Stay Hungry, Stay Focused
I have a black thumb – I kill even the hardiest plants – I managed to make a cactus die from excess love. During the pandemic induced lockdown, due to sheer volume of work, I left my indoor bonsai plants alone. To my surprise, they survived even when I occasionally remembered to water them.
In comparison, my gardener manages to coax the plants in my garden to bear fruits. I get some papayas, guavas and lemons from my garden once in a while. And we all know that farmers spend all their time tending to their crops.
As an entrepreneur, I have the opportunity to meet people from different walks of life. Every interaction has something to offer – some people are excited about the work they do; a few contented but the ones that pique my curiosity are those who are apathetic – they do not expect anything from their jobs in terms of personal growth.
How do you view your career – an indoor plant, or the one in the garden or a crop?
Is your career something ornamental in your life like my little bonsai lemon? You have little or no expectations from it. Or is it the garden plant? You can be nudged to do well with little assistance. Or is it a crop? Do you look out for opportunities to learn and show your expertise, expect to excel in your jobs and plan your career?
In this continuum of a nurturing a career ranging from ornamental to that to being a life mission, who is responsible for training?
According to an article published in Forbes, about 74% of the individuals think it is their employer’s responsibility to give them job-related training and career planning. However, 98% of the managers think it is the individual’s responsibility. The jury is out on this one. Assuming that managers too are employees, it is interesting to note that as soon as they get a team to manage, their views change.
In this tug of war between who needs to foot the bill for employees’ training, the consumer gets the short end of the stick. Have we not experienced poor service at banks, malls, hospitals, salons, etc? We either wear the hat of the consumer or a service provider.
When you are a consumer, would you like to be serviced by an indoor plant or a garden plant or a crop?
Is the consumer the only one who loses out? Human potential is infinite; to limit a banyan tree with all its glory into a tiny bonsai in a living room is a crime. Feed your intellect, stay true to your career and you will reap the rewards of a job well done – the satisfaction that you get by staying curious is immense.
In conclusion, even though the jury is still out on the ownership of career planning, ultimately, the person responsible for your career is YOU.
Stay hungry, Stay focused.