Thread by @IamShajanSamuel

I started working at age 17 years after I finished plus 2 partly because of the conditions at home front
Started off as a door to door sales man selling ads for Tata Press yellow pages
ST. Xavier's college kol Bcom classes would finish at 9.40 am & I used to head straight to work

In 2 years I was the No 1 performer out of 200 sales people,I succeeded because of two reasons 1) I used to unabashedly ask for business 2) When people used to slam the door on my face, I never lost my enthusiasm , I knew I just need to keep going & soon a door will open.

I got my big break with MRF Tyres as soon as I completed my Bcom- went to Agra , grew MRF Market Share in Truck Tyre segment, from 7% to 23% in just 2 years- Fastest promotion to middle manager in 2 years 10 months, a feat still not broken swept all awards,& moved to Indore.

How i did it - I used to drive my kinetic & visit truck customers , they abused me left right & centre , because MRF Tyres were failing. I took blows on my chin, spoke little, gave them my ear, confronted the truth, promised them I will attempt to resolve, kept my word .

You cannot run away from problems, it will boomerang - you have to nip it in the bud. I faced the wrath of the truck tyre customers, gave them an outlet to express their anguish,I knew their heart was soft,became their friend, solved their problems one by one,gained their trust.

Always kept my word, what I couldn't do I said explicitly I cannot - What I could do- I made sure I did. The problem with lie is that you have to remember what you said. People like honesty , honestly triumphs in the long run.
I told myself whatever the situation I will not lie.

I slogged hard, in my two years, 10 months stint with MRF tyres in Agra, never took a single day leave, Committed to myself that till the time MRF reached Market Leadership in truck tyre segment I will not rest.
Made big trade off's - Life is about making trade off's.

Through Consistent performance started growing up the Value chain,MRF Stint lasted 7 years,JK Tyre as Regional Manager kerala,lasted 1 year,Aptech 3 years,then moved to Manipal to spearhead their media & entertainment business was selected by @harimenon_bb -learnt a lot from him.

Finally decided to learn -went to IIM (Kolkata ) stayed at the campus for 4 months & completed the Advanced Management course, hundreds of case studies , from morning 8 am to evening 6 pm - The stint at IIM redefined my life & gave me a new direction.

My submissions to youngsters , start early, at age 16-17 you will have a great head start, no point in doing MBA or Masters , it is a waste of time -In case you want to do it , do it after 2-3 years work experience, if you are not getting in to premier colleges, pls don't do.

It doesn't matter what you studied , it matters which college you studied, students pay 5-9 lakhs doing an MBA , but they cannot draft a mail, the college education particularly in most college sucks.

Academics in school is a "sampling error" because getting ahead is largely about individual smartness and hard work. But getting ahead in life is largely about working with other people. Life is a team sport and nothing big or meaningful can be accomplished alone.

Most youngsters think that getting into college or getting a job is like solving a maths problem, but it is actually more like painting a picture. The world of work has changed. Employment is no longer a lifetime contract but a taxicab relationship-short and intimate.

College teaches you to jump through a thousand scholastic hoops yet the most important decisions you will make are whom to marry, whom to be friends with, what to love, what to despise, and how to circumvent your temptation, you can only learn this from the journey of life.

How far you go in India depends on the parents you were born to & the pin code , I call it the Ovarian lottery.
300 million people will not drive the car they clean will not read the newspaper they deliver, their children will not study in the schools they help built.

We only have 40 cities in India with 1 million population , China has 160 cities with 1 million, women participation in labour work force is 19 % Bangladesh is 68% ,our primary driver of GDP is still Agriculture-Real India lives in villages , time to reboot our education system .