Interviewed by Aniisu Verghese on Personal Branding

 Some months ago I was interviewed by Communications specialist Aniisu Verghese on my approach to personal branding 

You can find the transcript of the interview here.

As I share in the interview I have mixed feelings about the term. Since I studied organizational behavior and HR, I am aware of the term of branding and not very comfortable with it. According to marketing literature, a person is hugely complex and there are also group dynamics involved when it comes to branding.  

You all can also find the video of the interview

My blogging and social media journey over the last decade

The Smart Manager magazine last October asked me to write an article on how I started blogging and my eventual career change into the "Social HR" area.

Thought you might like to read it too :)

Joining People Matters as head of Digital Content and Community

Here's a bit of news. Remember I told you that I had joined a firm as head of HR? Well, that experiment did not go too well, and I quit in two months.

Here's the new bit of news.

I am joining specialist business magazine People Matters where I'll be doing a tonne of stuff (writing stories like this), but primarily would be responsible for Digital Content and Community. Apart from being a magazine, People Matters does syndicated research like this Gender Inclusion Survey report {pdf file}, events (like this Total Rewards conclave this Friday in Gurgaon) as well as training for HR professionals.

Wish me luck :-)

My interview at Blogadda

The folks at Blogadda - the Indian blogging community- recently interviewed me on my experiences as a blogger and my understanding on the Indian workplace and social media

You can read the whole interview here

Getting back to a corporate HR role

Image via Wikipedia
Today I start another phase of my career. After 4 years of freelance consulting and then being a part of 2020 social - I am headed back to a corporate HR role.


I am joining an aviation and travel group as AGM- HR and will be heading the HR function for the four companies under the larger umbrella.

So what does that mean for this blog?

I'll continue posting about social software and how it could be a tool for designing the next generation of social organizations - but I'll also blog increasingly about day to day HR stuff like recruiting and performance management, succession planning and policies and process. 


Thanks for continuing to read this blog. I need your best wishes as I embark on this career journey - so leave your comments and thoughts in the comments below

For my day to day thoughts you can follow me on twitter @GautamGhosh

Connecting with you

Hi, you there :-)

You  - the person who reads and sometimes agrees, and sometimes disagrees. I want to hear from you.

Leave a comment. Just to say "Hi" :-) Either on this blog post or on Facebook. Or on Twitter. Or on Google Buzz. Or connect with me on Linkedin. Or mail me.

In addition to the "Hi" you could tell me what you like/dislike in this blog - I would love to hear from you.

Recovering from an Eye Surgery

In case you were wondering what's happening on this blog, here's the update if you're not connected on Twitter or on Facebook

I was diagnosed last week with a Retinal Detachment in my left eye- no idea how it happened - and had to undergo a surgery the very next day (last Wednesday) for Scleral Buckling of the retinal wall.

The doctor tells me that it will take 10-15 days for my vision to return to any sense of normalcy

Learning for the whole thing: Don't take anything for granted - specially your health... take care of yourself - you never know what can happen.

Hopefully the regular blogging will resume shortly. 

The Letter I didn't write

Dear Baba,

It's been almost a year since you left us. On Sunday we were at Gaya, doing some rituals so that your soul is at peace. I don't know if the rationalist in you would have protested, or whether your spiritual side would have approved. However, knowing that you had conducted the same rituals for Dadu, I don't think you would have objected to it.

I also don't know where you are now. If as the rationalists say your consciousness no longer exists - or as the religious folks say your essence is somewhere, hopefully in a better place.

This letter is irrespective of that fact. This is meant for you, but I am writing it primarily for my own self. These are all the things that I learnt from you, as my father, as a friend and as a person I admired and looked up to.

1. To take risks. You encouraged me after the momentous class 12 exams to explore careers off the beaten track. And then when after two and a half year of working I arrived back home, resigning from my job claiming I wanted to do something more with my life, you did not look at me incredulously but encouraged me. Sometimes I think you had more faith in me than I did in myself.
2. To be selfless. In your own life you had sacrificed your studies to take the role of a father figure for your 3 brothers and 3 sisters. And they have always looked up to you for that role. And you never looked at that decision with any bitterness or rancor. No intellectualising about missed opportunities or chances. Just a duty as the eldest of the family.
3. To be strict and yet encouraging. When I was growing up I was scared of you. I thought you were the scariest dad one could have. And when you did praise me I thought you were overdoing it. Whether it was about my writing skills or about the praise that my science teacher lavished on me in standard 6. Now when I look back, you ensured that I could take positive and negative news in equal measure.

Good bye

And we continue to miss you.

Identity issues in recession

The Wall Street Journal reports

The deepening recession is exacting punishment for a psychological vice that masquerades as virtue for many working people: the unmitigated identification of self with occupation, accomplishment and professional status. This tendency can induce outright panic as more and more people fear loss of employment.
But the science behind cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to change self-destructive thinking and behavior, suggests that that work can bring long-lasting rewards.

Maybe we all should start looking at the other identities that we have apart from our work identities. Identity as family members, larger members of the community, hobby groups, friends.

Thanks for the support

Thanks to all the wonderful people who mailed, called or left messages to convey their best wishes for my dad's recovery.
I wish I could share some good news with you but the fact is that he's battling COPD in the ICU along with a secondary infection of pneumonia. It's a tough time for him and for all of us, so thanks for all messages of support.
It makes me strong.