Third Quarter Day 1
It all started in summer of 2006. Life then was on a set path. Most of the events are on cruise control and I believed , one had to enjoy the ride. There were several highs and lows by then, I prided myself that I could take it with great equanimity. After all centuries of Great Indian Philosophy was strongly supporting me in my thinking.
But it was not to be ! It started slowly in the beginning. There were good numbers to start with. By then I attended Silver Reunion at IIT Chennai and it was a Blast ! Despite God’s own idea of hitting Tamil Nadu with Tsunami exactly on the day we descended and following great human tragedy, we found a great comfort in bonding with each other after 25 long years. We could recognize some, had difficulty with most. We were shocked to know about passing away of some of us. Some of us made it big, others survived. Overall it was a mixed bag but great fun. By Day 2, we started feeling young and by day 3 even attempted Bawdy Songs of yesterdays. After that we retreated to our shells and life returned to what it was. But year 2006 was different. I had completed 25 years of working life. Some of my Asian Paints joinees got together over a beer and reminisced the wonder years of corporate life. Then came another silver (I am not talking about my hair). That year was also our 25th year of passing out of IIM Calcutta. Internet power was understood well by each of us by then. Sweet sixteeners, as we liked to call ourselves, had great leaders. Chachas, Sekars, Trivies, Vinits, Ramaraos , Sudhas et al started making noises on cyberspace. Great ideas being tossed around. How, when, where …. So many options and one could see pulses racing. Our batch incidentally was fortunate to have several sleepers like me who always supported a good cause so long as some one else was doing it. It was fun to read the heat n dust of debates every evening on the way back from office. It also helped me in not cursing the traffic.
Chacha changed all that. With his continued wisdom since college days, he realized early that this project wouldn’t take off. Visionary ideas needed hardened workers ! He called for a small meeting in Mumbai and called me names.. Yanks, Reliance Guy, Mumbaikar etc., By the time I understood him, I was firmly in the operations committee of Great Silver Reunion. While I didn’t warm up to this idea initially, I found it is a great diversion from the life I was leading. Next six months were hectic and culminated in a great get together at Joka where again many lost n found friendships blossomed.
The last day at campus in wee hours, high on spirits, I spent considerable time with the current batch students. That was a turning point. There is a big change and I disparately tried to figure out what it is. Slowly I realized that I was no longer identifying myself with the IIM alma mater, but my son with them. That night back in the room, I tried to take stock and made following observations :
Observation 1 : I enjoyed slogging
While most of my contribution towards the silver reunion was at very low level, like coordinating e-communication, organizing transportation, paying for hotel bills etc., I found great satisfaction of doing these. I ran around with the boys in great abandon organizing the event which was the first time in my life ! Two hours sleep, in fact refreshed me for the next day !
Observation 2 : While I was busy, new generation emerged
The boys and girls I interacted at the campus were different. Their perspectives on life and business were definitely different from what I had at their age. While they engaged us fully and participated and interacted with us in all those long days (and nights) the writing was clear on the wall. MOVE ON ! They have new world and new issues and they didn’t need my advice in most of the times.
Observation 3 : Number 25 has significance
It is accidental that I started reflecting seriously thanks to IIT, Asian Paints, IIM silver reunions. But may be not. With 50 staring at me ( I was 49 then) this number sounded magical. Our ancient philosophy taught me three phases in life. Childhood, Youth and Old Age. But it no longer fitted my scheme of things. My dad at late seventies , just about started accepting that he might be old. I have a long way to go though the present crop calls me “Uncle” with reverence.
Observation 4 : Who is the Brand ?
Having done management education from one of the finest B-Schools on earth, I was a great believer in the power of Brand. IIT, IIM, Asian Paints, Glaxo, Lintas, Reliance etc., reinforced all that. The boys at campus credited my energy levels to my working late hours at Reliance. My friend circle and their wives continue to be impressed with my IIT / IIM pedigree. Lever / Lintas days opened gates to Suits and Hoi Polloi. The question I had that night was do I need another Brand or Brand Extension ? If these brands are making me what I am, then who am I with out these? Will I be happy ?
Next few months were bad. My head was in a spin. I started opening all the cobwebs in my mind and re-looked at each year of my life starting from age 5. Too many questions , too much of confusion. Tried to talk to my friends and most of them concluded that age is finally catching up with Srini , that is me.
I refused to give up. The one common thread I found from this life analysis is my eternal optimism of future. Several elders in my village when I was a kid, told me that world would come to an end but it didn’t. The first year of working life in Mumbai, the chap under my armpit in crowded local train told me that Mumbai stinks. But our family still believes it is a beautiful place to live in. Now that I am reaching glorious age of 50, I don’t want to fade away slowly onto sunset. I believe that equal active life I spent so far is still ahead, God willing. That was the genesis of my Theory of Quartiles. Since it is home grown, I love it.
Theory of Quartiles and Third Q
The theory really is very simple. In fact it might have been expressed by wiser men already in better terms. It goes something like this :
Life consists of four quarters. Quarter One is “Growing Up’. This is the phase when society in the form of Parents, family, friends, Educational Institutions, Government etc., nurse you from a toddler to “standing on your feet” stage.
Quarter Two is “ Engagement”. With acquired skills and abundance of energy and enthusiasm one engages and contributes to society. You make family, earn your living and contribute to overall welfare of society.
Quarter Three is “Uniqueness”. With newly acquired freedom from family and societal obligations time is ripe to define oneself. Entrepreneurial in nature this phase demands that one defines his / her own offering and nurture it over a long period.
Quarter Four is “Fulfillment”. Having completed engagements with the worldly chores, health permitting, this is the phase to seek eternal peace with oneself.
Quarter Three has a problem. All the models that society has given appeared to be defensive in nature. One is expected to slow down, share wisdom with juniors , consolidate the gains and make good quickly the pending obligations or “live happily ever after” (whatever it means). There is a strong negativity around these options. It is like Pink Floyd’s lyric “ And you run and run to catch up the sun, but it is sinking”. 25 years is a very long time to do that. Just think. It took long time to grow up and equally long time spent on working life. And these also have the same magic number 25. I couldn’t imagine the next 25 years , I will be wandering aimlessly and grab whatever society gives or retreat into the shell I created all along. There ought to be better options. That is when I decided to experiment. I thought to myself, why should society give us solutions all the time. Isn’t it time to grow up ? If a young person of twenties can dream of setting up a venture without knowing where it could lead to, what is preventing me in chartering unknown waters? Can I be the “Brand” rather than perennially attaching myself with another ?
As I started entering the Third Quartile excitement swept all over me. Same adrenalin, I had when I stepped into IIT Gates, the first day at Corporate Induction Program! I had no clue where it will be leading. For the first time in my life there is no clear path. Here, I have to set my own rules, create my own path and make it relevant to myself and people impacted by me. Isn’t it wonderful ? I am young again. To think this that process has enough time band (25 years) , I can definitely experiment and make a few mistakes. Life is suddenly exhilarating.
I decided to experiment. I stopped thinking about the traditional hooks like money, settling children , buying that extra property. They can wait. First thing I told myself is to get out of Brand Security. It should be no longer Srini from so and so company or Srini who did this and that course. It should be just Srini. I want to be the Brand. The idea is not to crack the jackpot. It is just that I want people I interact know me as myself.
Day 1
The journey began and already two years were spent. I started working all over again and in the areas where I never treaded before. I joined a company which my friends didn’t hear before and no clue on what I do. I started feeling more energetic. It is a green field venture with very little precedents. It gave me the platform to contribute in the areas I enjoyed the most. Making a career or getting more moolah is no longer a consideration. I was part of a great process of creating a large corporate and taking to Public. I found that if I have to define myself as a Brand and attach a few USPs which others can potentially found useful , this process gave some clues. As a beginner in this Quartile , there is time to refine further. I want to fully understand this “Uniqueness” concept. It is challenging and fun again. It is still Day 1 (Okay, may be Day 2) but have many more to come
