Me Too? No Thank You!

A term I first became aware of whilst studying advertising & marketing, decades before its more mainstream interpretation, symbolising sexual harassment in recent parlance. Most marketers invest a lot of time & effort in liberating their brands from the forgettable trap of ‘yet another generic’ and try to cast, or recast, their labels as noticeable, memorable, clutter-breaking icons. Examples that spring to mind include Colgate, Xerox & Maggi, which have dominated collective consciousness to the extent that it has made it almost impossible for other brands to find a place!

 

The analogies we can draw from this realm of ad & marketing, juxtaposed with us human individuals, and the benefits that can be derived are staggering. Which individual wouldn’t want to be as distinctly top-of-mind recall for a critical mass of people in the same way as Colgate!

 

In an age of cloning, sameness, and a desperate need to belong and be accepted, more and more individuals are conforming. Either to family, society, cohorts and peer groups, sometimes compromising certain ideals, at other times, refashioning their beliefs to fit in with the popular majority. 

 

How then is an individual to truly stand out, stand apart, make an impact, and not be entirely swallowed by and lost in the mire of me-tooness? By applying certain marketing fundamentals.

 

On some prior occasions when I have suggested this, and I even use a few of these tools to great effect (If I may say so myself) in my psychological counselling sessions, I have been accused of robbing some of the authenticity from a deep & inward self-reflective excavation to unearth one’s true purpose. I appreciate that concern. My submission however, is that given a scenario in which, for the most part, there is no journey taking place at all, inward, outward, explorative, introspective; at least through what I am suggesting, a young person can build an ‘outward’ differentiated brand-identity for the self – and who knows, through that process, even stumble upon some genuine insights!

 

Which brings me to the simple tool I’d like to share in and through this little write-up. It is essentially a mildly revised version of a fairly standardised and commonplace Marketing Exercise called a SWOT Analysis – adapted by me to better suit a human individual rather than an inanimate brand.

Driveway Devi Life-Guidance Counselling Client SWOT-ANALYSIS

Let us begin with a basic SWOT Analysis of the Self. SWOT, as you might know, elaborates on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats. To help you get started, I am sharing a SWOT analysis of myself in the table below:

Strengths	Communication Skills	Empathy	People’s Skills
Weaknesses	Erratic Mental Health/Moods	Erratic Physical Health	Tendency To Procrastinate
Opprtunities	Social-Emotional Learning Curricula at Schools	Therapeutic Communications Programs at Corporations	Mental Health Content
Threats	Deficit of Will/Time at Schools, Colleges, Corporations	Artificial Intelligence	Established Players

Conclusions:

1. Partnering with a well-regarded, allied organisation that will boost the national profile
2. Tapping into networks of alma mater, clubs and other individuals I’m friendly with
3. Greater focus on steady medication, diet & exercise for longevity & stability of physical & mental health
4. Advocacy of AI-related deficits in the realm of Mental Health & Social Emotional Learning
5. Proprietary Annual Property that becomes synonymous with Mental-Health + DD + Kartik 

You will notice that in the above sample of my own SWOT Analysis, I have written 3 Strengths, 3 Weaknesses, 3 Opportunities and 3 Threats. I have then carefully analysed these findings and written a 5 Point Conclusion, with specific Steps to best capitalise on the Strengths & Opportunities whilst mitigating the negative impact of the Weaknesses & Threats. 

Kartik Bajoria – Founder, Driveway Devi Life Guidance

Member Good Schools Alliance

Productive Failure - Swati Tripathi

Introduction

Failure is something that most people want to avoid. We all like to succeed, but sometimes failure can teach us more than success ever could. The idea of Productive Failure shows that making mistakes and struggling with problems can actually help us learn deeply and understand better.

In schools, teachers use productive failure to encourage students to think hard, explore ideas, and discover answers on their own. Instead of giving the correct answer immediately, teachers let students try, fail, and learn from their errors.

Meaning of Productive Failure

The term Productive Failure means "learning from failure in a useful way." When students try to solve a problem and do not succeed at first, that struggle becomes productive because it helps them think deeply. Later, when the correct method is explained, students understand it more clearly and remember it for a long time.

In simple words, productive failure means learning through struggle. It teaches that failure is not the end, but the beginning of better understanding.

Purpose of Productive Failure

1. To help students become independent thinkers.
2. To make learning more meaningful and practical.
3. To build problem-solving and creative skills.
4. To teach students that failure is a natural part of learning.
5. To develop confidence and patience.

Process of Productive Failure

The productive failure approach usually has four main steps:

1. Challenging Task:

The teacher gives a problem that is new or difficult, so students have to think in different ways.

2. Independent or Group Work:

Students try to solve the problem individually or in small groups. They may make mistakes or fail, but they discuss and explore ideas.

3. Reflection and Guidance:

After the students' attempts, the teacher discusses their methods and explains the correct way to solve the problem.

4. Deep Learning:

Because of the earlier struggle, students now understand why the correct solution works. They remember it better.

Example from Class 8

Imagine a Class 8 maths class. The teacher gives a problem:

"Find the area of an irregular shape that looks like a half circle attached to a rectangle."

At first, students try to use different formulas but get confused. Some try the wrong formula, and some calculate only part of the shape. They do not get the correct answer.

Then, the teacher asks them to share what they tried and discuss their methods. Finally, the teacher shows that the problem can be solved by dividing the shape into two parts: first, find the area of the rectangle, then find the location of the half circle, and add both.

Now the students understand clearly why their earlier attempts failed and how to approach similar problems in the future.

Their failure was productive—it helped them learn deeply.

Three-Layer Framework of Productive Failure

1. Task Layer:

The task should be challenging but not impossible. It should make students think and explore.

2. Participation Layer:

Students should actively take part, discuss ideas, and share their reasoning with classmates.

3. Social Surroundings Layer:

The classroom atmosphere should be positive, where students feel safe to make mistakes and learn from them.

Importance of Productive Failure in Learning

It helps students think critically instead of memorising answers.

It builds teamwork and communication skills.

It makes learning more interesting and long-lasting.

It teaches that making mistakes is normal and valuable.

 Example

In science class, students can make a simple water filter using sand, pebbles, and charcoal. The first time, their filtered water is still dirty. They try again, changing the order of materials or adding more layers. After several tries, they succeed. This is productive failure — their early failures helped them understand how filtration actually works.

Conclusion

Productive failure is a powerful way of learning. It shows that failing is not a sign of weakness but a step toward success. When students face challenges, make mistakes, and then learn from them, they become stronger thinkers and more confident learners.

As the saying goes, "Every failure is a lesson, and every lesson brings success closer." Productive failure reminds us that learning is not about being perfect — it's about trying, failing, learning, and growing.

Swati Tripathi 

Sunbeam Gramin School

Sharmila Vijayvargi: SPEAKING

Speaking is sharing of thoughts, ideas and knowledge verbally.  Speaking adds value to our expressions and improves our communication skills. A good orator is always a treat to the ears.

Speaking, alike reading helps to organise our thoughts and communicate well and thus leading to better expressions. Speaking improves pronunciation, brings clarity of words and helps in understanding different sounds.

Speaking has a positive impact on your personality. It helps in communicating with peers, groups, students and everyone around. Speaking does not mean using only one language. Like reading, speaking in multiple languages makes one an effective communicator. Speaking is expressing feelings and thus should be done in the language in which one is most comfortable.

Speaking helps children learn better and faster because of the practices and approaches adopted by educators/teachers for pre-schoolers including saying aloud songs, rhymes, the story actually leads to powerful learning.  Learning through speaking at a young age helps the child has a clear speech which ultimately leads to better and effective communication.

Speaking has a lot of benefits. It helps children put out their opinion and suggestions during discussions. Organising activities such as debate, extempore helps bring about clarity and coherence of thoughts in children leading to better communication. Speaking helps students develop a habit of reacting and asking questions and builds critical thinking. It also helps shy and introvert students come out of their comfort zone and speaking leads to develop listening skills simultaneously.

Sharmila Vijayvargi

The Fabindia School, svi4fab@gmail.com