Joe's blog: Companies, clubs and careers

I am a devoted and die-hard Liverpool fan. Have been so, for most of my adult life. And I am fortunate, that for the best part of the last two decades, I have managed to catch atleast one game at Anfield every year. 20 May 2023 was different though - I was going there to watch Robert Firmino (Bobby) play his last home game for the club.

 

I just had to bid him goodbye. I had to thank him for everything he did for us. In fact the 10 games leading upto this last game were all farewell-to-Bobby games for the supporters, both at home and away. “Si Senor…” was the chant that got hollered out in each of these games. 

 

 

The Liverpool Football Club in its 130 odd years of existence, has played about 6,000 games. Firmino played in about 350 of them. Towards the end of his career, he's been only coming on as a substitute post half time. But that didn’t stop the club, the city, the current and former greats of the club or its millions of fans treating him till his last contracted minute, as a Liverpool legend. 

 

He was unfailingly impactful for Liverpool, in every game he played.

 

I recently posted on LinkedIn, how organisations need to reconcile with, and embrace the fact that most young folks today, choose not to have an open-ended long-term perspective on the places they join. That does not mean though, that they do not give it their all when they are with the company. Nor is it that the company has nothing to gain from them, in these employees’ short stint with them. And so, instead of judging them or ignoring them, companies should be re-thinking the ways they career plan for this generation, as also look for newer definitions of company loyalty. It is time we acknowledge and measure 'employee impact' irrespective of the years employees either have put in, or set out to put in. And this needs to be nurtured, measured and rewarded - systemically.

 

Going back to Bobby’s last game at Anfield - he scored a 89th minute equalising goal, when he had just one more minute left to play in the Liverpool jersey. That was Bobby predictably making an impact on the game once again. The chants started again, and this time I joined in too: 

 

There’s something that the Kop wants you to know; the best in the world, his name is Bobby Firmino. Si Senor, our number nine; give him the ball and he’ll score everytime.

 

These 350 games were brilliant for Bobby. These 350 games were brilliant for the club. These 350 games were brilliant for the fans. And when he comes back one day to Anfield to play against Liverpool, be absolutely sure that he will get a hero’s welcome - raucous and full-throated.  I will be there, then too.

 

(The author is founder and group chairperson, Quotient Ventures)