My first job...the transition..continued

There was a big difference between the volumes of textbook and teachings at IIM and the way businesses and organisations function practically. What I noticed was the discreet way things were done and attitudes that I did not quite understand. And even when I did understand them, I did not feel I had a part of them. In fact, I ignored them. Although I was a little fearful of people, of things and the pace at which they moved, I started working with no emotions. Absolutely none.

But I still wanted to be happy, but whether I would or not was still a huge question mark, and even while confronting that question mark, I was beginning to sense that to experience or be in a situation like this was not such a bad thing. To be afraid is a priceless experience, it educates you. Once I have been scared, I know more about myself and I think it helps. Time now forced me to ask more of myself as a person than I ever had before. I decided I am going to be a changed man and seek out a different path.

Boss would yell at me at the slightest error and I would most likely turn off. I had the familiar sinking feeling. Philip was different. His thinking was subordinates should be taught and trained and that the lessons should sink slowly. There are some things that we learn better through experience and Philip let me figure those out on my own. For example, I never evaluated my work. I would think that I am doing it because I have been told to do so but he insisted that I think and figure out why its being done, what the purpose is and is that the best way to do it. Slowly but steadily he passed along his knowledge of various business, more precisely his way of handling various work situations and to evolve a solution or a course of action tactically. I learnt that there are moments when we can use our time and effort to our benefit and there are moments when we use it to no avail. We need to focus our time and effort towards maximising it to our benefit. He not only controlled, he educated me.

I had never really examined the psychology of work or of doing things. The reasons were not too clear to me and a lot of what I did made no sense to me while doing it. But now, I knew exactly why I was doing something. I became more optimistic than ever and refused to let any fear blot out my optimism. Something told me that fear, although can be sometimes helpful, should never completely rule the heart, and I decided not to be afraid.

I now began to realise, very strongly, that I had plenty of learning to do and I structured in my head that the next 1 year would be a process of experimenting, refinement and learning. Life from now on would be a process of incremental improvements, of seeking the tiniest knowledge that would make me a better individual.

I really began noticing and following Philip. There were ways things were done and things ought to be done. He taught me to be patient and to work strategically. It took me some time to reconcile myself to the notion that being patient was different from being weak or slow and that working strategically did not mean giving less than your best effort. I became more polished.