One Plus One Equals Eleven

A Story of an American Angel and Her Indian Friend

“Alone I can SPEAK

But Together We Can TALK

Alone I Can SMILE

Together We Can LAUGH. 

Alone I Can ENJOY

Together We Can CELEBRATE, 

That's the Beauty Of Togetherness” 

Anonymous

In Hindi, we have a saying that one plus one equals eleven (which highlights the power of collaboration). Jennifer Sertl, (President, Agility 3R, New York), my personal development coach and collaborator has proved it right.

Heartfelt Collaboration 

As far as I remember, we connected sometime in 2008. Soon Jennifer emailed me her poem, "Teachers are Artists" which really touched me, since I have been a passionate teacher too. Then we exchanged few emails and she gifted me a copy of her book, "Strategy, Leadership and the Soul." Now I was curious enough for a Skype chat.

In my recent post entitled “3 Life Lessons that led to Social Media Success” I talked about the need for heartfelt collaboration. My first heartfelt collaboration has probably happened with Jennifer Sertl who has truly inspired the required trust (and inspired me to develop resilience, responsiveness and reflection too). 

Coaching Style 

Jennifer’s coaching style reminds me of Albert Camus’s quote - "Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." Her style has influenced my style as a coach too. 

Jennifer nudged me to reflect upon my three core values. As she rightly said, “Once we decide our three core values, we can do a self-reflection every week. 'Am I living according to my values? What are the areas I need to improve? What mistakes did I make in these areas?'” as part of the journaling process. 

She keeps repeating the importance of journaling, “Sometimes when creative professionals (especially the ones with a spiritual inclination) are inspired and are flooded with ideas, the journal becomes your filter too. Write everything in the journal before posting on social media. Double check whether it is worth posting and aligned with your three core values (from focus/personal branding perspective).” (Picture-Jennifer at SIBOS conference on "The Future of Organisations" at Osaka, Japan)

Enlarge Excel and Evolve-A result of a nudge 

February 2011. As an upcoming personal branding professional, I was creating and curating content from fields as diverse as storytelling, personal development, and social media and online branding on my social networks. Jennifer nudged me during a Skype chat and asked me about my focus and context.
It set me thinking and I thought hard. Was there a connection among the topics I was talking about? As I reflected, I became clearer and now I needed a framework which could put the pieces together. And then the phrase ‘Enlarge Excel Evolve’ flashed in my mind (representing a holistic approach to personal branding, where personal development is the starting point of the journey.) Here is the detailed story. (Picture-Jennifer with Robert S, Chief Editor, Fast Company)

The Power of Community 

Jennifer has connected me with wonderful people across the world, including Michael Thallium (Global & Greatness Coach), Steve Brant (Founder, Trimtab Management Systems), Brigitte Klawonn (Founder, Brigitte Klawonn IT & Logistics), Anastasia Ashman (Co-Founder, Global Niche), Janet Amirault (CEO, Software Consortium), David Wilcox (Principal, Reach Scale), Bert-Ola Bergstrand (Co-Founder, Social Capital Forum), Joris Claeys (Chief Engagement Officer, EcoNVERGE), Jan Gordon (Founder, Curatti), Michel Bauwens (President, P2P Foundation), Timothy Rayner, Ralf Lippold (Co-Founder, HTxA), John Kellden (Founder, ConversationLab) Inmaculada VP (Project Manager, Andalucia Emprende), Faisal Hoque (CEO & Founder, BTM Corporation), Nigel Cameron (Writer, c-pet.org), Nancy Lynn Cotter (Founder-Self Worth Coalition), David Holzmer (http://www.gonnagrowwings.com/) and the list goes on.

(Picture-Jennifer at Kred Influencer Summit, The Crosby Hotel, New York)

Through her wonderful friends, I have learnt interesting concepts like Global Niche, Wisdom 2.0 conference, Social Capital and so on. 

Still not sure of the exact influence 

We can never be sure of the exact influence people have on us because it can be sub-conscious and unconscious too. Jennifer may have also influenced me in indirect, unknown and unconscious ways.

(Picture-screenshot of 'The Huffington Post', world No 1 Blog, where Jennifer is a columnist)

It is a matter of pride to see my coach being mentioned in Harvard Business Review and Forbes too.



She is a true transleader, with a genuinely global mindset. When we invited her to address the students of GD Goenka World Institute & Lancaster University, UK (visiting India for summer camp) through Skype, she gladly accepted the invite and enthralled the students.


She has left an indelible imprint on me, with multi-faceted, and multi-dimensional impressions, some of them I know, some of them I may never know. As C.G. Jung has rightly said, ‘The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” (Picture-Jennifer as Social Media Ambassador, at Social Innovation Summit, 2013, UNO HQ, New York)

I am not sure of Jennifer, but I am transformed for sure.

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Brief Profile

Dr Amit Nagpal is an Online Branding Expert, Social Media Influencer and a renowned Storyteller / Digital Storyteller. His unique skill lies in inspirational storytelling, anecdotes/ storytelling on social and online media for brand building. He has more than 15 years of work experience in training/coaching and corporates. He has a unique personal story and has featured in several TV, newspaper and online interviews. He tweets at @DrAmitInspires. To follow/connect on social media, visit OneBio.Me.

Globally reputed professional-He features in all prominent directories of personal branding professionals viz OneBio.Me, Stephanie Hetu's directory and Your Personal Brand.

Speaker/Trainer-He has conducted training for reputed organisations including Accenture, Tata Communications, GD Goenka World Institute, and associations including PRSI, DMA, STC India and so on.

Coach-He has coached many CEOs, knowledgepreneurs and top professionals in brand storytelling.

Author-His blog “Enlarge Excel Evolve” is listed among best business blogs on Alltop.com. He has published 2 books and several eBooks on brand building.