How to shine & never be late for meetings again
By Hemant Arya on May 16, 2008 in Indian PR industry, worklife
“Agencies seldom get sacked for blunders; it’s the small irritants that ruin you,” said my boss. We were on our way back from a client’s office and the ‘small irritant’ was ‘our’ habit of being late for meetings. This was a few years back when I worked as a trainee on a 9 to 9 shift, and was not allowed the privilege of a retort, especially not a witty one. While I was regularly showered with the above-mentioned pearls of wisdom, I also got slammed for not doing my homework. This mostly meant that before heading for a pitch meeting I had forgotten to take correct and accurate directions to the venue. Such was the cruelty in those days…
I am sure, dear reader, you have faced, or are facing, similar trauma in your work life. If yes, I will share with you something that will forever change the way your boss sees you. She might even recommend you for a triple and out-of-turn promotion. It’s called “the idiot-proof guide to taking directions to important meetings with your boss.” It’s childishly simple and after I share it with you, you would probably want to slap my back and say, “Bro, why didn’t I think of that before!” Excited? Come a little closer to the monitor and let me whisper it in your ear…
The trick is to use t.e.c.h.n.o.l.o.g.y. This means becoming very familiar with one of the many map sites – Google Maps, Yahoo India Maps, MapmyIndia, Wikimapia and so on. Before heading for any meeting in unknown territories do search for the building or the locality. Believe me it will save you a lot of acquired headache. So far so good and very simple (and you are probably thinking, ‘I do this all the time’). But tell me, dear reader, are we making the very best use of tools like Google Earth and online maps to give your career a boost (if you know what I mean)? Think, think.
Ok, let me cut to the chase and tell you something interesting. The next time you give directions to the rendezvous point to a journalist for that important one-on-one, be brief. Let’s assume your client is in Nicholas Piramal Tower, Lower Parel, Mumbai. Chances are the journalist already knows the place. In case she has no clue, don’t confuse her by saying, “it’s near Wellspring Hospital” or “near Senapati Bapat Marg”. Simply say, “Type 18.9997, 72.8248 on Yahoo India maps or Google Maps. You will know exactly where I will be waiting to receive you!” Help her by further by adding, “Please use the satellite option to choose your own landmarks.” And don’t forget to reply to her thank you by saying: “Happy to help!”
The point is that instead of giving and receiving complicated directions we can ruthlessly kill ambiguity by just spelling out our lat/long coordinates. Precise and crisp. But where do we find them? If you use Google Earth and zoom to your office building, they will be displayed on the bottom left of your screen. If these same coordinates are actually put down on your business card, life would be a bed of roses. In fact in the near future it might become common for you to add your lat/long on all business communication, along with your address, phone number, email ID etc. Hard to believe? Let me tell you the story of how some of us never believed that sissy email would one day poison our good ol’ snail mail…
And now for the icing on the cake – If you have a GPS enabled mobile phone your chances of becoming your boss’s favourite jump-up manifold. Just key-in the coordinates of that building hidden in some cranny of some bylane in the most congested part of any city, and you will be admired for being punctual. It so happens that armed with the humble lat/long you can actually guide your boss, or anyone else for that matter, to anywhere in India or in any country. You just need to be a little creative and present her this idea. Because as she might have told you during your appraisal, “It’s not the big things you do that take you far; it’s always the small contributions you make every day.”
On May 16, 2008, Palin Ningthoujam said:
Good post Hemant. Sharing lat/long coordinates…sounds ideal but I have to wonder how many of us are that tech savvy. What I also do is share a Google map with a marker on my client’s office to journalists.
On May 16, 2008, Hemant Arya said:
Emailing Google maps with marker to journalists is a great suggestion, Palin. It’s just that coordinates ensure that both you and the journalist are on the same page and there’s nothing lost in translation. Plus, sometime in the near future you would be able to just feed coordinates in your cell phone and let it do the rest.
On May 16, 2008, Tushar said:
I am wondering when there will be a car where in I just need to feed coordinates and it will take me there! or a day when I dont have to go for meeting at all - whatever is possible, God! please help me to achieve it!
I am tired (well I wanted to be polite on this family platform) of driving on never driver friendly streets of Mumbai!
Nice one.
On May 16, 2008, Shashank Jaitely said:
Great idea. Even GPS devices can play a good role here. But we have to tread carefully in India with these as roads are dug up and changed everyday..:-)
On second though, I hope Google and Yahoo maps remail a legal entity. There have been lot of talks about these products pushing the limits of spatial privacy.
The traditional ways can work if we plan to reach “in time” and not “on time”..:-)
On May 16, 2008, Hemant Arya said:
Hey Tushar, your prayers have been answered! There are now cars in which you feed in coordinates and they will take you to your destination. The catch? You still need a driver.
About not attending another meeting ever again, God is still working on that one.
On May 16, 2008, Anil Nagwani said:
An innovative and yet a very lucid way to earn brownies, no matter how khadoos your boss might be!
I was just wondering this can have wider implication, why just talk about a redezvous with a journalist, the practice can be easily extrpolated to meeting your girlfriend errr…. I’ll meet you at 32 degree south by southwest, how romantic!!! Just kidding. But look at the numbers you can manage if you always make it on time, in work and in personal life!!!!!!!!!
On May 16, 2008, Hemant Arya said:
Right said, Shashank, if we choose to be punctual (PR professionals are not exactly popular for this quality), we don’t really need hi-tech gadgets. But as they say, “in a perfect world, every day is Sunday.” Cheers!
On May 16, 2008, himanshu kapadia said:
technology now, but i remember when once my boss asked me to travel the previous day of the pitch to the clients office so that the next day we lost no time finding it, that day and the moment is precious to me.
On May 16, 2008, Hemant Arya said:
Anil, you get the credit for showing us hot to use serious technology for innovative purposes. Many salutes!
On May 16, 2008, Hemant Arya said:
Very interesting anecdote, Himanshu. Reminds me of my days with my boss… But I also think that sometimes we continue to do things the old way because of sentiments. That’s why the old-phone (”Trrrrring, trrrrring”) ringtone in mobile phones is still trendy. :)Thank you for your comment!
On May 16, 2008, Gloria Mankani said:
interesting observation and suggestion, but i guess the underlying issue is time management. Smart technology can only help you to an extent… and if u don’t know the directions, leave a bit early (considering u have to hunt for the place!!) easier still, ask the client for a location map or directions!! and if still late dont blame the traffic jam ever!! find creative excuses
its quite interesting that companies in US,UK, Dubai send a location map along with the scheduled appointment even to candidates coming for an interview!! I guess i completely agree one should use maps.. with or without technology!!
On May 16, 2008, Palin Ningthoujam said:
@Anil Nagwani, nice to see you here again Sir. You quick wit is shining as ever.
On May 16, 2008, Hemant Arya said:
Thanks, Gloria. Maps with the interview letter is a novel concept and a great PR tool. It says a lot about a company, showing that it cares. India is ready to catch up and move ahead. Of course, time management and rotten excuses will remain major issues. But if we are ready to take a profesisonal approach to things like being punctual for meetings, we are ready to become superstars. Cheers!
On May 18, 2008, Mark Lakra said:
Hi Hemant,
Very nice article indeed and insightful too. Many a times its actually simple things as punctuality, clear direction etc. that really matter than volumes and ppts on Client Strategy. Even in the Govt.Sector now that I am a part of , I’ve often realized that for many jobs it’s the dispatch guy who’s ultimately the most important link.
Cheers
On May 19, 2008, Shashank Jaitely said:
I could not help myself putting another comment after my morning experience. Maps, directions, punctuality is all fine. But all these become redundant when you are not even sure that you will be able to reach the destination, alive..!!! The folks who are in delhi/gurgaon will agree with me.
After the weekend storm and rains, the roads have caved in and there are huge craters and as they are filled with water, you are not sure of the land mines that await you. I nearly missed going into a huge crater which was dug up to put sewage pipes and was not filled back. You could not see it as the water was till the brim. I just happened to to see a submerged sign board saying “Men at Work” and braked just in time. If I had not seen the board, you would have never ever seem my comments on this blog.
So the new lesson, do keep atleast an hour of extra time to wade through the road mines, especially during the monsoon…!!! Or better still, do a video conference…!