Carlos Ghosn On His Life ,Identity And Globalization

The first I heard of Carlos Ghosn was a decade ago. My friend Damien was his head of automotive-train research and boy did he hero-worship the man! Even in those days, I was mostly put off by this man’s philosophy of life though I could hardly have articulated why. But a decade on, I can bluntly state our differences:

1.I’m of the ” work is a part of life” school not the “work-life balance” school. So with me, its find personally meaningful work, work that feels like play and indulge in doing something joyful everyday. Family and friends, according to their capacity and interests, are welcome to join me in my work.

2.I’m cosmopolitan, but at the same time deeply rooted in my primordial identities. I have no interest in changing my stand to pander to either Nationalists or Internationalists.

3.Family is central to my life. The only reason I’m bothered about wealth is for the good life it can secure for family and the larger community, in that order. Sacrificing family and social life to make more money is not a compromise I’m willing to make.

That said, its not to say that it not worthwhile reading what Carlos Ghosn has to say. He is right in saying that where we are born need not limit what we become. And for a person who shares more in common with Carlos, perhaps he is a good role model. Damien has an Algerian father, a French mother, a French citizenship and education and practices Kendo , a Japanese style sword-fighting. He identifies as French because as he says,he believes in French secularism. An approach I can’t really quite wrap my mind round, but obviously it works for some people! Read more of this post