Millennials: A Gen Recessed by Recession

By the time the early 1980s born millennials completed graduation, it was sometime between 2002 to 2005 depending the course/program one had opted for. If a post graduate, then sometime between 2004 to 2008, probably the university life concluded.

2008, a time when post graduates were to apply for jobs and the graduates were to switch their first job or get appraised in their existing jobs.

2008, a very unfortunate era began post 2008 from an economic point of view. A major recession started and it seems not to end. With various pockets of recesses, it is like a recession forever in a VUCA world (VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity).

I completed my Medical Graduation and Internship in 2005 and decided to go ahead with Masters in Clinical Research which got completed in 2008. However, campus placement began in the year 2007. I never got lucky during the campus placement session despite being one of the toppers of the batch. Reason: I wanted something and what was offered was something else. Hence, it was me and job application through various channels; from classified section in the newspaper to various job portals. Thanks to the Internet—it did help us Millennials in more than one way –> from finding jobs, to houses, to friends, to classmates, and in some cases, even soulmates. 

I started working in the year 2007. One year before the recession debacle. However, one thing I did right, which if I look back on, has helped me in my professional life, is continuous learning. It helped me adapt and evolve with agility. Besides many other things in life, I am grateful for this aspect in life. However, the process of continuous learning comes at a cost. It is investing in yourself. Sometime after 2015 when there was a little economic stability experienced and there was some hope for better fulfilling job prospects with better packages, but once again the economy was affected, rather infected, this time by a virus. COVID-19 that took another two years of life, and there still are repercussions to be dealt with—some known, some unknown.

Have I earned as much as I invested? Yes, because I am still single with limited responsibilities.

Have I made profits as expected after any investment? Not so much.
Reputation-wise, Yes. Monetary, No. Post recession, it does not matter whether the economy is in a good state or not, the jobs now just do not offer as much as was the case earlier plus the rising inflation does not help much.

From my observation on the millennial lives, the impact of recession…

Pros:

• Adapt to the constant changes from telecommunications to consumer behaviour.
• Evolve to survive.
• Learn to be a success story.
• Grow to be a better version of yourself.
• Expand to have parallel career options. You did not like a job or the way things went at a job or some other reason and you left the job; ok. But there are still bills to be paid. And debt, mortgage and credit card are not permanent solutions. Hence expanding your presence in more than one profession helps in constant flow of income – it cushions the not-so-good-phase in a person’s career graph.

Cons:

• Instability; some days rich, some days not-so-rich. Some days affordable, some days credit cards dependency. Some days fighting, some days depressed. Some days with a job, some days struggling to find one. 
• Insecurity or dealing with insecure people. It is obvious and expected in a constantly changing environment where everyone is struggling to survive.
• Failure; dealing with disappointments with a smile. Every job lost or opportunity vanished or client lost is a setback. Overcoming any of these is no joke.
• Competition; healthy competition helps you grow. However, unhealthy, which usually is the case, is absolutely depressing especially if you are a person who is not meant for politicking but stuck in a toxic environment.
• Aging; you grow old not young with every passing day. Retirement seems too far ahead, but is very close considering the time lost to the ongoing sessions of recessions.

Way Ahead…to each his/her own.

Because the way ahead depends on the choices you have made in every decade of your life. Did you take care of your health – Physical and Financial, or did you ignore health? Did you choose to grow or did you choose to stay static? Did you learn from your mistakes or do you still continue to do so? Many did you and do you questions to be asked and answered.

Professionally, I think I got the chance to grow because I did not rest in the recesses and not let the recession takeover my journey in life.

Sixteen years of experience and counting has resulted in acing various roles, that of a Brand Head, a Corporate Communication Professional, Creative Content Lead, a Journalist and an IT-Project Team Lead.

Presently a Consultant in Marketing Communication, projects majorly revolve around conducting Market Research, understanding Business Intelligence acquired from Data Analytics, setting Business Strategies, drafting Business Models, managing Brand Image, constructing Creative Strategies, crafting Promotional and PR Campaigns—to sum up, Design Thinking with a holistic approach towards Integrated Marketing for Brand Management.

• A Medical Graduate from Mumbai and A Qualified Expert in Clinical Research…
• A Trained Management Professional from IIM Indore…
• An English Literature Postgrad and A Mass Communication Faculty…

…All together adds immense value to the organizations associated with. And with a belief that knowledge, the source of wealth, when shared grows exponentially–the journey in my life to gain and share knowledge continues…

That’s my journey so far. It was not easy at all as I chose horizontal instead of vertical career ascension. I got to learn a lot, but earn, not so much as I was considered a beginner at every job I took, irrespective of the series of qualifications that occupy a significant space on my resume.

Where there is a will, there is a way.  Am I successful? Am I rich? Am I doing it right? Am I…???
I am working on the answers to these questions and more.
Maybe in the future, I may have answers to a few.

And I don’t have a credit card. Nor do I plan to get one. Nothing against credit cards, but a lot against debts and dependency.

Until next, Just A Thought: Recess is still your time. Life is time and the vice versa. Make the most of it.

…Ashu Bolar
ashubolar@gmail.com

Lemon and Life

When life gives you lemons…

You are supposed to make lemonade. Now that’s a supposition.

Unfortunately everyone gets these lemons, asked or unasked for. It’s like they are in great demand in the Nature, I mean the metaphorical one.

Well, I too got, and keep getting. In my case it seems like there is a constant steady supply of lemons. I guess before I was created, Nature probably had an X-amount of lemons allocated, rather reserved, specifically for me. Well, that I guess can’t be undone. Too late. So all I got is to be creative in handling, or say, managing these lemon shots.

Ok then, what do I do when one is thrown/shot at me? They are generally not gracefully handed over. They just hit you. Bang and there you go.

Well, no point throwing back. It can hit someone else and that someone else’s response is not in my control. The person may choose to remain silent, or may opt to throw back the same lemon or orange or watermelon, no clue. The impact is directly proportional to the distance and the angle and the size of whatever the person selects to throw. I think that is not a pleasant scenario.

Next, I can choose to ignore, and then what? The lemon decays, from sour to bitter to forget-it situation. Again, not a pretty scenario. Sour is still better than bitter or the decayed version.

What more, make lemonade? Yeah, an interesting option—from plain sour to sour-n-sweet or sour-salt-n-sweet. The control of taste is up to you. And the control comes with learning. You may not get the right taste at the first time. You get to right my making a few mistakes (or may be many) and then never repeating those again. Combined with a lot patience and practice. Later, once you have mastered the skill, you can make the drink more interesting by adding other ingredients to suit your taste, mood or that of the people served (can be target audience if it is work related.)

Pie or Tart are some other options. But as of now, I am not into cooking (that much). Hence, lemonade and its variants suit me just fine.

As a kid I loved playing lemon and spoon. Interesting race it was. I use to win a lot then. Balance, vision and approach play a significant role if you want to win that race. Lemon can fall, spoon can slip, you may fall and get hurt, teeth may hurt (even break), tongue may feel odd, mouth may go numb and so on and so forth. Then I did not realize its significance in my future. I think Nature was training me in some sort. It was like, “Listen kid, you and lemon go a long way, so…get set go!” And I still play lemon and spoon mentally before deciding on finally making the lemonade. It helps in creative thinking or design thinking on why and how and what and where and who and when. I can now manage lemon and spoon and lemonade, all simultaneously.

Over the years, I have made Lemon my best friend. Good source of Vitamin C, enhances immunity and adds taste to my life!

So yeah, that’s the story of Me and Lemon.
Now, Me and Melon…I got to explore that section…someday in future I may write on Melon and Life!
No. Not played Melon and Spoon and I don’t plan to either.

Till then, take care. Enjoy lemonade. And Stay Safe.

BTW: In the image, it’s Lemon Tang. I told you. Design thinking!

…Ashu Bolar
ashubolar@gmail.com

Change, Changing, Changed

Change, a six letter word, which means to create a difference or be the difference or both.

So the changing process…

Is it easy? Not at all.

Any choices? Not actually.

Change is constant. Well, it is. So you change, adapt or else the option is you become a dinosaur—extinct. Survival of the fittest. Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory. Natural Selection.

Change is always challenging. It means transforming, revolutionizing in some cases. A massive behavioural shift. Overcoming fear in many cases; a fear of being trapped in a vicious cycle.

How aggravating can ‘Change’ be?

Scenario A: Every time the Windows software or an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning – a business process management software) upgrades, there is an expression of annoyance on most of our faces and a silent question – “Why again?” Answer: It is the need of the hour. A want may be.

Scenario B: Every time we switch our mobile phones, the excitement of new phone is diluted with the anxiety of learning and getting used to the new applications. But still you are smiling. Why? Answer: It is a desire fulfilled.

Changing…we generally don’t like it. Yet, we do it. Why?

Either we do not have a choice or we actually want to adapt, or may be survive.

So how do we do it while smiling and not sulking?

By converting a ‘want’ into a ‘desire’.

How?

Simple. Apply Design Thinking.

Now, what is Design Thinking? A new management terminology for something that existed almost always. It simply means be creative, be innovative. Think out of the box. If need be, think beyond the box. Or maybe just forget the box that limits your thinking. Just think!

Remember the arts class in our school days? The art teacher drew a Mickey Mouse on the black board and every student was to replicate that Mickey Mouse. However, every art book had a unique Mickey Mouse sketched—somewhere the tail was long, some places it was missing; some had large ears, some had tiny; and then the eyes! Every student had his/her version of Mickey Mouse.

Now, if say, in corporate terms, Mickey Mouse was the company’s vision drawn on the board by the art teacher (the manager here), then every student (means an employee) had a creative strategy to achieve that Mickey Mouse, that Vision. Some may look or sound good. Some may not. But if the class had 30 students, then there were 30 Design Thinking solutions right there on the art paper in the classroom (board room here).

Another analogy is a craft class. The craft teacher gives an A4 paper to 30 students and says, “Do anything, but the paper in the end of one hour should look anything but rectangle.” Again every student applies his/her mind. A result could be anything from a crushed paper ball to a beautiful paper sculpture.

We all have been there. We all have done it. We all know it. Design Thinking to me is nothing but letting my mind think without any blinders on. It is the application of art to the scientific thinking process—generating a thought that can give a solution to create want, then convert it into a desire, and thereon, to bring about a behavioural shift without forcing or emphasizing on the word CHANGE.

With creative thinking any unhappy scenario can be converted into a happy one.

Let’s apply this to Scenario A. What if the person is informed that the new Windows version or upgraded ERP has more pros than the visible cons? Often a person is upset not because of the change, but because it wasn’t informed. Here, communication plays a significant role. Timely and effective communication can make an individual aware that upgraded software equals to increased productivity, and thus, enhanced growth, both organizational and individual growth. Make this sound like the desired new phone and there you go…all happy, all smiles!

Some wise person once told me, “Asma, if there are two glasses, one full to the rim and one an inch or two less than the rim, then in such a scenario, which glass would you pour water in and why?”

I would pour water in the second glass as there is space to add the additional quantity. And, if I try pouring water in the first glass, then there will be an overflow and waste of water.

That is exactly similar with our minds. When we learn and learn, then we become glass-full with no space to add any new information. Hence, no inclination to adapt, and thus, we feel we do not have to change. However, when we put in efforts to constantly learn and unlearn, then there is space to add new information, new ideas, and may be, bring about new changes—create difference or be the difference.

Changed?

Hmmm, it is a process. It is ongoing in my case. Because to me, creating difference makes sense. Being a dinosaur doesn’t. I read ‘Dinosaur’ as ‘Die-No-Saw’, meaning I just exist without any contribution to the society, not a good feeling. How about you?

…Ashu Bolar
ashubolar@gmail.com