Eshna Kutty, earners-learners & rejection
Issue No 18
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Eshna Kutty - the ‘overnight success’
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128… That is how the unread messages were piling up every 15 minutes. Her video has 1.4 million views and growing exponentially. Everyone was forwarding the same video to Eshna Kutty of her hula hoop dance while wearing a saree and sneakers. She was an overnight sensation. Not really. It has taken her ten years to be an overnight sensation.
She taught herself by watching YouTube videos, playing them in slow motion and then practising it. Besides the 10,000 hours of practice that it took to become an overnight sensation, Eshna has been teaching people how to hoop. But what I want you to look at is just how she plans the class. She has a waiting list of 1200 people for each class. For anyone who is going to teach an online class, says Eshna, ‘online classes are effective ONLY when you build the personal connection. That is 70% of the success of online classes.’ Onboarding (and the end of the class) is the MOST important part of online learning. But then we have another story in this newsletter that will tell you why ability is not enough to succeed. Hoop, hoop hurray for you Eshna.
Watch the Eshna Kutty Interview and decide if Eshna has the other two qualities beyond talent: <click and watch it>
If you like it, do encourage this sensation by sharing her story
2. All earners are not learners
Harvard has an endowment fund of $40bn. They are offering online classes. A year of undergrad education at Harvard will cost you $72,000 ie $280,000 (for 4 years) to call yourself an undergraduate. To get an MBA from Harvard costs you $225,204 and the classes will be online. Would you value the learning experience higher or lower if classes are not on campus for a college like Harvard with $40bn in the bank?
What it means is that the learner and the faculty need to look at 3 big shifts
The learner is distracted and often struggling to stay focused.
The facilitators have never been taught about how to make online learning work. They have to design the learning experience.
In importance of creating content that amplifies what you are teaching (I build my slides using Adobe Photoshop. This is the summary slide from my presentation).
If you want to learn more, here is a free session being offered at the HRTechFestival in Singapore on 30 Sep from 9:30am to 10:30am India Time <
Click here to Register>If you want to share it with others who might be interested, here’s how you can share it
3. Ability alone does not define talent
Really successful people tend to have higher levels of ability, likability, and desire to achieve even after they have reached the top. Ability is in part domain-specific as it involves the technical expertise and knowledge that people have acquired in a field. Most people underestimate the value of likability in their career. When you make a mistake, people are likely to give you a second chance if they like you. Else they will pull out a rule book and tell you why you have not done what you must.
“The key component of ability is learnability or the capacity to learn new things – it is a function of IQ and curiosity. Likability is mainly about emotional intelligence and people-skills, and these are pivotal to success no matter what field you are in. Finally, drive is the dispositional level of ambition – a person’s general desire to compete and the ability to remain dissatisfied with one’s achievements.” Dig deeper
When we say someone is ‘talented’, we usually forget that likability (people skills/ Emotional Intelligence etc) and ambition (desire to keep improving when after being successful) make up two-third of the talent equation. Ability (knowledge, skills etc.) is the minimum requirement for any job. Having a degree in engineering is the minimum requirement to be an engineer, is table stakes for most people. Between likability and motivation which one would you recommend as a superpower?
4. Stuff to read or watch
There is no one here who has not experienced rejection. From Oscar award winners to entrepreneurs, everyone experiences rejections multiple times before they succeed and even after they experience success. Some people crumble when they get rejected. Others bounce back from the same scenario. When I was looking for a publisher for my 1st book (Mediocre But Arrogant), the manuscript got rejected by every possible publisher. Even Harper Collins who later published 3 of my books had rejected the manuscript. An unknown publisher took a bet on the manuscript.
Ambi Parmeswaran, the author, is an adman and author. He talks about how to handle the inner critic once you get rejected. Silencing your inner critic will probably take more work than you think. Ambi’s book talks about how to build a great ‘rejection processing system’ for yourself that allows you to spring back from the rejection without feeling that you have to give up. Having experienced rejection countless times, I found the book very useful. It takes examples from sports, business, academics, entrepreneurship and more to tell you that you are not the only one who has got rejected.
Creative people often lack Creative Confidence. If you are one of them I would absolutely recommend reading this review to learn how to build your creative confidence. I put three neat ideas here <read it>
I did this sketch this morning. Like it? Do leave a comment and tell me. It will boost my creative confidence. Serious.
Watch his TED talk that has been viewed more than 5 million times <watch it now>
One of the subscribers Rashi brings out a newsletter called Decks and Diapers. She is a consultant and a new mom. That accounts for the blog name. One post, in particular, caught my attention: If a newly married woman’s wedding ring (or mangalsutra) is prominently visible during a job interview, does it lower her chances of getting selection? Here is the answer <read it> Does it lower the chances? Have you experienced this first hand? Leave a comment and share your experience.
5. Will informal learning replace formal learning?
In this episode of the podcast Unabashed, Neha Pant, senior knowledge advisor at SHRM and I discuss whether there is something that might change the way we view learning in the corporate world. Is informal learning the under-leveraged learning opportunity? What needs to work before self-directed learning goes mainstream.
How to take your learning strategy to the digital world <Read this>
Listen to this clip <listen here>
This article is one of the most downloaded from abhijitbhaduri.com. It has 25 ideas for informal learning that you can use today - at home and at work. <Find out which ones you have not tried>
Listen to the podcast and find out <Click this to listen>
That’s all for this week. See you next Monday at 9:00am IST. Stay curious. Stay connected.
Thanks for your kind words about Spring - Bouncing Back From Rejection
Great pieces of knowledge. Very interesting and insightful.