IN late 2009, at dinner with the family when my term as Secretary General of PHD chamber was to end soon, I broached the subject of accepting an extension. My wife and children unanimously voted against the idea! “Dad, you are 69, have worked hard for almost 48 years. Don’t you think it is time, while you are still in good health, to stop? Why not consider ‘giving back to society’, doing something that you might love and enjoy more than meeting deadlines and targets, worrying about balance-sheets, no-fun punishing travels around the world and all the tensions of running a company?” they chorused. I gave them a surprise by accepting the idea without demur!
I guess the thought of having no hectic schedules appealed instantaneously. I had indeed led a hyperactive life since finishing college in 1962. For 38 years there were three wonderful jobs in the corporate world. It was a good life; all creature comforts, great socialising, hobnobbing with institutions in the un system and the joy of developing new products and new markets. This was followed by a seven-year stint as Additional Secretary General of the apex industry body FIccI and finally three years at the PHD chamber. It was definitely more exciting than the earlier four decades, but the pace of life infinitely faster.
This story is from the July 2020 edition of Dignity Dialogue.
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This story is from the July 2020 edition of Dignity Dialogue.
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