Three Vertices to Success in a Career

On a piece on how people can build decent companies even when living abroad or investing by the side, in Nigeria, a reader left a fascinating insight on the vertices of success in a career.

One thing I have noticed is that most employers are not willing to train anybody. I understand it involves huge financial implications that may be difficult for a start-up but that is the reality of the Nigeria we have. Others who are willing to train ask for bonds that have difficult working conditions attached. …. I remember one of the things I was told in Barclays during my short period there is that there are three vertices to success in a career, skills, attitude and knowledge. Hire for attitude and a bit of the knowledge, train for skills and pay a decent wage while at it; your staff on average will be loyal to your business because most appreciate that skills’ training that is quite rare to come by.

Here, the reader noted the following as vertices to success:

• Skills
• Attitude
• Knowledge

In that piece, I had noted that one “can build a thriving business in Nigeria even when not physically present in that office. You can live in diaspora and execute a mission back home. And you can be working in a bank and found an IT firm. The key is making sure that people come to work for themselves and their families and not just you. Yes, share the fun and people will connect to execute the mission”. When you examine these three vertices, one thing becomes clear: accumulation of capabilities.

Skills, attitude and knowledge are capabilities which are very critical in career advancements. The capabilities of workers become the summation of the capabilities of firms. Firms need those capabilities to thrive in markets. Only great workers make them happen, and when companies see people with them, they nurture and retain them. That is how success comes in careers.

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