Giving Compass' Take:

• India Development Review provides 10 tips for a smoother transition from a corporate position to the development sector. Switching will be difficult, but also very rewarding.

• How can those trained in business lend their insights to the nonprofit world? As traditional business becomes more socially conscious, hopefully there will be more overlap.

• Learn about the core issues in the dev sector and rethinking models of change.

Your transformation from corporate honcho to development professional will be a fulfilling and long-lasting one. At least that’s what you were promised in your job interview. Here’s how you can deal with the reality of each aspect of your new role.

  1. Your role - You were hired with the promise of being given a stage to fulfil your potential. Now would be a good time to understand that if your life were a Hindustani music concert then you would be the backup vocalist to the CEO.
  2. Writing proposals - Never, ever mention the word ‘rights’, or its singular. Your project, program and organization are neutral, apolitical, and want as little as possible to do with real people and their problems.
  3. Meeting funders - This will be tough but you might have to leave the YSL bag or Montblanc watch at home, or at least hidden during funder meetings.
  4. Setting a vision - There are occasions during which an earnest exposition of social innovation, disruptive models, ‘solving the big problems’, and ROI is welcome, but the only occasion for that speech is when you meet a younger version of yourself.
  5. Strategising - Never ask the CEO for a strategy document.
  6. Communicating with the team - Development sector work is demanding, not just on the body but on the mind as well. You will have to constantly strive to be understood because of the language barrier.
  7. Visiting the 'field' - Preparing for a field visit should take at least twice as long as the visit itself. Leveraging’ the field visit for personal branding should last a lifetime.
  8. Getting audited - Nonprofit audits are an advanced version of psychological warfare because you have no idea what the auditors want.
  9. Accounting - Steve Jobs was celebrated for his ‘reality distortion field’, his ability to convince anyone of something that they knew was not true.
  10. Measuring impact - This is an excellent idea.

Read the full article about moving to the development sector by Arjav Chakravarti at India Development Review.