The "Two-Year Detour" That Became Our Entire Life

The plan was perfect. MBAs completed. First child welcomed. A leadership role arranged in India. Boxes being packed.

We had even taken a last trip to Niagara Falls, a final homage to North America before we said goodbye.

Then I walked into the President's office for what I expected to be a farewell handshake.

The Conversation That Changed Everything

"Amit, we support your move to India. But would you consider a slight detour first?"

I remember thinking: Suzhou? Shanghai? A short stint in China? "How about Toronto? We need someone to turn around and grow the Canadian business."

A slight detour. A couple of years. That was fourteen years ago. We never made it to India. We built our home in Canada instead.

""I thought we were headed back to India. God's GPS had me rerouted through Canada.""

What I've Learned About Unplanned Paths

I had a clear plan at every major junction of my career.

And at almost every one of them, the thing that actually shaped my life arrived as a detour, an unexpected conversation in an office I walked into expecting something else entirely.

This isn't an argument for passivity. It's an argument for holding your plans with conviction and with the flexibility to recognize when something better is being offered.

The President who made that offer saw something in me I hadn't yet fully seen in myself. That experience shaped how I try to develop people.

The greatest gift a leader can give is a well-timed bet on someone who isn't yet sure they're ready.

The move from "going to India" to "staying in Canada" required releasing a plan I'd invested years in.

There was real grief in it, for the proximity to parents we'd looked forward to.

But in the space created by releasing that plan, something else became possible.

A family rooted in a new country. A life that is, in its unexpected way, exactly what I would have chosen if I'd known enough to choose it.

Life doesn't always follow the script. The best chapters often begin with a detour.

When did a short detour become your main story — and what did the pivot give you that the straight path couldn't have?

Adaptability and Vision are two of the twenty traits in Half & Half.

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