18 years at an IT Company? Are you Nuts?

Seldom this question gets asked to me and gets me thinking - Am I missing something? Do I lack career aspirations? Am I playing safe and stagnant? Where is this all leading to?

What has Persistent Systems given me that over 18 years and counting and I continue to be resting and nesting in its comfortable arms?

What do I have to thank Persistent for? - the chances it has given me to take risks and succeed/fail and grow, or the ability to spot some talent in an introvert like me to push me in to Sales (perhaps one of the first of a kind of role in Persistent) and persist me to move to Seattle to manage our relationship with Microsoft the largest ISV and build my Presentation, persuasion and Personality? Or should I thank for putting me sometimes into unchartered seas and asking me to swim like managing products portfolio role or Sales enablement role or entrust a key partnership like SAP to build from scratch or to start a Bangalore center all by myself? I may have fared great/good/bad/ugly at times but like a true family, my management and especially CEO has stuck besides me and guided me through troubled times!

Companies not only build your professional life but also your social life. My best/good friends have been primarily around people who worked at Persistent apart from my college junkies. Though quite some pounds over, my passion in badminton was ignited again when I joined Persistent and had some cool partners to tag along with. As a part of my Seattle assignment we got to experience one of the best life styles being in USA and experiencing its beauty and ease of life!

Our HR policies has been real accommodating and can't thank enough, be it handling all paper work and financial help during my father's brain hemorrhage and the moral support from our superb Admin team as well. Or should I be thanking a company which even during dot com bust days, decided not to layoff even one employee but collectively senior people took pay cuts during those trying times?No words can also thank the managers/team who helped me work from home for close to 9 months when my wife was on bed rest trying our last frontier to bring a life to this planet after 13 years of married life!

All that I have earned be it respect, a life, a partner, a small little homosapien, friends, financial security, peace of mind has been because of persistence on part of Persistent as well as mine to challenge each other and to give the right opportunities and warmth of an extended family.

 I don't know what's in store for future but I believe in an era where we have forgotten "Maine desh/aap ka namakh khaya hai", I feel proud to stand testament to the word "Loyalty".

Question which does really come to mind is what I have given to Persistent? Perhaps my management, CEO and colleagues have those in their mind and I wouldn't want to speculate too much. I might not have been best at a particular thing but I would like to imagine I have been a Jack of all trades and that's my specialty as an individual and that's who I am - all fingers are not equal!

Another greatness shown by Persistent - this picture from our annual report. Yes its me, leftmost on 3rd row.