Today morning life gave me an opportunity to be a better leader. I learnt a lesson from my son that I will always apply to become a better leader. My 7 yr old son has been a very healthy eater since he started eating. Lately he turned into being a picky eater, not interested in eating kids vitamins and no more love for protein shakes ( being vegetarian, shakes are the biggest source of protein for us).
Something has definitely changed! He used to love taking protein shake for lunch with his food, take his vitamins without being asked and eat almost everything that was cooked in home. Me and my wife had many conversations with him and we used many techniques to put him back into his healthy habits. All convincing has not been working since last 1 year.
Today morning, I was shocked! My son was almost ready to eat his favorite cereal and then he gets up to grab his vitamins without being asked. Day before he asked for a protein shake/smoothie when he returned from school. Since last few days he is no more a picky eater to a good extent. I have been trying to understand what is making him change especially when neither me or my wife have convinced him in last few weeks.
Actually it is me who has changed!
My son has been watching and being influenced by the change I have brought in my life. Since last few weeks I have started exercising daily, taking my vitamins and eating healthy food. Actually I have been “Walking the walk” or “leading by example” or…… In last few weeks he has seen me drinking protein shakes. When he got up for taking his vitamins he saw me taking my vitamins with my breakfast. Finally I am practicing and not preaching and that is the change.
“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” – Mahatma Gandhi
This is how we really influence our teams/organizations/families/society. Knowingly or unknowingly everything we DO (and not say) is what is really replicated. One question that has not left my mind since then, do I lead my team/organization/family/… By walking the walk?
As leaders if we expect accountability we are the ones who should be accountable to our teams first. If we expect an extra effort from our team we are the ones who always have to go an extra mile. If we expect loyalty then we should be the most loyal to our teams, and the list goes on….
I hope you are a leader like that!
“Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others, as what he does from day to day to lead himself.” ~ Thomas J. Watson, Former Chairman of IBM
With a limited understanding of Thanksgiving, all I know it is about being Grateful and celebrating it with food (especially Turkey). Grateful to everybody who has contributed to your life in the preceding year. Being a vegetarian I am not going to eat Turkey but I can still be grateful to everyone who has helped me.
From the day I started thinking about my career until today there are so many family members, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and unknowns who helped me become a better person. Since last many years I wanted to write this post and show my gratitude to everyone who has helped me directly or indirectly. Finally here is my grateful list (besides my awesome family) with names of many who helped me this year and during many previous years:
Puneet Rampall for influencing and helping me learn computers. You are the reason why I am in technology today (all for good).
Sanjay Kohli for believing in me and getting me my big break.
Anoop Jain for teaching me technology properly and helping me become confident in Java.
Inder Pal Singh for being that awesome friend and colleague. I have always looked at you as a colleague who knows better than me but still willing to teach me.
Manish Verma for being my first career mentor. You always nurtured me and brought the best out of me. Even in the times when I deleted the entire demo code during the demo 🙂 you still never lost confidence in me.
Dinesh Pandey for taking me to new levels of technology and always treating me first class.
Parveen Deswal for being an awesome friend in the new country. I remember the days when we all used to go out to see the fall colors in the tri-state area.
Gerry Glynn for teaching me Sales especially how to have a Customer-First mindset.
Marketing Technology Conference is the first ever event for the practice of Marketing Technologies. I go to many conferences but I never write about them and especially before the conference. Few of my friends have recently inquired me on why I am attending the Marketing Technology Conference and what are the benefits I see by attending Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference).
Marketing Technology Conference
The first Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) is very special for me as it is about my passion and it is a conference that I was praying for few years now. So this is my attempt to share with you why I am attending Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) and why you may also like to attend it next time (they are already sold out). After the conference I plan to post another article on what I learnt at Marketing Technology Conference.
Rising Role of Marketing Technologist
Almost 3-4 years ago I came to know the term that describes the role that people like me play in the business world today. This was the time when I was introduced to the role of Chief Marketing Technologist. Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) is the first ever conference that will bring all of us in this practice under one roof for a day.
Here are some of great reads on this role that have helped me understand the role better and also educate others on this role and its importance.
Here are some of the profiles of Chief Marketing Technologists who are already impacting the success of some big companies (collected from from LinkedIn Search and Scott Brinker’s blog)
Mayur Gupta, Global Head of marketing technology at Kimberly-Clark
Chris Davis Chief Marketing Technologist at Crimson Marketing
Shawn Goodin Director of Marketing Technology at The Clorox Company
Few of the above Marketign Technologists are also speakers at Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference)
Scott Brinker “The Pioneer of Marketing Technology”
I was introduced to Scott Brinker’s blog by my previous manager. It has been almost 3-4 years that I have never missed any update from Scott Brinker. I have always tried to attend as many events where I can go and learn from him. He is the person who put this concept together and really guided the entire industry why there is a need of such role and why it is no more a choice. Scott Brinker may have spent hundreds of hours in putting together the vision, thought leadership and detailed plan on how to make this happen. There is not one other than Scott Brinker who is the ultimate expert in this field. Scott is the chair and the key speaker at Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference).
Why I am attending Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference)
I have discovered that great people are willing to share their ideas and you can learn only if others are ahead of you. There are many professionals in this space who are definitely ahead of me in this field or atleast they know what I may not know.
Here are the top few reasons why I am attending the Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) at Boston.
This Marketing Technology Conference is Chaired by Scott Brinker. So obviously this is the best chance to learn from the pioneer in this field.By now you may have already noticed that I am firm follower of Scott Brinker.
Connect with peers: Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) is the only and the first event in the industry where I can connect with all my peers. A great chance to network, connect, learn, share with them.
A great place for personal development in this space.
“A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people.” – Will Rogers
Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) is vendor-agnostic hence no hidden agendas & no sales pitches. The reason I got to conferences is to learn and not to buy. It is good to connect with vendors but the main reason I go there is to learn.
Broad Agenda : The agenda very well covers the following main questions that most probably each one of us face today:
How do we support new marketing strategies with the right technology strategies?
How can technology transform our marketing operations and customer experiences?
What management practices do we need to govern this new breed of marketing?
How do we develop talent and culture to leverage marketing technology investments?
Better understanding the complex world of Marketing Technology: As you may already know that the world of marketing technology is getting complex day by day with new products and more consolidations by big companies. If you are unaware, here is the best illustration of the complexity:Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic (2014)
Marketing Technology Landscape
With more in depth understanding of the marketing technology space I will be more equipped to better design my marketing technology stack.
Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference) is a great place to share your own challenges with other and help other with the challenges they are facing in this field. A great quote on collaboration
“Collaboration is important not just because it’s a better way to learn. The spirit of collaboration is penetrating every institution and all of our lives. So learning to collaborate is part of equipping yourself for effectiveness, problem solving, innovation and life-long learning in an ever-changing networked economy.” -Don Tapscott
Marketing Technology Conference has a very good line of speakers. Most of them come from different perspectives and can help put together the right & complete picture. Here are some of the speakers on the agenda (Pasted from PR2020 )
1. Scott Brinker (@chiefmartec), Conference Chair & author, chiefmartec.com
2. Mayur Gupta (@inspiremartech), Global Head of Marketing Technology & Operations, Kimberly-Clark
3. Laura McLellan (@lauramclellan), VP Marketing Strategies, Gartner Research
4. David Raab (@draab), Principal, Raab & Associates
5. Paul Roetzer (@paulroetzer), CEO, PR 20/20, author of The Marketing Agency Blueprint and The Marketing Performance Blueprint
Case studies make great collateral for sales. In the role of Marketing Technologist we play a sales role on a daily basis when we have to influence our colleagues, managers and senior leadership. Case studies are a great asset for winning those pitches.
I look forward to Connect with you
See you at the Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference), I look forward to connect with you and learn from you. Please feel free to reach out to me via
My Background
Today I live on the cross roads of marketing & technology. Marketing Technology is a new practice that is become more and more prevalent today in every company. I would like to share my background so that you can better understand my perspective on attending Marketing Technology Conference (MarTech Conference)
I started my career as a software engineer. Java, Struts, SQL, Hibernate, Spring, etc. were the technologies that I spent my first 7 years of my professional life. Got a great opportunity and moved into a sales and relationship management, it was fun. It was a period of great learning. Really understood what happens in the business world on a daily basis and the challenges of customer relationship management. Since last 5 years my professional journey took me into Marketing teams. I got into Marketing because of my passion to bridge the gap between tech and business.
Today my key focus is on Digital Marketing Strategy and Marketing Technologies but that is not what I have always done. I understand technology, have a passion for sales and I love marketing. On a daily basis I have to connect these dots and that needs a great amount of understanding of all these fields.
Just because you are moving, it does not mean you are moving in the right direction. Visualize the hamster in the cage, frantically running on the spinning wheel. He has lot of activity but no productivity. If the hamster runs even faster, he still doesn’t get anywhere.
Thomas Edison states, “When a man makes up his mind to solve any problem he may at first meet with opposition; but if he holds on and keeps on searching, he will be sure to find some sort of solution. The trouble with most people is that they quit before they start.”
Limitations are self imposed. Master yourself and next master the world.
