The
establishment of The Operational Risk Practice Pte. Ltd. in June 28th
was really the end of a period of restlessness driven by a strong desire to do
something meaningful and diverse in the Operational risk industry. It also
marked the beginning of Chapter 2 about which I will continue to write. The
restlessness still continues. Oh, yes it does…but this is now on my terms and
linked to the aspirations to do a lot within a short space of time in the Risk Advisory
& Learning space.
It has been close to 8 mths since we started. We have had our
successes on both fronts. As of date we have Advisory clients and have also
launched industrywide learning courses and workshops for operational risk
across Asia and Middle East. We also
represent the largest Association and Data Consortium for Operational risk in
Asia. We have had our moments of pain
and discomfort as well. But at the end of the day there is a quiet sense of
excitement, strange feeling of liberation and satisfaction. This, from the
varied conversations one is able to have on a diverse set of topics and needs
and also being out of the ‘comfort zone’. Every conversation throws up new
ideas, thoughts that are noted and revisited every now and then to see how they
fit into the broader business plan.
Being hands-on for everything is in its own way gratifying.
You are way out of any ‘comfort zone’. Travelling to a new location is without
the backing of any major corporate infrastructure. Feels strange, but there is a quiet sense of achievement and determination
that comes with it. The entrepreneurial journey has allowed me to reconnect
with friends, colleagues and peers who I had lost touch with for quite a while.
Some of them are dispersed across the globe. Thank god for skype, email,
crackberry’s and the rest of the gizmos. Thanks Steve Jobs for making things
easier, linked and fun. Thank you to my
family for their never ending support and encouragement during my moments of
reflection and hysteria. Thank you to my friends for sticking by me and throwing
up ideas, thoughts and being there.
There
is a road ahead. It has my name on it. It gets clearer with every lesson
learnt, every success and every failure. There are several T-Junctions. Destiny
and effort will show the way.
