The journey matters, and the CV is only the byproduct. In the AI era, what one builds as a solution is the performance metric. New methodologies, new pedagogies to tackle real time issues in trouble shooting, project turnarounds and crisis management is the real deal. Value is delivered at the intersections of theory, praxis and reality. Be a tri sectoral athlete in the words of IR scholar Joseph Nye.

Too many people expect organisations to deliver when individuals don’t deliver on expectations themselves. It is like the common citizen in the Global South expecting the world out of the public sector institutions when capacity and finances are missing. Institutions are reflections of market realities, and do not operate in a separate universe.

Organisations are a sum of people and their conversations. We have to focus on the little wins, which make the big picture; delivering projects on time and budget, writing the winning proposal and making a better workplace where we spend most of our waking up hours.

Outcomes (we desire) converge when the little things are done well. To young graduates who pass on resumes to me for internships and jobs, I tell them; please understand what you want, as everything adds up. But I often see a desire not to learn but to have a slot filled in the resume. The hiring manager knows when a cv is designed, versus a skills based paper. Don’t gold plate your resume by fancy student government titles. Designation inflation is a malaise. Lead without a title, sounds familiar?

People survive and win in the market by knowing and learning on the go. Accept feedback graciously and learn. Make time for quality interactions and me time. Travel, not for Instagram but to understand a place. The sense of place is lost in the midst of the update. These are things I have gathered amongst the journey.

Travel far and wide, but most importantly within.

Understand the self, understand the world.

#sermonfrommysofa #pravachan #bhaktjano