Investing

Savings is one of the best habits. I have noticed that societies that save are more resilient to changes in the economic environment than societies that don't save or have lower savings rates. So, what do you do when you end up saving. We try and put it away as investments. These investments yield a return and that adds to wealth.

So, investments are essentially resources that we use today that will increase our future income.  It has been said time and again by economists that human potential is probably not something that we have invested in.  We invest extra money that we have in to deposits that yield us interest or in to gold or land that yield future returns. However, we think twice before investing in to human potential. So, what is investing in human potential? Can we increase the effectiveness of people around us by investing in them or can we get each one of us to invest in ourselves to improve our potential?

We need to start investing in ourselves first.  Our individual careers is a huge investment that we can make. Our career generates our future income flows. It satisfies our needs - be those mental, physical, spiritual, etc. Why then do we shy away from investing in to this career? We see this as an expenditure when it comes to ourselves but are willing to do that for our children.

I was reading the interview of an actor who talked of what he had done to set up a gym, a swimming pool, a dancing room, a studio where he could practice acting and managed his diet extremely well. He said that few years ago he would put down food and drinks without too much of thought. But, now, he realizes that unless he stays extremely fit and good looking, no one is going to hire him to do films. So, he has started investing in his career.  This is a powerful way of looking at life.  In India, the career span of an actor could range from 2 years to 30 years depending on various factors. Apart from capability to act, there are other factors like how does he/she emote, dance, etc. The physical aspect in terms of looks is absolutely important. So, this actor is really investing in his career by doing what he has done.

So, what should we do to invest in our careers?  Many of us look towards studying in our jobs. Many attend training programs. We also look towards other on-the job learning tools. One of the best ways to manage our careers, especially if we are working in corporates, is to rotate jobs. Job rotation is absolutely essential if we need to get a broader aspect of our job. People rotate across companies, across various jobs in the same company, across geographies, etc. Every rotation is a huge learning experience.  In my career, I have rotated across few companies and have done various roles ranging from audit, accounting, business finance support, sales and marketing, product development, account management, operations, business start up, business divestitures, consulting, training, risk management, etc.  I have done various roles across different geographies, managed multicultural teams, managed teams across geographies and also worked for managers from India, UK, Ireland, Australia, US, Germany, China, Bahrain and Oman. I was counting the number of managers that I have worked for - it came up to 31.  The industries that I have had exposure to include Manufacturing, Audit, Banking, NGOs, Trading, Brokerage, Pharmaceutical, Oil Refining, Granite Mining, Technology, Telecom, Agriculture, Food & Beverages, Shared Services....and there are few more I am sure.  If I look back, it has been a long and arduous path and the exposure to all these is what has got me to where I am today.

One of the most important aspects of any career is being physically fit.  As they say, "A healthy body carries a healthy mind".  It is absolutely essential to be physically fit to be able to do a job well.  Many of us ignore this aspect till it hits back at us and we realize that health is wealth.  If we are not physically fit, it becomes difficult to do a job properly even if that job is sedentary in nature i.e. a desk bound job.  We are not sharp, we find it difficult to concentrate and we are unable to focus on the job or a problem at hand for an extended period of time.  So, while we invest in our careers, it is also important to invest in our health and physical well-being.  To a large extent, our careers will be tied in to physical fitness.

 

Let us begin 2013 by focussing and investing in our career and physical fitness. I wish all readers a wonderful 2013 that is filled with hope, faith, happiness, good health and prosperity.