Of professionalism and indemnities…

It’s been a rough week.

Business has been good, but it is the other stuff that kindof got to me.

The first was a business ‘introducer’ who went around town bargaining with every firm in sight.

While a ‘finder’s fee’ is an accepted practice in our profession, what is not acceptable is someone who tries to hammer down prices just to accommodate his rather generous but seldom deserved fee.

Then then goes elsewhere to find another deal for the same assignment, until he gets someone who humors him, never mind the competency of the firm in question.

And yes, we are to keep this arrangement ‘super confidential’, since our friend is also part of the proposed team, who incidentally entrusted him with finding a competent professional firm in the first place!

Nice. So you are unprofessional on both sides. Not how it works my friend.

The second heated conversation (at least in my mind) hovered around professional indemnity. For the uninitiated, professional indemnity is an insurance that you take so as to cover any lapses in your professional services. For some professions, such as financial advisors, or engineers and lawyers, the cost of a lapse can be high.

For my business, not so much. However, that is not what someone thought. And so I am to insure myself for a sum that exceeds my revenues, for a service that has maybe a tenth of the risk of a financial firm.

Nice again.

Well, just some of the things you come across when running a company. At first, I did get pissed, but then, I calmed down and realized – this isn’t something worth losing your own mind for.

Fight it, yes. Ensure that fairness is maintained (to the best of your ability)..yes. Lose sleep over it – no.

This is when the disconnect has to happen.

Not that you are not interested in the outcome, but you are not heavily invested in it.

What has to happen, will happen. You need to put in your best efforts, work hard, but not let the result change you.

Not what I said. This is something someone told someone else in the middle of a battlefield, a lesson that has held for millennia, and will continue to be relevant till mankind exists.

A beautiful, and simple way of explaining the scheme of things. Karma Yoga – all you need to do is perform your karma, your action. Don’t attach yourself to the results.

A lot of the stress that we take…we bring it upon our own selves. Am reading this book on the hive mind – it’s called “A world without email”, by Cal Newport, and it speaks of how tools that we use drive our own behavior and thus have unintended consequences.

There is even a word for it – it’s called technological determinism.

Anyways, from finders fees, to indemnities, to the Bhagavad Gita and now to the hive mind – quite a few things on today’s plate. All in a day’s work, as they say.

But my attempt is – not to take any of this to heart, or mind, or body. As I lie down to rest tonight, will put these matters to sleep.

And wake tomorrow, fresh and ready.

As for you, google the book – its great and has some really good thought processes well described. Try to implement them (I am), and while you are at it – try a bit of karma yoga as well. It works. Plain and simple.

See you tomorrow!