It is the week after the national elections. Already there are criticisms concerning the actions of presumptive president-elect Duterte. In the news and social media, election-related stories are slowly giving way to other matters.
And while life goes on for many of us, those who fancy themselves influential or in power, or maybe just concerned enough, are busy trying to develop guidelines and mini-agendas for the incoming administration. These lists are important because, as long as six years seems to be, a clear list of priorities is necessary if government is to get anything truly substantial accomplished.
In my own little corner of the world, busy is the operative word, and choices are the theme of the moment.
Choices
Of course, we make choices every day. From that first choice of what time to wake up in the morning to that final choice of when to call it a day, we are making choices. We seldom see all of these things as choices, of course. For the most part, we go from one activity to another much like a leaf floating on moving water.
Just the other day, I commented, only half in jest, that my life is essentially ruled by my calendar. To my great consternation, there are many days when I am the sort of person who runs from meeting to meeting because that is what other people have put on my calendar. That, of course, is not all of the story. Part of the reason some of my days seem ruled by appointments simply comes from previous larger decisions —either accepting responsibility, or making suggestions that turned into projects or accountabilities, or simply not pushing back hard enough when my name somehow shows up on some list.
Of course, I know, intellectually, that I need to build slack time into my work hours. I know that the truly great accomplishments only get done if there is time on my calendar for them. The challenge, obviously, is being able to practice what I know is right.
Paths
Almost a lifetime ago, I had a conversation with a friend who had made a comment about their president. My friend worked for one of the largest companies in the country. Their president was a mover and shaker in the business world. In addition to his job, he had civic organization responsibilities, speaking engagements, and directorships. He was the sort of president who was hired not only for his capabilities but also for his network of influential contacts. But my friend’s observation was telling. She said his day was a matter of being shuffled from one event to another by his secretary. That, I then told myself, is a situation I would not want to be in.
At the time, I figured it would be easy to avoid such a life. I had no desire for jewelry or designer clothes. I had no great ambitions concerning becoming famous, or influential. My desires were simple and my most costly goals simply had to do with travel and food. With such low expectations, I figured I would be safe enough. Chasing money or fame or influence would not drive my choices.
The reality, though, is more complex. I remember once interviewing Narayana Murthy, who explained that his decision to go home to his native India and there begin a business was a result of what, in retrospect, was an almost random event—being stopped while on a train journey. Without that series of events that put him on that train at the time when the train was stopped, he would not have founded Infosys.
So there are these seemingly insignificant events that lead us on to entirely new paths. Take for example the series of events that landed me in the health policy area. I was about as far away from health and public health policy as it was possible to be. While I am an actuary, I worked in the life insurance industry and then in a consulting firm concentrating primarily on retirement plan valuations. A series of events let to my meeting a former undersecretary of health who asked me to help craft what was to become the original PhilHealth law. He somehow got me to attend a first meeting—saying it was, after all, going to be held in UP, my alma mater—mere minutes from where I live. He promised I would only need to talk about the basic concepts of insurance—nothing more. That meeting somehow morphed into more meetings, more conversations, and more projects. Today, completely outside of any early thoughts I had about where my career would take me, public health policy has somehow become a significant part of what I do.
Priorities
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret being in the public health policy area. I think those of us who work in the field have the opportunity to make a real difference—one that helps many people.
Similar seemingly small, innocuous events have led me to found companies, lead companies, and end up teaching. None of these endeavors are matters I regret. But I must say I have days when I ask myself what I ended up missing.
As a management professional, I often find myself in discussions concerning millennials—about what many perceive as their sense of entitlement, their unrelenting focus on their own lives and their personal goals.
Now, I understand that there are certainly large goals worth sacrificing personal goals for. But I must say I wonder about the seemingly automatic assumption that employees should make personal sacrifices for their companies. Managers bemoan the lack of work ethic or lack of corporate loyalty—and sometimes they are right—especially when they talk about applicants who have a required salary but have no explanation about the value they will bring to their jobs.
However, I must say that, at the end of the day, a job is really a just a job. I would never advice anyone I care about to choose the job over their health or family. I know that I have sometimes done both and have realized what the problem is. The problem is that there are both subtle and explicit pressures to devote time to work. Your health, your little children—they don’t pressure you. But, your job will not keep you warm at night, or wipe your tears when you are sad.
For my money, that is one thing millennials actually get right. There are things vastly more important than the job.
Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://integrations.tumblr.com.