A Different but very fruitful Alumni Meeting

Over this week end there was an interesting get together. It was a strange one to me . I will tell you why I felt strange but very happy to be part of the gathering. I have heard of many Alumni gatherings .. School batch mates gathering , College batch mates , Some Club members gathering etc., This get together was a meeting of people who once worked for a Company ( majority of them have moved on ) and a few who are still working with the same company. It was a well planned and well attended get together. Although close to 100 signed up , around 56 of them turned up to meet each other. Most of us worked with this organisation in the early 1990's and had lot of bonding for each other. We all worked in Chennai or through Tamilnadu and later in major metros and the Company Headquarters in Mumbai.

It was very nostalgic. Some of us were seeing each other after nearly 15- 18 years. Appearances changed. Hair loss , Weight gain being very prominent. People have moved on , some have very successful business , some had climbed up the ladder in their work , many were stable and happy and a small few had fallen wayside due to addiction to the bottle and lack of focus. Children had grown up , some employed , some married etc., .. There were few worried fathers who had teenagers to deal with .. Lot of catching up in a couple of hours

The group was quick to get in to a huddle and talk about not just meeting every year butengaged in a serious discussion on how we can give back to the Society. I will write about the conclusions of these discussions as well.
People had come in just for this event to Chennai from all over …. I wondered as to why this bonhomie feeling and the desire to connect ….
Some thoughts --
1. For most of us in the group, the organisation that we worked for , was our First Employment.
2. We were a small group, when we started in the late 1980's. . Isn't Small always beautiful ?
3. We grew our careers with this Organisation.We understood how to grow our careers as well.
4. We all worked as "Teams". That was a strong message from the top. All of us were flexible and gave space to one another.
5. Lot of freedom to excel and to explore. We were backed all the way.
6. Because the group was small , everyone knew each other well and were more than just colleagues in office.
7. Each one carried tons of respect for each other.
8. Each one shared a great passion for the brand they worked for and till this day.
9. Carried a "Never say Die" attitude.
10. Leaders vision and thoughts will be executed , no matter what the hurdle is.
11. Care a damn about work life balance !!
12. Loved our jobs and what we did.
13. Always high on spirit and the need to succeed as a team

I have captured all that I felt was important for this group still being synergised. The group huddle that I mentioned wanted some actions on the need to give "back to society". Few volunteered to lead the effort. A Trust was agreed to be formed , where the contributions will be pooled in . The core team will lay down ground rules for channelling the donations received in to the right channel. Long term sustenance was the key. "Your truly" is leading the challenge of setting up a Group for each of us to connect , create the trust , make it functional legally and get moving. What a opportunity to do this and see the benefits actually helping out the common man….
Time well spent in meeting up and taking lead on this challenge.

PS : The Organisation we all worked for is Mirc Electronics Limited ( Onida ) . Although most of team who metalso work for Competitors ( LG, Samsung , National Panasonic ), their heart was still with Onida . Passion Prevails !!