As this is my first alumni blog post I will avoid bragging about my career highlights and achievements since graduating from Salford Business School. I find in business life that however successful you are, there’s always someone more successful who has more success stories to share. Leaving that superiority complex locked up frees me to reflect on one of the key skills in my career development that I found vital to all my business ventures, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of Oman Trading International.
What is this secret ingredient in business success? I like using the term “the human element” and this is what I intend to share with my fellow University of Salford mates, my two cents or two pence.
In the age of social media, we tend to brush-off that simple yet significant aspect of our daily life which of course affects both our personal and business life. Personally, I have found that it is essential for anyone serious about achieving anything in life – to pay attention to the importance of harnessing this simple variable to their advantage.
If you’ve had the pleasure of meeting successful individuals, regardless of their field (wealth isn’t the only measure here of course), you will notice how most have been successful in harnessing this “human element” to their advantage. This is because my friends, you need people to achieve success, having two thousand Facebook friends that you’ve probably never had the chance to talk to isn’t enough. The power of conversation is far more important because after all we’re only human and believe it or not, most of us still enjoy some form of verbal communication.
Harness that simple but yet powerful tool
I’ve had the pleasure of working with different nationalities and once that formal barrier (e.g. cultural, language, ethnic background religion etc) is broken down and you start communicating, relating to people, being sympathetic and understanding, that’s when you really harness that simple but yet powerful tool we’ve all been born with.
Verbal communication is the essential “human element”
But, due to our ever more complex lives some of us have just lost it. If you are in a business meeting, checking your emails without losing eye contact is now being discussed as one of the latest business skills to have, and we are seeing the increasing adoption and experimentation with wearable technology such as Google Glass, Samsung, Siri – the list goes on.
Your social skills would take you so far…..unfortunately for most of us an education/degree is still very useful, combine the two and you’ll realise more of your potential. Of course you shouldn’t chuck your Blackberries or Iphones just yet, whilst typing this “blog post” I had nearly 1000 unread emails in my inbox (in my line of business, oil trading, its normal to receive 200-300emails a day), hence electronic communication has become an integral part of our society and it has made communication much more efficient.
Effective communication skills do include use of your mobile devices
Mobile devices are tools that are under your control and not the other way around (tail wagging the dog) otherwise most of us will probably require speech therapy soon…so next time you’re sitting next to a stranger be the initiator and start brushing-up those skills….and if you’re completely ignored don’t go into a fit of rage, or blame yours truly..the cause could simply be that miserable Mancunian weather and its affect on our human element!
Of course many of you reading this blog post are likely to be in other parts of the world, so do make the most of your social skills – talk to people and don’t be interrupted by constant checking of your mobile devices.
What do you think?
Communication skills are culture dependent but for me meeting someone in person and discussing a business deal face-to-face has always been more effective compared to just email or phone conversations. Does verbal communication play an important part in your business?