“You would lose marks for today’s
lab if you leave right now”, the teacher said with a firmness in his voice.
“It’s Ok Sir”. I walked out of the lab with 1 ½ hours still remaining. It was
11.30 am. A long day beckoned, and it was imperative for me to take rest for
sometime atleast. I had slept at 4.30 the last night, and at 4 the night before
that. It had started to take a toll. But today was not the day to lose steam.
There was a marketing project presentation at 2 in the afternoon. And yes,
there was the Student General Secretary Election at 6 in the evening.
To be very honest, I had never
wanted to be the General Secretary. A general secretary, after all, has the
responsibility of coordinating all student activities in the college- be it
alumni relations, public relations, international relations, the student clubs ,
the induction program of new batch and what not. It demands a proactive person
at the helm, and I had doubts about myself initially. After all, the frenetic
pace of the b-school life had made me retreat into my shell. However, I had
seen room for improvement for the college. The best way to demand change was to be in a position to facilitate
change. And the best way to achieve this change was to take the plunge myself.
Thus, I had ended up filing my nomination.
I had stayed up on previous nights because I
wanted to get my agenda spot on. I had not been the most social person in the
batch- not ideal when you are up for an election. Unfortunately, I could not
help it in the next 2-3 days. The best I could have done was to come up with a
solid agenda for the next year which could make people sit up and take notice.
Whether that would eventually convert into votes was an entirely different matter,
but I had to try. So I went about brainstorming- thinking, talking to people,
taking views. I was eventually able to come up with a presentation.
Eventually, it was time. The clock had struck 6 pm and the batch of 79 had taken its seat. There were 7 candidates in the fray, that’s nearly 10% of the batch! I had appeared sleepy during the marketing presentation in the afternoon. A friend of mine had given me a dressing down – “If this is your energy level going into the pitch this evening, you better forget about people listening to you”. My measured approach to everything makes me a fluent but mundane speaker. I had to find a way to throw in some zeal but I had no idea how to do it.
I waited outside for my turn (I was 6th in the sequence of candidates). 7 contestants, including a close friend was in the fray. A badly split voting was inevitable. I kept thinking about who would vote for me and I had only 3 sure votes to count on. It was hard to stay motivated and sit through that period, waiting for my turn. It eventually came after 1 and ½ hours.
I walked in to a tired and rather disinterested audience. I had to involve them somehow. So, I started to put my agenda via interaction. I slowly started gaining steam and became completely involved in the pitch, so much so that I had to be reminded that I was exceeding time. The measured approach which I usually take ensures that I do things in a very calculated way and adhering to time is one of those, but not that day. I had become so involved in questions from the audience that I did not realize I had walked off from the podium amidst the audience. I had to be called back. There were vague questions, there were demanding questions and I enjoyed answering them all with full enthusiasm. It was as if I had chosen it to be my moment. I had a vision, I had ways to implement that vision and I wanted people to understand it. That evening, a sleepy and mundane I had come to life. At times, I have repented for not expressing myself properly. That evening, for a change, I wanted to express myself.
Was there a fairytale ending for me in store? No. I lost. Life is not a fairytale. It gives your share of happiness and it also gives you reality checks. The surprise was that I managed 13 votes and ended up 3rd in the race, 8 votes behind the top ranked candidate. The reality check was the realization of the importance of staying connected to people. As an MBA student, one ought to be social to a certain degree atleast. It’s all right to have a vision and show passion, but people matter in the end. My passion had probably raised my tally from a prospective 3 votes to 13 that evening but that’s the maximum it could have stretched.
So what did I get eventually? Was there a need for all this when I knew I would lose? I would say, YES. That evening eventually helped me break out of my shell. I came across as a person willing to lead. I caught the attention of many people who had not known me properly yet. Moreover, there was a satisfaction of having competed. There was a satisfaction of having lost, gracefully.
After all was done and dusted, a batch-mate walked up to me and said –”You might have lost today, but you definitely have one more fan after today”. It seemed, after all, that I had done something right that day.
