Hi,
Nice to see that things are moving again. Just to clarify on the point I made. I said that to make a significant impact you have to be fulltime. But if you are happy doing your small bit (and I don’t mean to imply that it is bad, something is better than nothing and anything, however small or little, is most definitely welcome) then please go ahead part-time by all means. Let me elaborate.
To use an oft quoted example, take the example of a teaching a hungry man how to fish:
- Some of you might be satisfied giving him one meal to eat, mind you he needs to eat something till he learns fishing!
- Some of you might want to go ahead and teach the guy how to fish.
- And some of you might want to revolutionize the fishing industry.
Each of them is needed and does a useful service to society. All I am saying is don’t have the delusion that you can offer a hungry man one meal and then say that you have made the world a better place.
Lastly, before I sign off, did you do part time in your respective industries before you plunged in full time? Civil engineers from our batch, who took up software jobs, did not work part time as software engineers before they plunged full time into software. This sector is not different. Having said that those who want to start something on their own would do well to work at some other place first, get some experience, and then start up.
Regards,
Nachiket
Tags: nachi
June 11, 2008 at 4:50 am |
I have 2 reasons to believe that the effort should begin part time.
1. The first is ideological: _keep your day job_. This slick advertising guru (gapingvoid.com) wrote a cult essay on how to be creative. Management schtick aside, excerpts:
The Sex & Cash Theory: From”How To Be Creative”:
The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the assignment covers both bases, but not often.
A good example is Phil, a NY photographer friend of mine. He does really wild stuff for the indie magazines- it pays nothing, but it allows him to build his portfolio. Then he’ll go off and shoot some catalogues for a while. Nothing too exciting, but it pays the bills.
Another example is somebody like Martin Amis. He writes “serious” novels, but he has to supplement his income by writing the occasional newspaper article for the London papers (novel royalties are bloody pathetic- even bestsellers like Amis aren’t immune).
Or actors. One year Travolta will be in an ultra-hip flick like Pulp Fiction (“Sex”), the next he’ll be in some dumb spy thriller (“Cash”).
It’s balancing the need to make a good living while still maintaining one’s credibility. My M.O. is gapingvoid (“Sex”), coupled with writing advertising (“Cash”).
I’m thinking about the young writer who has to wait tables to pay the bills, in spite of her writing appearing in all the cool literary magazines…. who dreams of one day of not having her life divided so harshly.
Well, over time the “harshly” bit might go away, but not the “divided”. As soon as you accept this, for some reason your career starts moving ahead faster. I don’t know why this happens. It’s the people who refuse to cleave their lives this way- who just want to start Day One by quitting their current crappy job and moving straight on over to best-selling author. Well, they never make it.
Anyway, it’s called “The Sex & Cash Theory”. Keep it under your pillow.
I am not suggesting that we are getting together to be creative and cool to explore a common hobby, but the analogy works with any true calling.
2. The other is a real life example. I have been inspired (nothing related to India issues) by an NGO called SAFER (saferworld.ca) based in Toronto. All of them are full time scientists (grad students/ postdocs etc.) but they have managed to bring about small changes in the local community of a hospital rehabilitating victims of rape in the DR Congo, through community fund raising, periodic shipments of medical supplies etc. culminating in their visit to the hospital two years after they started their efforts.
June 11, 2008 at 5:03 am |
1. Some of you might be satisfied giving him one meal to eat, mind you he needs to eat something till he learns fishing!
2. Some of you might want to go ahead and teach the guy how to fish.
3. And some of you might want to revolutionize the fishing industry.
……All I am saying is don’t have the delusion that you can offer a hungry man one meal and then say that you have made the world a better place.
NOTE: the usage of “I” in the following text is not always a reference to myself. I found it an easier to get through the discussion (less gifted madrasi boy
).
*After offering due spanking to sarcastic Nachiket*
Agreed, and I am laying out myself to be able to revolutionize the fish industry if it is possible at all. The first option is a delusion and easy to be involved in, and there are many others doing the second. I can indulge in thinking of a revolution that makes true impact, only if I am not struggling for the basics on the side. I don’t know about others, but I strongly believe in being selfish if it does greater good. Selflessly diving into things like social work, or medical research on TB has lead to a large number of well wishers, but only a small percentage of successes. It need not even be about social work. Doing something just for money and growth needs the same kind of strategy.
@Nachi
You are right in saying that the effort needs to be full time. But only when you actually get started on it and want results. Foundations are to be laid ahead of time. In today’s market even angel investors supporting social entrepreneurs demand security for their money (forget venture capitalists!), they want good social return on investment and they want you to be legit when you make claims. Sparing your case where you have taken time to get into that area right from the start, the rest of us, I think, have unrelated experiences till now. An unrelated advanced degree or an unrelated job experience does not make someone legit when it the stakes are high and the promises you want to make are lofty (which is the case with most startups today). You need to have a POA, you need to have tested these things with pilot programs and have all that ground work in place before you can safely say, “I am heading out to start up”. We guys are in our current jobs because recruiters know we have done courses to make us worthy of handling their projects. Guys who get IT jobs need to demonstrate that they have some idea about what they want to do in the job (I am not talking about truck companies). It is required, that a new idea, whether it is a money making idea or just for a social cause, needs to have a similar legit check.
Now, if some dieing old guy I helped cross the street offers me his abundant wealth, we can talk about diving into it full-time
.
Last year, I had an idea for a venture and also had the contacts. Tried for 6 months to get somewhere before I graduated. I even had a Pilot program of sorts implemented In Guwahati. I kept realizing only one thing as I wanted to move on in that direction.
A) The best of ideas are of no use unless you give people reason to support you. My one man army fantasies were squashed. And the only reason that the people with the money/moolah buy, is a sound backing of the plan. Did you try a miniature implementation of your plan? what if it fails when you magnify the idea?, what alternatives are you considering? what is going to keep you sustainable? what will you do if I back off with the support (will you curse me or will you just give up?) ?.
B) What I would need is strong motivation and the much needed security (that many adventurous people deny to need or desire). Backup plans and seeking securities is seen as a good thing when someone supports you. That way they know that you are not going to be an abandoned puppy if and when they have to back off. No one likes the added responsibility!
I had everything in place but for the security for “CASH”. (Stupid student loan and VISA Status @#%$@#). To get there again with some backup plans is what such a calling will help me with. If we figure all this out and we have the right combination of things, may be we will have some people saving fishermen and others making big bucks. Again, I speak for myself, mostly. Interests may vary and is justified.
I don’t understand why some of us assumed, that any useful thing that comes out of letting such ideas soak in our heads, is going to be a ‘delusional and part-time’ charity show. Not for some of us at least! I am serious Nachi boy. Though I do not currently have the balls you did when you dived in, I do have some plan and a yearning
.