According to one Harvard study, one of the four objectives which man seeks to achieve during his life is legacy. One of the common way of leaving behind legacy is doing something for the society or the country. Most of the corporate executives however do not start working on this objective until they have retired and therefore often fail to prepare themselves for doing anything meaningful in their later part of life.
I was therefore surprised to read Nandan Nilekani's book "Imagining". After reading the book, one realises that his entry in Government UID project was not a chance event. In career, 'opportunity' becomes an opportunity only when you are prepared for it. This book shows his preparedness. Although the book took about 3 years in the writing, I am sure it was working on his mind for much more longer than that. The book depicts his method of understanding India's background and challenges to find what he could do in this scenario.
In the process, however he has created a book which can be used by all corporate professionals. (This is opportunity for you!)
It is a very good book that brings together the relevant part of Indian history to understand where India stands today. It fills in numerous gaps of information that may be irking you. For instance, it would help you understand how this 'double hump' demographical change in Northern versus Western/Southern states is fueling the 'Marathi' movement in Maharashtra. Or why accidental introduction of English language to 'control' the English empire by British India has unwittingly helped India today? Or how these small revolutions in Stock exchange automation or Telecom have contributed to India's growth in such a big way? Or what challenges is India facing on education and health front?
For a corporate professional, who does not have the time and patience to understand the country's challenges in a meaningful way, this book of Nandan Nilekani offers a 1000 feet perspective of India's historical background and the emanating challenges, so that one can delve into deeper details of a relevant portion ( of IT or eduction or health) depending on one's interest and concern.
2 comments:
Fallacies of your argument:
1. This is not just true for corporate executives, but also for people working in other fields.
2. People don't start late because they were busy, sometimes people DO take a lifetime to realize this aspect of life.
3. Your blog sounds like a desperate attempt to drive everything to one issue: career.
4. You see Nilekani's project as a career achievement? I am sure his driving force was more than just that.
You not only underestimate the DRIVING FORCE but plainly look at the rewards from "career building" point of view. This is a very common mentality in our country.
Yes, I am purposely driving everything to career because Career is not just about work-life or work-life related objectives!
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