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By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 8:58:38 am

Your First Impression Is Delegated

A prospective partner called your office last week. You do not know his name. You were not told he called. The phone rang four times before it was answered, he was asked to repeat himself, and he was promised a callback that arrived two days later as a message with no greeting. He formed an opinion of you in under three minutes. You were not in the room, and you will never know that opinion existed. Most founders believe their personal brand begins when they walk into a meeting. It does not....

Your First Impression Is Delegated

A prospective partner called your office last week. You do not know his name. You were not told he called. The phone rang four times before it was answered, he was asked to repeat himself, and he was promised a callback that arrived two days later as a message with no greeting. He formed an opinion of you in under three minutes. You were not in the room, and you will never know that opinion existed. Most founders believe their personal brand begins when they walk into a meeting. It does not. It begins at the first point of contact, and in any business of real size, that point is almost never the founder. It is the assistant who manages your calendar. The sales executive who sends the first proposal. The person who handles your WhatsApp, the receptionist, the coordinator who confirms the meeting. These people speak for you every day, in your name, using your reputation, and most of them have never been told what that reputation is supposed to feel like. Many are loyal, hardworking and capable. That is not the issue. The issue is that nobody ever showed them what a first impression of this founder should feel like. Here is what a prospective client experiences. They do not separate you from your team. They cannot. To them, the speed of a reply is how seriously you take them. The tone of the first email is the tone of your leadership. A proposal with a spelling error, a late response, a careless "will check and let you know" becomes evidence about the person at the top. If this is how the organisation presents itself while trying to win my business, they reason, this is how it will treat me once I have signed. And they never tell you. They simply go quiet. The deal that stalls after a promising first call. The partner who becomes "busy". The client who chooses a competitor and offers a reason that has nothing to do with the real one. Across a year, that is every enquiry that stalled, every proposal left unanswered, every introduction that never became a meeting. This is a personal brand problem, not a staffing one. A founder can spend years refining how they present in a room and still lose the room before they enter it, because the impression was formed by someone else, in a conversation the founder was never part of and never heard about. The founders who avoid this are not the ones with the most polished staff. They are the ones who have made their brand legible to the people around them. Their team knows how the founder speaks, what the business stands for, what warmth looks like in a reply, how a delay should be explained and how a client should feel in the first thirty seconds. The team is not following a script. They are carrying a standard, because someone took the time to define it. When did you last experience your own business the way a stranger does? Not a test call arranged with your team's knowledge. A real one. Send a first enquiry from a number nobody recognises. Notice how long it takes to be answered, what the tone is, and whether you would want to do business with whoever replied. Then ask yourself honestly whether that person sounds like you, and whether you would be proud to be represented that way. If the answer is uncomfortable, it is worth acting on now. Every week of that experience is a week someone forms a verdict about you without your knowledge. Your personal brand is not only what you say. It is everything said on your behalf. If you have a suspicion about how your business is being experienced before you ever walk in, that suspicion deserves a direct, focused brand consultation, not a casual chat. Book yours here: https://www.calendly.com/divyaaadvaani/founder-brand-audit — Divyaa Advaani, Personal Branding Strategist (The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

Chorus grows for Chakankar’s blood

Quaid Najmi
Mar 21
3 min read

Mumbai: A belligerent Opposition and women activists on Saturday intensified their demand for criminal action against NCP State Women’s Wing President Rupali Chakankar, urging that she be booked as a co-accused alongside self-styled godman ‘Captain’ Ashok Kharat.


Under fire, Chakankar resigned late Friday night as Chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women – enjoying a Minister of State rank - on the orders of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. She submitted her papers to her party boss Deputy CM Sunetra A. Pawar, who forwarded it to the CM for further action today.


Leading the charge, Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya, Deputy Leader Sushama Andhare, ruling ally NCP leaders Rupali Patil-Thombare and Sangeeta Tiwari, and activist Anjali Damania led calls for a criminal probe, including an inquiry into Chakankar’s alleged assets.


They also sought to tie her with NCP State President Sunil Tatkare, accusing him of shielding her and blocking her resignation reportedly sought by then Deputy Chief Minister the late Ajit Pawar a few months ago in connection with another case.


The Thackeray father and son demanded an investigation into nine ministers from the ruling Mahayuti government whose names or photographs have surfaced in the so-called ‘Bhondu Baba’ scandal.


“Only those who have made some contributions in public life will keep away from such fraudulent babas. The fake devotees’ links with that baba must also be probed in this serious matter,” Uddhav said.


Huge Wealth

Andhare and Patil-Thombare alleged that, with the backing of certain politicians, Chakankar had purportedly amassed a fortune estimated at Rs 400–500 crore, and insisted that the source of this wealth be thoroughly investigated.


“Who is supporting her and why? What were her links with the Bhondu Baba? Why is she lying now when she was fully aware of Kharat’s activities for over a year?” Andhare asked.


Damania claimed that Chakankar had repeatedly received support from influential political figures who shielded her during previous controversies.


Providing further details, Patil-Thombare alleged that Chakankar travelled to Nashik every fortnight to meet Kharat, whom she has described as her spiritual mentor.


“Every woman has the personal liberty to decide where to go or whom to meet. But those holding constitutional office must uphold responsibility and dignity,” she said, reiterating the demand for a deeper probe.


Questioning Chakankar’s claim that she resigned for “personal reasons” following directions from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Patil-Thombare asked what was “so personal” about the decision.


“Tell your husband (Nilesh Chakankar) to go and fall at the charlatan’s feet—no one will object. But Maharashtra will not tolerate someone in an august office indulging in such conduct,” she added.


SIT Probe

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has widened its probe to include individuals close to a Shiv Sena minister, with more persons likely to be questioned in the coming days. Kharat has been remanded to police custody until March 24.


Ashok Kharat, who headed a Sinnar-based temple trust, claimed to be an astrologer, and allegedly performed rituals for his followers. He was arrested by Nashik Police earlier this week after a woman accused him of raping her repeatedly over a period of two years by threatening her.


Chakankar: Will sue you all

A seemingly unrepentant Rupali Chakankar today reminded her critics that she still remains the state President of NCP Women’s Wing and would continue to work for women’s welfare, starting with a state tour soon.


Hitting out at her opponents, she threatened to initiate legal proceedings against them for hurling false and baseless allegations against her.


However, Sushama Andhare, Anjali Damania and Rupali Patil-Thombare dared Chakankar to take any action against them and vowed to continue exposing her.


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