Better late than never..

It's been five years since I left EMC and I'm still asked the following from customers and business partners alike; "why did you leave?"

For a considerable period of time, my name was linked to this company, and I was part of the fabric, the furniture. Why? The key reason being that I was one of the?early joiners who started out life in the Qatar office. Back then, we all had youth on our side and a vibe which moved us forward like a tsunami wave. More on that "vibe" in a bit. Over a short period of time, we grew the firm into what it is today. In fact, we watered EMC's exponential growth in the market,?and those were great days!

My journey started with Ghassan Kosta. Look him?up on?LinkedIn and give him a follow if you aren't already. You're going to like what you see. Ghassan isn't just a dear friend, brother, and a roommate back when Doha was in its?youth, but is a truly beautiful human inside and out.?He introduced me to Habib Mahakian, who's someone with a truly unique character. Habib is also one of those rare people who you simply can't resist liking. Habib, if you're reading this, I want to tell you that it was such a pleasure working with you.?On a side note, the interview with Habib was a complete joy. It was more of a chat between friends that found common ground instantaneously. If you've ever experienced an?interview which?generates these vibes, you know what I mean. What I do need to tell you about the interview isn't that I remember every moment of it, but that Habib let me off the hook three times. You see,?I made three major mistakes, and yet he decided to hire?me. You could say Habib was looking for character?more than technical knowledge. Maybe he can confirm that in the comments??.

The first mistake during the interview was when he asked me the following:

"So, Nader, what do you?know about EMC?"

I gave a stock answer; "why, they're one of the industry leaders!"

?What I should've said is that they are the leaders. I understood the error when I joined. You see, when you work for a leader,?be it a person or a firm,?you feel leadership everywhere. It spreads and blankets everything, from the culture, the people, even the very air within the office reaffirms that you are in fact part of something bigger, better. This in turn pushes; no forces you to be a leader. So, when I'm asked to provide one word about my experience at EMC, the word "admire" springs to mind. I admired this company and the people in it. If you're wondering about the?second and third mistakes I made during my interview, I might cover them in separate articles.

?You're probably now wondering the following... "Nader, if you admired the company so much, why did you leave it?"

The only way to answer this question is to do it honestly, and here are a few reasons:

• I was well positioned
• I had good relationships with everyone
• The company was great and growing

"Yes, Nader, but you've not answered my question!"

?Those three bullet points spell out two incredibly powerful words; "Comfort Zone".

?So, yes, everything was great. I had a routine that I was comfortable with, yet this comfort zone was stopping me from realizing my own major, personal growth, especially in the short term. I wanted to take a bigger step, no scratch that, I needed to make a giant leap, one which would see me take on a brand new?challenge and start from scratch. This is why I moved to GE Digital. Needless to say, GE?was a dream company.

Thing is, everyone's life is a book, and now a new chapter dawns. My career is moving forward once again and I am fully charged with passion, and more importantly, a clear understanding?of my “WHY” and my "PURPOSE". Remember what happens when you blend "why" and "purpose" together? You?create?new success stories, and this is where I am heading now.

?If there's anything you've taken from this article, then it's to realize when you're in a comfort zone. Most of us are happy in our CZ, for it is, after all, comfortable. But if you challenge yourself and continue to push the barriers of what you never thought possible, I guarantee that you will be comfortable with moving from one comfort zone to the next, freely and with your head held high!

So, I would like to take this opportunity to send this?message of gratitude to my EMC team:

"Thank you EMC! Thank you for all the great moments! I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I had an amazing?opportunity to work with you all. You are such an outstanding and talented group of professionals. Some of you are rare talents,?not only in Qatar but across the globe!"