Rajita Chaudhury, dean of Centre for Undergraduate Studies at Indian Institute of Planning and Management, vice-president and co-founder of NGO Great Indian Dream Foundation, a spokesperson and mentors students and marketing professionals, shares her ideologies with Dhaka Tribune
What can one expect from your book “Thorns to Competition”?
The book talks about how to handle competition. “THORNS” are six steps that one should keep in mind when developing a strategy to win over competitors.
Being good at something and staying in isolation may not prove worthy. Besides striving to be good, being aggressive and keeping tabs on your competitors will take things forward. Even a weaker product with aggressive marketing strategy takes over a superior product marketed less aggressively.
What is aggressive marketing to you?
Don’t fear competitive advertisement. The better the product, the stronger the strategy required. Being vocal and bold about being good is aggressive and expressive.
What is the importance of personal branding? How should an individual brand themselves?
Although we all communicate, very few of us do it to convince. As the law of communication relays actions, looks and words must come together in creating a noticeable brand of oneself. To understand the likings and lackings, to uphold positive attributes of oneself, is what makes personal branding important.
First of all, being aware of one’s strengths increases confidence and helps individualise them from others. In the corporate world, one has to fight to establish trust, followers and specially personal brand.
What is your advice to graduates joining the corporate world?
Be sure of what you want to be in life. Do not choose a job because it will look good on your resume or it pays well. Eventually, these lead to burnouts. Try turning your job into your passion. What matters is that your profile is good and your mentor is good.
What is the vision of your NGO, the GIDF (Great Indian Dream Foundation)?
The NGO was started in memory of my brother-in-law.
The vision is to teach underprivileged rural play-school children, and work towards reducing dropouts, teach women about self-employment methods, and provide the youth with vocational training and job placements. We work closely with the government to spread as much knowledge as possible.