I own a construction company, which of course my father started decades ago. But before joining our family business, I was a part of the IT industry (both, MNCs and Startups), and then did my own startup (and failed), did consulting for many years, and then one fine day returned home because my father was not able to handle things well. He needed a helping hand, so I had to come.
I returned because my father's business was many times bigger than many startups I was working for. And no siblings who could have taken up this opportunity.
But ... I didn't know how different the construction industry is from what I was doing in my previous career (or, had studied to do).
So from silicon chips to actual silicon , life turned 360 degrees. I used to be mostly an employee in my previous life, but now I was the employer. And i didn't know how difficult it is to be an employee.
Anyway, coming back to the construction industry... The kind of corruption I saw (and now deal with it like a pro) was just unbelievable. The kind of people, the process, the role of government in power.... The entire ecosystem was (still is) a foul smelling gutter. And for someone like me who had just come out of a world of etiquettes, delicacies, and mannerisms... Was blown away by the crudeness of people I was supposed to deal with.
Be it inside my own organisation, or be it the Govt Departments, or the people who i interacted with who were sitting in the seat of power (read, netaa and his close associates)... Every segment of this industry is about commission, bribe, margin, etc. And this is what I was supposed to do for the rest of my life. And now after more than a decade I am also a part of the same gang.
But why am I telling this story here ? Because I joined this platform just to revive my old memories from the kind of life I had, the kind of 'naive' issues used to bother me.
Reading things here make me smile - Salaries, Office Gossips, Layoffs, Increments, Managers, ... I really smile ๐ I once went through all of these. Little did I know that these would appear so childish many years later.
I am sure many more would be like me reading this. Hopefully I will get to interact with some of you.
Thanks for reading till here ๐