Of Cars, Driving Skills and Career Maneuvers

Driving a Car in the crowded and many times chaotic traffic of Bangalore is an adventure in itself.?It needs a lot of skill, smartness, alertness and patience among the virtues.?As one drives along for 1000s of kilometers in this traffic it brings in a lot of humility and dishes out tons of experiences.?

While driving around recently I encountered various types of traffic, different driving styles and different vehicles.?Observing this, it got me thinking about how people and vehicles move around on the road has similarities to how we maneuver our careers.

Some of my thoughts below:

• Choice of Vehicle (Petrol/Diesel, Engine capacity, Driving comfort) ==> Choice of Company (Vision, Strategy, Benefits) and position.
• The Diesel Car ==> Big Company, Effective, Long timer, Good Growth, Backbone of the industry.
• The Petrol Car ==> A Good company, Effective Growth, Niche Segments, Silent focus.
• The Electric Car user ==> The Startup employee, the one who wants to do something new.
• Sticking to one lane, Steady Driving ==> Staying in the comfort zone, trying to achieve slow but steady growth towards career goals.
• Two Wheelers cutting across in front un-knowingly ==> Small or Daily niggles at work.
• Driving aggressive, Fast, Zig-Zagging in traffic ==> The fast mover, taking extra risks surging ahead in career, making their own ways.
• Repeated Honking, Accelerate & Deaccelerate, riding across 2 lanes ==> The confused professional, not sure where to go, what to do, unhappy.
• The New Learner driving with the help of the Car Driving school ==> The newbie engineer, treading with caution, getting trained, making rookie mistakes, eager to learn.
• Accelerating on seeing the Signal Turn Yellow ==> The Lone Ranger who wants no impediments the career and shall do anything to keep moving ahead.

I have been a cautious driver and do not necessarily love driving long distances, but I’ve had the pleasure to drive/commute along with a few driving enthusiasts who can drive 100s of kms without getting tired of it.?If I were to look back at each of them and see how their driving styles have mirrored their careers it seems like my analogy fits well.

a.????One person who has not shied away from driving – driving fast, weave, wade through traffic and uses a big SUV has also maneuvered his career well by quickly learning, rising thru the ranks, taking the risks, switching roles and later companies to be an ultra-successful pro.

b.????Someone who liked to drive fast in the initial days and then mellowed down to driving steady but driving longer distances has shown the intent to take the tougher routes in his career and tried to achieve a semblance of patience and prep himself for the longer haul but a steady role.

c.????Someone who was a steady, cautious driver was influenced by the fast, zip-zap driving styles of his friends and tried to mimic the same, but then found that it was tough to imbibe another style which is not easy and likewise has tried to do some radical changes in his career only to realize that the way ahead is to be simple, cautious and move at a steady pace rather than the frenetic pace he was trying to achieve.

So here above is my analogy on the Cars and Driving styles and how People driving them mimic a bit of it in their careers as well.?Any observations you have, please share.

The routes are many, the skills are diverse

Reach you shall, the place you desire

With the Skills you shall Master

--Raghavendra

Here’s wishing a successful, happy, healthy career to all of you on my network.