Anand Deshpande is the founder and chairman of Persistent Systems Limited, a technology company based in Pune, India with over 10,000 employees worldwide. In this presentation, he discusses managing one's professional career over a lifetime and provides a framework for career planning divided into four 10-year stages: 1) learn and network in your 20s and 30s, 2) establish an identity in your 30s and 40s, 3) pursue leadership roles in your 40s and 50s, and 4) the final run and setting up retirement in your 50s and 60s. He emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning, building strong professional networks, developing specialized skills and expertise, and being responsible for one's own

1. Anand Deshpande
Founder, Chairman
Persistent Systems Limited, Pune
Managing My Professional Career
August 2019
anand@persistent.com

2. Thank you for inviting me here!
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3. Anand Deshpande
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ananddeshpande
(BSE, NSE: PERSISTENT)
FY 19
Revenues: ₹ 33,659 M
Profit: ₹ 3,516.79 M
10,000 Employees
in 18 countries
Family Foundation on
a mission to help 25,000
self-employed businesses
Trained and practicing Computer
Science Engineer
B.Tech.(Hons) M.S. and Ph.D.
Part-time Member of UIDAI
Self-learnt entrepreneur
Have been at it for 29 years
Specialize in databases Founding
member of
iSPIRT
Founding President ACM India
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4. The Context
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Most of you will
live past 80 and
many of you past 100
You are one among
more than 25 Million
people
your age in India
You are already
at
the pole position

5. The Context
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Most of you will
live past 80 and
many of you past 100
You are one among
more than 25 Million
people
your age in India
You are already
at
the pole position
You are not retiring until you are 75!

6. Reality of the Industry
Rate of Change is not
just constant,
it is linear!
Change is Exponential
Life of Companies
is getting
shorter
Effort required for
the same work is
going down
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7. Reality of the Industry
Rate of Change is not
just constant,
it is linear!
Change is Exponential
Life of Companies
is getting
shorter
Effort required for
the same work is
going down
Don’t expect Companies to provide lifetime employment!
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8. Changing Work Environment
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Hire as needed.
Contract Employment
The
“Me” Enterprise
The Uber Effect
is going to radiate to
other industries and all
walks of life

9. Changing Work Environment
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Hire as needed.
Contract Employment
The
“Me” Enterprise
The Uber Effect
is going to radiate to
other industries and all
walks of life
Gig Economy is here to stay.

10. How do I Manage My Career?

11. My
Family
My
Work
Me
Life is Intertwined…
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My
Community

12. You are Responsible for Your Life!
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ActThink Plan

13. Four Stages of Planning Your Career
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10 Years
1 Learn and Network
32 Years
10 Years
2 Establish an Identity
42 Years
10 Years
3 In pursuit of
the Corner Office
52 Years
10 Years
4 The Final Run and
Setting up Retirement

14. 52 Years
10 Years
4 The Final Run and
Setting up Retirement
Four Stages of Planning Your Career
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10 Years
1 Learn and Network
32 Years
10 Years
2 Establish an Identity
42 Years
10 Years
3 In pursuit of
the Corner Office

15. Learn and Network
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Learn. Broaden your
personality by
becoming multi-skilled
You get better when you
introspect
Build a network.
Include some mentors

16. Beyond the Professional Career
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Relationships and
building a family
Pursue your
hobbies and dreams
Learn to accept
diversity

17. 52 Years
10 Years
4 The Final Run and
Setting up Retirement
Four Stages of Planning Your Career
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10 Years
1 Learn and Network
32 Years
10 Years
2 Establish an Identity
42 Years
10 Years
3 In pursuit of
the Corner Office

18. Establish an Identity
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Invest in yourselvesBecome an expert.
Can do that in only
a few things
Let the world say it

19. Beyond the Professional Career
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To get you must give firstAdjust your lifestyle to
your means
Financial Security

20. Four Stages of Planning Your Career
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10 Years
1 Learn and Network
32 Years
10 Years
2 Establish an Identity
42 Years
10 Years
3 In pursuit of
the Corner Office
52 Years
10 Years
4 The Final Run and
Setting up Retirement

21. In Pursuit of the Corner Office
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Define your
corner office
You have three steps
to the
corner office
It is not a plan unless it is
written down

22. How do you define your corner office?
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Enumerate the possible
corner offices
What do I like doing? What do I not like doing?

23. How Does a Large Company Hire for a CXO Position?
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Promote from
within
Someone who is already
a CXO in a smaller business
Someone who is running
a large
business unit in
a larger Company

24. You can jump off the chase
by starting on your own!

25. Start Your Own Company?
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Why not do your own? There is support I am Supporting
Entrepreneurship

26. Four Stages of Planning Your Career
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10 Years
1 Learn and Network
32 Years
10 Years
2 Establish an Identity
42 Years
10 Years
3 In pursuit of
the Corner Office
52 Years
10 Years
4 The Final Run and
Setting up Retirement

27. Setting Up For Retirement
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You will still have many
more years of
active life left
Contributing to the SocietyBuilding your Legacy

28. Four Stages of Planning Your Career
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10 Years
1 Learn and Network
32 Years
10 Years
2 Establish an Identity
42 Years
10 Years
3 In pursuit of
the Corner Office
52 Years
10 Years
4 The Final Run and
Setting up Retirement

29. What Should You Do Now?
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Build a network of
connections
Build a personal brand Learn to communicate
with style

30. Personal Code of Ethics – Zero Compromise on Ethics
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If it comes down to your ethics
versus your job, choose ethics.
You can always find another job.
Sallie Krawcheck CEO of Co-founder of Ellevest

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32. The Leadership Journey
Destination
Leadership
Embody
a Purpose
Look in the
Mirror
Don’t Walk
Alone
Navigate
beyond the
Horizon
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33. The Emergence of The “Me” Enterprise
 The World's Largest taxi company
(Uber) owns no taxis
 The world's largest accommodation
provider (AirBnB) owns no real estate
 The largest communications
companies (Skype, Whats App,
Facebook Messenger, Viber)
own no infrastructure
 The most popular media platform
(Facebook) creates no content
 The fastest growing banks
(Kickstarter, Apple Pay) actually
have no money
 The world's largest movie house
(Netflix) owns no cinemas
 The world's largest software vendors
(Apple, Facebook, Google)
don't write the apps
 The "Me" Enterprise is an employee,
manager or leader who creates his or
her own mission statement, own
strategy and own blueprint for success
 Treats the employer as their customer
 They act as if this is their company.
Though I am the CEO of this Company
my best leaders all behave as if they
are the CEO. They take responsibility,
they make decisions, they solve
problems as if this their company and
the company's ultimate success
depends on them
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34. Personal Code of Ethics – Zero Compromise on Ethics
A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labour and
his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine
whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.
Education through Recreation (1932), p. 1.
Lawrence Pearsall Jacks (9 October 1860 – 17 February 1955),
usually cited as L. P. Jacks,
was an English educator, philosopher, and Unitarian minister who rose
to prominence in the period from World War I to World War II.
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37. Excellent article on Networking
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 http://benjaminreinhardt.com/networking-for-nerds/
 Here are just a few of the specific tactics I’ve developed. At the end of the day, all
of them boil down to one thing - make it easy for the other person - to
remember you, to help, and to meet.
 Tactic 1: The Projection Model
 The trick is that projections are small and can only hold a few pieces of information (rule of thumb - about three.) In order to maximize the effectiveness
of your projections, figure out which things you want to be associated with in people’s heads and be excited about them. Nothing is more memorable
than distinct excitement. Similarly, try to figure out the things that drive the whomever you’re talking to and incorporate them into your mental
representation of that person. The best way to encourage people to keep you in mind is to keep them in mind.
 Tactic 2: Know your ask: Make it Easy to Help
 Tactic 3: Pre-Meeting Motions
 Since relationships are built through 1-1 interactions, you can’t build meaningful relationships without 1-1 meetings. It took me a long time to
realize that there are tons of things you can do to make a meeting great before it even starts.

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