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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.)

Gold, luxury cars, lavish life

Writer: Dr. Abhilash Dawre
Dr. Abhilash Dawre
Mar 22
2 min read

‘Pami Guru’ wows followers with MPs and police at darbar

 

Kalyan: Following the high-profile Ashok Kharat case in Nashik, the emergence of the ‘Pami Guru’ scandal in Kalyan has sent shockwaves across the state. Allegations of blind faith, financial exploitation, and potential political-police collusion have intensified public concern.

 

Viral videos circulating on social media show the self-styled transgender spiritual leader, known as ‘Pami Guru,’ flaunting a luxurious lifestyle. Footage displays the guru adorned with heavy gold jewelry, showcasing palatial homes and a fleet of expensive cars, including seven Fortuners and four Thars, claimed to be personally owned. This ostentatious display is believed to be a calculated attempt to impress and influence followers.

 

Adding to the controversy is the “token system” for personal visits. According to information shared by the guru, meetings are scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays, with 200 tokens distributed on Mondays and Tuesdays respectively. This suggests that at least 400 people visit the site weekly. Critics argue that this system indicates a well-structured “business” under the guise of spiritual guidance, rather than mere devotion.

 

Visitors reportedly seek help for highly sensitive personal issues such as infertility, employment challenges, and family disputes. Accusations have emerged that these individuals are being misled and financially exploited under the pretext of “miraculous solutions.”

 

Political Dimension

The scandal has also drawn a political dimension. A viral video shows Bhivandi MP Suresh Mhatre, also known as ‘Balya Mama,’ meeting the guru, raising questions about indirect political backing. Given the involvement of political figures in the Nashik case, speculation is growing over potential influences behind ‘Pami Guru.’

 

Serious questions have been raised regarding the role of local police. Some viral clips show police officers, including traffic officials, visiting the guru and even presenting personal issues while in uniform. In one shocking video, a traffic police officer from Vasai is seen placing his uniform belt and shoulder insignia aside during a prayer ritual, with visible cash notes, raising concerns about the integrity of the force.

 

Despite the gravity of the situation, no concrete action has been reported, prompting local outrage and demands for immediate investigation. Citizens are questioning whether authorities are unaware, neglecting their duty, or acting under external pressure. The lack of formal complaints has further fueled speculation about fear or suppression of public voices.

 

Maharashtra’s strict anti-superstition laws exist to prevent such exploitation, yet the continued operation of this large-scale system raises questions about enforcement gaps. The ‘Pami Guru’ case highlights the fine line between faith and fraud particularly when devotion is monetised with “token numbers,” turning belief into business.

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