When a dying mother tells her son, “You are my gift to the world,” those words echo forever in the core of his being. Alan will never be able to completely disregard the memory of his mother’s voice, and it is bound to have an influence on his future behavior.
However, his cousin is right: If he does what he loves, the impact will follow. I would advise Alan not to worry that any decision he makes now might foreclose future opportunities. At this early stage in his career it probably won’t. Instead he should sort through his thoughts by pulling out a yellow pad and writing things down. Specifically, he should make two lists. One should note the things he really loves to do: What turns him on? What sorts of work situations and personal activities does he find fun? The other should list the things he really doesn’t like. Having done this, he should note the pros and cons of each job opportunity and then compare them with his likes and dislikes. His goal should be to discover which opportunity best matches what he loves doing.
If I were advising Alan, I would caution him against either joining the hedge fund or accepting a longer tenure at Grepter. He doesn’t appear to be sufficiently driven by money to join Karl’s team. The stress factor in that business might be high, and—even assuming the fund does well and Alan makes a lot of money—his satisfaction quotient might be low. Moreover, he wouldn’t be able to make the social impact he wants to for several years. And although Grepter seems to be a fine place, and Alan has been happy in his career there so far, wading through a large corporate bureaucracy might not be the best thing for him, as his old friend has pointed out. Nor, again, would Alan be able to make an impact for quite a while, especially if he is working very hard as a senior manager.
There are several reasons why Alan should seriously consider joining Shiori’s enterprise. First, the entrepreneurial adventure of building a company, although it can be risky, is energizing and fun—and Alan seems capable of tolerating the level of risk involved. Shiori has already shown that she knows how to make money, so her new company’s chances of success may be better than average. And if Alan has an equity stake in the company and it goes public or is sold, he could make some money in the process. However, working with Shiori could be a pitfall if Alan isn’t clear about his romantic feelings for her.
Second, the satisfaction that he derives from working on a meaningful social venture would be a wonderful balm for the emotional pain of losing the mother he loved and admired.
Alan might be drawn to the public sector. Public service is often tough, and you can’t get rich doing it. But there is great satisfaction in making a contribution this way.
Third, he would gain experience in social policy. If he combined this with the high-level contacts that Shiori hints he could make, he might find himself in a position of greater influence later. For example, he might be drawn to the public sector. There are many jobs in government—in the United States and globally, in appointive or elective office—where he could have a very positive impact on society. Not many MBAs choose the public-service path: Public service is often tough, and you can’t get rich doing it. But there is great satisfaction in making a contribution this way. It is worth considering if Alan really wants to become a force for large-scale change.