“It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome. That’s what defines your career.”
-Carlton Fisk
One day several years ago, I was waiting in my office for a highly qualified employee to discuss the prospect of his joining my team. I was quite excited because he had degrees from both IIT and IIM, and his work experience suggested that he was the best-suited candidate for the position. After he came in, we started discussing his skill set, our requirements, etc. But I repeatedly got the feeling that he was answering my questions in such a way as to break the rapport I was trying to build with him. I even changed my communication style in an attempt to build an understanding with him, but nothing worked. Finally, I told him that I would get back to him, but I didn’t mean it.
After the interview, I asked a few people in private about this person. I wasn’t surprised to get negative feedback about him. This small incident played itself over in my mind and I puzzled over why such an academically brilliant person was not able to understand what was required of him to succeed in the corporate world. I began to consciously observe the people who were very successful at their corporate careers. Now, I know that you may think that everyone has their own definitions of success, and someone I may think of as “successful” may not be so from your perspective. So for the sake of having a common understanding, I will define here a successful person as someone who is able to deliver the results that their organization expects by embodying the leadership qualities that its mission deserves.
Initially, I thought I would pen my insights as blog posts or articles. However, there are many of these freely available on the Internet and none can give you a comprehensive and complete view on the subject. The same goes for the various leadership training courses and seminars commonly found on the corporate training circuit. As our economy grows, more and more corporate citizens are emerging, most of whom aren’t getting the expert guidance they are worthy of. Yet I couldn’t find any relevant books in the market that were appropriate to the Indian corporate context. I finally made this course because I felt a responsibility to share my deep expertise on strategies for success in the corporate world, and also because I wished someone had gifted me this when I started out.
