INM MAGAZINE VOLUME 8 | FEBRUARY 2016
#Alumni Speaks
Too Small for These Shoes
but I'll Walk On
Swarnim Saxena
Batch 2013-15
“Hey Swarnim”
“Hi Vrinda”
“I need you to write an article on Pursuit of Excellence
for iNM 8.”
“It's been over a year since I last wrote anything and I
am not sure I'll even have the time”
“You'll figure something out.”
As I write this piece, my mind tries to figure out what
possible anecdotes I can provide on a subject so
wide? An area which only the likes of Elon Musk and
Steven Spielberg have the right to comment upon.
What can a mere mortal like me say which has not
been said before? Maybe all I can do is share my story
and hope that the reader takes something away from
it.
This is real life. There are no intermissions and
certainly no definite end. Unless you consider death
and well, that's a subject out of the confines of this
article. My story begins the day I started working, 13th
April, 2015. My first job. First day in the “Corporate
World”. The day I got to know that at 23, I was the
youngest guy ever recruited and quite simply, the
youngest person in the organization to handle the role
I was assigned. A role men 10 years into the system
played. Certainly, no pressure there.
I was to head the sales function of a northern state.
Achieve targets laid out by the organization, lead a
team of salesmen, recruit some from time to time,
solve issues in the market and manage the many
distributors of the company. Did I mention I just
graduated from college?
About a week after the induction process was over at
the Head office, I relocated to my headquarters. On
my first day at the field, I learnt how it felt to be a kid in a
man's world. The first salesman I met was eight years
elder to me. Had been working for the past four years
in the FMCG industry and knew all the intricacies of
the market. After a brief meeting with my line
manager, we went to meet the Super-Stockist of the
region. A super-stockist is the main stockist of the
area who distributes the product to other regional
distributors in its catchment area. I was introduced by
my LM as the new Area In-charge. I saw a hint of
reservation in the super-stockist's eyes. Despite that,
pleasantries were exchanged and all seemed to be
normal. Normal until I got to know that there is a Senior
Salesman who had been with the organization for the
past 12 years and was looking to fill the role that I, an
outsider, got offered. Needless to say, a bumpy road
lay ahead for me.
As time passed, I began to understand the way things
worked around here. I was understood to be a silent
spectator as the main players of the game played their
role. Not that they were doing anything illegal or
unethical, they were just doing business on their own
terms. Although being the boss of the territory, my say
was limited. I faced a huge mental block during that
time. I did not clearly understand that I WAS the incharge. I was afraid that any wrong move on my part
would jeopardize the business we were doing and
that was a risk I did not intend to take. I have to agree
that the mental block was created because of the
respect for hierarchy and seniority in age I had
subjected myself too throughout my school and
college life. Without me even knowing my sense of
respect began to turn into my weakness.
Now, I am not a person who gets subjugated easily.
My friends know me as an all-out aggressive guy who
always gets what he puts his mind too. Someone who
is not a mere bystander but a change maker. Here,
though, I seemed to be acting completely the
opposite of my nature. My discussions with the Super-
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