1/7 - June 2024

In Dec 2022, one of the partners at C4E decided to do a weekly review across ALL things we do. We were inspired by Elon’s tweet asking, What did you get done this week? No, it wasn’t top-down. One person did it for self-accountability. Everyone else was merely encouraged (not commanded) to try it out.?

So, in Dec last year, I decided to write a report of what I do at Decoding Draupadi every week. 52 reports. Come hell or high water.?

I failed to keep at it. But, I know that –?

1/ Writing those reports forced me to be honest. About the things I did, avoided, enjoyed, and failed at.?

2/ It helped me meet people, supporters, friends, and collaborators. Three years ago, I was taught that luck = preparation + opportunity. I won’t just get lucky. I can create it. Since then, I’ve tried to internalise and act on this. These reports were one of the attempts.?

So, as of June 28, 2024 – I’ve decided to not just do weekly check-ins, but also write these detailed, honest reports each month.?

Here goes.

June

A couple of weeks ago, I met some relatives after 3 odd years.? Last they’d seen me, I was in college, mostly in loungewear, and working from home. They hardly understood what I was up to. I don’t blame them – I wasn’t wearing crisp shirts and commuting to a corporate internship every day.?

At the time, I didn’t know how things would pan out, but I decided to take responsibility for myself. Even if I took a shot and failed, it’d be on me. Just me. So, I kept at it – college, freelance writing, internships.?

UPDATE – I turned out fine. More than fine. The world around me was very wrong about what I should be doing as a young woman in her 20s. The second I changed who I was surrounded by, I was able to see farther.

So, that.?

A large part of what I’ve gotten to do is a result of luck, people (C4E and the world), and the act of showing up. Thus, this letter.

The Shift

I’ve been with C4E since January 2022. There were just two partners when I joined. And we’re now 42 people (including folks who don’t work with us full-time).?

[A slight digression – I’d say this to every young, ambitious person out there – choose people and companies that are bullish on helping you grow.]

I was hired to save Saurabh Garg ’s time. I did whatever needed to be done. Note-taking. Attending meetings. Writing. Researching. Finding vendors. Sending cake. The list is endless.

The reward? I got to closely see how a communications collective is run, how people think, and how teams and businesses are built. I was not just a copywriter anymore.?

Parallelly, Decoding Draupadi happened. I dedicated a large part of my time and life to that. And spent the rest supporting SG at C4E.?

Now, we’ve moved things around. I’m taking a more active role in how we build C4E . Today, we are a communications agency. Alongside, we seed communities and businesses in various niches. And here’s where we’re headed.

At DD, I continue to be around, helping Anshika, my sparring partner. Just that Anshika Kushwaha would now be the DRI.

Regardless of DD or C4E, the core of what I do remains the same –?

• Learning.
• Connecting with people – Alone, we go faster. Together, we go farther.?
• Compounding – money, relationships, efforts in ALL areas (from LinkedIn posts to large business decisions).
• Taking shots out of my league – from being on adult tables to launching ideas and failing.

I think that if I’m able to do these right (in the long-term), I will be capable of taking a shot at anything I set my mind to.?

My top goal(s) as of June 2024

I’m reading Matt Mochary ’s The Great CEO Within and one of the things I’m immediately implementing is identifying and working on my top goal.?

The key idea – schedule two hours each day to work on your top goal. And I’ve blocked 8 am to 10 am for:

1. My personal brand?
2. Network and BD for C4E
3. Project of the month

My morning block will be spent on these three goals. I am also defining the desired outcome for these, and making a binary tracking metric.?

Why these?

1. Personal brand – Great things don’t happen in isolation. With anything we build, we do better with support systems, collaborators, and partners who help us do better and learn more. And so, I want to be discoverable on the internet. Provide value. Find people. And build relationships.?
2. Network for C4E – Like most tiny businesses in communications, our work at C4E comes to one person. My goal – build systems and a network that opens doors for C4E. (If you’ve done this and are able to relate to this, can I pick your brains?)
3. We’re NOT a communications business. We just happen to be doing that today. Eventually, we would take some other shape. Whatever that is. Part 1 of this note by SG explains it well – The C4E 2023-24 Annual Shareholder Report. So, my job is to figure out what that could be. Not all ideas will be billion-dollar businesses that allow us to create a dent in the universe. Some will open doors. Some will bring us answers. And some will fail. But each will take us one step closer.?

Lastly…

An honest submission – I do NOT know where I am headed. And surprisingly, I’m comfortable with that. I don’t think it’s just luck. I’ve been trained in such an environment – an ambiguous, unstructured one.?

But, here’s my mental metric. Two actually. Am I happy and engaged? And, am I doing an honest job every day??

If you made it here, thank you! I only have one ask – give me feedback, or point gaps in my thinking. It will help me do better!