Ramblings

Sometimes when your thoughts just wander, its best to spew them out on paper – cyber or real just so that someday u can look back at it and laugh... or maybe who knows those words may be worth gazillions...

My thoughts are today in a much trodden path...that hits every person annually (at least), the why am i doing what i am doing question.

I figure that each person has his/ her own motivation for working.

Some people work because they need the money- in a way i envy them, cos they rarely have moral dilemmas.
Some people work because they enjoy power. They see quick growth in the organization, and perceive that a position of power is not too far off.
Some people work because they like their teams. Their work may not be the most exiting in the world, but they'd rather work there than any where else, which may have a hostile boss. Often coz they have reached a comfort zone they are not prone to move away from...
Some people work because they like what they do. Because they enjoy it, and they revel in it. Most of us are at this stage for say, the first two months of our jobs...Some others are in this "honeymoon period" for maybe a year. if they are lucky, maybe two...
Some people work because the are learning something new. May not always be in an area they like, or enjoy. May not always be technical...maynot be relating to their industry, or subject matter. It may pertain to people. it may pertain to making useless powerpoint presentations, jazzy excel sheets or even how to create a good blog!!! Most of all they learn something about themselves each day...

Now that i have neatly segmented people based on their motivations, where do i fit in... I am a mixture of a lot of these. But i guess most people are the same. Its not a single motivation to work, but different forces that propel me at different points of time.

Yes, while i never had this drive to work purely for money, it does however make things difficult, as in todays economy, salary can be a constant.

I did work for the love of my team. That was when my team was small. But i guess im not the kind of person who is blindly loyal... I know that there are people who would take their peer/ boss's word or judgement as law and not question it. But im not one of those either. In a people-centric profession, subjectivity is rampant, and as long as one can recognize that as a fact of life and draw their own conclusions, things will be fine. Ive faced a scenario where a peer of mine had made a comment that i was a "veritable Hitler". I didnt take it seriously, but turns out the rest of the office did, and every interaction of mine with them was colored by this comment made harmlessly 2 years ago. Maybe i am a Hitler, maybe i was, maybe i always will be one, but i'd rather that people reach that conclusion after interacting with me, rather than take someones word for it. But thats like asking all people to have a rational mind of their own, which goes against the grain of human nature. My answer to this scenario, is what i hope is a mature one. While i have not gone out of my way to eradicate assumptions, i do make it a point not to make point blank comments about other people. Recently, i was asked what sort of a manager XYZ was by one of XYZ's new team members. The only thing i said, was that the equation between any two people is different, and that as long as XYZ's deadlines were met, he should not have issues with XYZ. I figure (based on office gossip and some first hand experience) i could have said that XYZ was a ruthless person to work with, or that XYZ was a control freak who didnt respect independence. But then that would not make the guy who asked me happy to start work...And of late ive found myself respecting people whatever be their position, who do not accept a judgement purely because i made it or my boss made it... Must have a soft spot for rebels.

All said and done, power does have its temptation, but i guess it also does corrupt absolutely...so in the long run its not too much of a kicker

Do i love my job? At this point of time no...and id love to do a job which i loved...(too much love:) in that statement)

So that leaves me with the my key motivation...learning. I do believe that an idle mind is a devils workshop...so the minute one stops learning, one should start looking for a new job. Never mind if its at the bottom of the food chain. never mind if its not the most glamorous. Never mind if it aint the easiest or the best paying. As long as u learn...