Passion at the desk

A very interesting conversation I lately had was with Manoj. Manoj & self used to work together in the same organization till January, 2003. I have to admit that we did not socialize much then, & in the months to follow, apart from the usual pleasantries that we exchanged whenever we crossed each other. But the weekend before last, we were in Madras to attend a common friend's wedding and had an afternoon to ourselves with nothing better to do, or worse for that matter, than talk.

The conversation hovered around our own goals, both personal and professional. We discussed our weaknesses and prioritized them. And it is during this engaging session that Manoj pointed out, & I agreed almost immediately, that it is passion that one should look for while interviewing a prospective candidate.

Passion almost always guarantees quality work. It means that the employee is setting her own standards, pushing her own limits, that she sees her work as an extension of her persona.

But I think, that the picture is not all rosy. This drive sometimes is a positive handicap. It is unlikely that any organization constantly pushes a person. I am not talking about pressures in the office. Pressure, a lot of times, is just the volume of work to be done. This could act as a slow poison for driven individuals. Lots of regular work means that, for one, it gets boring and therefore it becmoes question of diligence. Add to that the lack of newer challenges and frustration could grow very fast.

So we sacrifice. And if we choose to sacrifice passion, we never had it in the first place. It is not a matter of choice; it is the only way. Passion remains a defining trait in our lives. It is what made a Jesus Christ.