Wednesday, June 5, 2013

3 Career Lessons from the Indian Premier League

A message I shared a couple of weeks back with a group of young professionals ! Read on...

Cricket is a big passion in India and like many of you, I have been following the Indian Premier League  or IPL as it is called with great interest over the years. Unfortunately, this year, we have seen a lot of controversy with spot-fixing and corruption allegations in the IPL. Sport is usually associated with fun, but there are important lessons in sport too. Here are 3 career lessons that I learnt from the IPL that can be a guide in our professional lives.

1) Nothing is more important than ethics

We have seen many celebrated cricketers under the scanner for spot-fixing and other allegations of corrupt practices during this IPL season. Some people have thrown away celebrated careers by doing things they should not, things that are not ethical. While nefarious elements thought they could get away with it, in the end the long hand of law dealt them a blow. This episode reinforces the need for ethics, not just in sport, but in our personal lives. Upholding the highest standards of ethics is the foremost quality one seeks of you.

2) It is about performance, not about superstars

Have you seen the emergence of unknown players this IPL season? Be it Sanju Samson in Rajasthan Royals or Hanuma Vihari in Sunrisers Hyderabad, individuals who perform get recognized. They are noticed and it helps their careers. At the sometime, so called superstars who don't perform have to warm the bench. Ricky Ponting who is such a celebrated cricketer sat himself out of the team after a few bad performances so that deserving players who work for the team get a chance. As in sport, it is in our profession too that we can't rest on past laurels. It is not about being a superstar, it is not about big egos. Performance matters and we need to prove ourselves every single day.

3) Diversity is a strength

The balanced teams in this IPL season have done very well. There are some teams that have the hard hitting batsmen but poor bowlers, some others that have the fast bowlers but no good spinners and so on. However, teams that have the right balance and a diverse talent pool is the one that wins. In our professional lives too, remember to celebrate diversity. We should be open to new ideas and diverse thoughts because that makes a difference.

Success comes from right effort. My favourite author, Paulo Coelho defines success in his latest book - he says " What is Success? It is being able to go to bed each night with peace in your soul". Folks, stay the course through its ups and downs, and remember that someone who is ethical, someone who packs in 100% everyday, someone who is open to new ideas......will eventually succeed!



2 comments:

  1. Nicely derived. Professional ethics is a commonly neglected aspect of career management. Same with the focus on performance. I see too many young professionals today who debate their SLAs without looking at what they need to "do." Enjoyed reading. Nice to see this blog being updated again. :)

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  2. Very Well Articulated Sir...So simple and so true!

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