If you are a classicist, you will know that the island of Ithaca (or Ithaka) was Odysseus’s home in ancient Greece. He left Ithaca to fight the Trojan Wars and then the adventures of his journey home took on epic proportions in the Odyssey.
Odysseus’ long voyage home was the inspiration for nineteenth century Greek poet, CP Cavafy. In the following excerpt from the poem are the seeds of the Ithaca Partners attitude to what we do:
Ithaka
As you set out for Ithaka
Hope your road is a long one,
Full of adventure, full of discovery…
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years.
So you're old by the time you reach the island.
Wealthy with all you've gained on the way.
Not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
You'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
The sense of enjoying the journey, as well as arriving at one’s destination is a central part of feeling a sense of fulfilment in life. Both organisations and individuals are on journeys. A crucial part of us doing our jobs well is to understand the context of those journeys. The match of client with candidate is about the timing and desire for paths to come together, as well as more objective measures.
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