The (Missed) Europe Trip
Life is strange and so is the human body. And of course, the same can be said about fate and luck.
Whats with this whole body hair thing? And let's suppose that there is some biological need for all that hair, why facial hair?? And let's assume that even that is required, what's with the world's (in fact humanity's) preference for the clean shaven look. There are times when I felt that it was a well planned marketing illusion created by razor companies.
But then I have seen myself in the mirror when I have been unshaven for 3-4 days (ya, just 3-4 days) and I did not like wee bit of myself. The clean shaven look is definitely 'neat' besides maybe sexy or professional.
I generally shave alternate days and then occasionally it just happens that I miss or forget or am too much of a hurry to shave on the third day and I end up with quite a stubble! Don't like it but haven't got around to using an electric shaver (if I had, I would have kept one in my office bag always)
This alternate day shaving also has its problems … cos the week has even number of days. It is not as if I would end up with a shave every Sunday and often it is simply difficult to know whats gonna come up in office.
This was a long time ago … I had gone to the office and it was unfortunately a '3rd day' where I missed the regular shave and ended up with a stubble in office. My manager saw me in office, shook his head and remarked 'you missed a chance' and walked off. I did not get head-or-tail of what was going on and I did not see him for the rest of the day. I did not wonder about his strange reaction …
The next day, the real story came out when talking to a colleague of mine. A senior manager from our overseas office had come visiting our office the previous day and had requested one of our team members from my manager to go along with him for an important / critical / deal-closing meeting with one of our top clients. My manager had my name in mind since I had experience on the subject matter at hand and would have been best suited for the meeting. BUT, the stubble on my face (which he said was 'unprofessional' and 'un-presentable') discouraged him and he sent my colleague for the presentation (who was good but I was the best on that subject).
Well, it was definitely a chance missed to impress our senior manager as well as the client but I did not really realize what I had missed until the end of the year. My colleague who went along gained the client confidence (and also that of our senior manager) and he got the responsibility of that project. Although a small project, it involved meeting the senior members from the client organization … who were spread across 6 different countries in Europe !! !
That's what the missed-shave cost me … a freaking Euro-Trip !!
The rules are pretty simple and straightforward: You need to write a post of 300 words or more on the topics mentioned below. Tag your friends too at the end of the post. There's lots of goodies in store, including an Apple iPad, a MotoG phone and gift vouchers aplenty.
Open your hearts and write about the impact that a stubble or lack of it, has had on the life.
Here are the themes for your blog post-
- (Missed) Opportunities – Stories or instances where you missed out on an opportunity because of a ungroomed look. (Like I did above)
- Luck or Confidence? Will you leave your fate in the hands of destiny or will you step up and say yes to a well- groomed face to be at your best everyday? #WillYouShave?
Ladies, you have a say in this too! Write a blog post about the men in your life on the following themes.
- An instance when a stubble came in the way of a man's chance to make a good impression.
- An instance when a well groomed look ensured that they struck gold on an opportunity given to them.
I am extending an invitation to my fellow-bloggers (tagging them) to write their own story on #WillYouShave … (Don't forget to mention in your post that I tagged you J )
The (clean-shaven) Gentlemen - Roshan, Nirav, Tushar, Shoumik, Shwetabh
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