Arjun

Teacher by heart, entrepreneur by choice, Pathfinder in a word.

[Arjun @pathfinderarjun]

If you are ever feeling out of place. Just watch this movie and thank me later.

https://t.co/z6HjDWku6v

#secretlifeofwaltermityy

[Sanjeev Bikhchandani @sbikh]

On the Ashoka WhatsApp group there is a discussion on the convocation speech and what kind of convocation speakers we should look for. Most people are posting videos of commencement speakers from US universities.

I posted the following message

👇

A random thought on convocation speeches.

We want a convocation speech that is slick. One that is delivered by a speaker in polished sophisticated English. With the right accent using the right words.

The convocation speaker in my graduating class at IIMA was V Krishnamurthy. Chairman of SAIL. He said all the right things but guess what - thirty four years out I don’t remember a word of what he said and I don’t think what he said made any difference to the lives of any of my classmates. That speech did not change anyone’s behaviour or influence any of the choices we made in our lives.

However I vividly remember remember the speech made by the chief guest at IIMA in the previous year. Being in the junior batch I was not invited to the event so along with several others from my class I watched the function from the first floor of the building on the side.

The chief guest was Dr Verghese Kurien Chairman NDDB.

He was not polite. He was downright rude. He was condescending. He was sarcastic. He was caustic. He was insulting. He spoke a few home truths to the graduating class. He taunted us.

He opened by congratulating the graduating class. He then said that this is not the Indian Institute of Management. This is the Indian Institute of Management for Shampoo Salesmen. And that the entire graduating class could now look forward to a life where they spend their time selling soap and shampoo. For that is the limit of our aspiration and ambition he said. We just wanted to work for Multinational Corporations peddling their wares to Indian consumers. Such a collosal waste of talent he called it. And throughout his speech he repeatedly used the term “shampoo salesmen” derisively to describe the graduates of IIMA.

He challenged us to do something more meaningful with our lives and try and make a difference.

But then he lamented that his words were going to fall on deaf ears and that we would take the safer option.

Now it requires some guts to go as a chief guest to a function and then make a 30 minute speech berating and insulting your hosts. But that was Dr. Verghese Kurien. In your face. Blunt. Calling a spade a spade.

By the end of it our ears were burning.

But guess which speech we remembered.

And Some of us did do something different.

The class of 1989 has produced the most number of entrepreneurs in the history of IIMA.

Sometimes warm fuzzy convocation speeches don’t make lasting impact.

[Arjun @pathfinderarjun]

Spoiler Alert:

You are a tiny organism on a rock floating through space.

[Arjun @pathfinderarjun]

@Flowbook2 is going live with India's 1st education outcomes platform. Stage is set at #EDEX2021. Join us at stall No A11. https://t.co/hUbG4I1eBq

[James Clear @JamesClear]

How I run my business

2020 was my 10th year as an entrepreneur. Here are some "rules" I try to follow after a decade of stumbling around building my company.

(Not rules for all businesses. Just how I choose to run mine.)

A thread 👇👇👇

[Paras Chopra @paraschopra]

How 💸 money works.

(a massive, 100-part thread)

[Naval @naval]

* via @Alex_Danco

https://t.co/spt37vwZTX

[Naval @naval]

The source of wisdom is pain.

[Dan Go @CoachDanGo]

A sign of genius is getting excited at being a beginner again.

[George Mack @george__mack]

THREAD: 15 of the most useful razors and rules I've found.

Rules of thumb that simplify decisions.

[Sam Altman @sama]

Move faster. Slowness anywhere justifies slowness everywhere.

2021 instead of 2022. This week instead of next week. Today instead of tomorrow.

Moving fast compounds so much more than people realize.

[Arjun @pathfinderarjun]

Catch @pathfinderarjun, Founder & CEO, @Flowbook2 interact with faculty and students of @Jaipur_Manipal on National Education Policy with an emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship.
https://t.co/Gc6MYdEYLy
#NEP2020 #manipal #flowbook

[Simon Sinek @simonsinek]

When we feel humiliated, the best reaction is humility.

[Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal]

Emergence: When many simple objects interact with each other, they can form a system that has qualities that the objects themselves don’t. Examples: neurons creating consciousness, traders creating the stock-market, simple mathematical rules creating “living” patterns.

[Andrej Karpathy @karpathy]

How to become expert at thing:
1 iteratively take on concrete projects and accomplish them depth wise, learning “on demand” (ie don’t learn bottom up breadth wise)
2 teach/summarize everything you learn in your own words
3 only compare yourself to younger you, never to others

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

A heroic parent. One who dreams big for his children. These are the aspirations that fuel a nation’s progress. At @MahindraRise we call it a Rise story. Our Foundation would be privileged to support Aseesh’s further Education. Could the journalist please connect us?

[Arjun @pathfinderarjun]

This is a welcome move.

[Arjun @pathfinderarjun]

#flowbook in news