the BES
affair: why I left, why I'm going back
(April
19, 2002)
"When
you stop learning, it's time to move on."
I wrote that
in this site, a bit over a year ago. And I still believe it's true..
I left my
job with the BES Group in January 2001, mostly because I needed a change.
Having stayed with the company for over 7 years, having had a fair amount
of personal triumph and progression, but also my share of lesser things,
I didn't feel I had the stamina to endure the grind of the clockwork,
stuck as I was between places, between things, between conflicting interests.
In the meanwhile,
I wasn't learning much. I could only learn by going ahead with my projects,
and that wasn't happening. So I left.
I did many
different things. Research, consulting, project management, implementation.
Worked with aerospace, telecoms, service providers. I even worked in
places people never expected me to, doing the unmentionable. All in
all, I learned a lot, taught a bit, and took all I saw and all I did
as further steps in my personal learning path.
And, with
time, came rest. And with rest, the will to continue the journey.
I'm going
back for three reasons.
First, things
have changed in BES. Maybe they haven't changed much, maybe they need
a bigger change. But they have changed enough for me to be able to be
an actor in that change, and go forward with all the things I believe
to be right.
Second, I
have changed, and rested. And I know, like I always knew, that it's
a good place to work, a network large enough and complex enough to ensure
diversity, with problems big enough to keep me busy. Today, as always,
it's one of the finest places to learn. And also to "teach".
Third, the
projecy I'm going to is a lot different from the project I cam from.
I will no longer be enclosed within a specific department with a specific
management, with priorities than often differ from my needs. I'm going
for a more global position, with a wider field of action. This will
in fact provide me with the leverage to try and bring
forth the change I have so long called for.
Before, it
was pointless. Having stayed, or returning earlier, would not have had
any positive effects.
Now
it the right timing. Now it's no longer utopia, it's a challenge. And,
like so many times before, I won't turn my back on it.
See you there.
