Brand is not what you tell your customers, Brand is what your customers tell their friends.
In order to make money and be successful as an employee / business owner in South Africa – you need network. SA is a referral economy and your network is everything. The power and size of your network is directly proportionate to your future success. So what is network?
You know those people who are mid-level in your client base today? The people you studied with? Well, one day they will be leaders of large organisations and hopefully, you have proven your credibility, consistently for years so that when they are in power, you can be their provider. Your network is the people on the call today. I am your network. The longer you work, the harder you build your credibility, the more successful you will most likely be one day.
Here is the equation:
A strong network + credibility + skills to solve a problem = SUCCESS. simple.
BUT a network without credibility is worthless as credibility is your success currency. Being negative, being sloppy, being mediocre, being overly political in the workspace etc. etc. ruins credibility. You are a brand. You are building your own brand. Brand ME. What are people saying about your brand? Are you credible? Are you leaving a trail of ambassadors for your brand behind you or a trail of non-believers? Or even worse – people who deliberately bad-mouth you because of poor historic performance?
Ask yourself daily: What will the people on this call say about me in the years to come? remarkable? forgettable? strong worth ethic or a little lazy?
Your network will never remember the work you did or the project you delivered in 5 to 10 years from today, but they will remember the way you delivered the work, the manner in which you spoke to them and the value you added to their lives. That is credibility. That is what determines your future success.
