If your company is your first love and you think everything else is secondary, please do read this book.
When I saw it first at Crossword, I picked it up and left it. I was not in a mood to read another book talking about how some ambitious chap made his way into the corporate circle. But when I saw it the second time in Crossword again, I read the summary of the book on its flap. It sounded interesting.
It was about a guy who worked in a top ad agency for 25 years and then was asked to leave overnight. He was too “old” to do his job. Then he learned some valuable lessons working as a barista in Starbucks.
I work in advertising. So I felt some connection. I bought the book.
It was a lovely read. After a long time, I finished something in a single sitting. Our protagonist had worked day and night for his company. Then one morning he was fired. He couldn’t find another good job in advertising. At last, he got a chance to work as a barista in Starbucks serving coffee to people. There he learned many things he couldn’t learned the other way.
A few lessons I learned from this book:
1. If loyalty is in your blood, save it for your country, family, relationships and friends. Not for your company.
2. Never be arrogant. You might be doing extremely well today. But tomorrow may be different.
3. Save some money regularly, dude! It helps.
4. Develop skill sets apart from your job.
5. Relationships are the most important thing. Especially those ones you develop without the greed of getting something in return.
By the way, did I forget to tell you something? Within a week, a top official in a company was asked to leave. I saw her emotionally shattered and hurt. I also remembered the way she used to treat her subordinates like dirt.
Things may change overnight. Then Starbucks may save your life. But it’s better to keep your priorities right from the very beginning since we have no Starbucks in India.
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