Education alone does not qualify success of a person

Is there something that you are missing and possibly more than it meets the eye? While education and talent will definitely give one a head start and a foot- in- the -door, to leverage and build up on this in the long run, a whole list of other skill sets are necessary.

Take your favourite doctor or tailor or hairdresser or coach or chartered accountant or insurance agent for instance. Apart from possessing all the relevant qualifications what is it that makes him or her your go-to person? There is usually that intangible something right? A good hand? Knowing how your system responds to certain medications or your face/hair type or being responsive to your requirements /problems, diagnosing and addressing them? Being available and accessible when you need to touch base? The ability to communicate clearly? On time delivery?

 Sometimes you don’t even mind if the person is a man or woman of few words or a strict disciplinarian because there is an element of trust and you know that the professional has your interests at heart and will get things done in the best possible way.

 There is a young businessman who runs his lighting solutions business. I like patronising him because over time I have realised that whatever products he has sold have never failed me. He is efficient, articulate and customer-friendly.

Only recently did I learn that he was a school dropout. And in his social club he had been handpicked for the “Most inspiring member award” within two years of joining it. So while he did not have any fancy degrees to boast of, he had a lot of other things going for him. He knew his business, he had the customer’s interests at heart, he could come up with the best solution for a particular need without any hard sell or sales talk. He was well mannered and his people skills are good . No surprise therefore that he is successful.

Another professional I know is skilled but is short fused, has an acerbic tongue, impatient and generally not very pleasant to interact with, leaving me edgy all the time. The comfort level is zero. A third service provider (and this could be your “ average” bank relationship manager or credit card company official or insurance agent) is quite clearly a pain. No sooner than a proposal has been made the relentless follow up starts.  Gentle reminders are understandable, but this drives me up the wall. So much so that the minute I see the name on my phone I am ready to go into hiding. So, to go back to where we started. Revisit your list of favourite successful people. You don’t have to be a clone or carbon copy. You can take a leaf out of their book and create your own recipe for success that will in turnserve as your USP.