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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.)

Guru of Gurus: Tribute to M.M. Sharma

Correspondent
May 6
2 min read
Luminaries of science and industry at the launch of "Guru of Gurus" at the ICT in Mumabi.
Luminaries of science and industry at the launch of "Guru of Gurus" at the ICT in Mumabi.

Mumbai: In an evening marked by deep reverence and scientific celebration, eminent scientist Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar paid a moving tribute to his mentor, Padma Vibhushan awardee Prof. Man Mohan Sharma. The heartfelt reverence took center stage at the K.V. Auditorium of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), where academicians, students, and industry leaders gathered to honor one of India’s most distinguished chemical engineers.


Speaking passionately at the event, Dr. Mashelkar affectionately addressed Prof. Sharma as his revered "guru." He reflected extensively on Prof. Sharma's pioneering contributions to chemical engineering, placing special emphasis on his unique and visionary approach to science. Dr. Mashelkar noted that his mentor possessed the rare ability to seamlessly bridge the gap between complex fundamental research and tangible, real-world industrial applications. For Dr. Mashelkar, the occasion was not just a formal celebration, but a deeply personal reflection on a mentor whose teachings have left an indelible mark on both academia and the broader industrial landscape of the nation.


This gathering of scientific and industrial minds was organized to mark the launch of two significant publications that encapsulate Prof. Sharma’s extraordinary legacy. The releases included a newly penned Gujarati biography and a beautifully curated coffee table book aptly titled "Guru of Gurus," published by Sundaram Digital Publication House. Both works chronicle his unparalleled contributions to science, his philosophy of knowledge-sharing, and his lifelong dedication to mentoring generations of talent.


The sentiment of deep respect initiated by Dr. Mashelkar was echoed by other dignitaries throughout the evening. Guest of Honour Madhukar Parekh, Chairman of Pidilite Industries, expanded on this narrative by highlighting Prof. Sharma’s profound structural influence on India’s scientific framework. Parekh emphasized how Prof. Sharma’s steadfast commitment to innovation and his role as an institution-builder have actively shaped countless leaders, entrepreneurs, and technologists across various sectors.


Taking the podium amidst the tributes, Prof. Man Mohan Sharma looked toward the future rather than simply reflecting on his past achievements. He shared his enduring dream of elevating ICT to the prestigious status of a Central University, underscoring the institute's immense potential to evolve into a world-class, globally competitive center for science and engineering.


Ultimately, the event stood as a fitting and intellectually enriching celebration of a legendary figure. Through the poignant reflections of esteemed peers like Dr. Mashelkar and the launch of these new literary works, the gathering immortalized Prof. Sharma not just for his scientific brilliance, but for his profound dedication to nation-building and his lifelong, guiding role as the ultimate "guru of gurus."

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