5 Lessons I have learned from Movie Erin Brockovich

It was a hectic day, visiting couple of clients for fortnightly review. Attending couple of skype calls, failed to convince oldest client on retainer fees hike & getting nothing as a fruitful outcome in a day, god damn it… I was pissed off. This kinda situation has occurred several times since the inception of Yashus Digital Marketing. Being a founder of a bootstrap organisation, you have to keep your enthusiasm, energy, passion & moral more than 100%. I used different methods to calm myself down, like reading a book, playing with my year old daughter etc. Recently I have found that the best remedy to come up from work fatigue is to watch classical Hollywood movies. Thanks to amazon prime.

While surfing what to watch, action, melodrama, romantic or horror, I stumbled on “Erin Brockovich”. In a moment I have recalled my entire day and was easily able to connect with Erin’s Struggle. I first watched this movie in my engineering days back in 2004, that time it was just fascinating to watch Julia Roberts as Erin Brockivich flaunting her assets in all the scenes … ROFL! I must have seen the movie at least 4 times since I watched it in college and now I am in a position to narrate my professional learning from the movie.

1. Dedication & hard work -

While managing our client’s digital presence, I have never compromised on dedication & handwork. I still remember what the loan disbursement number was in 2012 when I handled Bajaj Finservs lending portfolio or what were the clicks & CTR for my first client in 2015.

Theresa Dallavale: “Annabelle Daniels”

Erin Brockovich: “714-454-9346. 10 years old, 11 in May. Lived on the plume since birth. Wanted to be a synchronized swimmer so she spent every minute she could in the PG&E pool..….

Theresa Dallavale: “Okay, look, I think we got off on the wrong foot here”

Erin Brockovich: “That's all you got, lady. Two wrong feet in fucking ugly shoes”

2. Don’t be afraid to speak up -

Weather they like it or not, I have always put my honest opinion to my clients or my team. Whatever the outcome I am never afraid to speak. This trait has really put me in confidence mode and manged to create trust on brand “Sujay Khandge” Best Digital Marketing Trainer

Ed: “How did you get all these documents, Erin? These are confidential…”

Erin: “They’re called boobs, Ed.”

3. Don't be afraid to take challenges -

Numbers & Targets drive me crazy. My tenure at Bajaj Finserv taught me don’t afraid to take challenges, be honest and perform like, this is your last chance, you will defiantly rock!

Erin Brockovich: “Not personal! That is my work, my sweat, and my time away from my kids! If that is not personal, I don't know what is!”

4. Show’, don’t ‘tell’

Performance is the only word I have been taught by my bosses. Mr. Avinash Sorte & Mr. Shantanu Karmarkar. I loved to talk statistics with then about our MOM or YTD numbers. While managing clients portfolio I always stressed on digital COA.

Kurt Potter:” Wha... how did you do this?

Erin Brockovich: “Well, um, seeing as how I have no brains or legal expertise, and Ed here was losing all faith in the system, am I right?”

Ed Masry: “Oh, yeah, completely. No faith, no faith”

Erin Brockovich: “I just went out there and performed sexual favors. Six hundred and thirty-four blow jobs in   five days... I'm really quite tired”

5. Embrace your personal style

I am Sujay, That’s what I can tell you. If you ask my friends, my ex colleague or my partners... they will explain in a better way. Be yourself …

Ed: “Erin, some of the women here…well, they’re not comfortable with how you dress.”

Erin: “I don’t care. Until I grow a second ass, I’ll wear what I like.”

In conclusion, I would like to say Erin Brockovich’s experiences have illuminated the power of learning in what is becoming an ever “flat world”. For Erin Brockovich, it wasn’t just about having the ability to learn how to learn, but having a reason for it. Whether it was the immense curiosity that seemed to fill her mind or the need to put food on the table for her children, there is no doubt that she knew how to learn, and maybe even more importantly, what to learn.