My Last post of 2007

2007 was an unforgettable year for me. Maybe, when I am an old man, playing with my grandchildren, I'll tell them about this year. I did say, maybe.

It was the year when the actual meaning of being an independent consultant actually hit me, and my own shortcomings were exposed. Cash was running out and I was staring closely at bankruptcy. It was then that I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and decided to join a firm. In June a large technology and management consulting firm made me an offer to be part of their Leadership Development group, but it would have meant uprooting the family and moving cities, and while the offer was interesting I was forced to say no to it.

Then finally in October I decided to join Tvarita Consulting, and the best part of being here is that it combines the best things of both life as an independent person as well as being part of a larger organization. For me the most fulfilling thing is the ability to convert business leads due to the capability of a larger and experienced team. The ability to join a co-worker for a coffee and brainstorm over ideas is something that an independent consultant often misses.

On the blog front, it has been a great year. I've had more traffic in this year than all previous years combined. And yes, my AdSense earnings went up considerably too ;-)

The highlight of the year was that thanks to the blog, a lot of media folks discovered me and I got a fair share of exposure in the news. Thanks folks, you know who you are :)

One of the most interesting things about blogging is meeting folks you follow virtually, in person. This year I met Rashmi Bansal and Jim Stroud in person during their visits to Hyderabad :-) It's amazing how known a person feels when you have been following their blog posts over a period of time. Unfortunately missed meeting Dina Mehta during her visit. And one jobsite CEO actually took to blogging after our conversation when we met in Hyderabad. Sanjeev, I hope you get back to blogging more regularly :)

Some other friends started to blog too. Prasad Kurian, my senior from XLRI, for example, has some of the most insightful takes on OD and HR. His take on issues in organizations is a must read for HR and non-HR folks. Ishita Bardhan, a junior from XLRI, on the other hand posted only four times and this post by her got quoted verbatim in Paulo Coelho's newsletter.

I also started Facebooking and Twittering this year and thanks to them know a lot more about my friends, like how Australian blogger Michael Specht was watching Australia whallop India at the MCG test match today (ouch!). I also added my blogger rss feed to feedburner and got a good idea of my total subscribers now :) Also created a community on MyBlogLog and you can join if you want to connect with other readers of the blog. My daily links through del.icio.us are available on my personal blog. You can also follow the blog posts I find interesting through my Google Reader shared items page.

It never ceases to amaze me how blogging can help one connect with people whom you might have never met. I mean, how else can one describe my connecting with Ford Harding, the professional services rainmaking guru?

As the year ends, I received some good news. HRWorld thinks this blog is amongst the top 25 HR blogs worldwide.

Thanks for giving me your attention through the whole of 2007 and I hope I keep coming up with stuff to deserve your attention in 2008 too.

Wish you a very prosperous and hope-fulfilling new year !