Who Will Achieve Professional Success?

Original Spanish version published in El Comercio newspaper (Peru) on January 20, 2015

1. Those who understand the reality of the working world: It is the people that understand that our jobs are always a two way street, and that jobs have changed from a “for life” to a “for as long as it works for both of us” relationship, which will be maintained only as long as both parties are satisfied. We will be in demand at work as long as we add value to the organization, contribute to results, and produce concrete achievements with a good attitude. Similarly, we will work in that organization for as long as our development, satisfaction, and professional growth are possible with what we are doing, our earnings are reasonably good, and we feel respected, acknowledged, and valued.
2. Those who know what they want and prepare to go after these things: Only people with clear objectives achieve success. This is the crucial point in the concept of “success.” How can you want to achieve success if you don’t know exactly what you want? Then, it’s vital to have a very clear description in writing of what you wish to achieve in your professional career, always close at hand and up to date, and to focus on increasing your knowledge, skills, and abilities every day.
3. Those who are ethical: The working world does not excuse or forget those who break promises or commit ethics violations, even if only a few people know of the offense. Obviously, we don’t have to be saints or paranoid, but we do need to have integrity, be transparent, and always be aware of the consequences of our behavior and be responsible for it.
4. Those who have contacts: A network of contacts is a fundamental tool for constantly “selling” the quality of our professional services. The larger our network of trust, the greater the demand for our services will be, because people in our networks of trusts are the ones who “sell” our services, the best trustees of our reputation.
5. Those who care about their brand and reputation: Successful people actively care for their image and reputation, which keeps them competitive and employable. Remember that your name is your brand for as long as you live, so it is especially important to take care of it. In order for people’s perceptions of our image are authentic, our brand and reputation must be a reflection of our ethical, responsible, and amicable behavior, every day of the week and in every aspect of our lives. We cannot separate the personal from the professional; we are always the same person, and that’s how others see us, as a whole.
6. Those who produce results: At the end of the workday, we have to ask ourselves: What value did I add to the organization today? What did I do to contribute, what did I do to earn my pay today? We are not paid to go to work, but to add value, to contribute to results, to fulfill specific goals and objectives, to meet the customer’s needs, and ideally to do that very well every day of the week.
7. Those who develop their charisma: Many people believe that charisma is for politicians, and they do very little to develop their own. However, charisma is vital to interpersonal relationships, and therefore vital to professional and entrepreneurial life. For people to trust us, we must begin by generating a warm and genuine bond, and one that generates trust (charisma = warmth). And if there is trust, there is credibility.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors to work on, but our dreams and aspirations are there, right in front of us, ready for us to go out and get them. Dare to succeed in your professional career!

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