On Sunday, March 6th 2011, some of you may have either been watching a movie, preparing yourself for the next work week, or simply just trying to stay dry after a days worth of continuous rain. What was CRY Philadelphia doing you ask? Surrounded by beautiful people and great food while enjoying everyone’s inner Kishore Kumars, Sonu Nigams and Asha Bhosles!

CRY Philadelphia is an Action Center of CRY America (CRY stands for ‘Child Rights and You’) which is a 501c3 registered nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Recently established in 2010, we kicked off the year 2011 with our inaugural fundraiser, ‘Karaoke Mixer 2011.’ It took place at Palace at the Ben, located in the heart of Philadelphia on 9th and Chestnut. From the mouth watering Tandoori Chicken appetizers and Samosas, tasty cocktails, henna and eyebrow threading and of course wonderful singing performed by our participants, everyone had a blast! We discovered some amazing singers among us who warmed our hearts with beautiful Hindi and Tamil film songs.

This event was a great success! CRY Philadelphia was able to create awareness and a sense of the situation that millions of underprivileged Indian children are in.  Way to go team!!

We would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Radesh Palakurthi, Director, Drexel University’s Hospitality Management School for making multiple contributions throughout the evening. Special thanks also to Girish Nandagopal, Neerav Mull and our friends at NetIP for the show of support, and all our other attendees, some who traveled all the way from Delaware and Baltimore to support us.

CRY Philadelphia is just one Action Center amongst 16 others located throughout the US, www.america.cry.org.   CRY America believes that children are citizens in their own right, entitled to the full spectrum of human rights. Help make a difference in your community. Become a volunteer of CRY Philadelphia.  Because as Rippan Kapur, Founder of CRY states, “What I can do I must do.”

To learn more – join our Facebook group

Facebook- CRY Philadelphia: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113804068638168

Email Us: cry.philly@gmail.com

Check Us Out Online: http://www.cryphiladelphia.org/

Indicorps is a non-partisan, non-religious, non-profit organization that encourages Indians around the world to actively participate in the progress of the country that defines their identity. Indicorps’ development-oriented programs are designed to build principled leadership, empower visionaries, inspire collective action, and unite India towards a common vision while creating opportunities for Indians and the Indian diaspora to serve India by applying their skills, time, and resources towards grassroots projects and sustainable strategies for change. The core fellowship program aims to inspire a new generation of global Indian leaders through structured grassroots public service opportunities. Indicorps projects embody a firm and demonstrated commitment to promoting peace, inclusiveness, secularism, and the empowerment of India’s people.

For more information, go to the IndiCorps website or fill out an application today!  Applications for the 2011-2012 fellowship are due March 27th.

Relax. This is not about romantic relationships. This is about professional relationships and how your career will stagnate without them. It is yet another area of professional development that we neglect because it is difficult to tie to measurable results. It is clear to see that networking might get you a new job, but it is not so clear to see how having solid relationships at work can bring about your next promotion.

It is an uncomfortable truth that providing results is only part of your job. The other part is how you achieve those results. Who you work with/through and how they feel about working with you makes an impact on the end product. Believe me, the leaders of your organization are watching.

There is most likely someone else in the world who can do your job, and if that person can do it AND be pleasant to work with, they will be every teams first choice. That person will hear more critical information sooner because people like to talk to them. That person will be invited to happy hour ‘meetings’ because they are able provide expertise and entertaining stories at the bar. That person will be be selected for special project teams because people like to work with them. You want to be that person.

This may be difficult for those of us who prefer to avoid the ‘warm and fuzzy’ side of work in favor of ‘getting the job done’. You may be asking, “why can’t people just appreciate my talent and be professional? This isn’t high school, it’s a job.” The answer is simple. We’re all human. Yes, even your evil boss is human. And even though I might need your brilliant mind for a task, if I can’t stand you, I’ll probably work with someone less brilliant. It’s human nature.

Try to build those professional relationships the same way you make friends at NetIP because it will only help you succeed. Be friendly and positive. Listen and empathize. Learn diplomacy. Smile.

Yes, it’s important to hone your talent, but it is just as important to surround yourself with talented people.

The NFL season is almost over, most of our favorite teams have lost… so we decided to celebrate the playoffs by hosting a game of football ourselves!  This has been our third year of hosting pick-up touch football games, and this weekend’s was probably the most “challenging”.  20 degree weather, noon start time and reminders of the previous night’s festivities didn’t stop the 15 people who showed up to play ball.  After 2 hours of running 50 yard sprints, smack talk and bruised body parts and egos, another successful day of sports concluded with lunch at a local Indian buffet.  We will definitely host future pick-up games, including football, basketball, volleyball and indoor sports like bowling.

Please feel free to come up with ideas, email blog@netipphiladelphia.org

We come from an achievement oriented culture and within the educational system it is easy to see how we succeed. Everything is measurable and we can easily see our capabilities translated into good grades. However succeeding in the workplace is not always so transparent. Sometimes you may see top performers passed over and mediocre workers promoted. It all comes back to professional development.

The thing about professional development is that it never stops, because shockingly, the world keeps changing. Many people don’t realize how much learning is a huge part of your career. And this kind of learning doesn’t come with cheat sheets. Nor is there an exam to cram for. It is on going, it is hard, and it is the only thing that you have total control over when it comes to your career.

I believe your degrees are the qualifying race for your career. The real training comes on the job, in the moment, and may not be apparent when you are experiencing it. If you are able to learn and develop all throughout your career, you will finish the career marathon faster than you thought possible. Keep your eyes open for opportunities to try something new and learn a different skill while you are excelling at your current job.

Professional development takes a level of humility that, let’s face it, our people do not love. You have to admit that you don’t know everything and are not god’s gift to our lovely planet. Relax, once you have the attitude covered, it is practically all smooth sailing. Mix in some new skills at every promotional level, throw in a couple of parallel job changes every now and again to expand your scope. Voila! You’ve shown your willingness to try new things and your growth potential will be limitless.

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