This commentary was originally published on LinkedIn.
On July 1, 1996, exactly twenty years ago to the day, I entered an office for the first time ever in a full-time job and began my career in the corporate sector.
On that day as I contemplated what my boss would be like, what work I would be given, and indeed, what was for lunch, I don't think I would have imagined the journey that lay ahead of me.
After twenty years, ten bosses, five moves, four kilos, and a journey that has spanned experiences across many different businesses and countries, I am back where it all began — Mumbai. Did I ever imagine I'd be working in the corporate sector for twenty years? To be honest, perhaps not, but back then a time horizon of a couple of years was long term thinking.
As I think back to that twenty-two-year-old me sitting in the reception, waiting to collect my visitor ID badge, if I had the chance, what would I say to myself? Here's an attempt.
Dear me,
Congratulations on the first day of this new phase of your life. I'm that wiser, better looking dude (those extra four kilos went into all the right places) you will one day become. Till you become me, you have in stock many memos and presentations which make you curse Microsoft Office, many meetings where you doodle poetry and your share of good times and bad times. Let me not spoil it by telling you all that is in store, so if you're expecting me to tell you exactly what lies ahead, you're in for a disappointment. However, here are some tips on what I wished I had done or perhaps done earlier, and what you can still do.