and oozing with knowledge.

7. If it’s an office call (even phone call) without prior intimation or appointment, it has now become expected to start with permission or request. Don’t be surprised to hear an unexpected warm humble request coming from someone who was known to be cold and brusque in Pre-COVID times.

8. ‘Are you still there?’, ‘Can you hear me?’, ‘Can you see my screen?’, ‘Can everyone go on mute?, ‘Can we take this offline?’, have been unanimously voted as the most used phrases in office seances, oops, office meetings. By showing up for these meetings, is how most of us have kept our spirits alive and home fires burning the whole of last year.

9. With the rise in virtual meetings, there also has been a rise in multitasking, especially in meetings where we are invited but not required. With video kept off, you can be emailing, chomping on your favorite snack, preparing for the next meeting or your meal, completing pending items, doing other phone calls (yes, even that!) and no one will still find out.

10. With the overload of virtual meetings, one can politely declare, ‘I have a hard stop’ or ‘I have to jump to another meeting’ at the start of a meeting. It helps two ways. It helps you to get an early exit from purposeless meetings which you don’t need to be part of in the first place and show you are super busy with a full schedule (even when you are not).

11. The Coffee Breaks or the Virtual Water Cooler sessions ran by HR for team building and employee well-being have now run their course. These concepts if still running anywhere can now graciously call it a day. Honestly, we just want to get off the laptop and our back-breaking chair and take a Real Break!

12. With the lines blurring between office and housework, with meetings scheduled beyond typical work hours, it is ok if our work status shows ‘Away’ (from the laptop) or ‘Be Right Back’ or even ‘Offline’ during office hours. Because - When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go!

Pic Courtesy - thearensic.com

Gratitude (2020)

Thank you

For making us stronger and resilient more than we knew we could be.

And for making us realize the vulnerability of life.

Thank you

For helping us to focus on the NOW and not THEREAFTER.

And for making us realize the importance of ‘’We’’ and not just the ‘’I’’.

Thank you

For making us look inward for happiness and peace.

And for bringing out our latent creative side.

Thank you

For making us understand the meaning of agility at work.

And that at times it is better we don’t go against the tide.

Thank you

For applying the well-timed brakes in our journey called life

We now understand what we have been taking for granted on this ride.

Thank you

For forcing us to go back to basics, to giving, caring and being responsible.

It has more meaning and has purpose when the ‘’I’’ plays the second fiddle and steps aside.

G.O.A.T conversation with my teenage niece on WhatsApp Chat

Me: “Hi, how are you Monu?’’

Niece: “Suh Mossy. All g!’’ (that’s what she calls her Maushi)

(There is a silence for seconds which seems like minutes.

I presume what she actually meant was, ''what’s up and all good'' but I don’t want to sound uncool so I don’t ask)

Niece: “Mossy, how are you? You there?”

Me: “Y. All g with me too” (trying to sound like her).

“How is school sweetie?”

Niece: “School is sick as usual!”

Me: (Rolling eyes emoticon) “Why sick? I thought you enjoyed going to school.”

Niece: “Sick as in cool Mossy. Not the sick as in the ill types.”

(“Duh, Mossy!”…I am sure she must have thought in her head)

Me: “Oh yeah, of course! And how is your Math class going, coping well I hope?” (Quickly moving to another topic to bury my embarrassment.)

Niece: “TBH, I was going tots cray with Math as you know….”

(Niece still typing)

Me: “Sweetie, too many typos…what was that?” (Me asking naively)

Niece: “…but RN, my Maths is on fleek. Touch wood!”

Me: “What, what, what???”

(I am too flummoxed)

Niece: “Mossy! (inserting a tired smiley face) There are no typos. I just said, ‘To be honest, I was going totally crazy with Math earlier, but right now my Math seems to be going perfect.”

(Whoa, enlightenment!)

Me: “Oh gotcha! That’s awesome.”

(Trying to sound cool and hip like her)

Me: “How about your drawing and drama classes?”

Niece: “hmm...drawing classes are kind of basic but drama is lit AF. We really have the G.O.A.T during drama classes!”

(Here we go again. I know this time these are no typos and the words do mean something for sure. I quickly google on my phone to check the meaning and bingo! I was right. No typo, these are actual words used by Gen Z.)

Niece: “Btw Mossy, I have been asking Mamma to get me a phone and she has been saying NO. Please convince her to get me one. I am 13 now and it is high time she gets a smart phone for me. Everyone has it and I just totally miss out on all the tea that my squad has to share. It really makes me feel salty.”

 (I am wondering, how is not having a mobile phone related to missing out on having tea. And why is she feeling salty about it?...A la Zeenat Aman in Pukar song ''Samundar mein naha kar''. I somehow sum up courage and ask sheepishly)

Me: “But sweetie… you don’t drink Tea, nah. In fact you don’t like it. So how can you miss it! And what is their to feel salty about it?”

Niece: “Mossy, tea is gossip. Feeling salty is feeling irritated.”

(Another Aha! moment for me)

Niece: (continuing) “My squad has their own Instagram accounts. Wait! They also have Finstagram. And look at me, I don’t even have a mobile phone.”

Me: “OMG. Now, what’s a Finstagram? Is that a new social media platform?”

Niece: “No, Mossy. It is a Fake Instagram account. You should check the photos they upload. They are so savage. And look at me! I don’t even have a phone.”

Me: (gathering my wits) “No way are you having your own phone till you complete your 10^th standard. Have you read the many articles which talk about how distracting they are for students and how it ruins…blah blah blah blah!”

(Suddenly it strikes me. A new salvo (read word)was fired and I almost missed it)

Me: “And by the way, why are they savage?? Hope the photos are not too wild, crass and violent. That’s precisely the reason your mamma is not getting you a phone like your squad, ok!”

Niece: “Mossy, you are defs iconic! (Wink emoticon) It is ''savage'' as in cool and nothing beastly about it.”

Me: “Oh ok. Anyway, let me discuss with your Mom on this new phone thing. ”

(Also, to find out how she deals with this cryptic language everyday)

Niece: “Ok. Pls do convince her. Btw, sorry, I have a French class RN and I have to go. When you are free tomorrow, HMU or I will DM you.”

(This aunt by now had made use of her fastest fingers to know what HMU and DM stood for before the niece wrote her off and logged out.)

Me: “Ok sweetie I will Direct Message you tomorrow evening on your Mumma’s phone or you can Hit Me Up. I will be waiting for you defs.”

(My last ditch attempt to be the aunt who still had the goods)

P.S: For those uninitiated like me who may still be stuck at G.O.A.T, may have realized by now that the conversation had nothing to do with the four legged animal or a mutton recipe nor about getting my goat. Although I did teeter between a peaceful and pissed state of mind for a few moments there. 

And yasss, G.O.A.T stands for Greatest of All Time!

Note: The above is fictionalized account of a conversation with my Gen Z niece.

(Pic courtsey @Adobe Blog)

Getting To The He(art) Of The Matter | Musings Of A Marketer

January 2017
It is a Friday evening, and here I am sitting in the cozy dining area of the Kulkarni's residence, discussing with them how to spend my tomorrow, i.e., a Saturday morning exploring Philadelphia. Among the many options, they are suggesting is a visit to the Barnes Foundation, home to one of the world's most magnificent collections of paintings by Renoir, Matisee, Picasso, Van Gogh and many other iconic painters. A strong recommendation by both the husband and wife. For someone who does not have an artistic bent of mind, nor a single artist bone, my first thought is, ''Museum...blah. How boring!''. (I know my friends will forgive me for sharing this here!)

Thankfully, the voices in our heads do not come with a sound amplifier. 

I conveniently filter out that option and show my eagerness to hear about other exciting alternatives from them. 

After much deliberation, the eagerness and enthusiasm of Kulkarni's coupled with the curious keeda inside me, get the better of the art-skeptic side of me. By the end of the discussion, I have decided to visit the Barnes Museum after all. Just FYI, this was the same me, who, while on holiday in Amsterdam a couple of years ago had walked passed the Van Gogh museum on many occasions without even casting a second glance at it.
The same me was now ready to spend almost half a day in an Art Museum. 

Change of he(art)!

October 2017 (Nine months later)
Here I am, sitting at home on a Saturday morning, lending the final brush strokes to Farmhouse in Provence, which is my sixth feeble attempt to ape Van Gogh's iconic oil painting. Nine months back if you had asked me to draw or paint, I would have brushed it off as a joke. And much worse, if I were asked to replicate the famous art pieces of Van Gogh (pronounced as Van Go), the situation would be close to painting myself into a corner (metaphorically, of course!).

Honestly, I counted myself among the artistically challenged who would be happy to pat their own back for drawing an exact ''round'' circle at the first attempt. And today, I am sitting at my desk with five paintings in watercolors (albeit, extremely rudimentary versions) safely tucked inside the drawer. This neophyte is now finishing off the sixth from Van Gogh's repertoire in nine short months. 
All this was a huge revelation not just for me but also for all those who knew about my artistic ability (or rather the lack of it). 

So why am I sharing this with you? '
Well, for starters, this post is not about ''showing off'' a wannabe dabbler's interpretations of Van Gogh nor her newfound interest.
This post is about how a change in human behaviors occurs. Yes, you got that right! Nothing to do with the art or painting.

As I looked back on the last nine months, I wondered how I got the initiative to take up painting when there was not a single iota of interest in the field of art. So here I am trying to deconstruct it here, lest the learning fades into oblivion.

Musings of a Marketer who stumbled on an interesting human behavior model
As part of the regular internet reads on marketing management and human behavior I had in the recent past stumbled upon The Fogg Behavior Model (FBM). A fascinating model that helps to understand how a change in human behaviors occurs. It helps in creating Persuasive Design and useful for UX designers or marketers or for anyone who is interested in studying human behavior.  

It explains how three elements viz. Motivation, Ability, and Trigger must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur. When a targeted action does not happen, it means at least one of those three elements is missing. 

I thought let me understand this theory to understand the change in my behavior more clearly. In my case, the difference in behavior was the apparent fact that I had taken up watercolor painting with a zeal like never before. And as I mentioned earlier, painting never occurred to me anytime in the three decades of life that had passed... the phase which came after school (where drawing meant a mandatory homework). Even in those days, the assignments were outsourced to the sister or mom. As is apparent, I did not consider myself artistically inclined at all. 

So how come this penchant for watercolor painting now!

What were the three elements as per The Fogg Behavior Model (FBM), i.e., Trigger, Motivation and Ability that made this change in my behavior?

After much mulling over, I concluded that my Motivation was the immense pleasure of doing a challenging activity which was new to me, and to prove myself that even this can be done. And in the whole process, creating my versions of Van Gogh paintings (yes, no other painter, only Van Gogh). 

The Trigger was my visit to the Barnes Foundation and hearing and knowing in detail Van Gogh's moving life story** for the first time. 

What was left was the element of Ability. 
FBM elaborates that ability is nothing but six elements of simplicity. 

1. Time - Does it require little time or a lot of time?
2. Money - Does it require less money or lot of money?
3. Physical Effort - Does it require less physical effort or is it exhausting?
4. Brain Cycles (Mental Effort) - Is it less mentally fatiguing or more challenging?
5. Social Deviance - is it socially acceptable or isn’t?
6. Non-Routine - Is it routine or isn't?

If it requires little time, less money, less physical effort, less mentally fatiguing, is socially acceptable and is a routine activity, then it gives you complete ability to change behavior with motivation and trigger also being present.

In all the six cases that I decided to create my interpretation of Van Gogh's paintings, motivation and trigger was always there, time was the only element which was a variable factor and in short supply. Rest of the five elements were not an issue at all.
So when time was available, it increased my ability to pick up the brush and get those six paintings done.

FBM also shows that motivation and ability can be traded off (e.g., if motivation is very high, ability can be low) for behavior change to happen. If you have a strong motivation, you can overcome the lack of your abilities and still create a change in behavior with a trigger.

Now just apply this model to anything in life and one can create a positive change in behavior just by ensuring that the three elements of motivation, ability, and trigger are present at the same time.

As a marketer, I think this is a fantastic model for persuasion and creating a change in the behavior of the customer to purchase your product or service. 

Firstly, it is a useful model in the age of disruption and instant online purchases where all of us are perpetually living in a world of persuasion.
Also, a relevant model in times when a marketer's enemy is not just it's competitive product but even the customer's fragmented attention. 

So given these circumstances, how can we as marketers encourage our target audience to take the desired action?
First, check whether the six elements of simplicity are being addressed to increase his/her ability to take necessary action. 
Second, check how we can influence his/her motivation by using the appropriate core motivators (in the diagram above - pleasure/pain, hope/fear, acceptance/rejection) and putting them into force. 
And the finally Trigger element. How do we wisely use Google analytics, do contextual brand promotions or re-marketing at the right time (when customer is motivated and also able to perform the behavior) to produce the target behavior.

In conclusion, I can say that this model is great to understand more clearly about human behavior, why we are not able to achieve intended outcomes, how we can channel our energies more effectively and how it can be used for persuading users to make the target behavior.

If interested, more details on the model can be found here 
http://www.mebook.se/images/page_file/38/Fogg%20Behavior%20Model.pdf 

**Story of Vincent Van Gogh (in brief)
Vincent van Gogh is considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt, although he remained poor and virtually unknown throughout his life. Vincent Willem van Gogh (March 30, 1853 to July 29, 1890) was a post-impressionist painter whose work, notable for its beauty, emotion, and color, highly influenced 20th-century art. He struggled with mental illness, and remained poor and virtually unknown throughout his life. Van Gogh died in France at age 37 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Though he completed more than 2,100 works, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolors, drawings and sketches, he sold only one painting in his lifetime. Several of his paintings now rank among the most expensive in the world; "Irises" sold for a record $53.9 million, and his "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" sold for $82.5 million. A few of Van Gogh’s most well-known artworks include: The Starry Night, Sunflowers and Self-portraits. (Source: https://www.biography.com)

And here are my six humble attempts to recreate Van Gogh's master pieces and the reason I wrote the blog on behavior change.

Terrace and Observation Deck at the Moulin de Blute-Fin, Montmartre, early 1887

The Bedroom, 1889

Houses and Figure (1890)

Houses at Auvers, 1890

La Mousme, 1888

Farmhouse in Provence (1888)