The Tribune

We are increasingly hearing about the great difficulties younger employees are having in their efforts to assimilate into the Bahamian workforce. The general perception is that younger workers are not fully committed to the task at hand, and walk in with a sense of entitlement. While these observations may not be grounded in reality, this is usually the stigma that youth are immediately confronted with at the start of their careers.

This article is intended to help young professionals navigate the sometimes treacherous workplace in corporate Bahamas. By the end of your career you will have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and hundreds of lessons, but there are some lessons you should learn early on - ideally before you turn 30.

Build a strong network

Good relationships with people usually equate to good business. It is almost impossible to build a successful business by yourself. Even if you are a solo entrepreneur there will be mentors, partners, vendors and peers alongside you helping you achieve your long-term vision. So, recognising how valuable other people are will open you up to more opportunities, help you keep an eye out for new contacts no matter where you are, and make you more discerning in decisions like hiring and long-term deals. Learning this lesson early will prevent you from wasting time on the wrong people and give you more time to work with the best people you find.

Prepare to fail and keep it moving

No matter how much you know or how much you prepare, failure is going to be inevitable for you. Your business may become successful overall, but there will be individual strategies and campaigns that crash and burn, and ideas that fizzle out entirely. Facing failure with the realisation that it is, in some instances, unavoidable, makes it easier to accept. You can view it as a lesson and an opportunity to improve, rather than an end point or a sign that you should give up entirely.

Time is your most valuable resource

The adage that ‘time is money’ is an appropriate metaphor to describe the power that time can hold when budgeted and used as a resource. Time management is a crucial skill to acquire in your youth. Procrastination is so easy to slip into. Do not take for granted that time is on your side because of your tender age. You only have so many hours in the day, and how you spend them has a direct impact on how much value you are able to produce. The sooner you learn this lesson, the more time you will save.

Communication can prevent or fix almost any problem

The power of communication cannot be underestimated. Communicating proactively can prevent the development of almost any problem by explaining things clearly, setting firm expectations and mitigating misunderstandings. Communicating well can also help you resolve any problem, whether it is making an apology, coming up with a mutually agreeable solution or explaining circumstances.

Perfection is the enemy of progress

Because of the fast-paced business environment we live in, waiting to move forward with a new initiative because it is not quite perfect can mean its failure. Agile, flexible, adaptive businesses that demonstrate an understanding that things can be tested and optimised while they are already producing a return on investment are the ones that succeed. This concept is quite difficult for your older leaders to grasp, but you must learn it and learn it well.

You are never going to get it perfect on the first try. But be sure to balance your initiative’s “readiness” with agility and speed. All ideas must be rooted in practicality. No matter how good or original or appealing your idea is, it is only as valuable as it is practical. For example, if you have a vision for an amazing video but you do not have the resources to produce it in an efficient way, you have to drop the idea. The same can be said of any business idea; you may have a revolutionary new concept for an enterprise, but if there is no way to make it feasible or profitable you will not be able to move to any form of execution. Sometimes the best ideas have to be tabled due to a lack of practicality.

There is always more you can be doing to keep learning. No matter how much you know, or how much you think you know, there is always more information to learn. You will always have room to be a better leader, a better employee and a better entrepreneur, and there will always be new skills and abilities to acquire. Maintaining a course of constant improvement will keep you at your best for as long as possible.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at iferguson@bahamas.com.