Winning Stroke: Interview with Mansoor Ali,Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Hamdard India

1. If not in the current profession, you would be?

* I would be in a creative space which is associated with design or creation of design. The area could be technology, architecture or pure art forms. Alternately, a writer.

2. One tune you always hum?

* Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan; Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin; Aane wala pal ( a song that symbolizes transience)

3. One book to read when you want to motivate yourselves?

· I don’t read books to get motivated. Motivation needs to come from within. Reading though is a passion and I read all genres, depending on the mood and time.

4. One dialogue of a movie that motivates you or you like the most?

· None that motivates. Although I think this one is cool …..”Revenge is a dish best served cold”.

5. The place you never been to and always want to go?

· Lahaul Spiti, Zanskar, Alaska

6. An animal that signifies you & why?

· A bird, maybe an eagle. With the ability to fly above the clutter, and cut out unnecessary variables.

7. A movie character you most resemble or resonate with?

· John Nash, A Beautiful Mind

8. If your life was to be turned into a movie who would you like to play your part?

· A younger Al Pacino

9. Luck or Hard Work, what do you think weighs more in defining a successful person?

· Both, depending on the time and space coordinates. Some phases in life are built through hard work, and a sudden shot of luck ensures you are at the right spot in time.

10. One best decision you ever made?

· To cut out all irrelevant variables and the clutter, once I crossed forty. Embracing yoga then, has also given me the balance between my mental and physical being.

11. A strategy that you always use to take your decisions in personal or professional life?

· No knee-jerk, panic decisions. They should be fast, but with an ability to zoom out, look at the larger picture and take a calm, balanced decision.

12. Whose advice do you seek when in dilemma?

· Some close friends, only if it is a genuine dilemma / crossroads.

13. What has been your biggest achievement?

· The ability to have balance, which is a hugely underrated concept. Most people pass their entire lives in a state of chaos and flux.

14. One thing that you want to change in yourself?

· A constant sense of detachment. Doesn’t work too well with people close to you.

15. A line said by your closed one that you never forget?

· What is it that I like about music ?….well…. Everything !