PERSONAL SPECIAL.... The art of re-invention

 The art of re-invention 

ONCE YOU’VE RECOGNISED A NEED, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT RE-INVENTING YOURSELF?

    Months after I graduated with my MBA from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue, my first boss at a Silicon Valley venture funded startup told me: “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!” It’s a classic thumbrule that most small, nimble companies in high-paced environments utilise to their advantage. However, when it comes to the longer term and when you are building companies to last, or even more importantly, when you are chiselling your own career or destiny, a different modicum of truth might apply.
    A few years later while training under the best of breed marketers at Apple Computer in Cupertino California, I was introduced to a different ethos, a fundamentally different way of doing business, “If you don’t cannibalise your own product, someone else will.” This macro-maxim at a corporate level also rings uncannily true when it comes to self-management. How do you know when it is time to reinvent yourself? What are the signs of stagnancy? How do you reinvent yourself?
    When you are cruising along the highway of life with the wind in your sails, the last thing you think about is changing course. However, having the wisdom to know that change will come and being prepared to anticipate it prevents one from getting into a
state of stagnancy and moving from a growth mode into a hypergrowth one. Failure is the best time to reinvent yourself, but the trick is to not wait for failure.
    Take the classic case of Deepak Chopra who was doing scholarly research on lab mice to study hormonal behaviour. His true calling was not amassing data on how mice reacted to chemicals. Rather, he was more interested in the psychosomatic nature of illnesses and the resultant mental suffering in human beings. At age 28, he walked out on his Hitlerian lab supervisor to reinvent himself into one of the most published and followed spiritual gurus on an
international podium.
    Take the case of Nelson Mandela - from spending 27 years in prison to becoming the first leader of African descent in South Africa to evolving into an advocate of peace and equality in the world, he truly exemplified fundamental reinvention at each stage of life.
    Or consider the case of Steve Jobs, who was fired from his own company (Apple). In two years, he went on to start another company (NeXT) and then yet another (Pixar), and 15 years later, went to sell each of those companies for a few billion dollars. What causes someone to rise from being kicked out of their own company to becoming the first person to build three separate multi-billion dollar technology companies?
    I am a key proponent of Socrates’ school of “know thyself”. Unless you truly understand your passion and what role you can play in this world for the greater good, you will never find your true calling. If you find yourself looking in the rear view mirror, basking in the glow of past accomplishments, having limiting self-beliefs and complacency, then know that it’s time to give life a little fillip and challenge yourself all over again. Ego is the greatest enemy of the learned man or woman, and you will have to practice the fine art of shedding that veneer of ego to let your true potential emerge. Once you’ve recognised a need and once your decision has been made in terms of what course to follow, visualise, believe, and keep moving forward. Make mistakes along the way, and self-correct through a process of discipline and continually hone your skills. You will realise that once you start operating from a position of your strengths and start focusing on the greater good, avenues to reinvent yourself into something bigger, better, and more beautiful will mystically materialise.
    Stay alert to opportunity, stay focused on the task at hand, and be open to change and challenge.
 KAVITA SONAWALA    — The author is the country  head of marketing,  The Royal Bank of Scotland TAS130529