I want to talk about the theory of the ripple effect.

About how one event, no matter how small or big, can bring about drastic changes in someone’s life.

I just finished my engineering from a college in Bhopal and immediately after, got an offer letter from a company based in Indore.

I was going to be a business analyst there. Fresh out of college, and with no experience, my friend, Naman and I, decided to accept this offer. We thought it would be a good place to start building our career.

And so, we shifted to Indore.

After joining the company and going through the training, we realized that this was not what we had expected. This was a financial advisory company that provided tips, regarding the stock market to the public.

We were hired to sell the company’s various packages by calling numbers from a database.

With zero experience in sales, Naman and I couldn’t close a single deal.

Naman, however, had friends on the training team and he got himself enrolled in the quality team, where he had to audit the calls instead of making a sale.

I, however, was stuck in the sales team.

I started getting agitated.

Naman often told me that he would speak to his team and try to get me out of this. But nothing ever came through.

Now frustrated, I lied to my boss and told him that I had to leave for three months, for a sinus operation. This was obviously a lie, but he agreed.

I met Naman in the lobby as I was leaving that day.

He and a lady from the training team were whispering.

When I reached, Naman stopped talking instantly. He had a huge smile on his face.

“This is Manish.” He introduced me to her. I smiled politely.

“He’s the one I was telling you about. He’s going to be the perfect addition to our team.”

I froze.

Naman had done it.

He found a way to finally get me out of the sales team.

She smiled and told me that the job was mine if I wanted it. I just had to sign a few papers and the transfer would be as quick as tomorrow.

I blinked at them.

I didn’t know what to say, to either of them.

I’m not even sure what I was thinking when I said,

“Sorry. I have to go for a sinus operation, I’ll be back only after three months.”

Naman knew I was lying, I couldn’t face him.

In less than 10 minutes, I rejected the opportunity to shift to a team that would have definitely been the stepping stones to my growth here.

I went back to Bhopal and began studying for my MBA.

I got selected and enrolled for a PDGM in HR and Marketing.

I was chosen for an internship with one of the Big 4 and also earned a pre-placement offer for it.

All of this happened, because in less than 10 minutes, I made an instant decision.

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