The world certainly seems to be Alan’s oyster, but his mother’s ghost is interfering with his enjoyment of it. His confusion springs, in part, from the fact that he has not yet finished with the grieving process. As she was passing away, his mother burdened him with a heavy expectation. Her dying wish has put Alan in the unhappy position of living to fulfill her role for him rather than choosing his own direction. By hinging his future on the fulfillment of his mother’s wishes, he may miss the opportunity to realize the full potential of his own life.
Alan must start by asking himself a few key questions: What is really driving me, professionally and privately? Am I living my own life, following my ideals, or am I acting from a heavy conscience? What are my core skills, and what satisfies me most?
Some of Alan’s personal predilections already indicate a path. Consider the way he skis. He takes calculated risks. Instead of choosing the narrow track, where he might hit a tree, he goes for the wide-open run. By leaping before Karl, he shows that he’s a leader, not a follower. Such hints suggest that working for a hedge fund might be the wrong choice. Instead of broadening his competency level through a wide variety of experiences, he would be narrowing it by spending his days studying the movements of stocks. Moreover, interpersonal relationships are important to him, but he probably wouldn’t be interacting much with people at a hedge fund. And money doesn’t seem to interest him as much as it does Karl—at least not for its own sake. I suspect that Alan knows that money has an addictive quality: The more you earn, the more you spend, and it doesn’t necessarily make you happy.
Alan’s skill with people makes the opportunity in California more appropriate, but he needs to ask whether professional networking is really what he wants to do. Another question arises: Does it make sense to go into business with a friend? What will happen if Alan, a natural leader, reports to Shiori—or to Karl? If he competes with one of them or if something goes wrong, can the friendship survive?
Does it make sense to go into business with a friend? What will happen if Alan, a natural leader, reports to Shiori—or to Karl?
Grepter, however, satisfies his need to work with people and offers excellent prospects. An international position abroad and responsibility for an integration project would indeed give Alan extremely valuable experience. The CEO has hinted that he might mentor him and has even intimated that Alan might be his successor. Alan should confide in Gary and openly and honestly discuss his options and concerns; he might say that he’d like to find a way to combine a career in big pharma with social entrepreneurship. Indeed, it might be strategically interesting for Grepter to grow a business based on providing affordable drugs to the world’s poor. During this discussion Alan could learn a lot about Gary’s interest in and intentions for him.
In his role as a mentor, the CEO might also help Alan discover that being useful to society has to do not just with work but with all aspects of life—not just the charities to which he contributes but also the products and services he helps produce, the relationships he builds, even the taxes he pays. By being open with his mentor and paying attention to his own heart, Alan may discover that he can follow his true self and at the same time do more for the world than his mother ever dreamed of.