Call me Guru

Asia is pretty big on titles and positions of power. Everyone wants to be the CEO, the COO or the MD in a billion dollar company. No one wants to be the little guy. If you are say... the janitor... you wouldn't get the girl. However, if you decide to call yourself the 'Hygiene Engineer' in a big multi-national corporation, then you are more likely to score with the ladies.

But then, if you look closely, just about everyone and anyone is vice-president in the company (I don't think banks need so many of them VPs). Insiders tell me, the way the letters are arranged can tell you if they are really the guy in charge, or just another pretty face.

Why do they do this? The clients demand to speak to someone in a position of power, thus they put one of 1342 vice-presidents on the line. The client speaks to someone they think is in charge, while the minion thinks he is the king of the coop. It's a win-win situation. What is there not to like?

However, while this up-marketing would give everyone a glamorous role in the rat race; it is not a very accurate description of the work one does.For example, I am currently on a career break. It's a lovely way to put 'I just want to bum around, see the world and be a sloth'. Or I could be known as 'unemployed'. Now that could imply 'I was laid off/fired/incompatible with the directions of the company' or 'I am taking a sabbatical to discover myself'.

All those fancy titles in 'em name cards that are handed out like candy, they are just spin. But we get taken in by the polish, and assume the grubby little guy is less worthy than a speck of dust (Okay, I exaggerate). We should be looking beyond the pretty faces to find the true characters and personalities that lie behind. Therein, lies the path to a true partnership.

Now call me Super Love Guru buahahahaha!