A DAY IN THE LIFE
Consultant
By Sonu Iyer, Partner, Ernst & Young
It was past eleven in the night as I sat in my car on way back home. Traffic had thinned but cars were still speeding past each other. It was quite late, but it often gets so in this business. I was a little relaxed though; yesterday’s anxiety had dissipated: We had been able to convince a new client and formalised an agreement for a project after two days of negotiations.
As I drove past many traffic intersections, I thought to myself: ‘seventeen years’. Not a short span of time since I started my career as a chartered accountant. The college, the rigour of articleship, and anxiety of landing a good job………all seem distant now.
Time has changed. For all of us. It’s become too hectic. Equally rewarding as well.
It’s a struggle to get up every morning. When my cell phone buzzed with Beethoven’ Fur Elise alarm ring at 5.30 today, I just didn’t feel like leaving my bed. But the thought of long commute, and a meeting at 8 am made sure I forced myself out of the bed.
It was going to be an important day. It was a significant project and I had to take
on the lead role on day 2 of the discussions with the client. Day 1 had been hectic rounds of discussions but today was the key day. We had to deliver on our promise to the client of being the best in the business. I’m part of a multidisciplinary team at my firm aiming to provide holistic solutions to meet target client needs.
I was there on time and the meeting kicked off smoothly. Long bouts of discussion with clients, coffee, presentation and exchange of ideas, all hurtling towards a solution that client needed.
When I was getting comfortable, feeling we may have kind of figured out things for our client, in walked the top boss. Listend to our discussion and raised a very relevant point we had sort of not really focused on. This was followed by silence, as all thought of its pros and cons. The meeting room for the next few minutes had nothing but the sound of shuffling of some papers. The silence was getting too long and I decided to take charge. A discussion started and we concluded on a possible optimal solution to the satisfaction of all.
The meeting ended and now it was time to celebrate and unwind a little. Luckily, we could catch a soccer match with some nice drink and dinner.
The day that began at 8 in the office was now coming to a close. I would reach home around midnight. Not all days are like this, but they are rarely easy. And despite this, this business of consultancy give you a ‘high’, which you look forward to everyday, knowing too well how much of your precious time and attention it extracts away from your loved ones.
Every day a new deadline, new expectations, getting more business, getting new clients and working to their satisfaction. And all this translates into more hard work, longer hours. How often do I wish there were more hours in a day!
And just to ensure that the daily rush doesn’t erode one’s motivation and plummets one’s performance, I keep taking breaks from work periodically to rejuvenate myself.
Spending time with family, watching Bollywood movies and Hollywood romantic comedies are a good stress-buster. Thankfully, I have a very supportive environment at home: A super understanding and secure husband, parents and in-laws who
support my career aspirations and do not constantly make me feel “guilty”, and
a wonderful help at home to ensure the food is on the table and your home looks reasonably clean.
We have an excellent work atmosphere as well with a very motivating boss and an excellent team to execute our assignments. Working from home or flexi-hours make things a little easy for us to balance life’s other priorities without compromising on organisational goals.
A day in the life of a consultant is quite tiring, sometimes needs a lot of patience but for sure is never boring!!
