Introductions….

I say the biggest hurdle to begin a story is to start….or rather, from where to start?

This happens to all of us, and then we all fall back upon the same solution. Ever began a conversation with a stranger? Do you inadvertently ask her ..”So what do you do?”….really…why do you really need to know that? Does knowing that the person in front of you is a neuron-surgeon or a Chef is the first filter you need to switch on. Unless its a meet up by an accident, most social dos or in zoom-times like now, already acts as a first filter on whom you are meeting – 99% of time you both would be sharing the same socio-economic background, similar schooling, similar or related habits and drink the same poison.

So why do you need to know what I do….or do you really need to know?

Yes…..its important…since ages that’s how people start…from where you are coming and what you do…from a village 100 miles away….and you are a cobbler….that denotes your social status….and decides whether the enquirer wishes to mingle with you or not.

Times changed, we have moved ahead to a society where most of us are working ….without knowing in full the impact of our works. We stick to our designations provided by our firms as a shield to hide our own ignorance. A dear friend of mine began her conversation at a meeting with “I am DGM at xxx based out of xxx” and carried on. What struck me was that the story could have a better beginning. Knowing her and the impact that’s she is making..a very apt beginning could have been “I am responsible for the transition from a traditional to an IT enabled organization and also workplace safety for employees at my firm”. Does it make any difference….? You decide.

What made you write this story then?

Its the feeling that our propensity to stick on to this shield is also making us blind to discover who we are and what all different things we can do. I have heard sufficient stories of people finding it hard to move ahead in their professional lives after a certain period. Asset management industry is based on the disclaimer that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. So then why should our experience suddenly become a liability instead of an asset?

I believe its because we get fixated on the delivery part of our roles vs the impact. I have had the opportunity to mingle with several entrepreneurs over the last decade, and its a learning about how they look at their roles and how they introduce their life stories. The clear distinction of delivery/impact makes them stand out and has made me think differently as well. Never have I heard anyone introducing themselves as CEO/Founder of xxx..instead its always the impact that their organization is striving towards and what her role is in it.

Off late many of my close friends are leaving/left India in search of better opportunities and that is the catalyst for me today to burn the midnight oil. Why is it that a nation of 1.3bn not have opportunities for highly educated/qualified, driven, ambitious individuals. Does the fault lies in the industry which compartmentalizes everyone in the name of specialization or does it lies with us who confuse skills with deliveries and thus are not able realize their own potential?

Am confused now – should we strive for specialized skills or not?

The book Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by Robert Epstein focuses on how Roger Federar didn’t strive for specialization in tennis till he was in his teens – in fact he was actively dissuaded from doing just that and played a myriad of sports indeed like skateboarding, swimming, ping pong, soccer, and badminton. This might be true for sports which anyhow should be impacting/creating only a limited number of careers. But for a larger audience like a college graduate, especially in coming days when the pace of technology will make retraining a near herculean task, over specialization may not be a desired trait at all. A bigger ask would be to understand someone’s core strength (say, analytical skill rather than Python/ R for eg.) and then try to utilize that in a specific business requirement. And yes, when you think you are ready, play out your introduction.