Name: Kratika Saxena

Roll no: 102024

The Professional- Sobroto Bagchi
Summary
The book 'The ProIessional deIines the true meaning oI the word ProIessional`. The book
is divided into seven parts, and each part explains an attribute that a true proIessional
possesses. Each part presents practical situations, ideas and contents and illustrates them
with every day lessons. Each attribute is explained with real liIe short stories oI true
proIessionals.
According to this book there are three qualities that make someone a true proIessional. These
are the ability to work unsupervised, the ability to conIirm the completion oI a job or task
and, Iinally, the ability to behave with integrity at all times.
The Iirst part talks about 'Integrity i.e. moral soundness a person should posses in order to
be a true proIessional. A morally sound person can work unsupervised and can certiIy the
completion oI his/her work. One needs to be ethical in his/her acts at every step whether
personal or oIIicial. Further he describes what does integrity means in the proIessional
context. In the proIessional liIe one must Iollow the rules, where rules does not exist he
should use the Iair judgement, in doubt a person should seek counsel and Iinally in diIIicult
choice ask oneselI whether the act stand public scrutiny without causing embarrassment.
The organizations should also articulate processes to handle the breaches oI integrity. Speed
is critical in dealing with the breach. The greater the delay, the greater the chance oI people
moving Irom black and white to many shades oI grey. Along with handling a breach with
Iairness and speed it is also important to handle the emotional Iallouts leIt behind by such
acts.
Part two oI the book discusses the 'selI-awareness attribute. Each individual needs to know
about his/her own individuality. Without selI awareness people Iail to balance themselves
through ups and downs oI liIe and have problems in accepting reality. Such individuals oIten
do not know what is good Ior them.
True proIessionals are comIortable with their inadequacies and they do not pretend to
understand things Ior hen they cannot.
One should not Ieel shame in asking Ior help-in matters oI work or in matters oI mental and
physical well being.
People usually gets attracted to someone else`s liIe and start comparing that person`s liIe with
theirs leading to Ialse interpretation oI the meaning oI success in terms oI material terms.
ThereIore such Ialse comparisons are Iruitless and should be avoided.
For being a true proIessional one needs to have a reasonable sense oI Iuture and should look
beyond money. Apart Irom these the person should be deeply selI observant should have the
ability to control emotions, should be open to Ieedback and should be proactive.
It is required to develop power, to have the conIidence to take charge in the most diIIicult and
potentially dangerous oI situations.
One should have the ability to show generosity and courtesy at the height oI his/her
proIessional career. At this proIessional height the person should not lose touch with their
work and should even do small things himselI.
To develop into a grounded proIessional one should understand and actively look at big
picture.
The third part discusses the qualities possessed by a true proIessional. The prime quality
required is selI discipline which results in proper time as well as health management. Another
is the ability to prioritise the tasks on the basis oI where one can make larger impact. A true
proIessional always prepares to-do list- list oI day to day goals that are important to get
through on the way oI achieving the vision. An individual should have the ability to say no to
unimportant things.
A person should not whins about small issues. A person should have a long view oI time and
should have a strong network. A proIessional has the ability to use the white spaces (train or
bus ride to work, time waiting outside the client`s oIIice, the time spent on long Ilights) Ior
getting things done in a planned and proactive manner. A great proIessional always take the
goodwill oI everyone when they leave the organization.
Part Iour talks about managing volume. Every individual must have a power oI vision and
also needs to build value centric view oI their proIession. Commitment must be applied to the
smallest oI tasks in one`s liIe. Great proIessionals are always prepared- Ior conversations,
meetings, presentations. A true proIessional has the ability to ask pertinent question and listen
intently and also is empathetic.
Part Iive oI the book discusses the ability to manage complexities. A true proIessional have
the ability to take responsibility in disasters. To take important decisions both logical and
emotional applications are required. A true proIessional has multiple intelligences.
Later Subroto Bagchi talks about three levels oI knowledge i.e. the technical knowledge, the
experiential knowledge and the existential knowledge.
The true proIessional has the capacity to raise incisive, diIIicult and sometimes
uncomIortable questions that become potential game changers. Such person also has the
ability to deal with the personal pain.
Part six oI the book discusses the new world imperatives possessed by a true proIessional. An
individual must see himselI as a rainmaker (a proIessional with disproportionate capacity to
add value to the organization). Every proIessional must understand the basics oI intellectual
property rights as well as must be educated on the basics oI sustainability and become aware
oI all subsequent individual actions.
Every organization must learn cross cultural nuances and must sort out governance issues
eIIectively.
Finally part seen discusses the unproIessional conduct and a two by two matrix where x
coordinate represents the platIorm and y coordinate represents the purpose. The platIorm is
the proIession Irom which one starts a journey on a road to someplace else and the purpose
determines how Iar one may go on that journey, Ior whom it is undertaken and how
meaningIul it is.
Between the two coordinates lie Iour quadrants, which are, low platIorm and low purpose,
high platIorm and low purpose, low platIorm and high purpose and high platIorm and high
purpose. Each individual lives in one oI the Iour quadrants.
ord Count: 1010)
Learning from the book
Though every chapter oI the book is a lesson Ior me thereIore, some oI my key learnings
include:
1. We should have the ability to work unsupervised, the ability to conIirm the
completion oI a job or task and, Iinally, the ability to behave with integrity at all
times.
2. People should be morally sound in every act be it personal or proIessional. II a person
has all the qualities oI a proIessional but he/she lacks integrity then the person ceases
to be a true proIessional.
3. We must know about ourselves deeply and we must accept our deIiciencies and be
comIortable with them. Without selI awareness people Iail to balance themselves
through ups and downs oI liIe and have problems in accepting reality.
4. We must not Ieel shame in seeking help Irom any one- a peer, a mentor, supervisor or
a junior as it is not a sign oI weakness.
5. We should have the ability to control our emotions as in extremely high-pressure
situations; oIten the best emotion to express is control.
6. We should be open to Ieedback be it positive or negative. Feedback helps a person to
know his/her hidden strengthens and weaknesses.
7. We should have the ability to take charge in most diIIicult situations, this can be
achieved by developing power within ourselves.
8. We should be selI disciplined as this leads to proper time management as well as
proper health management.
9. It is important Ior each individual to prepare to-do list as it will help to get through on
the way oI achieving the vision. Every individual should also have the ability to say
no to unimportant things.
10.We should have the ability to utilise the white space as this will enable us to do things
in a planned and proactive manner.
11.We should be empathetic and consider human beings as the Iirst and the Ioremost.
mplementation
To implement the above learnings I need to take the Iollowing steps:
1. The above skills can be implemented by making them a habit, which is possible only
by practicing.
2. To perIect the skill I`ll motivate myselI Irom within. My greatest motivation is my
parent`s expectations. Whenever I`ll start losing Iocus Irom practicing I`ll think about
my motivational driver to regain my Iocus.
3. I`ll seek Ieedback on my actions and will improve in the desired areas.
4. I`ll start evaluating myselI Iairly Ior every action.
5. To control my emotions I`ll try to divert my mind and concentrate on the things that
are more important and will try to stay Iocussed.