An Induction to Remember - Beginning of my ‘Stoa’ Journey

A camera full of pictures
A bag full of memories
It was not the end
But the beginning of our journeys

We all have our fair share of a mountain trip, a school punishment, a college bunk, a crush, a love affair, or a heartbreak to remember. But how many of us have a 3-day induction to remember? I can only vouch for the 70-odd people who were there with me, beginning their ‘Stoa’ journey as well. I have attended 3–4 inductions of different organizations in the past and each was boring even with the ‘fun’ activities. I’m really happy that the Stoa team managed to actually make the induction FUN!

The Nervous Beginning

I read somewhere what matters the most is taking the first step toward your goal. And I’m pretty happy that I did. In a room full of unknown faces, it takes helluva courage to even say ‘Hi!’ to somebody, and we were asked to pose for a profile picture.

After getting a little comfortable, the day proceeded with getting to know each other games, and an ‘improv’ session. The learnings: you will meet people from entirely different backgrounds but still find something in common like a movie, a book, your love for street food, or traveling.

Finally, came the most awaited session, ‘The Case Study brief’. The session was short and simple. It was the assignment that was mind-boggling. There were all sorts of questions in mind, what to do with this case study, where to begin, how to solve, will google have answers, if yes, then can we copy, etc, etc. Apart from these, there was one more challenge, the submission deadline of 8 a.m. How am I supposed to submit this early in the morning?? Oh, I’m not supposed to sleep, that’s how!! :D

The night meant for the assignment turned into the real ‘getting to know each other game’. At 4 am, when we were struggling to decide on a probable solution, our PJs (Poor Jokes) kept each other awake. After some time, the team decided to wrap up and submit by writing the solution we all agreed upon (luckily).

The Adventurous Ride

Dark circles, sleepy eyes, tired body but excited mind!!

Day 2 started with breakfast conversations rotating around the case study and which top 4/14 teams will present their solutions. It didn’t matter if our team will crack the top 4, what mattered was to learn the approach to solving such case studies. The learning: if your numbers are not adding up to the figure you desire, it’s time to accept reality and set achievable goals.

Post lunch, we were presented with a simulation exercise. In a team of 5, each had a specific role with personal goals along with a collective team goal. Each member had to make decisions aligning with his/her goal and also, with the team goal. It was a step into reality, we are often asked to make such decisions aligning with our personal and also professional goals. It depends on the situation and circumstances, sometimes we prioritize our own needs, and other times, sacrifice for the team goal.

After a full day of reality checks, it was time for a fun evening. The contest for the house cup began! 4 houses competed in a series of events, which required talents ranging from writing to acting, from architecting to building, from designing to modeling, and many more. Describing all the games here would not do justice to the stoa team but personally, I jumped out of my comfort zone and tried different things.

The day was over but the night was getting started. In fact, I was eagerly waiting for this session, ‘The history of Stoa’, a session with the founders, about their individual and collective journey before & after Stoa, their attempts and failures, and a peek into the reality of startup culture and hustle. I believe there are 2 ways to learn, you attempt, fail and then learn or you learn from the first kind of person and act accordingly. None of the ways guarantee 100% success but the combination of both has worked well for me.

Loading the Bag of Memories

The house cup was not over. The winner was not declared. It was like a sports day at school😛

Early in the morning, everybody was on the ground wearing pyjamas and tees, ready to outperform and have the last chance to win the house cup. Each game carried its complexity and all 4 teams were strategizing to overcome them. Some games needed defense, some needed calmness while some required strength. Our team came close but couldn’t win any of them. No hard feelings. The players did well🙂

As it was the last day, I tried to meet and greet as many people as I could. By then, initiating the conversation became a little less awkward. The conversations were short but enough to reach out to them directly without introducing myself again.

Before announcing the house cup winners and officially ending the induction, we signed a bond, a bond with ourselves to set our goals and start working towards them. The mantra is: be intentional, open yourself to tough love, accept reality, and most importantly have fun!!

The day ended with all of us taking pictures and selfies, bidding goodbyes, and carpooling to our destinations :P

It was not the end but the beginning of a wonderful journey :)