Focus, or Not

I have been working and studying in USA for a couple of weeks now. I revisited USA after a decade. I am looking at the country with more experienced and educated eyes now.

I don’t see these guys are genius. They are not more hard working either. But each individual here does very good at what he does. They focus on a single area, and be expert of that. When you have a working system based on trust, when components add up to form synergy, you are better off focusing on your niche.

In a developing economy where almost nothing is built you need to build everything from the scratch. You almost end up building every component of the system to reach to a sustainable model. Is this efficient? Surely not. But you have no other choice. That is why Muhammad Yunus, starting with micro credit, ended up founding so many businesses, and now talking about even more. That is why great entrepreneurs like Sir Abed, Akij and Samson H Choudhury built so many businesses. That is why Henry Ford ended up integrating from mining to retailing.

Now that they have other pieces of the system working, they can really focus on a single piece. Keep doing whatever they are good at. Excel on that.

We, on the other hand, are still at the Henry Ford phase. We got to be generalist, keep integrating forward and backward. You can’t imagine the first human being on earth, Adam, was a specialist, can you? He was a generalist!

When no working system exists you need a good number of generalists to build one.

Who are the heroes of our time?

Entrepreneurs are heroes. They are the value creator. They see opportunities while others see emptiness. They are the engines of today's economy. They are risk takers, the dreamers and the doers.

You agree with it or not, no matter what your mother said about the business people, no matter how high your father talked about the government  service, or however glorified your friend’s job in MNC seems, or how your brother bragged about his life in a developed country, how every children grown in this country with a dream to be a doctor or an engineer; entrepreneurs are the super heroes of a modern country.

They are the seeds, the organizers, the believers, and the challengers.

Good for Bangladesh that it has just started to know that. If it wants to prosper further, it must recognize the heroes and start honoring them every way it can. Citizens should better cherish to be one of them.

Not every person can be or will be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are the smartest, the wisest, the different and the rare breed of a society. You may not end up being one of them, but if you can, rush to be one.

What is there of more fun and rewarding in life than to dream of something, involve a team in your dream, work to materialize that, live to see your dream come true, live to see how life of many transformed positively  because of you, live to see your creation changing the society and transforming the country? And finally when you are not here, your baton is passed, things become larger and greater, and you still are the seed of a great entity. No one can take that away from you.

So, you the mortal and the small one! are you ready to be someone to create immortals — to create entities of limitless size?

If you don’t think you have the guts to be one of them yet; start by honoring them as the super heroes of your time.

This post is dedicated to Syed H. Rayhan, and all the entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs of Bangladesh.

How Important are References for Getting a Job in Bangladesh?

There is a myth, in Bangladesh you won’t get a job without references.

I strongly disagree with this. Professional qualification and achievement come first, reference is checked at the very end. Everyone has that kind of reference if she is not lying on her CV.

Only reference isn't going to give you a good job.

There are exceptions. For unskilled labor i.e. for very unimportant roles, where anyone can do the job and not much is expected from the position - reference play an important role. Entry level govt. job, clerical job in banks, entry level programmer maybe who is expected to do coding without any tentative succession plan in place - are this kind of jobs.

It's very simple. If I have a company of my own, I won't hire my brother in the position of Business Development Manager or  CTO if he doesn't have any experience or track record of success. Business needs success, and I will only hire someone who has the most probability to bring me that.

Well, If my aunt request me a lot, I will probably consider hiring my cousin as an Assistant Administrative

Officer. Low risk, low expectation and low pay, too. 

So, if you want to break the vicious circle of references, be a high achiever, be visible. You can do that right from your own position. Internet, for example, is a wonderful tool to make yourself visible in the corporate radar. Make your own reference.

Recently one of my colleagues got a high paying job recently. The employer found him in the internet; read his blog. There are numerous examples of this kind.

I have a hypothesis. After five years, say from 2015 the employers will not ask for your CV, they will ask for relevant URLs. URLs of your LinkedIn address, blog address, published CV, published projects, contribution to the communities, personal websites etc. Employers will search on google to check your background. If you are not visible in www, you are nobody.

Sill a hypothesis, though :)

P.S.: Last 12 years, I worked for four companies of varying sizes ranged from 17 persons to 5000. References didn't work for me.

Ask four questions before you choose a career

Four things are important while choosing your career.

1. Is this the career that you cherish?

Look at and talk to the people who have built their career in the path that you are considering. Do you want to be like him/her in future? Would you like others finding you as one of them? Would you like to live rest of your life as one of them?

2. Do you have interest in the process?

Well, you would love to be a banker, you envy the respect and money the top level bankers enjoy. So, should you jump to be a banker? Sure, but ask yourself a couple of questions before you do so. Would you love to do, that a typical banker does in everyday and in his career? Talk to one of them. Ask them what it takes to be a successful banker? Ask yourself if you would take interest in the process, not only in the result.
Living a highflying corporate life, earning a handsome amount of money, riding company's car, owning apartment in condo are the results. The process includes earning degrees like FCA, CFA or MBA. Loving numbers and loving accounting. Loving to analyze in closed door in limited time and often under pressure. These aren't as bad as it sounds. There are people who love those. Ask yourself whether you are one of them.

3. Do you have required strengths?

I love the lives of lawyers. I love to read law, too. But I am not as fast reader as a successful lawyer should be. Or, I do not have strengths in reading a lot, remembering and summarizing them and presenting them in very convincing manner. That is why I did not choose to be a lawyer.

The third question you should ask yourself whether you have strengths those are required to be successful in the career you are considering. After all you don't want be a failed lawyer or not so good banker, do you?

4. Is there adequate demand in the market to absorb new professionals?

You, as a potential product, should consider the market demand, too. You may consider in a local or a global perspective. Whatever your perspective is, make sure there is enough demand for a new professional like you. In a market where there are many unemployed law graduates it would be more difficult to earn a modest living hood than in a market where acute demand is prevalent.


Probably you won't get a strong yes while answering each of four questions. But, choose the best combination. If any question answers a strong no or simple no, don't go for it.