Tell Me Who Your Friends Are...

During my University senior year, my love for numbers and Finance had me thinking that my career path would lead me to a lucrative position in the banking sector. In fact, most of the resume submissions and interview rounds I did at that time were all in this industry - probably about 95% . The remaining 5% were for FMCG, Manufacturing, and other Service-related industries. Not in my wildest of imagination did I think that I would be happily carving a path, although still in Finance, in the sports apparel/footwear retailing business. That fortunate twist came about only because of the phenomenon of knowing someone in the right place, at the right place, on the right time.

Crunch time! It was just a few weeks before graduation, the urgency of getting a decent-enough paying job was gnawing at me (at that time, our family finances were at the lowest that seriously I thought then that if I couldn't find a job right away, I would have had to pack everything and gone back home to the province after the graduation march!) . It was here when I was approached by my classmate who informed me that her sister, then the Chief Finance Officer of Brand N, was looking for a someone with street-smarts (diskarte) to be a part her start-up Finance team. I was eager, and right there and then, hurried to schedule an interview. After that, the rest, as they say, was history.

I got the job. I did good at it. And on top of that, through my first boss, got the first of what would be my army of Mentors.

Did I get the job because I was qualified? No doubt. Hindsight and what my performance has been will attest to that. However, would I have gotten the job if I didn't know my classmate who happened to have a CFO-sister? Probably not.

My intention here is not to declare that this is the one and only path to landing yourself a rewarding career! Nor is the goal to promote patronage-without-merits mode of advancement that many people in power seem to practice these days. It is simply that in life, the relationships - professional and personal and everything in between - we evolve are very important.

It is not about asking people you know to make exceptions for you. It is not about asking them to bend the rules for you. Sometimes it is just about the knowing you, and what that personal knowledge and potential recommendation - a seal of the strength of your character - which can make a difference. Ceteres paribus.

There are a million possible legitimate ways - without resorting to corruption and patronage politics - that knowing the right people can help you!

Growing up, I have had the wonderful opportunity of knowing some of these people willing to mentor me, and share with me their time and their wisdom. I have also been blessed with colleagues, and staff, and friends who continue to expand my personal and professional alliances and networks.

A network is dynamic! It is living! It is mutually beneficial! More importantly, it should be right, and beyond reproach. Anything less would be not sustainable.

Sadly, we don't get to be taught how to build a healthy network. It is something that we need to consciously learn over time, and tailored to how we plot our life to be in general.

At 31, my life is definitely not yet in a place that I can say, "This is it." However, what I am certain, and what I know as truth is this: that while I take full ownership and responsibility for all my choices and decisions, the quality of both has been amplified to the extent that my network of mentors, colleagues and friends has been supportive - with their advise, with their inputs, or simply for being wherever they were at the time when I needed them.

So yes, it is true what they say, "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you mine."

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MoneyMe

steve78ph@gmail.com