Act Your Dream

Who would have thought that coffee would come to be recognized as the Swiss Army knife of professional (and not so professional) networking? Centuries ago, when the first of Kaldi's goats nibbled on the nameless red berries, I'm sure the poor goatherd had no clue that the serendipity would eventually give birth to a whole new way for people to build real-life relationships with each other. Fast forward many centuries; today we are all familiar with what "let's meet over coffee" means. Well, for one it doesn't mean you have to drink coffee. It is just an invitation to have a casual conversation about things that might be of interest to both parties. In not too distant past, many conversations that started with that phrase ended up becoming admirable success stories for businesses and individuals. 200 Coffee Meetings Later This realization came to me a bit late in life. I do not recall considering my first coffee meeting as a chance to offer or rec...

"If our organizations are really artificial persons, these people are incredibly fat." Today's organizations are obese. I always thought there’s a lot going on in their guts but after a closer look, it turns out there’s too little going on to help shed those extra pounds. Why do we need food anyway? It gives us maintenance energy, right? And energy helps us do stuff. What good is the food then if it saps our energy in the long run rather than adding to it? Remember, the food is composed of nutrients that if not utilized quickly convert into fats and make us slow and dull; unable to respond to changes in our environment. In the context of today's organizations, such nutrients abound. It is crucial to keep an eye on the organizations ability to convert nutrients (technology, policies, procedures and best practices) into energy (revenue, cash flow, ROI). Seemingly trivial measures like inventory turnover and accounts receivable ratios tell us how good the organ...

It was a pleasure to speak at the 12th Annual Internationally Educated Professionals (IEP) Conference on Feb 27 this year at the magnificent Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This was the second IEP conference I attended in a row and I was overwhelmed see the level of interest among delegates to connect with the speakers and to network with other delegates as a pivotal strategy to achieve career success. What was more heartening to see was the quality of questions the attendees raised during the panel discussion. It pointed to their good grasp of the challenges faced by newcomers and their resolve to overcome them through the many strengths they bring with them to Canada. Like the previous year, importance of investing time and effort in personal development and networking with other professionals in the field featured as two main themes of the discussion. I underscored my position on the importance of positive attitude and perseverance both duri...

Dear Boss, I write this letter today to tell you that I lied to you. Yes, you heard me right. Not once, not twice, but every day since the last 11 years that I've been working here, I lied to you. In every nuance of my voice and in every gesture of my body, I lied. Still, I did not consider myself guilty of deceit. That is so because I lied to myself too. And my lies were so convincing that I actually thought I was telling everyone only the truth. I have been lying since my first day at work many years ago, not only to you but to all the bosses I have had in the past 19 years. It flowed in my veins and nourished my ravenous ambition to have a successful career; I never suspected myself of lying for even a second. But what happened last night has flustered my conscience to a degree irreparable by any amount of commiseration or any false promise of success. As I turned back to leave my 10 year old son's room after putting him to bed, I heard his meek whisper, ...

Reader discretion advised! I am a new resident of Canada. A month after completing my two years here, a friend shared an  article  online that immediately grasped my attention. It was titled “Don’t make the mistake of migrating to Canada, it’s a fool’s paradise.” I would not attempt to speak to the validity of the resounding assertion in the latter phrase of the title, because I believe only the author should have the right to speak for herself. I would however say only this in response: I’m not sure if Canada is a fool’s paradise but it surely is a graveyard for the conceited narcissists who think they deserve the same kingly bounties they were bestowed upon in their past country of residence for no good reason. Still, I can only agree with the author that Canada is indeed  not  the place for you. But I intend to do more than that; I will attempt to enumerate the various reasons why Canada is not the place for you. Before I start, let me make it clear that...

I have been in Canada for two years now. During this time, I have not considered myself a newcomer but an equal part of the larger Canadian community and always keen to contribute to the country's vibrant economy and society in whatever way possible. This week has been extremely exciting for me.  I, along with my wonderful employer, CIBC got  recognized for the efforts we make to help new immigrants to Canada find work in their professional fields. I was also recognized by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) as a mentee-turned-mentor within TRIEC's program, The Mentoring Partnership (TMP).  TMP celebrated its 10th Anniversary and hosted its Annual Recognition Reception on Dec 2, in Toronto. As part of TRIEC's 10th Anniversary Celebration, I was interviewed by CBC's Marivel Taruc in Toronto. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) television program  Our Toronto  included a special feature on newcomers recognizing me as a me...

I have been quite intrigued by how some people are able to achieve success in life while others pursuing the same goal under similar circumstances are not. It becomes more interesting when both groups of people have similar potential to achieve success. A couple of months back, I decided to look at the whole cause and effect pandemonium in light of the control system theory. I figured we are like electronic devices with our own built-in closed circuits taking input and producing output. Think of us as amplifiers or oscillators if you will. The output we produce is directly or inversely proportionate to the input. For instance, if you reprimand a child for doing something undesirable, he would either stop or stay on doing it with greater zeal and vigour. One way or the other, our influence will impact his action. This is the simple cause and effect relationship where the output depends on the input. We see it all around us, all the time. Now let’s get a bit more creative and thi...