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Sometimes, when asked to explain why I made specific transitions in my career as well as the meaning of the work I do, I am in the habit of quoting one or all of three statements by three individuals that my mind grasped at and retained instinctively.
Each of these statements served the function of a violent nudge that is needed when one knows what is to be done but the mind is delaying the inevitable by inventing reasons of 'practicality', reasons of 'caution', reasons of 'timing' and if none of these work then reasons 'of fear borne out of extrapolating the current situation into a mind-made future'.
Effectively, they (the statements) led the mind to appreciate a certain type of temper. They led the mind to accept that the terms "values", "character", "temperament" have to be axioms from which all that is professional (and even personal) needs to be derived. In turn, these gave a definite shape to the meaning to the term "organisation development" (the process of defining the fuller meaning of the term started much later, sometime in August 2013).
The three statements were:
1. Choose an employer, the services and products of which you would not want your own child to not consume (March 2007).
2. As you grow in your career, temperament matters as much as intellect (May 2009).
3. Engage on the basis of "sambandh" (relationship in gujarati) and not "vyavahar" (transaction) (February 2012).
I emphasize the phrase 'transitions in career' and not 'switches in career'. Being radical with regard to career choices is not something to be pursued and definitely, not something to boast about. A career at the end of the day is what the word means: a career, a way to make an earning to enjoy basic material comforts that every individual has a right to. The idea is, at one level, to 'get over with it' so that one has some quality time to pursue activities which are more deserving of the term 'radical'.
Finding a complete sense of identity and fulfillment in one's career is leading the mind up the alley of dangerous pretensions. Having an "I" that can sit apart from one's workplace is necessary, if for nothing else then to look at one's own work with a critical scepticism and cut it down to size when necessary.
The real "I" emerges only when the mind is free to speculate under constraints that it has had the freedom and discretion to create for itself. Note the emphasis on the word 'discretion'. Discretion is an acquired skill. Speculation without discretion is akin to habitual sitting in front of the television when a 9 pm talk show channel is on. With discretion, it is knowledge of the fact that a 9 pm talk show channel is not worth one's while.
Few are specially endowed to combine a career that can embody the above freedom. It is always safer to assume that one is not special enough to be part of those select few. And most of us should be thankful for that. We are saved from the persecutions of obsessions. At the end of the day, there is only so much that one should do and can do.
It is useful to recollect the anecdote of Socrate's surprise when told that Oracle of Delphi thought him the wiser among the men. After meeting several individuals he realized why. Effectively, he knew what he did not know, translated in more profound terms it means: 'his wisdom was worth nothing'. If pushed, he may have probably agreed that most objects, persuasions and activities in the world would fall in this class of 'worth not knowing'. What is the pleasure borne out of wisdom but being free of all un-necessary mental burdens and exertions?
One of the satisfying things about putting your bio on your own website is the freedom to preface as above. I am not sure what looking at a list of achievements, employments, engagements, etc. reveals about a person. Neither does a SOP. Only a confession of one's own temper can. Of course, we all carry our errors and acts of omission to our grave. Unfortunately, those interested in the bio will have to contend with what is said. The unsaid is better left unsaid because it comprises of moments one is not proud of. That said, those moments, to the best of my knowledge, do not contradict anything mentioned above.
But then it depends on how much faith you place in the term "to the best of my knowledge". I would recommend that you place just the bare minimum that necessity and prudence demand.
A short-form profile can be accessed here.
A long-form profile can be accessed here.
A list of associations / engagements can be accessed here.
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