Way back in 1991, I had just passed out of college and picked up a job in a marketing firm. A large pharmaceutical company was launching a drug for heart patients. I was supposed to interview 100 doctors (general practitioners) and 50 surgeons. I was given the list of names, telephone numbers, and addresses along with the questionnaires.
We were trained adequately for this job, so I began with much enthusiasm. The first day I telephoned and took appointments with five doctors. The first doctor that I approached asked me as to how much time would it take. ‘Five minutes’, I replied. So, he set a timer and asked me to fire away.
I rushed through the questions and as soon as four minutes were up, he asked me to get up and start making a move. I kept scribbling and asking him the questions till he banged the door in my face.
I decided to quit then and there but after a while reconsidered and continued with the second.
This doctor was extremely kind. He explained everything peacefully. I felt very pepped up, but didn’t know what was awaiting me. The next two doctors kicked me out before I could explain anything.
I was completely disheartened but decided to continue with the last appointment for the day.
He was a surgeon and asked me to meet him in the hospital. He told me that he was very busy that day and the only 5 minutes he could give me was the time while he would be changing his surgical attire and asked me to start.
I rapidly went through the questions and before I finished the last one, he had left the room. His blood-stained scrubs were all around me and the smell in the room was nauseating.
By now I had completely lost all my bravado. The next day I went to the office and handed back all the papers and told the manager that I just wanted to quit. He tried to talk me out of it and persuaded me to rethink on my decision.
He explained to me that ‘Success is not a high jump or a long jump, it’s a marathon of steps’.
He even gave me two poems to read: one was ‘Don’t Quit’ (author is unknown) and the other one was ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling.
He also gave me copies of a letter from the pharmaceutical company highlighting the importance of the research. He also went through the list of my appointments and spoke to the doctors, after which I got a much better response from them. I read and re-read those poems and went back and completed the list of doctors and surgeons.
20 years have passed since this incident but even today the motivation provided by my manager is etched in my memory. His gift a ‘never say die’ attitude has been an integral part of my nature.
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