DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE

The CHAFF blog is intended not only to tell of our fun activities. It is a place where I hope we can learn from the wisdom of others.

An interesting article was just sent to me by a close friend who was Technical Director of a very large multinational company for many many years till he retired at the age of 70! He remained with the same company for all his working life till his retirement and made steady progress to be the most powerful and respected person in that company.

The article which he sent me, which I give below, is called

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE".

It was written by the man who now heads the holding company of India's oldest, largest and most respected business conglomerates. The Group's businesses are spread over seven business sectors. It comprises 93 companies and operates in six continents. It employs over 220,000 people and the sharehlder base is over 2 million. The TATA Empire is known and respected worldwide.

The message conveyed is an important one that all you young people who take part in CHAFF activities should learn.

Many of you have heard me say at several meetings

"The grass looks greener on the other side".

Here is someone much more knowledgeable than me saying it in a more important context.

Rest assured, the message that this article conveys will affect you at some stage of your career. Ignore it at your peril!

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE"

by Dr. R. Gopalakrishnan

Dr. Gopalakrishnan succeeded Mr. Ratan Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company for many of the Tata blue chips like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Voltas etc. Following is an interesting article by Dr. Gopalakrishnan:

The grass isn't always greener on the other side!!

Move from one job to another, but only for the right reasons.

It's yet another day at office. As I logged on to the marketing and advertising sites for the latest updates, as usual, I found the headlines dominated by 'who's' moving from one company to another after a short stint', and I wondered, why are so many people leaving one job for another? Is it passé now to work with just one company for a sufficiently long period?

Whenever I ask this question to people who leave a company, the answers I get are:

"Oh, I am getting a 200% hike in salary"
"Well I am jumping three levels in my designation"
"Well they are going to send me abroad in six months".

Then, I look around at all the people who are considered successful today and who have reached the top - be it a media agency, an advertising agency or a company. I find that most of these people are the ones who stuck to the company, ground their heels and worked their way to the top. And, as I look around for people who change their jobs constantly, I find they have stagnated at some level, in obscurity.

In this absolute ruthless, dynamic and competitive environment, there are still no - short cuts to success or to making money. The only thing that continues to pay, as earlier is loyalty and hard work.

Yes, it pays! Sometimes, immediately, sometimes after a lot of time.

But, it does pay.

Does this mean that one should stick to an organization and wait for the golden moment? Of course not. After, a long stint, there always comes a time for moving in most organizations, but it is important to move for the right reasons, rather than the superficial ones, like money, designation or overseas trip.

Remember, no company recruits for charity. More often than not, when you are offered an unseemly hike in salary or designation that is disproportionate to what the company offers it current employees, there is always an unseemly bait attached.

The result?

You will, in the long term have reached the same level or may be lower levels than what you would have in your current company.

A lot of people leave their organizations because they are 'unhappy'. What is this so called unhappiness? I have been working for donkey years and there has never been a day when I am not unhappy about something in my work environment - boss, rude colleagues, fussy clients etc.

Unhappiness in a work place, to a large extent, is transient. If you look hard enough, there is always something to be unhappy about. But, more importantly, do I come to work to be "happy" in the truest sense?

If I think hard, the answer is "No".

Happiness is something you find with family, friends, may be a close circle of colleagues who have become friends. What you come to work for is to earn, build a reputation, satisfy your ambitions, be appreciated for your work ethics, face challenges and get the job done.

So, the next time you are tempered to move on, as yourself why are you moving and what are you moving into?

Some questions are:

* Am I ready and capable of handling the new responsibility? If yes, what could be the possible reasons my current company has not offered me the same responsibility?

* Who are the people who currently handle this responsibility in the current and new company? Am I good as the best among them?

* As the new job offer has a different profile, why have I not given the current company the option to offer me this profile?

* Why is the new company offering the new job? Do they want me for my skills, or is that ulterior motive?

An honest answer to these will eventually decide where you go in your career - to the top of the pile in the long term (or to become another average employee who gets lost with the time in wilderness?

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE"

Hope you found this interesting.