I worked in the corporate world in front office roles for nearly 15 years. My clients were capital market bankers, traders, portfolio managers, lawyers, accountants, marketing in large technology and consumer companies. I met people at the top of their games, multimillionaire private equity partners, as well as junior associates and analysts.
Since my Yoga and lifestyle transformation, the way I interpret these interactions and professional relationships changed. I gained awareness and more perspective. In my last financial sales job, I was able to pay more attention to the eyes, posture and tone of voice of the guy or lady in front of me. One amazing thing of doing Yoga is that it makes you feel grounded, calm and in the moment. With that comes a sharper intuition, an increased ability of feeling the flow of the conversation, the energy of the person you are talking to.
I met very successful people who radiated confidence, expertise and power. I remember the MD, Head of Investment Banking, at one of the longest standing and most prestigious financial institutions. I arrived at the office reception in Berkeley Square, London and was soon greeted by a butler with white gloves who courtly took my Benetton gray coat and showed me to a meeting room. He later opened the door to a waiter pushing a small trolley with tea, coffee and water.
The MD walked in 2 minutes later. His suit and tie, custom made shirt, trimmed body and gentle greying hair, his firm but soft voice revealing an Oxbridge accent and his ice cold eyes demanded the highest of respect. The type of respect a serf would pay to a nobleman in the 14th century. What did I do, poor ignorant peasant, in the castle of the lord? Well, just being there, like a character in a movie, made me feel great and relaxed (Luca, all this isn’t real anyway, is it?). Whatever happened in the meeting didn’t matter, I felt like I already made it, so to speak.
The man was in his element, thriving in the job, it was obvious and beyond any doubt whatsoever. The many hours a day, the years of dedication and focus, the complex net of relationships, his high status role in society were all medicine to him. And I met quite a few of them, top of the game, working all hours yet super healthy looking, successful types.
At the other end of the spectrum, one of my old bosses breathed anxiety. In charge of 50 or 60 account managers, when I moved to his team he was struggling with a pretty nasty knee injury which needed surgery. I was very dubious at the time, whether the move was actually going to help me or put me in trouble. You could read the signs of inflammation all over him. He worked hard, travelling a lot, totally committed to the company and giving it all but clearly not having a good time.
I met pale overworked people with bags under the eyes the size of potato wedges. Hangover brokers and pretty girls, bored market research managers and angry procurement. Sickly directors and functioning alcoholic sales people. I’ve known lots of struggling corporate types, at the top, middle and bottom of the ladder. This great experience, of being exposed to a variety of working environments for 15 years, made me realise how toxic it can be for people to adapt to a culture they are not a natural fit for. And how much pain and suffering they put into their careers, to provide for their families and to contribute to society as a whole.
In my opinion about 30% of professionals love working in the complex structure of the modern corporation. Reporting lines, KPIs and appraisals, long hours and weekends on email are their element. They love the dynamics of teamwork, have an ear for politics and know who’s the rising star and what project will do well. They were born to do this and they get promotion after promotion, go to the top of the firm, or know how to look non-threatening yet capable. They find a quiet corner of the office to call their own and peacefully maintain their comfortable mid-level position in harmony with the environment.
40% go through some good times and tough ones, wins and losses, ups and downs. They find a way to cope with the long hours and sometimes soul destroying work through a good relationship with their coworkers, a beer after work or the weekend in their comfortable suburban house. Their values might be very well defined, family and close friends. When they work through yet another round of redundancy or are swamped and overwhelmed, they know how to hold on a few weeks and peace will be restored, a new project will start and a quieter time will come. They are very much in the middle of society, not rich, not poor, with a nice house and a pension fund.
30% hate it. They were never made for the steel and glass building, the air-conditioned office and the toxic pressure to constantly perform, behave and look the part. They hold on to their real feelings and ideas for 4 days to then awkwardly vent their doubts in the Friday morning meeting. They are talked over when brainstorming for a new project. Their hair is too long or too short, their clothes too colourful or plain, their voice too enthusiastic or dull. They are creative free spirits, introverted geeks, big souls or big dreamers, they miss the green of plants, the sound of the ocean or the freedom to run their own agenda. They are too ambitious to keep in the 40% and will never get to the 30%. They should be motorcycle racers, organic bakers, scuba-diving instructors or entrepreneurs but they don’t know it yet. They either find a path that more closely matches their predispositions or if they force themselves for too long they’ll get sick.
The modern world is great in so many ways, we are very lucky to be living in this unprecedented era of freedom and prosperity. I read history and I am very aware it is indeed unprecedented. Life expectancy keeps on going up, we can travel freely across the planet, read books, write blogs and we eat 3 times a day, every day. Sure I am also aware many people suffer and we can all contribute to a better society, to achieve more human development and harmony around us, a more balanced existence for all.
Still, we are free to choose what we want to be. Family and peer pressure, lifestyle models on TV and the mass media, the education system and a myriad of stimuli influence our lives. But we are ultimately free. Nothing stops us from trying something new, learning something new, meeting someone new, gaining some perspective. Society works. It kind of worked for thousands of years if you think about it, I am here writing this right now, and I am the living proof of it as you are too.
Ultimately, like it or not, corporations exert a huge power. And corporate types, with their long hours and dedication, form the cornerstone of our modern society.