Great managers stand by these 12 pillars

Maarifa’s presentation was over. It was now question time. One of the managers spoke: “I really like all the things you have told us, but in reality, it is really hard to do all these things. Where do we begin? What do we do to become effective managers?”

All the other managers in the room looked at Maarifa expectantly.

Maarifa said: “To answer your question, I would like all of you to read The Twelve Pillars of Success by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener. It is a story of a certain man who was going through life without much direction.

“One day, this man by the name Michael was driving on a country road. As luck would have it, his car stalled near a huge mansion that belonged to a wealthy man known as Davies. The mansion had 12 pillars. The gardener, whose name was Charles, explained to a curious Michael that his boss had built the 12 pillars to represent the 12 areas that one needed to conquer in order to succeed in life. Charles went on to teach Michael on the 12 pillars of success.”

Maarifa went on to explain that the first pillar, according to Charles, was personal development. He told the managers that in order to succeed, they needed to develop themselves to their fullest potential.

For any change to occur in their lives, they first had to work on themselves and change before anything in their lives changed.

The second pillar is total well-being, which means ensuring that the body, mind and soul are well taken care of. Each successful person experiences harmony in the three realms so that what is on the inside shines on the outside.

The third pillar is having a good relationship with everyone because relationships are the foundation of real success. Any relationship that is not flourishing means a setback on the road to success. Good relationships are what make the world go round.

Fourthly, Maarifa continued to narrate, Charles advised Michael to write down and achieve his goals – that commitment to the achievement of goals would bring him success. Writing the goals down would actualise them.

The fifth pillar, he explained, was on proper use of time to achieve one’s goals. Those who made good use of their time tended to succeed.

According to Charles, Maarifa further said, the sixth pillar was about surrounding oneself with people who would challenge them and bring out the best in them. Such people were themselves successful in life.

The seventh pillar, Charles went on, signified life-long learning about what went wrong and sharing what went right. Sharing of experiences with others was part of the learning process.

The eighth pillar is to become a person of influence through virtues and character. To succeed, managers must lead by example.

The ninth pillar is about becoming a million dollar person by personal development. People get money for what they are.

The 10th pillar is to have communication that fosters good relationships and makes people know that you care for them.

The eleventh pillar is that of becoming a person of influence and a great leader.

Finally, the 12th pillar is that everyone should leave a legacy that will become an example to others. Blaze a trail.

Maarifa concluded his presentation, saying: “You can see that success is a long process that takes time and total commitment. Everything that is worthwhile takes effort and time. You do not wake up one morning and find a beautiful garden outside. In order to have such beauty, you must put in effort and time. This is the same with success in your career. It is important to know just what you want in life and to develop a philosophy that will lead you to attain it.”

Dr Kithinji is a trainer and Management Consultant at the Kenya School of Government, Nairobi