Reinvesting Self, Productivity Backlash and Going Public

Three pieces that stood out for me:

· My good friend Rajat shared this article which, though was first published in 1997, is as relevant today as it was more than 20 years ago. It’s meant to shake every professional to interpret her career not solely in terms of climbing the corporate ladder but to look at it as a brand that needs to be carefully managed and nurtured. Like a brand, or better still like a start-up – open to the idea of pivoting when the going gets tough. Tom Peters, who wrote this article, asks us to consider what makes us different and, whether we can capture our value proposition in less than 20 words. If so, does it stand out? If not, then we have a problem at hand. “Forget about job title,” Peters write, instead “ask yourself: what do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value.” Self-branding means constantly reinventing ourselves, which in turn means investment in education, a few hours taken out every week to build differentiators. What I liked about this piece is that it covers all dimensions including touching upon the concepts of power and loyalty (not a blind loyalty to the company but to your work, your colleagues, to your project). It’s one of those pieces that I have printed out for it’s meant to be read and re-read again especially in these times when traditional work set-ups are fast disappearing.

· Cal Newport has come out with yet another thoughtful essay, this time lamenting our relentless chase for productivity improvements. There is an increasing fatigue with the productivity enhancement culture that has taken over most business literature in the last decade or so. I tend to agree; for instance, writing this newsletter also, which I so much love, in some weeks feel like drudgery, a task to be done. “A growing portion of my audience was clearly fed up with “productivity,” and they are not alone”, writes Newport, however “productive pursuit of important projects, far from being soulless, can be an important source of meaning”. The key is to move away from simply optimising systems and automating tasks towards redesigning systems. For instance, “the software industry didn’t increase productivity by demanding more from its engineers; instead, it developed a more productive system to organize their efforts”. While the concept is neatly explained, I missed Newport going into the specifics. He comes tantalisingly close by talking about how Agile changed the approach towards project management, but he stops there. The essay still makes for a good read to stimulate thinking.

· Finally, The Economist came out with a primer on how companies go public. While many of the underlying details may not be new to a professional with business background, I still felt it makes for a compelling read especially for those who are interested to know the stakeholders involved, the compromises made in the process, and the role of investment bankers, including the fees that they charge. A longish piece that’s worth a ten-minute read over the weekend to revise the basics.

 A quote that I recently read:

 I am all for progress. It’s change that I don’t like.

- Mark Twain