May the millions of lamps lit today illuminate your life with joy, prosperity, health and wealth forever. From my family to yours, I wish you a very Happy Diwali and a prosperous new year!
As most of you know, early this year, I launched my book “Entrepreneurship- The Mega Opportunity.” It has met with great success because of your love and support, and I am so grateful! This festive season is the perfect moment to extend and share my joy.
I invite keen students, young executives and to-be entrepreneurs to reach out for a 1-to-1 consulting session with me for 60 minutes for a discounted fee!
What’s more? You can have my book “Entrepreneurship- The Mega Opportunity” for free!
Write to me now at kktandon@gmail.com
I am looking forward to hearing from you! Let us start the new year with a lot of promise and build an exciting future together!
I have been asked over and over again what my experience was of writing and publishing the book. I wanted to take this opportunity to share the learnings from my experience of writing this book.
This is a fact, and I have told my family members, friends, and a few students already: “If there was no pandemic and there were no lockdowns, I would never have become an author.”
I have always had a lot of ideas in my head but then I never sat down to pen them because I was always occupied with my routine work of consulting, mentoring, and teaching. COVID – 19, the consequent lockdowns and being at risk at my age of 73 forced me to remain indoors. This proved to be an opportunity for me to give shape to my ideas into a book.
#Learning 1: Self-Confidence
The first and the foremost learning was gaining self-confidence. This process reaffirmed my belief in my capabilities to articulate my vision on the vital subject of entrepreneurship and enterprise promotion. Of course, I have taught this subject for many years, but to see all my hardwork transform into a tangible product appreciated by all was a big boost of confidence. It adds another feather to my cap. I am now a published author.
#Learning 2: Write with audience in mind
The second important learning that I would like to share with fellow aspiring writers is that one should write while keeping the target audience in mind. In the process, I found myself wondering who do I sell my book to? To businessmen who want tips to do better, or new entrepreneurs thinking about how to start? One may write anything, but it has no relevance unless it strikes the right chord with the customers. Since I decided that my target audiences are young people, I learned to write in a way that would interest them. I created the book in the style of a workbook, where one could make notes, and reflect in the pages immediately. Also, telling anecdotes and stories makes crucial business concepts more relatable to possible readers. I also learnt the art of storytelling while writing this book.
#Learning 3: Editing is the most important
I personally feel that this third learning was an important one! I would like to give the highest importance to the editing phase of the book. While an excellent editing may make an ordinary book highly successful, below average, or poor editing may ruin the prospects of even an excellent book!
#Learning 4: Writing is a group effort
Last but not the least, like many other endeavors in life, writing a book is also a team effort. You must rope in many competent persons from multi-disciplinary backgrounds to ensure that the final product is a good balance of both creative and commercial aspects. Unless you strike this balance – your product may not do well in the market. You need proofreaders, editors, designers, publishers… all of whom have to work with you to build your vision. Writing my book has taught me this crucial lesson: Books are not written alone!
Recently, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) Ahmedabad invited me to take a 3-hour guest lecture at their sprawling campus. The event was hosted by Dr Satya Ranjan Acharya, Director, Department of Entrepreneurship Education. It was part of an Induction Program for PGDM-E batch 2022-24. I had a great time talking to young entrepreneurs at their campus!
EDII Campus boasts of a vast, well-designed learning space, at par with IIM-A. I was accompanied by Nidhi, a senior student of mine, who was really gracious to me with all her help. We strolled around the estate office of EDII and were treated with delicious meals throughout the day. EDII ensured that our stay was a pleasant and comfortable one.
Since it was EDII, I was expecting to meet energetic young entrepreneurs who would benefit from my lecture because they are clear about their goals. That is exactly what I found when I stepped into the lecture hall. The students had an entrepreneurial drive within them. They were self-propelled and keen learners which was evident by how interactive the session was!
The three-hour session with these bright entrepreneurs was engaging and energizing for me! I spoke a lot about entrepreneurial spirit, which I could see in their eyes already! I strongly believe that all smart young people like them should invest their efforts, resources, and time into starting their own ventures. Not only does a happy, prosperous life await them but also a feeling of great pride and satisfaction for having contributed to society at large. In today’s day and age, when a job cannot provide as much remuneration or satisfaction, entrepreneurship is the way to go!
I spoke in depth about how entrepreneurship is not for everybody but anyone can be an entrepreneur. Even the people who might describe themselves as “not-so-qualified” can also start a business. The key is the entrepreneurial spirit! If you have the aptitude to look beyond the obvious, the fortitude to work, the problem-solving ability, an innovative outlook and are a calculated risk-taker, then entrepreneurship is for you!
I think it is very important for young entrepreneurs to reflect on themselves first. Who they are. Who they are not. What does success look like to them? They must ask themselves: Are they doing what they love? Does their business idea create value for society? These questions may seem basic, but they are the stepping stones toward the path to success. I filled my talk with many anecdotes and stories from my own life, and therefore, students opened up in a positive manner.
A frequent question that is asked is: How do I find a business idea? We spent some time on this question, thinking about how the best fit depends on who you are and where you are at. I regaled them with different stories of entrepreneurs who look at the opportunity in the ecosystem they are in, rather than asking an outsider for a formula.
The discussion went on about charting the path of a business from project feasibility to business plan to project execution to operations and profitability. Finally, I gave them some tips as a mentor and encouraged them to think about mentorship seriously as they work on their business idea. A mentor can lend their experience to your fresh business idea, and the combination can create magic.
What I see as a positive sign is that there was student engagement even beyond the classroom. We discussed entrepreneurship passionately even during the lunch break. I also had the chance to further interact with the students as I roamed around the campus and visited their offices. It affirmed the fact that what I had to say to the youngsters had immediate relevance to them!
After the session, the “meet-and-greet” with the author was also successful! The response to my book was outstanding! I would like to make a special mention of my student Nidhi here, who made commendable efforts for the promotion of my book. She not only helped me with the sales but also ensured that I had enough pictures and videos to talk about the whole event!
At the end of the fun-filled and eventful day, I discussed with Dr. Acharya how I could join hands with EDII for more specialised objective-focussed sessions with the students, who had engaged with me so zealously! So hopefully, this was just one of the many forthcoming collaborations with EDII.
“Behave according to your age. What will people say?”
Have you ever heard such statements before?
If so, you have in all likelihood encountered “ageism” and ageist behaviour. Unknowingly, we all participate in it, and it has an impact on us all. According to WHO, “Ageism refers to the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.” We all have certain self-limiting notions about what is appropriate and capable at different ages. The fear of growing old has a detrimental impact on our motivation and mental health. We start accepting that it is too late to do anything that could make us happy. But is it really true?
Recently I came across a wonderful article by Shashi Tharoor (a well-known politician, writer and public intellectual who has served as a Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) on this topic. It is titled, ‘Why we should increase our retirement age?’ I am reposting it here for you to read before my reflection on the piece:
This month, my mother turns 83 (or 84, depending on whether you go by her memory or the possibly inaccurate date on her passport). She is amazingly fit and mentally agile, and at year’s end she is travelling with us to the other end of the world for a New Year’s reunion of her entire family of descendants— three children, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and assorted spouses. It is intended to be a celebration of our togetherness, despite the quirks of geography—among this brood, there are now three nationalities and nine different addresses around the world. But it is also a celebration of her active longevity, because somewhere between 83 and 84, she hits the fabled sathabhishekam, when she will have seen a thousand moons orbiting the planet.
(I know many Hindus celebrate the sathabhishekam in their 81st year, but they are mathematically challenged. Since you basically witness 12 moon orbits a year, 80 clocks up only 960 moon orbits, and you need the extra three years and four months to reach 1,000. Letters of protest may kindly be addressed to the editor and not to me.)
I was reflecting on this when I came across a study from the New England Journal of Medicine (2018) that found that the most productive age in a human’s life is not your 20s or 30s, but 60 to 70. And, the study confirms that the second most productive age is between 70 and 80 and the third most productive decade is 50 to 60.
What is going on here? Is this another disinformation campaign by the oldies among us, trying to vindicate their creaking joints, swollen knees, aching backs and greying hair by purveying fake news about their superiority to the fit, energetic, six-pack-sporting, young whippersnappers who are actually producing everything that matters in the world?
Not quite. Consider the evidence: The average age of a Nobel Prize winner is 62. The average age of a CEO in a Fortune 500 company is 63. The average age of popes is 76. And, in India, the average age of the cabinet is 60. Our prime minister, at 69, is a mere juvenile compared with some of his predecessors, such as Morarji Desai, who became PM at 81, or even the much-maligned Jawaharlal Nehru, who died in office at 74.
Looking back at my own life, next month I will publish my 20th book. Ten of those have seen the light of print since after my 50th birthday. There is little doubt that I have been more productive in my sixth and now seventh decade than in my (at least partially) misspent youth.
There is a logical reason for this. It is true that when you are young you are still feeling your way, acquiring the skills you need and laying the foundations of your future achievements. Most of our 20s and 30s are spent on romance, on wooing our future partner, and in creating and bringing up our family. The responsibility of making a living, of educating our children, and of taking care of our parents is a time-consuming one that inevitably distracts us from a single-minded focus on professional accomplishment.
In other words, most people’s social and personal circumstances mean that their lives are so designed that the best years of their existence are between 60 and 80. That is the age when they have acquired whatever skills they are likely to acquire, have made (and learned from) their mistakes, and can focus on sharpening and deploying those skills. Thanks to modern medicine, most people are able to remain reasonably healthy past 60 and, even if physically slower, remain capable of top-quality intellectual performance. It is an age when there are fewer distractions. It is the time when you can do your best work.
This is why it is a crying shame that the arbitrary tyranny of retirement age deprives so many offices of performers at their peak. While most western countries have increased their retirement ages to 65 and 70 (and the US has outlawed compulsory retirement altogether), we are still letting people go when they could be making a major difference. In Kerala, government employees still retire at 56. (Politicians, of course, never retire. They just fade away.)
So, if you are turning 60, don’t give up: remember the best years of your life lie ahead!
~ Shashi Tharoor, theweek.in
The article reaffirmed my belief that “It is never too late.”
I’ve given this advice repeatedly: Don’t postpone anything because of age.
Shashi Tharoor quoted various examples of achievers post the retirement age. There are many senior entrepreneurs too! The most popular one is Colonel Sanders of KFC fame who decided to begin to franchise his chicken concept and travelled the US looking for suitable restaurants at the age of 69!
Nykaa founder Falguni Nayyar started her entrepreneurial journey at 50 and became India’s first female self-made billionaire while the supermarket chain Dmart was founded by 45-year-old Radhakrishnan Damani at a point when he had already made his millions in the stock market.
A Harvard Business Review also debunks the bias that startups are only for young entrepreneurs. It reports that the “average age of a successful startup founder is 45”, showing that the older you get, the higher the success rate!
I am a living example of how age is just a number.
I launched my own business at the age of 42! I first learned how to use a computer at the age of 57. At 62, I began teaching business courses at various institutes. At 73, because of the pandemic, I had to learn how to conduct online classes, and now I am comfortably attending even guest lectures online. Can you imagine someone who began to write emails around 60, now working independently on a computer and maintaining a blog? For me, as Tharoor said, the best years of my life are still ahead! In fact, I started writing at the age of 72, and published my first book at 73 this year!
The trap of ageism can make you devalue yourself. If you are limiting yourself on the basis of how old you are:
It has been a long break from blogging regularly: three times a week for almost one year — from December 2020 to 2021!
For the first part of 2022, I was busy with the publication, launch and promotional activities of my new book! I hope that you have already seen and heard about the book.
Anyway, let me give you a few updates:
I wrote my book, “Entrepreneurship- The Mega Opportunity” to reach out to young, aspiring students and professionals wanting to create a blueprint for success as entrepreneurs. The book has been well-received by entrepreneurs, my professional colleagues, and well-wishers. My many students have also welcomed and encouraged my endeavour by buying and gifting the books to their own colleagues and friends! I am humbled with gratitude for this response.
The book has also opened new doorways for me to meet with young entrepreneurs and discuss their business or project ideas with the objective of converting these into a workable business plan! Besides, I am also getting opportunities to talk in various colleges and universities on this vital subject of entrepreneurship and enterprise promotion!
The entire journey has gone a long way in fulfilling my self-actualization needs. It has been creatively satisfying!
You can check out what my book is about on my website! It is available on Amazon, Flipkart, and my publisher’s NotionPress website in all three formats: Kindle version, paperback and hard case! It is selling in over 100 countries of the world.
You must have also noticed that I have a new address: www.kktandon.com This is the new home for my blog, videos, testimonials, and other updates!
Now that I am back, I am re-energized with more stories, newer content and things to tell you. I will continue with my routine of connecting with you every week.
Please continue to support me as you have always done!
This is a real-life story. I have narrated some personal stories in the blog about the challenges I had faced in the workplace. (You can read these popular posts here: 1, 2). But the one I am going to narrate today is an anecdote from my years as an engineering student.
This story resurfaced in my memory only recently since I hardly think back to my college years. As I was narrating this incident of my life to my students in a classroom session, I realized that this is a good piece for my blog. So, before I start, let me offer my thanks to one of my favourite students Gurman Kaur who wrote the first draft of it based on my telephonic narration to her! I want to take this opportunity to appreciate the good work done by Gurman.
Here’s how the story unfolds…
This is about the time I was a young, engineering student at Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur — now transformed into a full-fledged university known as Harcourt Butler Technical University. Not to brag, but I was a good student — sharp, sincere, and dedicated. So, whenever exams were around the corner, it was an especially stressful time for me. I would want to do my best and put in all my energies towards the preparation.
As science students, we would conduct various experiments in the laboratory. There was a separate paper on chemistry practicals. On the day of the exam, we would be asked to conduct one particular experiment from all of the ones we had learned, and present our results. We were given all the chemicals and instruments required and had to conduct this individually (of course, without any assistance from the professor!) To add to the pressure, an external faculty would also be called to judge the results presented by us.
On the day of the practical exam, you could imagine how I was justifiably nervous. In my table at the lab, I could see that the task I was assigned was to conduct a potentiometric titration experiment and plot the graph based on readings I got during my experiment. I thought to myself: I got this!
But maybe it was too soon for me to feel confident. I conducted my experiment, recalling each step correctly and jotting down the results. After completion, I started plotting the readings on the graph paper, I soon realised I was not getting the standard shape of the curve. On the contrary, my readings were guiding me towards an absurd shape of the curve. My titration graph did not look like the ideal curve.
I was taken aback! I was anxious and started thinking about how to troubleshoot the problem. Did I make a serious mistake somewhere? I was sure that I hadn’t. Did I get the readings wrong? There was no way! So, why did my curve not conform to the norm?!
I felt backed into a corner. I thought to myself: What can I do now? I can’t redo the experiment. I am going to fail this subject if I don’t do well in the practicals. Should I mentally prepare myself that this exam is ruined? Should I fake my results? Should I just change the numbers slightly so it fits the expected graph? My mind was racing. I was thinking in circles. I had an ethical dilemma before me. Who cares if a student-researcher forges the numbers of a test? Is it a big deal? I was battling against myself.
In the end, I decided that I will write exactly what had happened instead of choosing to manipulate the results. If I must fail, then so be it. I cannot, in good conscience, change the numbers to fit a certain graph.
Almost resigning to my fate, I wrote down all the wrong readings, as absurd they might be. In the analysis section of the paper, I reasoned why the readings could have been wrong, what conditions could have led to it. I also mentioned in detail the possible mistakes I might have committed during the process of experimentation.
I left the laboratory feeling a bit down. But I knew in my heart, I wouldn’t have felt any better if I had forged the numbers either. So, I just promised myself that I will do better the next time I have to give this exam again.
Time went by and then came the Judgement day- Results!
Like I said, I was resigned to my fate and had almost expected to see an average score or even the red letter “F” in the score-chart. To my pleasant surprise, I saw a score of 92%! I gasped, How could it be?
I went to meet my chemistry professor immediately. I told him how I was not expecting the result at all since my titration graph was not the “correct answer” that I should have gotten after my experiments. So how could I score A-grade marks?!
My professor not only congratulated me on my 92% score but also told me that the external examiner was really impressed and had praised my integrity. To be precise, the examiner’s words were, “A real experimenter is not somebody who worries about what the outcome might be, but rather shifts their focus towards the “Why” of the outcome. It’s not about whether you’re getting the right or wrong results, but about whether you’re able to analyse the result and arrive at the truth of the matter.”
I was really happy after hearing my professor’s words. I was glad that my integrity was appreciated. The essence of a true researcher lies in their intellectual honesty. What an important lesson to learn!
This incident made me realise a few important things: As a student, as long as your fundamentals have firm roots and you work righteously towards learning and growing, there’s not a single wind that can uproot you. Your goal shouldn’t be to manipulate the answers to make them sound “right” but to understand and critically reason about the “Why” and the “How” of the subject. In the end, exams are also a test of character, and you are competing not with other students, but yourself.
Moral: Sow the seeds of curiosity, be ethical while nurturing it, and you’ll bear the fruits of knowledge!
I hope you enjoyed the Diwali holidays as I did! I was going through the festive greetings and responding to all our well-wishers when I read this text forwarded by a close friend of mine. I thought that it was the perfect message for my blog for my young readers to read. I am taking the liberty to share the complete message (of an anonymous author) here:
The festival has gone as suddenly as it had arrived. Your colourful diyas now protectively hold tiny pools of melted wax and ash. Your rangolis are still radiant, albeit slightly dishevelled.
As you walk on the streets this morning, you catch sight of last night’s celebrations all around, and you probably see or hear yourself and your loved ones laughing, in that very spot that someone cracked a joke yesterday.
Friends and extended family have now gone back home, making promises to meet again soon.
The sweets and savouries have now been stored away and will be served at tea-time, as mementoes of Diwali.
The clothes and jewellery that you chose with great care, that made their grand appearance yesterday, have been put away for the next big occasion. I hope you’ve taken pictures to preserve the memories.
As all the festivities slowly recede into the distance, I ask you for a promise that in your heart, you will let the lights remain; that in spirit and being, your celebrations will continue; that you will attempt to meet your loved ones a little more often. And that the laughter that came in abundance yesterday will make an appearance every day.
Life should be a continuous celebration — a festival of lights the whole year-round. Till then Keep the glow of face, heart & spirits high.
Diwali is slowly taking your leave now. It is time to bid goodbye to it but keep the sparkle inside you till it is back next year. Here’s wishing you all a happy festive spirit all year round.
Many of my readers already know that I have been striving hard to publish my first book.
The first draft of the book is complete! I found a publisher too! They are a great addition to this journey.
The book is based on “Entrepreneurship.” I have tried to create a guide for young entrepreneurs who can benefit from my knowledge and experience in this field. I have taken care to add every aspect related to this business that might be useful for dreamers — from ideation to execution. The book also includes advice related to things as normal as daily business operations; and as complex as creating and sustaining profits, and generating wealth.
Before diving into the launch of the book, I decided to give a preview of the book to a select group of people. I wanted to see their reactions and feedback on the contents of the book! I got an overwhelming response from several readers. They were appreciative of my ambition with the book and generally liked the concept and structure of the book. Many also came forward with brilliant suggestions for some chapters to enhance the impact of the text. Like, they wanted more anecdotes and real-life examples to explain a particular theoretical statement.
With enthusiasm, I have begun to incorporate the various recommendations that I received. Once this is done, a formal editing process will begin. I am told this takes a lot of time, and naturally so!
Keeping all these times in mind, I expect the book to take a few more weeks to hit the shelves. So, stay tuned for further updates!
