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By:

Divyaa Advaani 

2 November 2024 at 3:28:38 am

Presence Before Pitch

Walk into any business networking room and you will witness something far more telling than exchanged cards or polite handshakes. You will see personal brands at work — quietly, powerfully, and often unintentionally. The way a business owner carries himself, engages with others, and competes for attention in public spaces reveals more about future growth than balance sheets ever will. At a recent networking meet, two business owners from the same industry stood out — not because of what they...

Presence Before Pitch

Walk into any business networking room and you will witness something far more telling than exchanged cards or polite handshakes. You will see personal brands at work — quietly, powerfully, and often unintentionally. The way a business owner carries himself, engages with others, and competes for attention in public spaces reveals more about future growth than balance sheets ever will. At a recent networking meet, two business owners from the same industry stood out — not because of what they said, but because of how they behaved. One was visibly assertive, bordering on aggressive. He pulled people aside, positioned himself strategically, and tried to dominate conversations to secure advantage. The other remained calm, composed, and observant. He engaged without urgency, listened more than he spoke, and never attempted to overpower the room. Both wanted business. Both were ambitious. Yet the impressions they left could not have been more different. For someone new to the room — a potential client, collaborator, or investor — this contrast creates confusion. Whom do you trust? Whom do you align with? Whose values reflect stability rather than desperation? Often, decisions are made instinctively, not analytically. And those instincts are shaped by personal branding, whether intentional or accidental. This is where many business owners underestimate the real cost of their behaviour. Personal branding is not about visibility alone. It is about perception under pressure. In networking environments, where no one has time to analyse credentials deeply, people read cues — tone, composure, generosity, restraint. An overly forceful approach may signal insecurity rather than confidence. Excessive friendliness can appear transactional. Silence, when grounded, can convey authority. Silence, when disconnected, can signal irrelevance. Every move sends a message. What’s at stake is not just one meeting or one deal. It is long-term growth. When a business owner appears opportunistic, others become cautious. When someone seems too eager to win, people question their stability. When intent feels unclear, credibility erodes. This doesn’t merely slow growth — it quietly redirects opportunities elsewhere. Deals don’t always collapse loudly. Sometimes, they simply never materialise. The composed business owner in the room may not close a deal that day. But he leaves with something far more valuable — trust capital. His presence feels safe. His brand feels consistent. People remember him as someone they would like to work with, not someone they need to protect themselves from. Over time, this distinction compounds. In today’s business ecosystem, especially among seasoned founders and leaders, how you compete matters as much as whether you compete. Growth is no longer just about capability; it is about conduct. Your personal brand determines whether people lean in or step back — whether they introduce you to others or quietly avoid alignment. This is why personal branding is not a cosmetic exercise. It is strategic risk management. A strong personal brand ensures that your ambition does not overshadow your credibility. It aligns your intent with your impact. It allows you to command rooms without controlling them, influence without intrusion, and compete without compromising respect. Most importantly, it ensures that when people talk about you after you leave the room, they speak with clarity, not confusion. For business owners who want to scale, this distinction becomes critical. Growth brings visibility. Visibility amplifies behaviour. What once went unnoticed suddenly becomes defining. Without a refined personal brand, ambition can be misread as aggression. Confidence can feel like arrogance. Silence can be mistaken for disinterest. And these misinterpretations cost more than money — they cost momentum. The question, then, is not whether you are talented or successful. It is whether your personal brand is working for you or quietly against you in spaces where decisions are formed long before contracts are signed. Because in business, people don’t always choose the best offer. They choose the person who feels right. If you are a business owner or founder who wants to grow without compromising credibility — who wants to attract opportunities rather than chase them — it may be time to look closely at how your presence is being perceived in rooms that matter. If this resonates and you’d like to explore how your personal brand can be refined to support your growth, you can book a complimentary consultation here: https://sprect.com/pro/divyaaadvaani Not as a pitch — but as a conversation about how you show up, and what that presence is truly building for you. (The writer is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

When Life Takes an Untimely Exit

It was a sultry evening, not long ago, when my phone buzzed with a breaking news alert: Air India Dreamliner crashes. 241 feared dead. In an instant, life took an unscheduled exit for hundreds of unsuspecting souls. Just like that, the sky transformed from a flight path into a graveyard. Alas, an ordinary day became their final farewell and the nation gasped in horror.


Only days earlier in Bangalore, jubilation had turned into horror. After 18 long years, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) finally clinched their maiden IPL title -a long-awaited celebration. But outside the cricket stadium, a stampede claimed the lives of eleven young fans. Cheers turned into cries. Victory wore a black armband.


Up north in Pahalgam, death arrived in yet another form - terror. Unsuspecting tourists, untethered to any cause or conflict, fell to bullets - victims of a cruel ideology that values blood over brotherhood. They did not die for a cause but for someone else’s hate.


What binds these and many such tragedies together (irrespective of wherever it happens in the world)? They are all unnatural deaths -sudden, violent, and unjust. They offer no time for last words, no dignity in farewell and no closure for the living. There was a time when death was imagined as a gentle departure in old age, surrounded by family, with mantras or prayers marking the end of a life well lived. That image has now faded as we come to the close of 2025.


Today, death can strike mid-journey, mid-celebration or even mid-sentence. From road mishaps to climate disasters, stampedes to shootings, our ways of dying have multiplied, as if catastrophe has joined our daily routine. In this unsettling new world, dying of old age feels like a privilege.


India’s history with untimely death is long and bitter. Mahatma Gandhi was felled not in war, but in prayer. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own sentinels. Rajiv Gandhi, the voice of a modern India, was reduced to smithereens in a blast.


Globally, the narrative is no different. John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas in 1963 while John Lennon was killed in New York. Princess Diana died in in an alleged car accident in the Paris tunnel. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant was claimed by a helicopter crash. The list is almost endless. When fate strikes with such surgical cruelty, we are reminded that no one - however beloved or famous - is immune from it.


And what remains in the aftermath of such absence? We speak of fate, divine plans, and destiny. Yet, the truth is stark -life does not always wait for your story to end naturally. Sometimes, it tears the script in half.


We mourn in public: lighting candles, posting hashtags, participating in televised debates, demanding justice. But soon, the media captures the next story. What lingers are private voids -the empty chair at the table, the half-read bedtime story, the unread message on a silent phone.


The true toll of unnatural death lies not just in the physical absence but in the emotional wreckage. Families are left with unanswered questions and unfinished stories: the child who never came home, the mother who never landed, the husband who became a widower before his wedding album even arrived.


Grieving such loss is like chasing smoke. Whom do you blame -a reckless driver, a failed system, a negligent authority, or a silent god? And through it all, I ask: Have we grown numb?


Do we still grieve, or are we just performing ritualised mourning? Perhaps numbness is our way of coping. And what we stop feeling, we stop fighting for. While we cannot eliminate every tragedy, we can learn. Improved safety protocols, better crowd management, enhanced intelligence sharing, training, and responsible governance -these are not luxuries; they are essentials.


One can’t accept death-by-negligence as life’s daily refrain. Demand accountability from our systems, and ourselves. Unnatural death must remain the exception. Even in death, there must be dignity. Even in disaster, there must be lessons. And hashtags certainly are not the right recompense for this. It is my humble prayer to those who read this that please do not normalise horror.


My 100-year-old mother once said: “Death - let it happen. Don’t make it happen.” Amen to that.

(The writer is a retired Bengaluru-based banker. Views personal.)

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