Corporate types in NGOs.
The E-Street Entrepreneurs
An interesting article in Outlook India on the trend in very qualified professionals moving to the NGO. There are lots of bright people willing to work in the corporate world, not so many willing to work in the NGOs. So, people who opt to work for an NGO get far more responsibility than they could get in the corporate world. Also, the perceived cost of a wrong decision in an NGO is much less compared to that in an corporation. So, the NGOs are ready to take more risks, give more responsibilities to people with lesser experience and encourage out-of-the box wacky ideas. All terrific characteristics for a job. Except that the money is not great. But I am glad to see more people following their hearts rather than considering just the pay. Not that the pay is not important, but it should not be the only consideration. Interesting and fun jobs can be more easy on you, less strenuous, more enjoyable, more motivating. You would enjoy it more, find less need to spend money on distractions and entertainment to make up for the boring/irritating job. If you choose a job that pays less but is more fun, you would not be trying to buy fun with your extra money since the job will be so much fun and entertaining, you would not want to spend on fun and entertainment. Net result: You will have the same amount of money whether you are in a fun, low laying job or in a not so fun high paying job (I know I am stretching the logic a bit too much, but you get the drift.).
Some interesting snippets from the article (read these and you will get a summary of the linked article):
Recruited to run Pratham's operations in Gujarat, he ( Aditya Natraj, an MBA from the prestigious French management school, INSEAD, and a chartered accountant with seven years' corporate experience,) manages a team of 300 full-time staff and 3,000 volunteers that provides learning support to about 30,000 government schoolchildren in the state
Balaji Sampath, an IIT graduate with a doctorate in electrical engineering from the US, who runs AID India, an NGO that carries out science teaching and primary school programmes in 350 government schools in Tamil Nadu.
So, why are they doing it? This is social commitment defined by a strong dash of individualism. "A sense of adventure, and a desire for recognition, the need to be something more than a small fish in a corporate pond," says Rukmini Banerji of Pratham, herself a PhD in economics.
You have a freedom to experiment—and a chance to learn by failing.
A staff of two lakh, 32 districts, 202 blocks, 2,200 villages, 45,000 schools. No corporate job can give you this size, this scale, this complexity and these multiple levels of expectations.
Some, like Naandi CEO Manoj Kumar, are more than keen to attract corporate professionals. "Why are some of the best minds in the country selling soaps and shampoos?" he asks. Good question.
An interesting article in Outlook India on the trend in very qualified professionals moving to the NGO. There are lots of bright people willing to work in the corporate world, not so many willing to work in the NGOs. So, people who opt to work for an NGO get far more responsibility than they could get in the corporate world. Also, the perceived cost of a wrong decision in an NGO is much less compared to that in an corporation. So, the NGOs are ready to take more risks, give more responsibilities to people with lesser experience and encourage out-of-the box wacky ideas. All terrific characteristics for a job. Except that the money is not great. But I am glad to see more people following their hearts rather than considering just the pay. Not that the pay is not important, but it should not be the only consideration. Interesting and fun jobs can be more easy on you, less strenuous, more enjoyable, more motivating. You would enjoy it more, find less need to spend money on distractions and entertainment to make up for the boring/irritating job. If you choose a job that pays less but is more fun, you would not be trying to buy fun with your extra money since the job will be so much fun and entertaining, you would not want to spend on fun and entertainment. Net result: You will have the same amount of money whether you are in a fun, low laying job or in a not so fun high paying job (I know I am stretching the logic a bit too much, but you get the drift.).
Some interesting snippets from the article (read these and you will get a summary of the linked article):
Recruited to run Pratham's operations in Gujarat, he ( Aditya Natraj, an MBA from the prestigious French management school, INSEAD, and a chartered accountant with seven years' corporate experience,) manages a team of 300 full-time staff and 3,000 volunteers that provides learning support to about 30,000 government schoolchildren in the state
Balaji Sampath, an IIT graduate with a doctorate in electrical engineering from the US, who runs AID India, an NGO that carries out science teaching and primary school programmes in 350 government schools in Tamil Nadu.
So, why are they doing it? This is social commitment defined by a strong dash of individualism. "A sense of adventure, and a desire for recognition, the need to be something more than a small fish in a corporate pond," says Rukmini Banerji of Pratham, herself a PhD in economics.
You have a freedom to experiment—and a chance to learn by failing.
A staff of two lakh, 32 districts, 202 blocks, 2,200 villages, 45,000 schools. No corporate job can give you this size, this scale, this complexity and these multiple levels of expectations.
Some, like Naandi CEO Manoj Kumar, are more than keen to attract corporate professionals. "Why are some of the best minds in the country selling soaps and shampoos?" he asks. Good question.
posted by d'na | 6:16 PM
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