Twitter Interview
Submitted by jobzing on 13 February 2012
with H.Natarajan (@HNatarajan)
The thirty sixth twitter interview was given by Mr. H.Natarajan on 09th February 2012.
Introduction:
- Currently he is the Executive Editor of www.cricketcountry.com – a JV between the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Mail.com Media Corporation – one of the biggest cricket portals in the world.
- Earlier, he was the All India Deputy Sports Editor of the undivided Indian Express and later Senior Editor of Wisden/Cricinfo.
- A widely-travelled sports writer, he has covered Tests and One-Day Internationals against every country, besides several other international sports in India and overseas.
- His articles and columns have appeared in some of the biggest newspapers, magazine and websites in the world.
- Despite three decades in the mainstream media, he is a great believer in the potential and future of Social Media and has a large following on both Facebook (Natarajan Hariharan) and Twitter ( @hnatarajan ).
- He is a motivational trainer and lectures on personal development, leadership, team building and helps tap the latent potential of people.
- He also helps mentoring people on selective basis.
Jobzing.com would like to thank him for his time....
Now the Twitter Interview starts....
Q1: What have the last few years taught you?
[ H.Natarajan ] - That the world is moving at a frenetic pace and many – including intelligent people – have not yet fathomed the enormity of the changes around. For example, today’s parents who got advice from their parents to go and get a good education, great marks, and then a secure job with a fat salary are now imparting the same advice to their children. There is no job security. Go to any corporate office and check out how very few 40+ people are around. That should effectively prove the point I’m making. You can go to good universities, earn good grades and get a well-paying job, but the job itself is not secure. Your education and past record have little to do with keeping your job. What matters is how much you are costing the company when it comes to the crunch. Consequently, what the changing world has taught me is to:
a. Become an entrepreneur at the earliest
b. One needs to be multi-skilled
What I have also learnt is that Google is today one of the biggest educator. When somebody asks me which University I’m from, my reply is: “Google University”. The reason is simple. Despite a good educational background, my biggest source of learning has been Google and the Internet.
Q2: What is the toughest thing you have to do professionally?
[ H.Natarajan ] - Though I have been spared so far that executive decision, sacking somebody would be the toughest thing to do professionally. Especially, if one has to sack somebody who has been a thorough pro but has to exit because of the company’s financial compulsions. Personally, my decision to leave a major media house like Indian Express which gave me name, fame, exposure and clout was not easy. But looking back, it was the right decision. I always follow my heart.
Q3: If you could take back one career decision, what would it be?
[ H.Natarajan ] - I would have turned entrepreneur in my early 20s, after just a few years of being in a job. Entrepreneur has its own set of challenges, but I have never been afraid of facing challenges. Entrepreneurship gives you control of your life which a job cannot. Even a seemingly simple thing like taking a family vacation is not in an employee’s hands.
Q4: If you were written about in the front page of a newspaper, what would the headline say?
[ H.Natarajan ] - The Man Who Showed Passion & Pride In Whatever He Undertook.
Q5: How good are you REALLY at handling change?
[ H.Natarajan ] - Let’s face it: Nobody likes changes. In other words, everybody would prefer to be in their respective comfort zones. It could be something as simple as not liking to sit between two people in the backseat of a car. Those who don’t keep pace with time become dinosaurs. If you are still in the gramophone record era, you are a dinosaur. If you are still listening to music on walkman, you are probably the last few remaining on earth before extinction. Whether you like it or not, you have to embrace progressive changes. Some of the changes you don’t even note. For example, the post offices got wiped out by a modern communication tool - email. Comfort zones often lead to paralysing death. As I said earlier, I embrace challenges. So I would like to believe I’m not bad at handling changes.
Q6: Can you handle when other people say NO? And how?
[ H.Natarajan ] - It can hurt if the “no” was unexpected. But one has to take a reality check – maybe, my expectations were misplaced or the other person changed. But one must accept and move on. It would be insane to think that we will get everything our way all our life. We have to be practical.
Q7: What hardships did you have to overcome during your pursuit of your career?
[ H.Natarajan ] - When I compare many of my peers whom I grew up reading as a school and college student, I consider myself fortunate to rise pretty rapidly in my career and get big opportunities very early and very young. I truly feel blessed in terms of my career growth and compensation package.
Q8: What quality you admire in co-workers?
[ H.Natarajan ] - People who show passion, positivity and pride; those who show commitment and sincerity; those who are energetic and enthusiastic in going the extra mile in doing justice to the job. I’m also a great believer in team spirit and consider myself the first of the equals.
Q9: How do you stay current?
[ H.Natarajan ] - I’m a glutton for knowledge. I work for about 15-18 hours every day and feel 24 hours is too less in a day. I also have varied and huge circle of friends from all walks of life from who act a source of enlightenment for me.
Q10: How would you describe a perfect job?
[ H.Natarajan ] - I believe in being effective rather than perfect. I would rather be imperfectly effective than perfectly ineffective. I have always been in a perfect job because I pursued my passion than a pay packet. If you love what you are passionate about, you would be much closer to creating a ‘perfect job’, though perfection is relative and often a myth. If you are excited about the next day’s work day after day, then that would be as close to perfection as one can hope to get. Having said that, I would like to reiterate what I had said earlier: for me entrepreneurship always scores over a job, however fancy the designation and however fancy the salary.
Last Updated On : 13/02/2012
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