career Archives - KOJO BAFFOE

Embracing Non-Linear Paths: Building a Life, Not Just a Career

Jan 31, 2024 | Commentary

While the world has changed a great deal, we seem to be struggling to find new ways of living. The typical path from birth feels linear - kindergarten, primary school, high school, university, job, career, live life when we retire. Over the last 30 or so years of my working life, I have bounced between multiple, often unrelated industries, with writing at the core. Writing stemmed less from my studies and more because it is something that I enjoy doing occasionally, and then I put the work into the craft. It doesn’t hurt that I'm relatively decent at it, from articles and poetry (for a...

Random Thoughts: Writing

Mar 25, 2015 | Random

Discovering a certain knack for putting words together in a manner that is occasionally engaging or worth reading has influenced the trajectory of my life immensely. Discovering that, as with most things, mere talent counts for very little has made that journey, at times, painful. Talent is merely the starting point. Learning how to use the tools of the trade – grammar, language, form, genre, craft, etc – is where the real work lies. Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like...

Random Thoughts: Transition

Mar 17, 2015 | Random

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a panel at GIBS on Career Transitions. It was little daunting because my fellow panellists were people who have been working in the career coaching, executive recruitment and organisational development spaces for some years. But, it was an insightful experience to participate in because, in a way, it allowed me to get clarity on some of the lessons I have learnt about building career and transitioning between industries by simply doing (and reading). In a weird way, having spent extended periods of my life writing, I have had to both...