My Vietnam adventure - Overcoming Fear of Relocation - Geographical diversification of learning

15 years back, I got an opportunity for an international assignment with Deutsche Bank in Hanoi, Vietnam (on secondment to their partner Habubank, a local bank to head their Wealth Management business)

My initial reaction was of doubt & fear as I was doing reasonably well in India & I thought, why should I destabilise my professional life & personal life and start afresh in new geography?

But we did go to Vietnam, which by the way, is a beautiful country, with wonderful & talented people and tremendous potential for growth in the next decade (over & above the record growth over the last 15 years)

It was an amazing learning experience, not just in terms of the economy, financial markets & work culture but also as a test of my flexibility, adaptability, interpersonal skills, and managing change.

Interestingly my family too faced challenges in the beginning but enjoyed the stay after a few months and when the time came for us to come back, they did not want to leave Vietnam.

Normally we talk of geographical diversification of investments for superior risk adjusted returns. After this Vietnam assignment, I also firmly believe that a similar goal of bigger success at work, can be achieved through geographical diversification.

It is my strong advice to everyone, that you should actively seek work opportunities, where you need to work in different geographies within India & outside. And I guarantee you that you will come out of it as a much improved version of yourself.