“It’s easier to move from the not-for profit world to the for-profit world”
– Said no none. Ever.
I graduated from a top high school in an intermediate Colombian city back in 1998. Social
causes and better world ideals were always at the top of my agenda, but for some reason I
went for Business Administration as an Undergrad Career. Social work sounded “too social”
and Political Science “too political”, so, why not Management? Sounds like a familiar rationale
for a 17 year old, right? And this is the rationale that has turned the profession of Business
into the one that has attracted the best and worst professionals of the world at the same
time.!
It was not a surprise that despite having a Business Degree I turned into a Non Corporate
Queen, during and after university. I was an AIESEC (www.aiesec.org) local and world leader,
all sorts of volunteer mainly in educational projects, and finally, when I had to choose my first
job I turned down two hard-core corporate options and instead accepted the offer of
Endeavor (www.endeavor.org), joining the global non for profit behind the emerging highimpact entrepreneurship movement. Thanks to Endeavor my expertise turned to be
entrepreneurship. But wait: not the entrepreneurship where you create a grow a company,
but the one where you describe how others (a.k.a. real entrepreneurs) create and grow a
company. And I do not say it with a negative connotation, because we did a freaking good
and professional job, but nevertheless it’s important to make the distinction.!
As if it wouldn’t be enough, I kept fueling this wonderful confusion and did an MBA at
Babson (www.babson.edu), especially because Babson’s is not the typical MBA that
brainwashes you around how NPV and IRR work, but rather cares indeed for changing the
world through entrepreneurship of all kinds (www.entrepreneurshipofallkinds.org). !
As part of the MBA I dig myself even more in the non-corporate world, working among other
projects in Rwanda teaching and in the Colombian government, doing research. Best time of
my life I must say, I would do a Babson MBA again and again. But still, I felt a disconnect
between talking about entrepreneurship and missing deep inside the acumen to manage the
growth of a business, which is pretty different to be the star employee I was. I had to
reconnect with that Business Administrator I once studied for and face all those blurry,
intimidating things that contribute to success, such as finance and real change management. !
Déjà vu moment came !
career
After the MBA I had 3 job offers, same as right after undergrad graduation but in inverted
order, two where I would keep living in my “change the world” comfort zone, and one where
the I would really learn what financial bottom-line was all about while also changing the world.
I went for the latter. I do Finance and Business Development for an Educational Group.!
I must say I was scared. Sorry, let me correct, I am still scared with the not for profit to for
profit change. “It’s easier to move from the not-for profit world to the for-profit
world” – Said no none. Ever. But time ago I learned that courage is not the absence of
fear, but the triumph over it. And vulnerability has always been my best friend. So since last
year, I am consciously trading-off comfort for learning. !
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Learning in discomfort is not a
choice for everyone, and it’s
totally valid not to go for it, as
long as you are not confusing
comfort with happiness.
!
Comfort in my particular case means having an intact ego because I feel I master all the tasks
I am responsible for, sleeping 8+ hours a day and avoiding conflict with people. And that’s
certainly far away to be happiness. It’s just comfort. !
6 | Dey Dos Magazine