Thanks Navneet...

Who would have ever thought that becoming an Assistant Manager in my organization would be so very tough for me. Atleast not me, nor my fellow colleagues who are Management Trainees (M.T.) in the same organization. Although, I have had completed 90 percent of my trainings by July 25, I was very sure of the completion of my entire MT roadmap by the time I would have graduated as an A.M. as more than half a month was left for the D day...which was scheduled on 20th August.

But wait ! Before transitioning myself from M.T. to an A.M., life wanted to me learn few things, like time management, target management and success management. Life wanted me to understand personally what that powerfull emotion called MOTIVATION was all about. It wanted me to learn a word called ENDURANCE, not through a dictionary but through practical experiences.

I still remember the 26th day of June this year, when I got an email with a user id and a password for my CIPM course, which was a part of my MT roadmap. I thought it was just like another course/training that I had to complete on the web, so as to graduate as an A.M. Never did I think that the course is very very (and one more times) very lengthy to be completed in a period of a month. We M.T.'s had already written several e-mails to the training department about it and never got satisfactory responses earlier...also, we witnessed few M.T.'s graduating as A.M.'s without it's completion. So we also developed a casual attitude towards it. But no...just when there was about a month left for my graduation, I received this email and thought that I would attempt this training after the completion of our monthly Investment Performance Measurement exercise called DAP.

So on July 26, when it was a Satuday, I thought to complete my remaining roadmap...when I logged into the training website, I was shocked to see the course content which was never ending...I immediately called Puja, another M.T. and informed her that we had been fooled...the training is very long and time taking...plus the way it was designed, it was almost impossible for us to complete it in a months time. And on the top of it, I already promised my team members to coach them for Six Sigma Green Belt program. Not only this, another email that I received from the training department revealed that we have to complete this training pior to 30th of the month, so as to be eligible for the actual CIPM exam in the following month...Oooooooooooooooh...what is this? How will I manage both the herculian tasks simultaneously...I was literally shivering...as for me, the target was to complete this training in just five days...Oh God! isn't that impossible...I mean if it would just have been click click and click, then I could have done it in just a single day...but no...learning was the only aim of that training so that one can clear the CIPM exam after it's completion.

Somehow, I decided to get started...and yo...I was on...but hey...the course structure is just the same as that of PMP...How casual was I in my thoughts, when I picked up a book on Project Management Professionals (PMP), two years ago from The Om Book Shop, located at The Metropoliton Mall, out of sheer curiosity. Those days, I thought project management was one of the sought after domains, that professionals strived for. So it was not good for me to remain unaware about it. Atleast, I should have a basic idea about what it is all about so that people don't call me a geek. That book gave me an information that Project Management Institute gives six months to it's students to complete this course...and see the saga of life, that an equivalent course called CIPM is giving me just few days to complete it...Notheless, did I think while purchasing that book...that this domain would literally give me tight goosebumps in my later life...he he he...

I toiled days and nights, flipping close to four thousand slides, thereby ignoring my parent's arrival from Nagpur. And when it was Monday morning, I realized that Saturday and Sunday already passed away and I was studying for this course non-stop for about thirty five hours...woooooooooo...I did that earlier with Six Sigma too...but this was relatively a longer one...I went home, slept for about five hours and then was back to office, as I was tensed regarding the completion of the course...Less time for a lengthy course...thereby recalling and memorizing everything present in those four thousand slides which included several theories, formulae, calculations, diagramming and so on and so froth...and clearing five tests apart from the final Mock test after which the training department would line me up for the paper based CIPM exam...wwwwoooooooo, along with five other trainings remaining in my roadmap...he he he...what a joke...felt like crying...?

It would not have been so very difficult, if I would have had 'TIME' in my bucket...but that was the entire crux...I had to manage everything in just few days...wasn't that challenging enough...? Lakshmi from Training department adviced me to complete the training till 8th August so as to complete the roadmap and be eligible for the paper based test...thanks to her for understanding my problem...and extending the deadline...which still looked quite unacheivable...

Hooooooooooohhhh...days got stretched up from 24 hours, to 35 hours apart from 4 to 5 hours of sleep in between. Guards in my office were bored of seeing my face whenever they used to come to check my presence...as they had to switch off the lights...Barista guys were fed up with preparing coffee and sandwiches for me atleast five times a day...Vending machine serving Lays and Bites got choked up by my frequent usage...and above all...I got a a new name, VOLINI SPRAY...he he he...given by the nurses lined up at the medical room in my office...who used to witness my paining neck and backbone...thereby spraying the pain killing Volini (a healing medication) after every five to six hours...

From Parametric Modeling to Delphi Techniques...from Precedence Diagramming to calculation of floats & duration...from Monte Carlo Simulation to Investment Appraisals...from Crashing to PERT'ing...from designing Critical Paths to estimating costs and doing Economic Monetary Valuation analysis...my life was completely berserkkkkkkkkkk...I learnt only one thing...that studying project management itself became a project for me...gradually I cleared all the tests except the Mock one...

It was 6th day of August, when I was about to appear for the Mock Test...for the first time after learning that I have completed reading 60% of my course...but it was just reading, and not full preparation...Plus I just wanted to get rid of it as I was quite bored...and when I clicked an option for the last Mock Test question on my computer, I was completely shattered to see...that I could not clear the Mock Test...To my dismay, I was broken...I just went home and slept for about 4 hours...when I returned to office, I spoke to several M.T.'s and then thought of raising an exception for this course as I somehow realized that it is nearly impossible for completing it in the next two days...Raising exception was another coward option...used by several M.T.'s...yet I decided to speak to Navneet, my manager...

After listening to my story, Navneet said, "Rishi, you still have two days left...and with the amount of input you had given to this course, I am pretty sure that you would be able to finish it within time...just give it a shot again...if it doesn't work out, then I would speak to the HR and Training department for raising an exception...but till then atleast try your second (out of three) attempt..."

With those positive expectations from Navneet and her filtered & chosen words falling on my ears, I was sure that even if I don't complete this training, my graduation would not be affected...atleast my manager is with me...somehow, I got charged up with positive moral...and decided to re-do the entire material once again...

I don't really remember how hours passed away...and when Navneet was back the very next day, she asked me why was my cell phone out of reach?...I told her that my cell was being used by my Mom with another simcard...she then informed me, that she called because she wanted to know about the status of my training and test...

Now I felt - I am being cared...whatever she spoke to me a day earlier, were not just normal words of a manager...now I realized that it had a personal touch too...

And when Shailly casually asked Navneet, "Ye kyaa haal karwaa diyaa aapne Rishi kaa?", Navneet replied,"Karne do...hone do uskaa aisaa haal...tabhi to efficiency pataa chalti hai"...hhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo....WHAT IS THIS? The situation was...if things go fine...everything would be normal for me...but if they go wrong...then I would be perceived as inefficient...he he he...AMAZING...WONDERFUL...MARVELOUS...STUPENDOUS...I don't know, from where Navneet learnt this technique of boosting moral and then giving a challenge...

THAT WAS THE POINT WHEN I GOT FOCUSSED WITH A ZERO MIND...This was the real life situation which made me feel as if I am Mr Bond...thereby considering Navneet as Madam "M"...he he he...I somehow recollected myself and geared up for the MISSION CIPM...

I don't really know how I invested another 18 hours with extreme determination, focus, and perseverance...at about 12.00 PM on August 8, I saw a Congratulations message popping up on my screen after hitting the last question of the Mock Test...

KUDOS...to whom?...to me? No...not to me...but to Navneet...? If still you guys ask me the reasons for it...then just stop reading my blogs from now on...

NOW I REALLY KNOW WHAT TRIUMPH IS ALL ABOUT...it would help me in clearing my educational, professional and personal goals in my later life...

Now I can say, that I have learnt my lessons prior to becoming an A.M...

Leadership is all about creating positive examples...and in this journey, it is all about experiencing and setting stretch targets...Not just setting them...but also acheiving them too...after all setting impossible target separates you from masses...but acheiving them, enable you to create your own classes...

MISSION CIPM PHASE 1...ACCOMPLISHED...

Bond