Chimek 3 (Indian fried chicken and beer?)

If you’re a fan of American sports, this is one of the best times of the year where you can watch football, basketball, hockey...? And this is my favourite weekend ( I find it even better than the Superbowl) where the final four teams battle to take their place in the championship without all the hoopla and .? I grew up watching the San Francisco 49ers and there’s nothing more exciting than seeing your team have a chance to get to the big game.??

Leading up to this weekend, I have been watching some sports shows on the treadmill (don’t be too shocked, it’s still early in the New Year), and normally in sports, we root for the underdog, the over achiever (I hate that term, but more on that later).? There’s countless examples like the movie Rudy, Jeremy Lin in the NBA, USA Hockey, Korean Soccer team during the 2002 World Cup.? But for some reason, all I’ve seen all week is criticism of the 49er’s Quarterback Brock Purdy who was a seventh round pick, the last pick in the college draft, the player they name Mr. Irrelevant and all he’s done is win games and taken his team to the conference championships in each of the two years he’s been in the league.? In fact he led his team to the final points that actually won the game last week.??

So what have people been saying about him all week?? He’s the weak link.? He’s the worst of all the quarterbacks in the playoffs.? He only wins because of his coach or because of his teammates.? If they win, it’s because of the coach, but if they lose, it’s because he played bad.? He doesn’t have the pedigree.? He doesn’t have the physical talent. If he loses this next game, should they go and get a more “talented” quarterback. ? And in the two years he’s been on the 49ers, all he’s done is win games. In fact, this “great coach” of the 49ers had actually been 0 for 30 in games where they trailed by 7 or more points in the 4th quarter until Brock broke the streak last week.?

So why am I sharing this story on Linkedin? What impressed upon me about this is, I know many people in corporate life feel like Brock Purdy at times.? All they do is quietly deliver results but somehow don’t seem to get the credit they deserve.? For example, people may think they don’t? have the pedigree, or they’re not overtly extraverted or they’re considered too quiet or people think they’re over-achieving which doesn’t make sense because those expectations were artificially placed by someone judging a book by its cover.? A lot of times they may have to deal with the anxiety of getting layered, even if they’re delivering great results for the company.?

So shout out to all the “underdogs” out there who quietly go about their business but consistently deliver great results.? I just wanted to recognise people who may feel that way and assure them that results do matter and there are companies that appreciate people for who they are.? Just make sure to join a company with that type of culture.??

Win or lose, Go Niners and Brock Purdy! Let’s prove all the haters wrong!?

Now to my India Trip.? It was such? a great trip.? Hospitality, food, culture. Indian fried chicken and beer maybe a hidden secret.? I highly recommend!? Can’t thank the team enough for sacrificing their time, their enthusiasm for the mission and their teammates and just coming out energised that we could accomplish anything together.? I just wanted to share a few highlights or observations about my trip there and my experience at founding a startup.?

Culture Culture Culture - You have to get this right.? Big Kudos to Raj Vimal Chopra , Ramey Girdhar and Raushan Kumar for their leadership, bringing in the right people, understanding their strengths and development areas, putting them in a position to succeed and most of all caring about them and supporting them.? We have an excellent team that’s bought in to the mission and the team culture.? We had great meetings and even more fun.? My favourite was all the food of course, the snacks and the cheese samosas from Samosa Party.? ? There was dancing and music and we got a little crazy at times.? A little crazy is needed in all of us when you’re trying to make the seemingly impossible, possible.?

?Steps to the destination - The mission is great, but you have to actually break down the steps to the mission.? Somethings may not pay off immediately but are part of the grander plan.? Break out the goals into achievable targets, so that the team can see what we’re building up to.? Our CFO Jonathan Lew also did a great job sharing the current state of the company, our targets for the year, and the path to hitting them.? When you see things in more intermediate milestones, the end goal doesn’t seem as daunting.?

Be Magic and Larry, not Michael Jordan - As leaders, you’re not there to take up the spot light and take all the shots.? Give your team their opportunity to develop and shine.? Be there to do the dirty work, rebound, dive for loose balls, whatever it takes for the company to win.? For the Team; you join a start up to stand out and not just blend in.? Be bold, take risks, move fast.? More is lost with inaction than action.??

Anyways, the best part of the trip other than the food was that we had a chance to come together, have great discussions, get to know each other, and gain confidence we have the right team and right mission. ? So in closing, Go Niners and One last group photo!