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Guest Column: Life’s biggest stand-out success lesson
A ship is safe in the harbour. But, that is not what ships are built for: John A Shedd. Why does stand-out success elude the early achievers from making it finally in the game of life. Did they learn this ONE thing!
Think of that brightest one in your class back in school or college. Did they change the world or achieve extraordinary success?
Umpteen number of studies from time to time throw up statistics to show that achievers of the highest grades in schools and colleges as a ratio of proportion of overall extraordinary achievers almost always is weighed in favour of those who did not have those fancy grades and did not walk away with a gold medal at the passing out graduation ceremonies.
In his new book “Barking Up the Wrong Tree,” Eric Barker explores the maxims we use to discuss success. He finds that just as nice guys don’t always finish last, valedictorians rarely become stand-out successes.
Not to be misled – by standards of ordinary success, they do well and find good lives but they do NOT achieve extraordinary success to become billionaires who change the world.
Barker writes:
There was little debate that high school success predicted college success. Nearly 90 per cent are now in professional careers with 40 percent in the highest tier jobs. They are reliable, consistent and well-adjusted, and by all measures the majority have good lives.
But how many of these number-one high school performers go on to change the world, run the world or impress the world?
The answer seems to be clear: zero
Many academically brightest are acknowledged (even by themselves) to be as not the smartest students in their class but simply the hardest workers. Smartness is restricted to delivering against a teacher expectation rather than true ‘imbibing’ of the knowledge.
In fact, research demonstrates that students who truly enjoy learning the most often struggle in school, trying to trade off attention given to subjects about which they’re truly passionate with the demands of their other distractions (read coursework). While intellectual students struggle with this tension, grade achievers excel.
The most valued traits in school are self-discipline, conscientiousness and the ability to comply with rules. The ability to disrupt the world or make extraordinary breakthroughs however requires NOT these traits.
The education system thrives on and rewards (remember the class monitor/rep) developing ‘promising ones’ with a positive trait of ‘trying to please everyone’. It is also the key to failure.
I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time — Herbert Bayard Swope.
The high-grade achievers make it their business to be the best. ‘Best’ in real life is a label. It’s something someone decides for you – the ‘educational institution’ in case of students. ‘Better’ is more personal which pushes you to embrace ‘highs and lows’ to find that unique attribute called ‘individuality’ as the key to success while the graduation ceremony sees hundreds of them in identical caps and gowns.
While the schools produce the best and the brightest to go and change the world, the achievers forget to unlearn to challenge notions and embrace uncertainty. The one thing that stands out is the inability of these ‘brightlings’ to encounter and treat real life’s chaos as a part of the deal.
The ability to ‘shake things up’ is not a particularly well appreciated quality taught in schools.
That one thing that keeps these ‘lives of promise’ from making it as truly THE ONE therefore is
Unlearning is as important at all points in life as learning.
Anyone whose goal is ‘something higher’ must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves ― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Education system mostly is akin to a ‘control experiment’ in science. Lots of mediocre students thrive outside a ‘controlled’ scholastic environment.
In the school, rules rule life. In the messy game called life, Chaos rules everything! Unlearn and embrace it for your success.
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(Piyush Sharma, a global tech, media and entrepreneurial leader, created the successful foray of Zee Entertainment in India and globally under the ‘Living’ brand. The views expressed here are of the writer’s and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.) |
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
