What to do with life?

The inspiration for this post from a friend of mine who posted on Facebook that it would be good to have a dead line for life as well so that we can plan things in a better way like we do for project management.
I neither agree or disagree with that. Here is my view. Life is not a single project. It is like air permeating the atmosphere, changing every second, every day. I am not sure whether that is a good analogy but what I mean is that life changes every second however small it is. We can not plan for every second or every day of life.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't plan for life. But planning comes only after we know what do we want to achieve or do. This could be as simple as travelling the world (my goal for life) or becoming a CEO or a politician. I understand coming up with a goal for life is not that simple. And there could be more than one goal for life. In my case, I love Math, Finance, Arts, Astronomy, Archaeology, Geology, Travel. It's hard to do everything in a world that rewards specialization. So, I would say take one as a profession and others as a hobbies. Obviously the profession takes priority over the others.

For someone with a goal to travel the world, one should understand that it cannot be done in a day or year (unless you leave your job and go around the world). One should break that into a goal of visiting one country/region once a year or may be once in 2 years. For someone who wants to become a CEO, one should know the path. Obviously one cannot become a CEO after being an Analyst or Manager for a couple of years. It takes years of hard work and a bit of luck. One should have patience and the ingenuity to overcome the challenges. Being a CEO may sound more glamorous but it comes with a lot of responsibility and expectations from everyone. Of course, you can be a CEO if you start a company of your own. Many of today's large organizations were founded by people who were visionaries.

Instead of asking the question what to do with life, I believe one should engage in an activity that they like. Then it becomes more than a time filling activity. Finally, human mind is a wild horse. One needs to tame it diligently or it can take the self in the wrong direction and could become the enemy of the self itself.

The one mantra to tell yourself when you face a difficult situation is "Do the right thing".

What is an MBA worth?

I am sure this is not a new question but when the economy goes into recession, every MBA or an aspiring MBA candidate asks themselves this question or someone close to them asks it.

 Here is my view on it: An MBA is worth what you can make out of it. I know many people who changed their careers through the MBA route. We also know many who succeeded without an MBA. It's not an expense but an investment in future. An MBA shows you the path but it doesn't guarantee anything. In a recession, MBAs don't get as many options as they otherwise would get. Many MBA programs have courses on emotional intelligence, leadership and the soft skills required in the organizations. But many students focus more on the quantitative based courses (Finance, Marketing etc..). Once they take up employment, they slowly realize that the soft skills required (networking, presentation, communication) are as important if not more important than the quantitative skills. MBAs do get some exposure to time management, presentation, team skills and networking. They should try to build on these as they go.

 More than anything else, an MBA gives someone the skills required to execute on a project or assignment and there by helps to build confidence. The mantra is to give your best at work and there by build a brand so that colleagues know that you can do the job better than anyone else they know.

Thinking On Your Feet

I came across an interesting post on NYTimes. It's an interview with Arkadi Kuhlmann, then the Chairman and President of ING Direct USA. His advice to someone who is going to become a CEO for the first time? "The one thing that you’re going to have to work on is being able to think on your feet. If you didn’t grow up as a street kid, you’d better start thinking like a street kid, because you’re going to have lots of surprises." He continues:

1. People are always testing you. People are always watching you. You are always on. You have to understand that everything’s being interpreted, and you have to keep thinking in two and three dimensions.

2. The only reason you’re going to be a leader is because people are going to follow you, and they’re only going to follow you if they have confidence in you. And the No. 1 job of a C.E.O. is to eliminate doubt. My only job, really, is to eliminate doubt in every situation.

3. If we have this meeting, somewhere in the meeting or at the end of the meeting, they’re going to look to you because you’re the C.E.O., and they’re going to say, is there any doubt? There may be disagreements, different views, but people need confidence. Companies need confidence, and that’s a big part of my role.
See my previous article on Confidence.

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/business/31corner.html