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By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 8:58:38 am

Being Liked Is Not Branding

AI Generated Image Think of someone specific you met in the last six months who seemed genuinely interested in connecting further. The conversation was warm. There was energy in it. They said all the right things — let us stay in touch, I would love to explore this further, I will reach out next week. And then they did not. Not because they were rude or dismissive. Not because something went wrong. But because by the time next week arrived, you had simply faded. This is one of the most...

Being Liked Is Not Branding

AI Generated Image Think of someone specific you met in the last six months who seemed genuinely interested in connecting further. The conversation was warm. There was energy in it. They said all the right things — let us stay in touch, I would love to explore this further, I will reach out next week. And then they did not. Not because they were rude or dismissive. Not because something went wrong. But because by the time next week arrived, you had simply faded. This is one of the most quietly expensive things that happens to accomplished founders — and almost none of them know it is happening. Being liked is not the same as being remembered. Being remembered is not the same as being recalled at the right moment. And being recalled at the right moment is the only version of any of this that actually creates business. The gap between a pleasant first impression and a phone call that begins with "I immediately thought of you" is not filled by warmth or competence or even a genuinely great conversation. It is filled by a personal brand strong enough to occupy a specific, distinct place in someone's mind long after the meeting has ended. Here is what most founders are not told. When someone leaves a conversation thinking "what a lovely person" they have given you a compliment. When they leave thinking "she is exactly the person I would call if I ever needed to solve this specific problem for someone I care about" they have given you a business. The difference between those two outcomes is not how much they liked you. It is how clearly they understood what you stand for and who you are for. Most accomplished founders are genuinely likeable. Many are impressive. Very few are specific enough to be recalled at the moment an opportunity arises. They exist in the minds of their network as pleasant, capable, talented — and entirely interchangeable with the other pleasant, capable, talented people those same contacts met last month. That interchangeability is costing you more than you realise. Every time someone in your network encounters an opportunity that should be yours and instead recommends someone else — not because they like that person more, but because that person's name surfaced first and most clearly — your brand has failed at its most fundamental job. The founders who get called first are not always the most qualified. They are the most memorable. Not memorable in the sense of flashy or loud or relentlessly present online. Memorable in the sense that when a specific need arises, a specific face and a specific name and a specific value proposition surface together, clearly and immediately, without the contact having to work to reconstruct who you are and what you do. That kind of memorability is not an accident of personality. It is the result of a personal brand built with enough clarity, consistency and intention that it leaves a distinct impression rather than a pleasant but general one. It is the difference between being someone people enjoyed meeting and being someone people think of when it counts. Think about your own network right now. When an opportunity arises that is perfect for you — do the right people think of you immediately? Or do they think of you eventually, after they have already recommended someone else, and feel a pang of recognition that they should have called you first? If it is the second — your brand is not broken. It is just not specific enough yet. And that is entirely fixable. I work with founders on exactly this — building a personal brand clear and consistent enough that the right people think of them first, not eventually. If you are ready to stop being the person people liked and start being the person they call, book your consultation call with me on this link: 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.)

Largest ever deployment to stop violence

Writer: Akhilesh Sinha
Akhilesh Sinha
Apr 3
3 min read
Craftsmen at a handloom unit manually print the BJP logo onto large pieces of cloth ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections in Nadia on Friday. Pic: PTI
Craftsmen at a handloom unit manually print the BJP logo onto large pieces of cloth ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections in Nadia on Friday. Pic: PTI

New Delhi: Elections in West Bengal have long outgrown the idea of being merely a democratic festival; they now represent a complex socio-political reality where hope is persistently shadowed by fear. With each electoral cycle, the same unsettling question returns: will the grip of violence loosen this time, or is repetition inevitable? Against this backdrop, the Election Commission has stepped in with unusual urgency and assertiveness ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, with the Chief Election Commissioner expressing confidence that the elections will be conducted in a violence-free environment.


In the run-up to the upcoming assembly elections, the Election Commission has displayed an unusual degree of urgency and assertiveness. On March 15, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar assured that the elections would be violence-free. However, to translate this assurance into reality, the Commission swiftly initiated sweeping administrative changes.


In the first phase, the plan envisages the deployment of 110 companies of the CRPF, 55 of the BSF, 21 of the CISF, 27 of the ITBP, and 27 of the SSB. The second phase will see a further scale-up, with 120 companies of the CRPF and 65 of the BSF, among others.


In addition to the 480 companies already present in the state, this expanded deployment can be described as unprecedented. One company comprises 90 to 125 personnel. To ensure efficient and swift utilization of these forces, integrated control rooms are being set up at both the state and district levels.


The Election Commission has also decided yesterday to continue deployment of 500 companies of central forces in the state even after counting of votes on May 4. The decision is based on past incidents of post-poll violence.


Additionally, 200 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will be retained in the state for security arrangements of electronic voting machines (EVMs), strong room and counting centres. These companies will remain deployed till the completion of counting in the state.


Major Reshuffle

From the top echelons to the grassroots, the state’s policing structure has undergone a major reshuffle. The appointment of Siddh Nath Gupta as the new Director General of Police, Ajay Kumar Nand as the Kolkata Police Commissioner, along with the transfer of Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravarty and Home Secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena, clearly signals that the Commission is in no mood for complacency.


The changes are not confined to the top tier alone; they extend deep into the administrative machinery. A total of 184 police officers have been transferred, including 173 station house officers. In Kolkata, 31 out of 80 police station heads have been replaced. Additionally, in 18 districts, 97 out of 345 Block Development Officers (BDOS) have been shifted. In essence, the entire administrative framework is being recalibrated and rebuilt, on which the credibility of free and fair elections rests.


The Election Commission has issued clear directives to complete the identification of sensitive areas. These include politically volatile and highly contested regions such as Sandeshkhali, Nandigram, and Bhabanipur. Given the vulnerability of these zones, a detailed action plan is being drawn up for the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).


No FIR

At the same time, the Commission has issued an important directive regarding accountability: no FIR will be registered directly against central forces based solely on complaints. A preliminary inquiry will be mandatory before any legal action is initiated. This directive comes in the backdrop of the 2021 Sitalkuchi incident, where the firing by central forces led to the deaths of five villagers, triggering widespread controversy.


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