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Read your way to a life of true influence

Think about this: sports fans want to see their heroine win. They don’t care about how she trains, but the heroine cannot win if she doesn’t train. The same is true in your work.

Your boss is like your fan, she wants to see you deliver, but doesn’t really care what you do to win. Her heart might be in the right place. She might genuinely want to see you excel, but the truth is that she has other subordinates that she is in charge of, her boss, work, as well as her family to take care of. As a subordinate, you are in stiff competition for her attention.

In the past few years, in our country, ignorance has been exalted to the heavens. As a result, incompetence has blighted the nation and it even infected the institutions that are the pillars of our democracy.

The national broadcaster will never recover from the period of mismanagement from people such as Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who hardly had matric or the mental tools to understand and deal with the complexities of the modern world of broadcasting.

It is now clear how easy it was to plunder under former president Jacob Zuma because he relied totally on the advice of others.

He could hardly understand numbers and so was reliant on the people who surrounded him.

People movement, promotions and different opportunities take many managers into positions for which they are not equipped, especially in the private sector.

This corporate phenomenon makes most people become mediocre pay-check collectors at best. Ordinarily, they go through their whole careers being as ineffective as unwashed underwear. It is a wasted life, really.

When you are new in a role, a new industry or new company, you are swimming against an invisible tide of hostility. There are people who didn’t get your position who might resist quietly in hidden corners.

Saboteurs might hit at strategic places and times but don’t burn your brain cells on them because, quite honestly, you cannot do anything about them. Focus on the things that you can control.

Just as a good sportswoman trains, trains and trains; you must read, read and read.

A sportswoman doesn’t have control over her competitors and what they are going to do in the arena, but she can do what she wishes with her training programme. If she wants to be the best in the arena, she needs to spend the most time on the training ground.

So block an hour every day in your diary to read about your industry. Know everything there is to know about your competitors. Know who the best and the worst are.

Competition does not mean enmity, so build relationships with your competitors. Know who the best managers are in the business, who the upcoming stars are and where you can find them.

Make sure you visit your production facilities every quarter; production also means visiting the people who deliver those services. Build strong relationships with them because they are the people who keep the promises that you make.

Your suppliers are often the fountain of innovation, so ensure you visit one every month. If they go out of business, it is only a question of time before you follow them. Read about their industries too, so you can get better insights and have productive conversations.

Many people ignore industry trade fairs; this is the place to meet new people and show your wares – as well as your talent. It is also the most legal way to acquire business intelligence. Most people say they are born intelligent. Actually, intelligence is an acquired skill, that is built through reading.

* Muzi Kuzwayo is the founder of Ignitive, an advertising agency. Views expressed are his own.

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