devinderthegr8

I was incredibly proud of working at Apple, and a bit embarrassed! Till I met Shunu Sen. Let me first explain the embarrassment. Representing Apple opened access to CEOs, movie stars, top politicians, the who's who! I proudly interacted with them, but was secretly apprehensive that they might want to visit my office. Because I worked out of a humble 10x10 cabin in a business centre. Devoted Apple fans, often wanted to visit. And I usually replied with an evasive, "Yes, sure. I'll arrange that sometime." Shunu Sen was a marketing legend with stellar accomplishments as a Marketing Director for Unilever India. He was now setting up his company, Quadra Advisory. "Come meet me. I want only Macs for my company", he said on the phone. I found him exactly how I had imagined him to be, sharp, witty, quirky. "Do you know who is the singer?", he asked, as he saw me tapping my feet to the music playing in his office. "Meat Loaf", I replied. "Nice! I think we can do business together!", he said. And within a couple of days, he placed an order for iMacs and iBooks. A few months later, I invited him to deliver the keynote at the latest iMac launch. To my delight, he accepted. He had started using a wheelchair. On the launch day, as I accompanied him from the entrance of Hotel Le Meridian to the event hall, he asked the dreaded question, "Hey, I haven't ever visited your office. I would love to come over for a coffee." I hemmed and hawed, wondering if my business centre entrance is even wide enough for the wheelchair. It was best to be upfront. "Shunu, I wouldn't like to disappoint you. It's a very small office. Let's meet somewhere outside." He suddenly stopped his wheelchair. Looked up at me with those peering eyes through the large glasses, and said, "Sure. But never measure your worth with the size of your office or the grandness of your title. Your worth is measured by the value you create for your employer, society and the world." And then, he wheeled on to deliver a brilliant keynote. The lesson has stayed with me ever since! Stay focused on the value you create. Everything else, eventually falls in place.