I was barely 10 days into the job when my boss came running, excited about April Fools Day coming up. “Machate Hain!” he said, with that glint in his eyes. As someone who had just joined, not sure of my skills or capability, I was excited and terrified at the same time. For an excited boss, the bar isn’t just high – it’s infinity. It’s not about going to the moon, it’s “let’s party at the moon by 7pm!”
All I remember is channeling that excitement (with a lot of fear), doodling and mind mapping alone in a corner for hours, until one idea just jumped at me – ‘what if we create a fake product!’ and focusing on execution, execution, execution.
When we released the video, within half an hour it was picked up by news and went crazy. I remember him finding the news story and running to my desk with a high five.. ‘fod dala’, those little moments of excitement and encouragement.. shaped my journey leading the team.
It became a tradition – every year on April Fools, we had to beat what we did last year, creating a fake product, good for one day’s excitement and reach.
Looking back, an excited boss is like a candle that lights up your own excitement, and that unrealistic excitement in the moment made all the difference. Coz a creative person feeds on excitement and possibilities, not knowing how high is high… works in your favor.
Unless it becomes toxic and taken for granted – then get out of that job I’d say.. and find your next boss who gets excited with you.. looking at the unknown.