It was 2 O'clock in the morning and I was still in the factory, leading a team of a few dozen Engineers, Supervisors and Workers to execute an order, which, if not completed in next couple of days, would attract a huge penalty, in addition to a distinct possibility of being blacklisted by one of the biggest customers of the company.
The factory, being located in a remote place, had an adjoining full-fledged residential colony, and the top leadership including Managers and most of the Supervisors and Workers used to stay inside the premises.
Focusing on perhaps one of the most challenging assignments of my professional life, of restoring the lost reputation and glory of the company, for which I was picked up from one of the best and largest Indian Corporates Bajaj Auto, nothing really mattered to me than to make it happen at any cost.
Working for more than 18 hours a day - and for several months - to achieve the target, I, at some point in time, lost touch with the developments in my personal life.
My elder daughter was just a year old then, and was desperate to grab my attention like any child. But, I was never available to fulfill her expectation. It was an amazing commitment - or madness - to prove to whom I don't know, that I was competent enough to achieve an almost impossible target.
"Sir, your wife is looking for you," said one of my Engineers to me when I was checking a Release Note in the computer room.
"What, my wife? Are you sure?" I couldn't believe him.
"Yes Sir. She is crying and desperately looking for you." He continued.
Confused, why was she here, at this odd hour, I rushed out to the factory gate separating the colony.
There she was, in front of the gate, lying on the ground, with our a-year-old daughter crying and trying to wake her up.
No, she wasn't sleeping, but laid squirming on the ground with pain, the intensity of which had made her almost senseless. I knew what it was, because for last couple of weeks she had been complaining about it and the local doctor had advised us to go to Mumbai for a complete check up to find the reason behind.
Mumbai being a couple of hours journey from our place, would surely have consumed a whole day, might be more, for a detailed investigation. Unfortunately, I didn't have so much time to spare, even for my wife, because, I was so addicted to proving a point -- that I failed to realize, what really matters in life.
Somehow I managed to carry her back home, and her pain gradually subsided over a period of time. Thank God, nothing serious happened until I achieved my objective of completing the order in time.
Immediately after that, I mean achieving the target, management sanctioned me a huge loan for getting the best available treatment for her and I proceeded on a month long leave.
Well, I was given an out-of-turn promotion immediately after joining back a month and half later. And that was perhaps the best moment of my career up until then.
However, today, while looking back and analyzing the gains and loses, I do realize that the quest for success in career can completely jeopardize our personal life, if we fail to strike a balance between the two.
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