Lucky through LENOVO

LUCKY through LENOVO

1. Tracing our history

My first tryst with Lenovo was when my father surprised me with an N series laptop during my graduation days. The happiness was to be short-lived, as it died pre-maturely a week after completing its one year warranty. I was frustrated and felt that they owed me something in the future. That was when, Lenovo arrived for my summer placements, and as though by divine providence I was chosen as one among the lucky few to be awarded an internship with them.

2. Mumbai – The Land of Dreams

Bangalore was the location allocated to interns as per last year’s batch, so I was expecting the same for me. I thought I would be staying closer to hometown after a long stay in Delhi. But as luck would have it, I was the only intern whose location wasn’t confirmed and to my surprise I was allotted Mumbai. Lenovo provided a splendid opportunity to fulfill my long cherished wish of visiting this place. Quickly managing an accommodation with friends, I decided to stay close to the Lenovo office in Andheri. To the fascination of my family and friends, my flat was in the posh locality of Juhu next to Amitabh Bachchan’s bungalow, ‘Prateeksha’. Soon a comment followed: “Arrey waah; pehla din Mumbai mein aur who bhi Juhu
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My first corporate exposure ensued with a brisk induction in Bangalore, followed by allocation of projects in Mumbai. My mentor was warm and comforting, immediately putting into rest my concerns about the internship. He encouraged me to have a flavor of the city, before initiating the discussion about the project. Working under such a senior guide was a fantastic opportunity and I was extremely enthusiastic about the future.

3. Luck favoring the brave

As this was my first interaction with the real business world I got excited to explore Mumbai as it set the perfect platform because things happen very distinctly when compared to other cities. Mumbai is an ever-growing metropolis, its boundaries expanding every day; travelling through its lanes and streets did make me a bit anxious. I ensured that I had a copy of the local train map. Local trains save a lot of time, but they zap you of your energy. “Mumbai mein jeena seekh liya, toh kahin pe bhi jee sakoge”, joked one of my colleagues. Lenovo pro-actively reimbursed all local travel expenses and helped us with our accommodation in other cities as well. During peak hours, I was forced to enjoy the calmer surroundings of the first class compartment in the local train.

I found my work exciting visiting most malls in Mumbai, be it The Phoenix, RCity or Inorbit, where I did market research of such multi-brand stores as Croma, Reliance Digital or Ezone. Lunch was always enjoyable and the time between appointments was spent roaming around the malls, any girl’s paradise indeed.

Much was gained in terms of experience and improving patience, as I worked with multiple channels and with various personalities. Feedback from business partners was easy to obtain during the late afternoons, but things got difficult towards the evening as the crowds rushed in, which made me sometimes wait till late night to get the work done. I had always heard of Mumbai’s culture especially towards women, the freedom and safety they enjoy in this city but this time I experienced it and felt so safe.

Visits to Lenovo stores proved fruitful for new findings, which I promptly shared with my team back at office. I enjoyed my internship as Lenovo granted me full independence to execute my project according to the work-related requirement. The day ended with me religiously updating my report every day, thanks to which I was constantly in readiness for a presentation or a report submission.

After every review, my mentor used to ask about my level of exploration of Mumbai. Since weekdays were all about travelling, I reserved my weekends for winding down. The best weekend was one in which right after my mid-review I rushed to arrange a ticket as soon as I came to know about the concert by my favourite musician, A R Rehman !! Luck at its best eh
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I also treasured the memories of Marine Drive, Juhu Beach, Churchgate, Colaba Causeway, Bandra Bandstand and Mumbai CST. I would always keep these memories close to my heart and thus say “Aamchi Mumbai”.

4. Bidding Adieu

After the Final Review, my mentor congratulated us, and invited us to Product Launch ceremony at Ramada Hotel in Juhu. The internship was reaching its conclusion and I was happy for successfully completing it. But I was also nostalgic about Lenovo and Mumbai, because I didn’t know if I would ever be able to work under such a great mentor.

I also miss the IT staff, who were always ready for help; the canteen staff, who were always ready with a cup of coffee as soon as we entered the office and made sure that we were never hungry during those long hours at office. I am extremely thankful to the security staff, who gave me an insight into the routes and hidden ways of Mumbai and effectively guiding me to scan the entire city in a month’s time. Lucky me, to find such an awesome staff at Lenovo
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. I realized that it is not bricks and mortar that make an organization, it’s the people that make the difference and this is precisely true to the Lenovo growth story.

5. What I take back?

I feel emotionally attached to Lenovo. We didn’t accept the Thinkpads which were given to us at the start of the internship and preferred to use our own. But after visits to Lenovo exclusive stores, I slowly fell in love with the Thinkpad, a beautiful creation in its own. It’s said that once you start using it, you will not like any other laptop in this world.

I will cherish this project forever for having provided me a holistic learning and I’m immensely proud of my auspicious and prestigious association as a summer intern with Lenovo. This internship has prompted to look at Marketing in a different light and now I feel I’m more knowledgeable about the way this world functions. I still remember the opening lines of the first chapter in the famous Philip Kotler’s ‘Marketing Management’ book which mentions Lenovo Thinkpad R60 and I proudly say – “Yay, my first company !!!”.
 
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