It's whack-a-guru time! '¦ Take a pot-shot at IT consultants too.

Tony Austin
Monday, 17 January 2011 12:26

Opinion and Analysis

If you're disappointed or angry about treatment by a guru, then take a look at the new report from Unguru.me and you'll see that you're far from alone. And what the report says about gurus largely applies for many others, such as IT consultants, stockbrokers, real estate agents, and mobile phone salespeople.

This past weekend I enjoyed watching the movie EAT PRAY LOVE (starring Julia Roberts). Watch the first thirty seconds of the official trailer, and you'll see in action a guru in Bali who has a major impact on the life of book author Elizabeth Gilbert - and the same guru features in the last part of the movie.

Then last night I enjoyed an ABC Australia TV documentary starring Mike Myers and Deepak Chopra. The program guide says: 'Mike Myers, one of the most multi-faceted performers of his generation shares his passions with Deepak Chopra, a leader in the field of mind-body medicine, and an icon of the 20th century.' Icon? Surely this is synonymous with guru?

I'm sure you know that Mike Myers starred in the 2008 comedy The Love Guru.

And from Bollywood there's a movie titled simply 'Guru' '¦ 'A villager, Gurukant Desai, arrives in Bombay 1958, and rises from its streets to become the GURU, the biggest tycoon in Indian history.' I'd like to see it, it seems pretty serious, nevertheless there's probably plenty of Indian-style dancing.

Coincidentally, today I came across a new survey report created by Unguru.me (who say they offer 'a place for small business owners, entrepreneurs and marketers of all levels of experience to get together to learn and network in an unfiltered atmosphere that is void of hype').

This is rather like an Australian site that I like very much -- flying Solo - who have built up a thriving Australian-based solo- and micro-business community.

So it seems that there are gurus left, right and center!

Anyway, when you hear the word guru, how does it make you feel?

Would you ever purchase a product or service from a guru? Or maybe you already have?

Would you ever refer to yourself as a guru? If someone else refers to you as a guru, is that okay?

What is the most defining tactic of a guru, and which guru tactic annoys you the most?

If you're surfing the Web, when you see a guru's landing page what do you do?

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