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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.)

NCP’s internal dispute hits a stalemate

Writer: Abhijit Mulye
Abhijit Mulye
Apr 3
2 min read

Mumbai: The internal rift in the NCP has reached a deadlock that even the intervention of senior family members has struggled to resolve. Recently, a marathon meeting took place at the Devagiri residence where veterans Patel and Tatkare reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction over being kept in the dark regarding the ECI letter. While they attempted to clarify their positions, sources indicate that neither Sunetra Pawar nor her son, Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar, was convinced by their explanations.


Although Parth Pawar recently took to social media to label reports of a rift as “baseless fiction,” his very need to intervene highlights the gravity of the situation. His public defense of the veterans is being viewed as a strategic attempt to maintain a facade of unity while the internal restructuring continues behind closed doors.


The conflict has now transcended the borders of Maharashtra. Sunetra Pawar’s recent solo visit to New Delhi to meet with high-ranking BJP leadership underscores her search for external validation and strategic support. By meeting BJP heavyweights without any senior party veterans by her side, she has signaled to both her allies and her rivals that she is the only credible point of contact for the NCP’s future. This move has further isolated the old guard, leaving them to wonder about their future in a party that is rapidly evolving into a more streamlined, family-led entity.


As the NCP navigates this legal and political stalemate, the political landscape of Maharashtra remains on edge. The party is moving away from the decentralized power structure established by Ajit Pawar toward a model where the Pawar name remains the ultimate source of authority. Sunetra Pawar has demonstrated that she is not just a placeholder but a formidable leader ready to defend her faction’s independent identity at any cost. Whether this bold consolidation will lead to a more disciplined party or spark a deeper revolt among the sidelined veterans is a question that will determine the NCP’s fate in the upcoming assembly elections. For now, the “outsider” has undeniably become the ultimate insider, reshaping the party in her own image.


Sunetra Pawar to file nomination for Baramati assembly bypoll on April 6
Sunetra Pawar will file her nomination on April 6 for the upcoming byelection to the Baramati assembly constituency in Pune district, party sources said on Friday.

The bypoll, to be held on April 23, was necessitated due to the death of Sunetra Pawar’s husband and deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a plane crash this year.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde are expected to be present when she files her nomination papers, the party sources said.

The nomination filing will be done after a public meeting in Baramati, they said.

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