There lived a man who did not know about Amazon

If you haven’t already heard Ken Robinson on Ted, please do it right away. Besides being a splendid speaker with an excellent sense of humor, I couldn’t agree with him more about schools not being able to achieve what they should for the children who spend far too many years in them. I could so much relate it to this real example which couldn’t have proved it better. 

Sometime in the year 2009 (perhaps the year isn’t absolutely correct but the details which follow are), Sumit had this school group reunion and the invitation extended to the spouses. Also one of his friends who graduated from Wharton was visiting so another reason to plan the get together. I had heard about all of these friends sometime or the other but Sumit was giving a recap while driving to the restaurant. 

Wharton guy - This guy wasn’t exactly the top scorer academically but was very involved in everything extracurricular. He always had been quite proactive in all of the school activities and quite forthcoming in organizing some drive or some event even outside school. He exuded a lot of confidence and was always the first one to take responsibility of all extracurricular activities. 

School Topper - And there was this other guy who happened to be the topper and gone on to become a CA. He had scored brilliantly in the XIIth and now joined his father’s practice. 

Others - There was one who was flamboyant and still was the same. There were some more who were ‘normal’ or there wasn’t anything special to mention about them. 

The reunion - We reached, exchanged greetings and hugs, and ordered our drinks and appetizers. While all were enjoying their drinks, the obvious nostalgia filled the mood. So this School Topper and Wharton guy got talking and all turned their attention to their chit chat. 

The Chit Chat

Topper: So where did you say you’re working now?

Wharton guy: Amazon, I got placed with Amazon

Topper (a bit confused): What is Amazon? What do they do? 

I was suddenly coughing out my drink having suffered a mix of disbelief and amusement. I stared at him in absolute shock and noticed that everybody around the table was staring at the Topper too while he had a ‘What did I do’ naive look on his face. Couple of minutes passed in odd silence but ending it, the Wharton guy was kind enough to tell him about Amazon.

Well the dinner ended and all of us waved each other happy good byes but it left something which I will never forget (and I’m sure even the others present there will not). While all along we chase high percentages and then try for higher than the last percentage but percentages never determine your smartness or how you fare in life. They definitely do not!