Today afternoon; over a rather sumptuous lunch, I was talking to one of my colleagues about general workplace issues ( you know the kind of bitching that happens when two guys get together and talk about everyone and everything they know in the company) when he mentioned to me that he wanted to move to planning. And I asked what seemed a rather obvious question: “Why do you want to be a planner?”
And then I realized that I may not have the answer to that well defined myself. Don’t get me wrong here: It’s not that I don’t enjoy what I do; in fact; I abso-positively love it. But the basic issue is I really did not have my reason to be in planning. A lot of emotional reasons exist (I like my job a lot; I love the people with whom I work, I feel comfortable in this environment, this seems just right, etc, etc.) but I didn’t have a rational reason and definitely not one that I could think of spontaneously. Well; the thought is quite scary when you come to think about it, considering I have spent two years in this profession now.
Well; the next step was then to say to myself that my thinking was probably not true; I just needed to probe myself enough to find my peace. It wasn’t easy to say the least but I made an honest attempt and came up with some answers that seem satisfactory to me. So here are some of the reasons that motivate me to come to work everyday and do my job:
-I like the pace at which I have to shift brands as well as categories (although sometimes it does get a little too fast paced for my own good)
-I like the fact that I need to constantly use my own observations about people (and in some cases; almost force myself to observe; a process I call research) to be able to make genuine recommendations to clients
-I think this stream allows me to use my most valuable learning from my engineering days: the power of thinking logically; to the maximum possible use (sometimes that can be a deterrent too; when people tell you to think out of the box )
-I can reference anything that I do to movies and people will appreciate or overlook it but definitely not criticize it
-Being a researcher by profession; I get to use data rather than just provide it with recommendations being a part of annexure
-The thrill of pitching for a new business is exhilarating and the thrill of getting it right even more so. But the thrill of winning a pitch is pretty much unexplainable.
-The efforts put into ideation; research and analysis finally do see the light of the day as a tangible product.
-Having to think through a brand and all the stools on which it rests (category, brand and the consumer) and finally making sense out of it is quite a kick.
So, that’s that!! I think some of these are rational enough reasons for me to like what I do day in and day out. But come to think of it, who ever said that you need a rational reason to do anything?? And if rational reasons were the only motivators for people to stick to a particular job; then HR executives wouldn’t really get paid the fat salaries they do right now.
While writing this blog; I asked one of my colleagues to give me his opinion and he told me this seems like an act of self indulgence. Well, it definitely is an effort towards self observation but if it comes across as self indulgence; there’s really not much I can do about that; can I? All I can say is indulge yourself too; once in while.
And then I realized that I may not have the answer to that well defined myself. Don’t get me wrong here: It’s not that I don’t enjoy what I do; in fact; I abso-positively love it. But the basic issue is I really did not have my reason to be in planning. A lot of emotional reasons exist (I like my job a lot; I love the people with whom I work, I feel comfortable in this environment, this seems just right, etc, etc.) but I didn’t have a rational reason and definitely not one that I could think of spontaneously. Well; the thought is quite scary when you come to think about it, considering I have spent two years in this profession now.
Well; the next step was then to say to myself that my thinking was probably not true; I just needed to probe myself enough to find my peace. It wasn’t easy to say the least but I made an honest attempt and came up with some answers that seem satisfactory to me. So here are some of the reasons that motivate me to come to work everyday and do my job:
-I like the pace at which I have to shift brands as well as categories (although sometimes it does get a little too fast paced for my own good)
-I like the fact that I need to constantly use my own observations about people (and in some cases; almost force myself to observe; a process I call research) to be able to make genuine recommendations to clients
-I think this stream allows me to use my most valuable learning from my engineering days: the power of thinking logically; to the maximum possible use (sometimes that can be a deterrent too; when people tell you to think out of the box )
-I can reference anything that I do to movies and people will appreciate or overlook it but definitely not criticize it
-Being a researcher by profession; I get to use data rather than just provide it with recommendations being a part of annexure
-The thrill of pitching for a new business is exhilarating and the thrill of getting it right even more so. But the thrill of winning a pitch is pretty much unexplainable.
-The efforts put into ideation; research and analysis finally do see the light of the day as a tangible product.
-Having to think through a brand and all the stools on which it rests (category, brand and the consumer) and finally making sense out of it is quite a kick.
So, that’s that!! I think some of these are rational enough reasons for me to like what I do day in and day out. But come to think of it, who ever said that you need a rational reason to do anything?? And if rational reasons were the only motivators for people to stick to a particular job; then HR executives wouldn’t really get paid the fat salaries they do right now.
While writing this blog; I asked one of my colleagues to give me his opinion and he told me this seems like an act of self indulgence. Well, it definitely is an effort towards self observation but if it comes across as self indulgence; there’s really not much I can do about that; can I? All I can say is indulge yourself too; once in while.
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