I was asked to share my recipe for success with 86 SMME graduates of our Seriti Resources’ enterprise and supplier development programme.
There was no doubt in my mind that I can never fake what it takes to dream, venture and achieve business success.
Addressing this year’s graduation ceremony, my thoughts seemed to follow a six-pack model, one with a binary configuration.
One side of the coin is the type of person we choose to be, and the other is about what I consider the three active ingredients of success.
The type of person we are determines how far we go in life or what impact we make. The people with whom we spend most of our time significantly affect how we think, behave, and ultimately how far we advance.
My entrepreneurship journey, influenced by my grandmother’s early teachings, taught me that the people we hang around with make or break us.
I recognise three main types of people: The first category is the angry type. These are the energy sappers who walk around trying to win the support of fellow moaners or naysayers.
They are pessimists who focus on sharing their anger and displeasure about how everything in the world is downright wrong. They punch holes into every idea, because to them everything is doomed to fail. Avoid them.
The second category is the lost crowd. They walk around asking cynical questions with the intention to lobby potential collaborators.
Lost people are naïve and cannot appreciate anything. When confronted with a work- or business-related matter that calls for a solution, they respond with suspicion and scepticism.
Spending too much time with angry or lost people is guaranteed to cause frustration and failure. It is rather advisable to gravitate towards the third category, the aware people.
Awareness of current affairs, maintaining a working knowledge of one’s civic duties or curiosity about the latest trends in life or business personifies mindfulness.
Being aware implies being mindful of one’s surroundings, roles and responsibilities, and core competences, which are backed by a keen openness to positive influence.
Awareness is a powerful ally of any entrepreneur or employee raring to succeed. My advice to young, up-and-coming entrepreneurs is to always watch the moving parts, which is impossible unless one is aware.
By consistently choosing to be aware and by intentionally spending most of our time with people who are aware, we can unleash our full potential.
However, it is not enough to be aware. We also need to consistently do the right things the right way.
The movers and shakers who inspire me are characterised by three active ingredients of success: work ethic, integrity and family.
My life as an entrepreneur and business leader has led me to the painful conclusion that most people want a job but do not want to work. Others profess their passion for entrepreneurship but snub the grind of the entrepreneurial route.
Relentless work ethic separates the pioneers, the trailblazers, and the outliers from run-of-the-mill pretenders.
It is hard for most people to believe that my business day still starts at 4am. They assume that being the CEO or owner of companies presupposes that one should park and enjoy the fruits of their labour. They forget that getting to the top is hard, but staying there is harder.
The second ingredient of success is integrity. “If you sell your brother, the buyer will not trust you.” A similar adage goes, “Better is the dry slice of bread than a thick slice of cheese dipped in your brother’s blood.”
One’s tenacious ability to do the right thing instead of cutting corners or cheating, when nobody is watching, sets sustainable enterprises apart from those founded on greed.
My mentors and role models in business and in life taught me that a handshake is worth more than any written legal contract. Giving someone my word, therefore, has the same compelling effect as a written contract with several witnesses.
Entrepreneurs or employees who accomplish more – for longer – are those with integrity rather than those without it.
The last ingredient of success is family, especially when money starts rolling in. They say success – not hardship – is the real test of character. Anyone can handle adversity. Sadly, many people forget family when fame and fortune come knocking.
It is not my place to prescribe what others should do. However, through our work, struggles, joy and pain, it is vital to keep our families close so they can be at our deathbed with a smile.
In life and in business, I consciously steer clear of angry and lost people in favour of those who are aware. My ethos is a blend of work ethic, integrity and family because that attracts positivity and optimism.
- Teke is Group CEO of Seriti Resources