Life lessons as an early career professional

Very early on in my career, after a really long day at work, my boss's boss ( also referred to as a superboss in some parts of the world) very gently asked me, " Reeti, do you want to go watch a play with me?"

I was a bit hesitant at first, and even nervous. The CEO of my organization was asking me to watch a play with her. I said yes. She said her mother would also be joining us.

This CEO was one of the busiest people in the world, but she had paid attention to her juniormost colleague. I had mentioned in my job interview that I loved watching plays and casually mentioned that ever since moving to Bombay/Mumbai, I either had nobody to watch plays with or I had no time to go watch any. I had moved to Bombay and had no family here, and neither did I know anyone.

That evening, she introduced me to her mother and also taught me three very valuable lessons.

1.Even if you do not have a lot of time, if you pay attention to people and make them feel valued, they will remember you.

2. Instead of striving for work-life balance, ambitious people can strive for work-life integration.

3. People like her are very rare. When you find quality human beings, value them.

Almost ten years later, I ran into her at the airport and gave her a hug. She still remembered minute details about me.