Young in Limbs, in Judgement Old
AMBITION by itself needs no counsel. Especially when it is fermented in the barrels of time. For, like good wine, it gets better with age. But when ambition is crippled by inexperience, it needs the crutches of an old shoulder to hobble to the spring of success. So much for metaphors, eh?
Reader, it is not my intention to overwhelm you with excruciatingly bad prose; it is just something that I am compelled to do every once in a while to maintain my hard-burned reputation.
Besides, candour compels me to confess that I rather like this bombastic image. It is not vanity that directs my pen, but enduring love for all that's complicated in life.
Now, coming back to our ritual dismemberment of the hitherto inscrutable subject of ambition, it is a known fact that the ambitious are rarely wise and the wise are rarely ambitious. This discrepancy largely arises from the vast chasm that separates a youth of 20 from a man of 60.
They stand on either end of the canyon with just a shaky bridge between them. The novice desperately needs the master's instruction to cross the gap, but pride, enshrined in the womb of ambition, prevents him from seeking it. The old man, on the other hand, is just waiting to be asked nicely.
To make things simpler, let us put a name to each of them. Call the youth Ishmael, if you will; and cloak him in the outfit of a corporate go-getter. To this image, add a smear of hair gel, a penchant for rock music, and you have Ishmael standing right before you, sardonic smile and all.
Now, call the old man Ahab. Wrap him in a suit and tie, and make him the general manager of Ishmael's division. Etch his forehead with ageing lines to make him look sagely and wise. Put him in a cabin and give him a pretty secretary for effect.
Now, for the main course. Ishmael wanted to secure the contract of client A. Ahab suggested that the company concentrate its energies on client B.
"With all due respect sir, should our deal with client A come through, it will prove a lot more lucrative for the company.
Besides, it is a much bigger project and commands a lot more prestige than client B," said Ishmael. He was right. Client A did come with a lot more money and many more press releases. In a nutshell, it was `da bomb'.
"I agree. It is more lucrative. But they are extremely difficult people and highly unreliable," said Ahab gravely.
Ishmael was expecting this. He admired Ahab, although he thought he was rather old-fashioned. "But sir, we have been stuck in a rut with client B for such a long time," he protested. "And they have always been dependable," Ahab replied.
A minute's silence followed. "Look, I am not trying to put you down. I know how passionate you are and I can appreciate that. Client A's project sounds good on paper, but it is the white whale that we can never capture. I have learnt this the hard way.
The reason I am saying no to them is because five years ago they came with something just like this and reneged on their promise two months into the contract," he said.
Time vindicated Ahab's stand. As he had predicted, client A breached the deal a few weeks later and a rival company that had bagged the contract, was left out in the cold. Ishmael was aghast but thankful; Ahab was contented but tired; and in the end everybody was happy. Save for the rival company that is.
Moral of the story? A company runs best when it is young in limb, but old in judgement (with apologies to Shakespeare).
Ambition and drive must be tempered with the wisdom that comes from experience. The exuberance of youth must be counterbalanced with the wisdom of age.
ARJUN SENGUPTA
arjuns.hyd@cnkonline.com
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Opportunities
