Sunday, February 07, 2010

Speaking at SSN College tomorrow

On Opportunities within India. I thought earlier that it would be too much of a topic for someone like me to handle. It seemed kinda out of my league. But then they asked me to give a personal take on how I utilized the opportunities presented to me. Hopefully it should be worth the while of the students there.  I hope I do a good job. It shall be the first time I shall be speaking in front of a college gathering. Its going to be a long drive to the college tomorrow and have to be ready really early to get there in time. 
If you have suggestions on what I can say, do leave a comment. 
Thanks again.

31 comments:

Maddy said...

Be yourself and just as you share your thoughts on the blogosphere, do that in the auditorium....You will do great...Godo Luck

Anonymous said...

Some random incoherent thoughts in the middle of the night

1) Entrepreneurship
2) Networking always helps
3) Respect and remember the staff always
4) Seize the opportunity
5) Flexibility - be ready to travel and relocate
6) Get the foot inside the door by sacrificing on large pay if required. In most industry pay increases non-linearly with experience
7) Follow your heart. Interests, tastes and passion is never writ in stone. So its acceptable to switch careers or industry any time
8) Believe in your self. Have patience even in testing times. Never blame anything on fate
9) Always have passion in whatever you do. When we interview people, that is what stands out
10) When joining firm or switching jobs, look at non-monetary benefits and perks. Specially things like the no of vacation days are more important than gross pay

Anonymous said...

And of course, all the best for tomorrow's speech. Its always fun to be back in college. Doesn't matter whether it is as a student or a lecturer or chief guest

Venksh said...

Hey Chinmayi,
I think SSN have selected a rite person to talk on a rite topic, i dont think even if a big entrepreneur or Techy guy from IT will able to amuse the young college crowd. I think from tomorrow many might consider as u as role model after ur awesome speech.
amuse them to the core, make them feel that "U rock my world"...
all the very best...

@Venksh

My share of life said...

Hi Chinmayi,
You, for sure, have a great opportunity in hand. Having been in IT for about 7 years now, i have realised how important this topic is. We have a lot to do for us and others(other countries) from our own place. I hope i get to hear your thoughts on this topic. Please blog about it if possible.

Sun said...

Hey Chinmayi...Wish you luck...You are one of a kind, who represents younger generation today.. Do well :)

Sun said...

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been reading about you, multi-faceted would be the correct word to describe you I believe..

and the first line in your post, I think you are absolutely perfect to talk about "Oppurtunities in India"..:)

Let us know, how it went

Sun said...

I think you would do well, but you can these 2 points at the end..

Today, Non Residential Indian (N.R.I) stands for - Newly Returned Indian. They started creating Oppurtunities rather than looking for them...

Second one, in the 80's, it was the main theme of younger generation to fall in love and enjoy the youth...but today in India, "It is not meant for enjoyment. It is meant for challenging ourselves. We started challenging ourselves..."...you can probably quote budding entrepenuers as an example...Who else better than you???

vskchamy said...

May be you should talk about the opportunities that you had missed to make use of and had you used, how those would have helped or made a difference for you. This might help other people.
Best of luck, Chinmayi!

Vigneshwar Ramakrishnan said...

I think the students must be encouraged to pursue their passions. However, I sure you will have loads to talk from your experiences. Best, Vignesh

Unknown said...

Just a few thoughts about what you can speak at SSN, see if it helps and fits in the timeframe...

The Opportunities

The phrase "economic opportunities" is become a must known vocabulary for many years ...
For many generations the citizens where determined by caste system, today the caste system has much liberal meaning to it...
If you talk to any mid age group people, they dont want to leave India...and youngsters started returning back home who have migrated to other countries...they started speaking about opp..in India rather then searching else where....
This is a paradigm shift, with recently Nokia and Siemens opening their plant in chennai which brings lot of opportunities to India..

Shreenav Goswami said...

yes...u really did a great job...:)..
maiya maiya.....WOW...:p

Sendhilkumar AV said...

Hi Chinmayi,

You guys are good in presentation and you have already achieved something great I would say.
One input to our young engineers (including me) is

Don’t be silly, think for long term benefits and see the larger picture from broader mindset :)

Cheers, Sendhil

Bhavna Sekar said...

Usually students are tired about listening to only "what you should do." My suggestion is that you can also share with them regarding what you "learnt not to do" with respect to the opportunities presented to you.
It sure has helped me a lot in my life. I have observed some people in action (superiors at work etc.) and learnt that that is exactly how things SHOULD NOT be done!

I AM~~ ME said...

hello chinmayi!

this is Sindhuja, a student from SSN. you did a great job at my college and of course, you are the talk of the people who came to the auditorium.
thanks for the renditions. we enjoyed.
hoping to see u sometime soon at our college for culturals or other events:-)

sindhuja

Unknown said...

hey chinz...
To be frank i was nervous that what u r gonna speak amidst that crowd..bt being a youth inspirator, whatever you speak they r gonna listen carefully..vl be better if u 'share' ur views instead of 'speaking'..use this quotes if u wish..

“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”

“Opportunities always look bigger going than coming”

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

“If you wait for opportunities to occur, you will be one of the crowd.”

SAFE DRIVING...

Unknown said...

ma'am!! Your speech was overnice... We enjoyed so much... Thank You so much for coming to SSN... And One thing You Sang Very Very NICELY...

Shahin said...

your speech was really inspiring and thanks for entertaining at the end. Wud luv to see you come more often to our college :)

Gen said...

hi chinmayii recently i saw the ar rahman concert sydnety show.is there any one named viviane in ar rahman team

Preethi Joshika said...

Hi,
Have 1 humble question to you.
Some years before(sorry for very late a reference),on your live interview in SCV channel with host Anandha kannan you mentioned of yourself to be introverted.
Has that ever disturbed you as a CEO of a company.

Eager to hear from you coz I too have that Introvert ion quotient in me,and often people tout it as negative quality(specially my trainee)reasoned as result of GodFather within!!!
Help me embark a virtue as a budding entrepreneur.

Best wishes for tomorrow's speach.
I dont know when will i ever get a chance to hear yours.

Anonymous said...

1. Requisite variety: Only an organism that has developed the required variety of skills can respond to the different opportunities this complex world will present. So go beyond course curriculum, develop communication/story telling skills. learn one extra language.

2. Networking: Create and use networks to your advantage. Like the blogs created by individuals, to share their thoughts, build a following of sorts, to communicate one's appreciation of others in the industry, which further brings more opportunities and so on

3. Hold strong opinions, but weakly. Because more inputs that come by your way can clarify. Argue as if you are right, but listen as if you are wrong.

4. Be open to opportunities from heart, though there may be social fabric that may say no to many of those.

5. Have fun, but without hurting any.

Vijey said...

I believe it would be helpful for those kids if you throw some light about entrepreneurship, whats that thats driving you and things like that...

Rupa said...

The best advice I've heard is also the most common and most ignored one too probably. It's also what people like you who follow their passions can attest to - Do what you love and truly enjoy. Give as much as you can to that field and put your heart and soul into it. You are bound to find fulfillment. And whatevet the field may be, I am sure India will present as many opportunities as any other place.
Btw, check out this commencement speech by J K Rowling at Harvard if you haven't already. It's sure to be an inspiration. About 15 mins or so. http://www.ted.com/talks/jk_rowling_the_fringe_benefits_of_failure.html

Good luck with your speech. Am sure you will inspire!

Nijanthan said...

Ur speech was awesome..U had us all spell bound.. Thank you for coming.. :)

Balamurugan said...

Chinmayi, Please update your speach in seperate post so that it will be very helpful for others.

Unknown said...

great :):):) U will rock as usual :):):)

cheers,
Kamal

Unknown said...

I guess in this age of social media, opportunities show up in the weirdest of the places and we just have to keep our eyes and ears open. I am not sure how relevant social media is professionally(linkedin) in India... But social networks are a big asset. Hope this helps.

All my best...Just like your songs i am sure you will do a great job...Take care.

Chinmayi Sripada /Chinmayee said...

Gen: yes Vivianne is part of Sir's team.
to everyone from SSN: THANK YOU! It was great being there too.

Chinmayi Sripada /Chinmayee said...

Balamurugan: I spoke what came to my mind and I really don't know if it is done to write down what I spoke about in my blog. :)

Anonymous said...

SSN should be graceful to give you a copy the video taken for you to put it on your blog!

Karthik.S said...

You rocked! I was there at the auditorium. I hadn't slept the last night of the session, infact i was sleeping when others spoke. I got up when you came. ONLY to hear your beautiful voice, and you ended up being beautiful in the words you spoke too! was awesome!! Thanks! :)