Thoughtshot - About

Hemant Shah

My years of working with multinationals as well as Indian companies in the export business gave me the opportunity of gaining large international exposure. I got to experience the ways, attitudes and ethics of various workforces, whether in factories, retail sales, and public works or even at desk jobs in offices around the world. It taught me that the Indian workforce truly stands out as a unique entity because it's full of contradictions.

On the one hand we're one of the most tirelessly hardworking, committed and resourceful minds. But on the other hand, we seem to often fall short. There are many reasons for this and the biggest challenge comes from our core attitude, which is our "chalta-hai attitude" and this reflects in everything we do. It is not restricted to just the blue-collar worker, but exists in all strata of society from the top echelons to the lower rungs.

Hemant Shah

To me, what stands out here is that despite the ingenuity of the Indian mind, which is outstanding and not lacking in any aspect, our innovations get labelled "jugaad". We create something with immense intrinsic value, but our "chalta-hai attitude" often results in us overlooking the minute details, and ending up with an unpolished product that doesn't fulfil it's potential. In fact, we must not just aim for good, we must excel. Our make-do attitude means we miss out on opportunities to improve... constantly.

This stems from the top, even established companies in India have missed a trick by not training and driving their staff and employees to chase personal growth and become better – as individuals, in their attitudes and in their knowledge of the daily tasks they perform. In my 30+ years of business, there has only been one outstanding company that is the exception to the norm. The TATA GROUP have consistently gone the other way by actively developing and coaching their teams in every one of their businesses and ventures, setting an excellent example for others to follow.

thoughtshots is my way of sharing knowledge and information I have amassed over the years on various aspects of what makes a person better in both their personal as well as their professional lives. Through articles, podcasts, videos and webinars on this platform I will cover various areas of personal well being like social etiquette, personal grooming, managing stress, balancing family-work and much more. I will also build and post content that I hope will enhance your professional careers. This will not be done with industry specific content on the technical aspects of a job – whether an operator or an accountant – but will cover points that address the finer needs for a successful career. For instance how to dress and groom for office, how to deal with colleagues, bosses, customers, vendors, how to close the deal for sales persons whether retail or business, how to deal with toxic colleagues, and several such topics.