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Tuesday, 3 December 2013 00:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
sports and had also been the Head Prefect at college. Looking back at my own life, the circumstances were quite similar and the only piece of advice I could offer him was to forget past failures as they have very little impact on the future provided one can focus ruthlessly on the task ahead. I also told him that he must move an interest to passion and it is only in this way that one can become the best in the country.
Over time, I saw this youngster’s dedication and focus on studying and his strong involvement at group work at breakout sessions during classes. He went on to win the Sri Lanka prize that I lectured, then he joined Unilever in brand marketing and went on to get promoted in the business. Subsequently he got pushed up to an internal secondment to the Pakistani business and the last I heard was that he has taken over a regional role in the Unilever business.
Pick up: Past failures do not determine your future success. It’s all about the sacrifices you make to master your chosen talent and make it one’s passion that will determine your success. Do not get distracted in life’s journey due to public opinion. Public opinion is like a mirage. As soon as you get closer to it, it fades away.
Overcome deficiencies
When Michael Phelps won his 1st Gold at the Beijing Olympics, I remember watching this moment on TV. He went and hugged his mother and there was a buzz on why this strong bond that was exhibited. It was later that the truth emerged.
The reason for this deep affection to his mum was because at the tender age of nine, Michel was diagnosed with a weakness called Attention Deficit Disorder. This reduces significantly one’s power of concentration. However, with years of training under the guidance of his mother (who was incidentally a single parent), the deficiency was overcome and he went to become one of the greatest athletes that modern Olympics has ever seen.
In Sri Lanka too, I have seen many Michael Phelps. At a particular a lecture I take called ‘Marketing Information and Research,’ one student had an acute stammer that hindered the ability of interacting with the others effectively in class. In fact, given that marketing is a social discipline, I wondered at one time if he would ever make it in the competitive world of marketing. But with practice, he overcame this limitation and went on to get an ‘A grade’ at his exam and today, he a senior brand manager for a top 10 power brand in the country.
Pick up: Identify your weakness early in your life and work towards correcting it with absolute ruthlessness. Any weakness can be corrected through constant application but this requires discipline.
Make drastic changes
I remember once a smart hotel school graduate came in to study marketing and I wondered why she wanted to study marketing given that she was working for a top hotel chain in Sri Lanka. She went on to win the Sri Lankan prize for a subject I taught called and then she joined a leading city hotel where she changed the culture of the entire hotel and it went on to win the ‘Best City Hotel’ in the country consecutively. The last I got to know was that she is to be appointed as the Head of Training for the conglomerate.
Pick up: Sometimes you have to make career changes in your life that can be drastic. Do not be scared. Do it, as end of the day you have only one life and you must make the best of it.
English is not a must
In one of the multinational companies I worked for, I was on an interview panel to select a medical representative for the company. A youngster from Matara came in and spoke in Sinhala stating, “My dream is to join a multinational company and wear a tie.” I was adamant to give this youngster a chance in his life as he was very honest about his purpose and had a likable personality. We gave him that chance.
Whilst working on the field as a sales representative, he learnt English and completed a post graduate diploma from the Charted Institute of Marketing. Thereafter he read for his MBA. The guy went on to become a brand manager for a global brand and there after a senior brand manager and subsequently he got headhunted to lead the 1.5 billion confectionery business and today he is marketing manager of the leading paint business in Sri Lanka.
Pick up: Language is not a barrier for one’s development. You can learn English as you move on in your career. All that is required is the passion and the will to learn.
Leaders fall too
Once I was heading towards my vehicle after being a guest speaker at a marketing conference, when a very bright student came to me and said that he had been asked to take a cross posting internally to work as a area sales manager on the field. He felt was unfair as he had got strong performance ratings in brand management.
I asked him to take on the challenge and perform and thereafter argue it out at the next appraisal on why he needs to get back to brands as he was now going to be richer with the ground reality on the field. Within six months he had made his area come within the top two regions in the country and he went on become the Head of Marketing and is today a General Manager of a large apparel company.
Pick up: Leaders also get into murky ground in one’s career, but the difference is that they get up and run and prove to the world the spirit of fighting. In fact these experiences make one’s success sweeter. Just get up and run should be the motto.
Honesty
Once there was this youngster who announced that he had resigned from a company as he did not want to get involved in unethical practices that were of financial nature. I was proud of him, but was angry that he had thrown a job out of the window without having another in hand. However, I told him that I had done the same when I was Chairman of a State corporation but within three days was called by the then President to take on a bigger role for the country.
I knew I had to help him to get on his feet and went out of my way to set up a few interviews for the youngster. Today he works for a top bank in the country as a Brand Manager and very soon will be taking over its key operations overseas.
Pick up: Never be scared to be honest. There can be peer pressure but in the long run it pays off. Think of the long term and not the short term wins you can accrue. Financial integrity is a must in corporate life.
Girls can win too
Once I was invited to a leading girls’ school to deliver a presentation on ‘Marketing as a Career’. After the presentation, I came across a female student who was very conservative in dress and behaviour, wanting to know if she should seriously start a career in marketing. At one time I wondered if she would fit in to the fast-track pace in the world of marketing which required working taking late and somewhat of a busy social life.
She went on to win the Sri Lanka prize that I taught and I got her the first break in her career in a market research agency. Then she called me around two years later to ask if I could be a ‘referee’ as she was applying for a top brand job in the leading multinational in Sri Lanka. She now works in the Indian business of this company in the global new product development team servicing the total Asia Pacific business and recently she got picked to lead a brand that beings in half the profits of the business.
Pick up: In today’s competitive business world, one is recognised on performance and not on how one is dressed or if one is male or female. Just get out there and perform. But keep your values in life intact all the time.
Imperfect home
We live in a world where values have changed drastically and now there are many families which are single-parent driven. Once I came across a youngster who used to miss lectures quite often and when asked why, discovered that he came from a single parent household.
I felt it was my duty to help him and his family. I only set up an interview for the youngster. He earned his job. Today he is the Business Development Manager of a leading bank in Sri Lanka. In the first year he was rated to win the Chairman’s Performance Award and in the second year he received an Exceptional Performance Award. Today he is on a MBA program and is tipped to lead the bank’s Marketing Department.
Pick up: Family imperfections should not be a deterrent for one’s performance. It’s all about being committed and disciplined. Every family has their own imperfections. That’s life.
Conclusion
To conclude, my mind goes back to the day I was awarded ‘Gold’ at college and my mentor said: “You become what you take time to become!” He is no more as he passed away some years back, but when I look back now I see that I have been able to unearth the talent of people to be better than me. I guess I have done him proud.
[The writer has twice won the ‘Marketing Achiever Award’ and Business Achiever Award and is a Global Leadership Award winner and currently works for the United Nations (UNOPS) as the Head of National Portfolio Development for Sri Lanka and Maldives. He has twice won the Merit Award at the UN and in 2012 was awarded the Exemplary Leadership Award from the Association of Business – Singapore. He is an alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School.]
