After a very quick round of conversations, I agreed to join Arghyam, for a temporary period (through Jan) at the end of which we would discuss if it mutually works to make it more long-term.
It was a very sudden thing, and I'm glad I made up my mind quickly as I'm usually very slow about these kinds of things. Arghyam is a organization that does a few things in the broad area of 'water', its mission being 'safe sustainable water for all':
-- It funds innovative projects that are in line with the mission
-- It organizes conferences and other fora for discussioins to propagate the mission
-- It lobbies with government
-- It is setting up a 'water portal' as a clearninghouse of information about water in India.
I'm personally being hired (its a paid job) as a product manager for the last item. They have the v1.0 launch of the water portal coming up and they are stressed for people to help do the launch. Don't tell anybody but the PM might be officially launching the portal.
Why did I take this up ?
-- the job description sounded really juicy, including stuff like 'liasoning with international agencies in the area of water'. The offical job description is 'senior product manager' which is a nice title, and should I want to go back to tech world, it will actually be very good experience to have. I expect that I will get to meet and interact with a whole bunch of more people and that may open new doors and new directions. Water is a very key area in India and the rest of the world. There are various dire predictions by very mainstream organizations, how the world is getting shorter and shorter of water and there will be more and more disputes and even wars over water going forward.
-- I was getting a little concerned as I knew the deadline for getting a 'real job' or atleast to start making livelihood money was March 07. This gives me a little headstart on that, while doing stuff that is entirely in line with the objective of the sabbatical. So if this gig turns out to be short term, I will have bought myself some more time after that if needed.
-- Arghyam is a high profile NGO because is funded by an endowment by Rohini Nilenkani, wife of Nandan Nilenkani (google him if you don't know). BTW - the endowment is of the size of 100 crores so that gives you an idea of the kind of money Rohini and Nandan have. I met Rohini briefly on Saturday. Nice person, but would not be appropriate to dissect her more ! Because of its high profile it gets attention from lots of places for eg. Sam Pitroda of the National Knowledge Commission is very keen on the water portal, Saifuddin Soz, Union Minister visited Arghyam a while back, Jeff Sachs gave a public talk under their auspices, and Bunker Roy was also there.
Sajini -- surprise for you, Arghyam's CEO is Alli. She had posted on the Coromandel mailing list with the job description and that's what got me to start talking to her. For the others, the CEO is an old friend from the Vizag Coromandel days, with whom I've worked in a company in the US, WebMD.
13 comments:
CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK!!!
Excellent news. This job seems to have the following two properties
( a ) your core expertise (thinking) is needed and
( b ) the aesthetic constraints that you so doggedly choose to impose (a specific way of imparting social value) are met.
I am very happy for you. Like you mention, trying to work out a full time arrangement is a worthy effort. As a suggestion, the real value you add is in thought leadership not IT. So if possible, try to gravitate to more general and strategic roles where you can multiply your effectiveness many times over.
Arvind
congrats despo. water is a such a simple and pure mission. hope it turns out to be long-term.
Thanks all for the good wishes.
(a)So my core expertise is thinking ? That is an interesting idea and flattering but dunno how true it is.
(b) Aha .. that old one. Yup, absolutely there are higher and lower ways of imparting social value :-)
Anonymous -- still striving for simplicity and purity in a grey grey world ?
I'm not very comfortable (yet) about thinking of this as a permanent job as it doesn't pay that much. I am going through a long process of seeing if I have it in me to take the jump off and accept a significantly lower standard of living than so far and related things. Also whether that's a false dilemma in the first place, and as Arvind says :-) different ways of imparting social value are equally relevant
>>That is an interesting idea and flattering but
The idea is correct. That you find it flattering, I suspect, reflects that
( a ) deep down you feel happy that you think better than others. A nonsignificant part of the happiness comes from the better component. If that true, then thats a shame because I then suspect then that your idea of social service contains many hidden elitist components
( b ) you are unable to accept competency in thinking for what it is - without any pride or false humility.
BTW beyond a doubt, to me at least, different ways of imparting social value are the same. Since you are working with Rohini Nilekani, heres a relevant question ... Is Nandan Nilekani's excellence in running an organization, less valuable to society than Mother Teresa's care? I submit the answer is no.
Arvind
Arvind:
I take your last comment seriously and in good faith. Will do a serious answer to it later. Watch this space
Good idea. Dont rush to answer this. Its not easy and requires some introspection.
I hope the line of inquiry that arises from my comments suggest, will lead you to some good.
Part of the questions I raise are from my understanding of the errors of my ways. For a long time, the cool IIT factor was a veil that obscured my views.
Arvind
Congratulations, Despo!
Anonymous -- you know me since you say 'despo' but you don't identify yourself. Not fair
I found out the identity of the person who left the "Congrats, Despo" comment. It was Nandita. It was the first time she was leaving a comment and she thought there would be a separate pop up asking for her a name.
Arvind
That was my first guess :-)
So I've two things to respond to -- my 'competency in thinking' and the equivalance of various ways of service.
a)Whether its true or not I would find it flattering if someone said my core expertise is thinking. I don't think that means very much. Its the same thing as if someone told a woman she's very good-looking or a guy that he's a great entrepreneur.
'I dunno if its true' because I've been thinking all my life and have precious little to show for it :-). If I look back at my career, I don't see much to suggest that any 'abstract' thinking skill added value anywhere along the line. In fact, with reference to my Physics stint, the lack of higher levels of (a particular kind of) thinking were obvious. I *have* chosen to plough a lonely furrow off the beaten track as a result of my thinking, but the jury is very much out as to the long-term consequences of my path, and I'm not getting much positive feedback on the matter from you my friend, as a result of your own position on service equivalence.
As a side note, I am finding that perhaps one niche that I can make for myself is in project management. I find that I have some interest and aptitude for seeing the big picture of the project and trying to organize and keep track of it.
Finally I might add that one of my acquaitances in a previous phase made the comment that I think clearly. I think there is some truth in that.
b) 'Equivalence of ways': Well, we've tread this ground before. I can't think of a fresh new way to look at it. Here are a couple of points:
- most people who one meets in the social service area are really nice people and remarkable people. Its one of the key rewards of being in this area. The agglomeration of good people in the area is a hint that something special is happening here.
- I feel two strong pulls internally. One is to do the kind of work I was doing which has its thrills and rewards. Having taken some time to see the other part of the world hasn't dimmed the particular attractions of my previous job. The other pull is towards social work kind of stuff. Its extremely exciting to engage in a serious way with basic things like equity, correcting injustice, compassion etc.
I see both these pulls as valid and haven't found a way to reconcile the two. (One of the nice things about Noam Chomsky is how he has done justice to both aspects of his life). I feel what I said above is reasonably universally valid. A mainstream job does not engage key parts of being human and therefore one cannot be a complete human being (and impart optimal social value) in such a setting.
( a ) It is the ability the think abstractly that has gotten you all the good things in life - such as the ability to know yourself and overcome your circumstances. The reason you are valuable in an organization is that this ability gives you real problem solving skills (I mean such as what is the right way to get this done, not necessarily math problems.) Understanding oneself is a process of precise dissection, reduction, intelligent conjecturing and verifying and can be done well only by a good thinker. You are pretty good about this.
( b ) My view on your physics experience is different. You say you were obviously lacking in some skills - perhaps. But I think the real issue was that you did not love the field enough. The second component of what caused you pain was your inability to not get overwhelmed by people who could think better. If you were really comfortable about being a good thinker you would not be over whelmed by better thinkers. Neither would you feel the need to be modest. I dont think the issue was ever about your skills as it was about your attitudes.
( c ) While I am convinced about the equivalence of ways, it is not true that all ways are good for all people. Since you prefer some ways to others, it is best for you to stick with the path that you like. I think the path that you have chosen will bring you many rewards - you will learn a lot more about yourself than in the conventional path, as you understand your loneliness you will understand yourself a lot better. This is the path that is most likely going to make you the happiest because you dont believe other paths are as good (whether or not that is true is irrelevant.)
( d ) You mention attractions of your previous job. What are they and why do you find them attractive.
( e ) Since you have two attractive forces in your life, you should go the route of travelling on each path until you figure out of you really want one over the other. So the sabbatical was a good thing, for you are making progress on one of the paths that you felt you had neglected.
Arvind
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