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Successful in Businesses>Intellectual Snobs

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DQW Bureau
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Mani

Shankar

Aiyar's sarcastic comment about Ajay Maken that 'a Hans Raj

BA Pass graduate' would not know what 'dichotomous' means or would

not be able to spell it, has again given rise to the debate on

intellectual snobbery. The argument put forward is whether such

snobbery has any real value in today's world, and more importantly

whether you are successful in business really depends on whether you

are an alumnus of St Stephens or not.

My

answer

is a resounding NO. Not only such opinions smack of a colonial

outdated mindset, it also shows utter disrespect towards not only

other educational institutions (which may have their own spheres of

excellence) but also people who have been successful in different

walks of life. In this context, I would like to bring up the example

of our channel partners, many of whom are today shining examples of

entrepreneurship in modern India. Unfortunately, many of the channels

partners like poor Maken are often victims of this intellectual

snobbery. They are often treated as semi-literates (often that

concept is misplaced) and not given due respect commensurate with

their achievements. I would like to recount the examples of this

mindset even amongst my peers and superiors. When I was taking over

as Editor of DQ Week and DQ Channels, my superior asked

whether I would be able to adjust with these 'channel types'. And

after I have moved in and started writing editorials, many of my

peers felt that whatever I write would not be understood by my target

audience (read, the partners) and would go beyond their heads.

Both

are

fallacies as I have realized after my interactions with partners

over more than an year. For one, I found most of them highly educated

and cultured people and with eclectic tastes in words. It would not

just be unfair but even completely wrong to assume that they do not

understand editorials or literature which is slightly verbose or

cannot enjoy the nuances of an intellectual discussion. Even more

importantly, my point is even if some people are not 100% verbose,

does it detract from what they have achieved in their businesses? So

what finally counts as a measure of success in life-whether they

have a extremely strong lexicon or whether they have applied their

knowledge to move up in the business value chain.

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I

really

feel pity for these outdated morons still mired in an ancient

mindset (and I am sure not majority of Stephanians will be like them)

who themselves have achieved much less than those they make fun out

of their 'intellectual snobbishness'. Sometimes, I even feel there is

an inherent feeling of jealousy that drives them. I will always

salute the success of our partners and would always ignore the

minority who keep on harping about their intellectual quality. Is it

really so important to know what is 'dichotomous'? That is the

biggest dichotomy.



(rajneeshd@cybermedia.co.in)

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