Goodbye Qualcomm
It’s been just under two years and after a whirlwind of experience and excitement at Qualcomm I have decided to move on.
This was my first foray into the private sector and it was a blast! The academics had it completely wrong. I was warned that I’d be a cog in a machine. Not even close. The academic machine is a rusty axe compared to the shiny chainsaw of the corporate world. Each has its cogs. You know who you are.
There’s an old saying that originated from the Soviet Union: Initiative is Punishable (“Initsiativa Nakazuima”, thanks Katya!). I’ve learned in my career that this is true. Initiative is punishable, but as a friend of mine pointed out and looking at my own career I’d say that this same initiative has been rewarding.
Our lives, whether at a job or elsewhere, are filled with challenges. Sometimes we win, sometimes we don’t, but we should never lose focus of our ideals and our integrity. It is our ideals that inspire innovation. And it is integrity that keeps us on the right path. Often times we find ourselves so lost in details that we forget this larger context.
For anyone reading this far and finding any sense to this post: remember that we are defined not by our words but by our actions, and all too often the dissonance between our mouth and hands is the real source of our stress.