THEORY OF PROFESSIONALISM

Disclaimer

Theory of Professionalism puts forth the culture in corporate life avoiding excoriations, blame game or demonizing pertinent modus operandi employed. Neither it is an attempt to outrage the sanctity of whatsoever measures one employs to taste success and nor it is an effort to testify someone’s innocence. Theory of Professionalism is a lurking approach for those only who didn’t know the art of management (they might have learned it afterwards), and prodigies with in-built talent won’t find it a real revelation at all, unfathomable. It has not been written under a paranoiac state of mind. Views discussed here have been echoed many a times by most of my acquaintances. None has ever denied its existence. But once again it depends on the discretion of an individual, how much truthful he wishes to be in his emotions. The solutions intend to salvage naïve novices who waste their professional associations just because of their background which taught them of a Utopia; got sentimental, demoralized and jeopardize their valuable limited years of career making while the outside world was always ruthless enough not to get apprehensive of pure emotions.




Theory of Professionalism endeavors to behold the life of a professional and expose the existent code of practice in a professional life. It quests for it’s chasms with personal life. Personal life implies day-to-day homely life of an individual where true feelings are nurtured at any cost. When a simple person leaves his family (but not his values) and enters a life where associations are defined as per hierarchy of occupation, he confoundedly witnesses an anomie. Ideally there shouldn’t be any such cognizance. (since humans are involved in either of the cases and humanity demands some core human values to be present in everyone every time).


How actually an individual lives and behaves in his family; conducts with all those who are not directly competing with him? In personal relations, most of us follow (at least) some ideals. Most of us hate lies, over-acting, over-smartness, bad habits (drinking, smoking blah blah) and reprimand our own sibling if found guilty. Driven by self respect, we don’t mind entering into a neutral relation if natures don’t match and usually don’t patch up unless an official regret is made; prefer those relatives who believe in living with love and peace and detest arrogant ones even if they are extravagantly rich; Never support any wrong idea of our uncle just because he earns/spends a lot. Appreciate all friends having a strong character and will power and strive getting their emotional support. Any wrong cause is opposed primarily on ethical grounds. (Even these attributes may sound antediluvian; such is the order of encroachment)


Surprisingly, upon entering the professional world, either one finds it difficult to adapt or changes his very root beliefs. Perfectly contrasting things happen in a professional life

1. In personal relations, everyone who opposes us over a right cause earns our wrath. Exactly divergent is the observation in a professional life. Here openly disagreeing antagonist is the most reliable one. At least, he had the guts to protest against what he thought was wrong. Others generally remain under cover; never completely disagree with you in public so that business with you is not hampered. Run as soon as they can to a leader; cajole him to wage the war. Or if voting is being done, they would never let you know which side they are going to take. So quite astonishingly, the most truthful/reliable person in a professional life is the one who openly contests and differs.

2. Ephemeral, opportunistic allegiances are the most visible characteristic of a professional life. The same two persons who were unknowns to each other just a few days before may become the most talked about duo within no time once they find each other mutually beneficial. Many a times you are surprised to think-“What happened to that old friend of his? Have they both underwent any break up” Very soon you find out that no official break up has occurred, it is just that both of the old friends have find new associates and are perfectly OK in their new lives, neither they do miss each other the way they used to just a few days/weeks/months before.

3. Your real friends would consider your powerful enemy as their own enemy while your professional friends would consider your disputes as your personal affair and would never sacrifice their professional interests. Even if it is a war of ethics and truth, the approach would be-“When he (the powerful) is still good to me, why should I put an end to my relations with him, I support you my friend but I see no point in fighting”.

4. Self Respect may be an extinct attribute. People forget or tend to forget past insults/ignorance claiming open mindedness or may be they don’t have any self respect at all, decadents who don’t feel things.

5. No desire is left to befriend a person with good habits/strong character. Interestingly the name given is Freedom of Choice or No Interference in Personal Life Policy. “You smoke then it is your personal choice and my hatred for smoking would not come in between our relation” – that is a general approach to hide lack of concern for others and bag prodigal brats.

6. Behemoths don’t have to hunt for allies or support. Once you are influential, all middle class friends will hobnob around you. They will laugh voraciously at your PJs and would never react at your outbursts. The theory given is –“I don’t take these things seriously, you are my friend after all”. To make an influential colleague realize that I am the coolest friend to hang out with (therefore please select me as your friend), spicy jokes are nicely innovated, magnificently calibrated and recited to them in a presentable format

7. Highly skilled professionals don’t wail at lack of compatriots either. If you are an old hand in common field of interest, aspirants would themselves come running to you. Like, if you are a top ranker, your room would always be occupied the night before examinations (Mostly by guys making tall claims-“I study just the night before”). These cluster bees might have entered into some sort of tussle with you once, they might have abhorred your attitude. But every time these issues were overlooked saying-“These things are common in a relation, I have forgotten all those disputes”. It is not more than a future investment.

8. Poor (not necessarily by wealth) and devoid has to look for support even while raising a sensible question. If unfortunately that question is against some rich powerful lobby, people won’t even care calling lie a lie. As long as their interests are firm and unscathed, they would follow the policy-“Why to put my ass into?”

9. Stagnant and devoid- the most horrible combination to have in a professional life. May be you would have to die to see some friends around you then. As long as there is ready to sell middle class, ready to spend rich won’t die alone in seclusion, no matter whatsoever is their nature/character/habit. Poor would have to strive. For him, a simple fight may even lead to life term loss of a friend and there is little probability of him coming back as there is nothing to attract him (forget about realizations and accepting one’s fault in a relation).

10. A widely spread tendency is to show off. Just to prove superiority, many show that I listen only to English songs, show that I am pretty rich. These exertions attain perfect resonance in a group. Many groups strive continuously to let others realize of their coolness. Everything is normal beside your room and just before 12 o’ clock; you come to realize that some group is celebrating someone’s birthday with great zeal and hard rock. To get nice photos to be shared on internet and thereby prove that our group enjoys a lot, all sort of poses and tricks are tried. All these activities are not a natural effort in most of the cases; there are many happening groups in existence though. But when they would drink and celebrate, others might not even be able to track what’s happening. They also put cakes at others’ faces, but don’t care for a camera to be there.

11. The most prominent character in a professional life is an open minded wag. He would have jokes to crack every other moment, would forget and forgive easily and would have a healthy vibrant relation with everyone. But very soon everyone realizes that that effervescent relation was just to embezzle every entity possible and the jokes were never meant to be recited in front of powerless batch mates

12. In a highly developed environment, by and large all acts of altruism are a future investment and done mostly to impress/oblige the powerful ones.

13. Professional life is all about fulfilling ambitions at any cost. Direct confrontations are avoided but proxy war through covert slandering is a usual practice. People don’t mind making fun of personal lifestyle once the person concerned is a real threat to their position. The same personal choice in the life of some influential friend may not draw any attention at all in case he is truly valuable.

14. Mandates become so stereotyped that even if cause is infallible, you would find people making their stances based totally on their future benefits and current politics. Very few listen to a call from heart and step ahead to encourage others. Soon you are expert enough to make out who would support you and who won’t, no matter whatsoever is the issue

15. That’s too rude but unfortunately it happens. Some look for bad omens in others’ life. People keep falling ill and small accidents keep happening and this is the time when wicked politicians leave no stone unturned to revive a dead relation.

16. People forget and they do that willingly. If expunging is removing obstacles, spurting accessibility, then it is a worth to possess characteristic. Friends forget infidelity and collaborations. Truly speaking, no one wishes to have a conquering professional career; everyone aspires to have a smooth flow for which one has to learn the art of forgetting.


These are general characteristics. Exceptions do exist. In fact the venom of professional life is a function of ambiance and composition

Gems are always there who openly reject to serve others on cost of self respect. They are perfectly OK even if others find them boring or a person with nothing to loot. They are focused enough on their career goal. If you are a person of ethics then you are bound to face controversies and altercations. What really helps in bad times is the faith upon yourself and God, faith that whatsoever you are doing is correct and your previous history of being ethically strong. The best thing about professional life is that no one is your enemy; you can bag any person once you sound efficacious and commercially beneficial to him. The worst thing about professional life is that no one is your friend, anyone can leave you once you become static and stagnant.
But for all those who wish to live a happening professional life at any cost, I have tried coming up with certain solutions:


1. Keep burgeoning. Stagnancy might be the death blow to your professional life. Keep networking; keep learning the new methods of survival in your field of expertise. Once you owe a quality which others don’t have, you can be two steps ahead of them. Stay away from pessimism and look for optimistic friends

2. At the very start of professional life, choosing partners purely on the basis of their assets is a worth to take risk. If at start, one gets involved in some ethical reservations like-“I would not abort his friendship, so what if he is poor and cannot celebrate (and thereby spend) every other day”, then you would repent over it for your entire span. In fact, looking for best possible combination is the safest bet. You would never be looked upon with suspicion at interior levels, since the powerful ones require coordinators and admirers and you can easily occupy that place. If you are looked with suspicion at exterior levels by your own old friends(saying-“achha beta, ab woh jyaada achha lagne laga, humein bhool gaye”), then first of all, you need not care of it as you have your new friends firmly in place. Life is big and perhaps at some time in future, your miserable old friends would themselves come to you to have a share of your happening life and increased powers. People forget and intermediate regular acts of philanthropy would give you the safest position in your professional life. Later be altruistic and people will forget that you were originally materialistic.

3. Avoid being a leader in profession. Never dare to come out in public to serve your ambitions. Look for a cover and better incite others rather than doing everything by your own self. Power is dynamic, multifaceted; it keeps on changing its owner and dimensions. If you tried to be a leader in past, the new leaders will deliberately disregard you. While if you fought under cover, the new leaders would assimilate you in their group to embarrass your previous leader. In this way, despite of the fact that you were more desperate and involved equally in politics, you would be the person most benefited.

4. There is another comfort in this evasiveness. Your avoidance of leadership but having same ambitions and good blueprints would promote you as a comrade. Now in order to find out what’s happening in your group, spies of other groups would fraternize making regular visits to you. Your market value would overshoot. Enemy groups do this to extricate whatsoever tactics they can and annoy your leader as well. While despite of the fact that all strategies were made by you only, you would enjoy a high worth.

5. The best way to lead a successful professional life is to keep all groups employed in guessing which side you belong to, thereby having a share in every plate

6. As Kiran Bedi has herself admitted that most of the professional deals are made offline at page 3 parties and over cocktails. To be at the top, one perhaps need to have a strong presence at all such mighty events.

7. Avoid being ideological/rational/original in your views or doing anything which depicts your uniqueness in public, better be modest. People are in the habit of mocking any damn thing they find dissimilar from themselves and jibing all those who are more original/rational by any stretch of imagination, forgetting spirit of tolerance, respect of individuality and love for one’s own culture. Listening to them would only end up in the loss of your distinctiveness and novelty

8. Being a person of self respect, many a times it is difficult to talk to a person who previously tried to be smart or insulted us. This nature is of no use in professional life. One has to learn how to forget everything even if the person being accused hasn’t regretted. Keep smiling, throwing jokes and asking others how they are doing. Flattering is a panacea which sedates even enemies. Regular small dialogues keep a neutral/dead relation alive and might be deployed in future. Keep all options open, you never know who might be your next partner

9. Never publicly express your ill-feelings towards (or underestimate) others. It’s natural to dislike/underestimate others but never let them know. Elections keep happening, may be the same person casts his vote in your favor in future, you never know what turn fate would take.

10. There is no point in following some age old animosity. Always be ready to patch up.

11. If the person in question is really influential, then there is no harm fighting for his ambitions in public. This act of yours would make you loyal before him and perhaps turn out to be the safest investment

12. Unless you are a leader, your personal life would never be dragged for smearing. So just follow the policy of remaining under cover and conversing with everyone, people won’t find time to see into your personal selections.

13. Everyone has soft feelings for his indigenous culture. Formation of clandestine groups based on common origin/alma mater helps getting reliable cohorts. For example, Bihari sentiments are continually employed by aspiring leaders.

14. Most important of all, never ever fail to recognize your true strengths. It could be your family or any of your interest. Never let it go from your hands. Only your family would readily accept you even after all your misdeeds and make you feel like a human being with true emotions. Sacrificing one’s penchant choices and interests in professional would only make life more horrible

With this I come to an end. My only desire is that this theory helps innocent minds in the squall of opportunistic society and ultimately embellishes them to walk pace to pace with the capricious life ahead

(Minor nuance with Chanakya Neeti, as claimed by my close friend, is purely co-incidental)