Luck

Jack Welsh writes in his book "Straight from the Gut" that one of the key reasons he got the top job at GE was because he was at the right place and at the right time and, therefore, got noticed.  He is being modest.  Louis Pasteur said, "Chance favours the prepared mind."  Seneca says, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

I was reflecting on my career and thought I will share some examples of the luck that I have had. Whilst working in the Business Finance function in an IT company, I wanted to be in Sales. I had this fascination for customer, for generating revenue, for being in the thick of action.  However, at that time, I was told that I cannot sell IT products because I did not have the right educational background. It was then that I started thinking and asked my self as to what I can sell given that I was a professionally qualified accountant. The answer that kept coming back to me was financial services and in those days, it was predominantly, banking. So, I told this to the Treasurer of the IT company that I was working for.  Few months later, a situation arose. The Treasurer had referred another person to a leading foreign bank in India for a job. His name was also Ravi. An interview had been arranged and that other Ravi did not turn up for the interview. So, the banker called the Treasurer and asked him as to why Ravi had not come for the interview. The Treasurer looks at me (read as right place - right time) while talking to the banker on the phone - and it struck him that I had similar interests and immediately to save face tells the banker that he had held up "Ravi" at office with some work and will send him immediately for the interview. He called me and asked me to attend the interview. I went ahead and did that and that's how I got a job in banking. Yes, I was at the right place at the right time...but, I was fully prepared because I had clarified in my mind that this is what I wanted to do. I had done research on the types of jobs. I had found out what these jobs entailed and when I attended the interview, I was fully prepared.

There have been other instances in my career but something that happened very recently was when the job of my erstwhile manager came up.  Initially, I was wondering if I was suitable for the role.  However, I realized that I was managing a large part of the organization, had done back office roles in the past, had run a profit centre (even though this job was to manage a cost centre) and knew what it was to handle tough customers. So, I agreed to attend the interview for the position.  Despite the fact that I had been doing a role at the next lower level for years, I refused to the take this opportunity for granted.  I knew I had prepare my self physically, mentally and also bring in the right energies within myself . It started from writing up my resume, to talking to many people who had done different roles at the higher level so that I could understand what could go wrong at that level and also to role-play various scenarios with my family and friends.  I also actively sought help with a retired person who had initially set up the role in the company and discussed various choice points he had when he managed the job and checked as to why he had made some choices.  I had spoken to over 20 people. This gave me much more clarity on the role and made me increasingly confident that I could do the role, though it would take time to get used to it.  The preparedness gave me the confidence.  Confidence also came because I started realizing that to do this complex job effectively, one needed the right attitude.  At no point in time I under-estimated the asks of the job.  That helped me build the right attitude towards the role and also understand the risks of taking on the role. I also understood the risks for the person giving me the job and so decided to articulate that with action plans on how to mitigate those risks (in terms of what I would do and by when).  I prepared myself physically and mentally for the role initially. Then, I started looking at the job from its asks of me with regard to attitude.  I had to harness a positive energy. So, I started aligning the body, the mind and the energies. Within 6 weeks, I could feel the difference in me.  When I walked out of the interview (it was a telephonic one and, therefore, much more difficult to understand the body language of the other person), I knew I had given it my best shot.  I got the role and I knew that lot of work had gone in to it despite being at the right time and at the right place.  What Seneca and Louis Pasteur said came to my mind.  It was preparedness meeting opportunity.

Yes, luck is about being at the right time and at the right place but there is something more to it. You have to be prepared and grab it with both your hands. You must have the right attitude for it...so, to me, luck is the prepared person at the right time at the right place with the right attitude.