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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.)

Return of the Swing King

Writer: Umang Deshmukh
Umang Deshmukh
6 hours ago
3 min read

After nearly four years in the air, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is back in India’s plans.

Every swing bowler knows the feeling: the ball hangs in the air, and for a suspended moment, nobody can say which way it will go. For nearly four years, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s international career seemed suspended in that moment.


On October 6, the BCCI announced that the 36-year-old pacer had been included in India’s T20I squad for the five-match series in New Zealand. The opening match is scheduled to be played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on October 22, with the series concluding on November 1.


Meerut was where it all began for Bhuvneshwar. He joined the first coaching centre in the city when he was 13, after his sister took him along. Little did he know that this would eventually lead to him delivering the new ball for India.


He made his international debut against Pakistan in December 2012 and was part of the squad that won the 2013 Champions Trophy. His strength, however, was never sheer pace. It lay in his ability to swing the ball both ways.


He showcased this skill at Lord’s in 2014, taking 6 for 82. His performances also earned him Player of the Series honours on the England tour. But injuries continued to trouble him. A lower-back problem affected him during the 2018 ODI series in England, sidelining him for the first three tests.


He also underwent surgery for a sports hernia in 2020, which kept him out of the tour of New Zealand that year. Nevertheless, he continued to make comebacks and was appointed India’s T20I vice-captain at the start of 2022. In September that year, he delivered one of the finest spells of his career, taking five wickets for four runs against Afghanistan in Dubai.


His last assignment for India was in New Zealand in November 2022, following India’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat by England in Adelaide.


Bhuvi’s IPL performances strengthened his case for a recall. After taking 17 wickets in 14 matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025, he produced a career-best season in 2026, claiming 28 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 17.89 and an economy rate of 7.95. His combined tally across the two seasons stood at 45 wickets in 30 matches.


He was also the second-highest wicket-taker in the competition.


Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak spoke about the selection decision on October 8. According to media reports, Kotak said Bhuvneshwar’s experience and impressive IPL performances could have influenced the decision to select him for the upcoming T20I fixtures in New Zealand.


Kotak also spoke about the importance of Jasprit Bumrah’s experience, saying that the team had missed it during the recent England series. “We need that experience,” Kotak said, according to reports. “The youngsters need to learn from him. I think we need to give him that opportunity.”


Bhuvneshwar will join a pace unit featuring Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav. Bumrah, meanwhile, has been rested, with Shreyas Iyer set to lead the side.


The five-match T20I series will be part of India’s wider tour of New Zealand, which is also scheduled to include five ODIs and two Tests. It will be India’s first white-ball series in New Zealand since the 2022 tour.


New Zealand’s conditions, where the new ball can swing, could also play to Bhuvneshwar’s strengths. He will be looking to add to his international wicket tally.


The journey has come full circle for the Meerut lad who first walked into a coaching centre at 13. He made his international debut against Pakistan in December 2012, aged 22. Now 36, he is set to take on New Zealand once again, after a career marked by injuries and repeated comebacks.


If he gets the nod in Christchurch, the delivery will finally land. But after nearly four years in the air, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has answered the question that mattered: the swing never left.

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