Straight from the gut
By Nimesh Shah Head Maven, Windchimes Communications Ask any entrepreneur why he or she went about doing things in the manner they did. Chances are they will say that it just felt the right thing to do. That inner feeling that guides that person is his or her instinct. It is the inner subconscious voice that acts as a sounding board. Gut instinct is every entrepreneur’s best friend. And like all friendships, it has to be valued, nurtured and cherished. We all have our instinct talking to us — few of us have inculcated the habit of listening to it while others might be dismissive about it. As an entrepreneur, it is very important to cultivate the instinct. An entrepreneur thinks of ideas that could be new to the world or looks to provide solutions that haven’t been attempted in that manner before. In either scenario, there is only so much data that one can look at. Beyond that, you have to feel right and comfortable about going ahead with the call. You will not have many people who would be able to relate to the situation that you are in and therefore guide you. It’s a fairly lonely journey most times, and having a strong sounding board in your instinct always helps. I am asked often about how I ventured into the social media sector by co-founding Windchimes, given that I had classical sales and marketing background in the FMCG sector. My answer is instinct. When my friend, now co-founder, Sandhya Sadananda approached me with the concept of online PR and marketing (today it’s better known as social media marketing) it was an instinctive connect and I knew that this was it! After listening to it, everything just made sense. Within days, various pieces of the puzzle fell neatly into place and the decision was taken. Over the years too, this instinct has played a key role in growing Windchimes. As a start-up it is most important to have the right people to join you in your journey. Here is where I feel it plays the most important role. When I am talking to senior people to be a part of our team, it is almost never their resume that helps closure but the instinct that develops post the discussion. And interestingly, it is also in play the other way round when the applicants would trust their instincts to be part of Windchimes. In another scenario, I remember an instance when pitching to a potential client, we had prepared a certain approach route but after a second round of discussion on call, I just felt that approach would be right but wouldn’t connect completely. We made the changes and gave a twist to it and needless to say, it worked! Believing in gut feeling doesn’t mean one goes in blind-folded. You have to do your homework, crunch numbers and gather insights. Those things become like the hygiene factors and something that needs to be done without a doubt. But these may still not help you make a decision. You have to be convinced about selecting one from the many alternatives in front of you and that confidence in selecting the one stems from that instinct. So if you are troubled and can’t decide what decision to take, listen to your instinct and you will realize that you already know what your decision is! Feedback: nimesh@windchimes.co.in
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