First of all, you need to be able to walk – and talk – the talk when it comes to four key pillars in work lives:

• Critical thinking
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity

Generally, the employees are not articulating or practicing those four aspects well enough, and are risking their career progression by not doing so.

These are areas you really need to focus on in order to get ahead, not only in the office but on the global playing field in the next three to five years.

Younger employees would be more likely to possess these skills, as educational institutes are providing students with the training needed.

However, it may not be enough to focus on those four areas – you need to also take more calculated risks in order to get ahead in the corporate world.

Until you are willing to put yourselves out there and take a risk, you will never be able to achieve professional success and achieve our potential

You need to take more risks, get out of your comfort zone and be willing to risk making mistakes and most of all recognise the value you bring.

Furthermore, you cannot afford to ignore following success factors.

Clarity: Eighty percent of success comes from being clear on

• who you are
• what you believe in
• what you want

Competence: You can’t climb to the next rung on the ladder until you are excellent at what you do now

Constraints: Eighty percent of all obstacles to success come from within.
Find out what is constraining in you or your company and deal with it.

Concentration: The ability to focus on one thing single-mindedly and see it through until it’s done takes more character than anything else.

Creativity: Flood your life with ideas from many sources. Creativity needs to be exercised like a muscle; if you don’t use it you’ll lose it.

Courage: Most in demand and least in supply, courage is the willingness to do the things you know are right.

Continuous learning: Read, at the very least, one book a week on business to keep you miles ahead of the competition. This may be hard but it will test your desire to reach excellence/success. Just as you eat and bathe, organize your time so you spend 30 minutes a day exploring emails, sending messages, going through websites, because like exercise, it’s the only way you can keep on top of technology. If you get away from it, you’ll lose your edge

Suresh Shah, M.D., Pathfinders Enterprise