Benchmark Yourself against the Best!

Right from our childhood, we have been told stories about Heroes and their heroics, whether real or fiction. If one carefully goes through such stories told to us by our grandparents, parents and teachers, one shall not fail to notice the emphasis given on the personal traits or qualities of such heroes. Have you ever wondered what can be the purpose of telling such stories in our formative years? Yes, the only purpose was to bombard you with the best practices followed by such heroes.

Benchmarking is a process of identifying the best practices followed by the leaders, specialists, achievers in a particular field and adopting those practices. The process starts with identifying such practices and end up with setting new benchmarks for others. It is important for the students to take clues from the childhood stories and apply the principles to the present day situation. Such stories tell you nothing but common sense in a very simple language. Fiction, mythology, history or biographies, the purpose is same.

Students must start the process of benchmarking as early as possible. This will give them enough time to analyze, take corrective action, re-analyze and recorrect themselves. Remember, standards are not static. They are always growing and often, at a very high speed. The students should be able to match the pace of growing standards. For those lagging behind, the learning speed has to be still higher so as to catch up with new benchmarks being set everyday. It is important to keep your eyes and ears open, and have a receptive brain in order to remain informed and understand the changing standards. Now the question is what should be the elements of benchmarking. Remember, benchmarking is a process and not a one time activity. The process will go on and on as you move out of the college and surge ahead in your careers. The question is what elements need to be considered for benchmarking. To have a clear view and a focused approach, I would suggest a three prong strategy, viz., Personal and Social Development, Academic Development and Career Development.

When we talk about personal and social development, it is important to acquire knowledge, attitudes, and interpersonal skills to help yourself understand and respect self and others. Knowledge and awareness of surroundings, historical events and current happenings play a major role in giving substance to speak and listen. An ability to make decisions, set goals and take actions to achieve those goals is developed by gaining knowledge. Knowledge and awareness helps to understand and acquire personal safety skills. Learn to use such acquired knowledge. Develop a positive attitude. Improve your interpersonal skills. Recognize the changing personal, family and social roles. Demonstrate appreciation and respect for diversity. Exhibit respect for differing points of view. Learn to use your personal strengths and assets. These attributes improve confidence levels and thus, help in shaping your personality.


Academic Development is necessary to acquire the attitudes, knowledge and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the life span. It helps you understand the relationship of academics to the world of work and to life. Academic development here is not limited to scoring marks in examinations. It is important for students to understand the concepts in academics and try to apply theory to real life situations. Remember, Academics are all about concepts, the clearer they are, the easier you lives are going to be. In your life, you will be tested on concepts, not as sterile definitions but on real life application. It is importance for students to create a benchmark for understanding levels. For this, students should have discussions on the subject amongst themselves and look for examples outside to validate such concepts. See the same thing as everybody else does, but think of something different. The formula of LEOCE (Learn, Experience, Observe, Conceptualize and Experiment) should be followed systematically. Remember, knowledge is most useful when it is either derived directly from practice, or while deriving originally from other sources, is tested and validated through practice.

When it comes to Career Development, it is important to acquire skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. Shed the herd mentality and set different, yet realistic benchmarks for yourself. Devise strategies to achieve future career goals. Understand the relationship between personal qualities, education, training and the world of work. Once the goals are set, look for people who are successful and achievers in the same field. Investigate and try to identify their strengths and learn how they capitalized on the existing opportunities. Make a detail analysis of their personal qualities, background, current position and future plans. Try to acquire those skills and qualities.

Students and young professionals, at this stage, have the greatest of opportunities for learning and innovation, for breaking down hierarchies, for better bonding, for having high aspirations and for running the marathon. This is when you are hungry too. You are ready to try out anything new if it could afford you success. This is when you must set the goals right. You will never have to look back after that.