?A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose?a cause to pursue, a goal to achieve??

? John Maxwell

Most professionals, in these testing times, will have to draw on the power of personal conviction to weather this economic climate. It will call for greater personal flexibility, multi-tasking and an ability to align more fully with organisational goals and add greater value.

Each professional could be provided three choices to add value to the organisation and to oneself:

* Taking on higher responsibilities

* Making a lateral movement either by building on the existing direction, for example, working on a new technology in the same domain or through a shift in direction, for example, moving from programming to quality assurance

* Leveraging existing proficiencies to add value down-stream, for example, a project manager joins the team in delivering code and functions both as a team member and leader.

Whatever be the choice, the professional will need three essentials?the willingness to walk the path, a compass to make intelligent choices and the energy to keep going.

The willingness to walk the path: In order to traverse this journey, one needs to introspect and establish a mindset that has the following hallmarks:

Positivity: View the adversity as an opportunity and inherently believe in oneself. Remember, kites rise against the wind and not with it!

Focus: Make a choice and stick to it, for example, don?t get caught between being a generalist and a specialist.

Flexibility: Be open to change. Change could come in the form of re-allocation or relocation. You need to be prepared for a new project, a new manager, a new technology, new team members, a new role or even perhaps going back to an earlier role.

Proactivity: Don?t get caught on the back-foot; predict and take action in anticipation. This could mean enrolling yourself proactively for a course on a new technology, stepping up and taking newer responsibilities without being asked to.

Maturity: Rather than seeing it only from your vantage point, understand how the organisation functions and add value, rather than being stuck with a personal blinker.

A compass to make intelligent choices: The compass is nothing but the wisdom of experience. This experience could come from three sets of people who can advise you of the choices available and their implications. These three are: your seniors in the organisation who have weathered a similar downturn before; industry experts who have a view of how the downturn could play out in different domains; your circle of confidants, friends and family, who know you and can therefore provide meaningful insights into what could work for you.

Energy: Knowledge and relationships function as sources of energy and personal sustenance during this journey.

Knowledge: Enhance your knowledge about your customer, your domain and the technology you are working on. If you are able to come out with solutions that can alleviate the organisational pains, you would be able to make a significant difference to the organisation.

Enabling relationships: Leverage your relationships, namely, your customer connections, your internal team equations and your external networks to energise yourself by understanding and exploring potential opportunities.

The IT industry offers the best scope for personal growth over the next decade. One needs to factor in multiple realities like tougher selection processes, lower lead time to performance and lower tolerance to incompetence.

To summarise, borrowing the words of the ancient Roman philosopher, Horace: ?Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant?.

?The writer is member of the Board and director?human resources, education and research and administration, Infosys Technologies