SMARTS

SMARTS

T
BEST ADVICE

THE BEST
IDEAS FOR MAKING WISER HE BEST ADVICE that
USE OF YOUR TIME AND I ever got was from
ATTENTION Mark Lamberti, CEO of
Imperial Holdings, in
2009. There were two
parts to it.
First, he told me that when
you do things, whether its for
business, your personal life or

ADVICE I
your career, you need to define
your standards upfront, and
then dont settle for anything
less. In a business context, this
goes beyond you to your hires.
You hold them to those same
standards, and they should hold
you to those standards as well. It

EVER GOT
keeps you honest and it lays the
foundation for the right culture
in your business.
The second was around the
concept of success. I asked
Mark what success meant to
him. He then pointed out that it
shouldnt be an arbitrary point
in the future, but something you
measure daily. Get up, live your
goals and ensure youre moving
When Siya Mapoko's in the right direction.
This still influences everything
DO THIS first business was I do. If you measure how
Be open to advice.
Actively seek it, failing, he was successful each day is, youll
reach your goals without being
question what
works for you, and
desperate for advice. daunted by the scale of them.
Seven successful days and you
then implement it
in your business.
He turned to the JSE's have a successful week. 52 of
those and you have a successful
top business titans to year. Its really that simple.

VITAL STATS discover the secrets I measure success by four

yardsticks, and each evening I
PLAYER:
Siya Mapoko to success. What he ask myself these questions.
1. Did I learn? I make it a goal
COMPANY:
Mapoko Research
learnt not only changed to consciously learn something
International (MRI)
LAUNCHED:
his business, but new every day. I keep a journal
to record these lessons.
2012, although countless other SMEs 2. Did I love? If Im doing what I
love, the time flies past. Its also
Conversations
with JSE AltX over the years as well. important to have clients who

PHOTOS: MIKE TURNER

Entrepreneurs was BY NADINE TODD you love, and to love the people
published in 2008 whom you work with.
VISIT: www. 3. Did I serve? Our customers
siyamapoko.com are our boss. We need to serve
them in a way theyve never
been served before. Theyll pay

10 E N T R E P R E N E U R M AG .CO. Z A M A R C H 2 0 1 7 M A R C H 2 0 1 7 E N T R E P R E N E U R M AG .CO. Z A 11
SMARTS XXXXXX | XXXXXXX |
us a lot of money if they are. I
even consider this when I send
something as small as an email.
Did I make someones day
better?
4. Did I earn? Getting paid is the
whole point of business, so its
important to be earning. If you
arent, you need to relook your
time and priorities
I measure these four things
The
things you
thought
you knew
for sure are
often not
what you
thought at
all.
every day. If the answer to each
is positive, I dont need to worry
about the week or the year Im
moving in the right direction.
Accessing advice
When I left Investec when I was
25, it was because I wanted to
start my own business. It turned
out to be a lot harder than I
thought it would be. I reached a
point where I was desperate for
advice. Advice is a funny thing.
Some of the best lessons that
have stayed with me have been
advice given to me by other
12 E N T R E P R E N E U R M AG .CO. Z A M A R C H 2 0 1 7
people. There is so much value
in learning from those who have
walked the path, but advice also
needs to come at the right time.
Entrepreneurs can be so sold
on their own ideas that anyone
who says anything that sounds
vaguely negative is ignored
and discounted. Its such a pity,
because once you learn to use
advice, it opens up a whole new
world of possibilities.
I was desperate for advice
when I wrote Conversations,
but who could I ask? To me,
the JSE is full of successful
business titans, I just needed to
figure out how to access them.
I sold the idea of a book to the
JSE. I would get the advice I
was looking for, a product that
other entrepreneurs would be
interested in, and the JSE would
get positive exposure in the
corporate and SME communities.
They agreed and gave me
access to their data base.
Interestingly, the advice I
received led to a whole new
business, first because I realised
that I wanted to build my
business around things Ill still
want to do in 30 to 40 years
from now, and that wasnt digital
signage, which was what I had
been doing, and second because
I suddenly had this incredible
resource that would bring in
revenue while I thought of my
next move.
Advice in action
I closed down the digital signage
business and found jobs for all
of my employees except for
one, Andrew Chavhunduka.
Andrew and I went into business
publishing the book. It was to be
our positioning tool.
I wanted to inspire
entrepreneurs, and big
corporates wanted to partner
with me, especially banks who
wanted to access and support
the SME market. We started a
roadshow. Our banking sponsor
could draw crowds with my
talk and the book, and then
pitch their products to a captive
audience.
It was clear that advice wasnt
only desperately needed by the
SME community, but welcomed,
at least by those intent on
growing their businesses.
This has been the foundation
of everything weve done since.
Ive written two additional books,
The Best Advice I Ever Got and
Damn Good Advice, and each
has been a mix of my own
insatiable desire for great advice
and building products for our
business.
Successful people are
successful because of how
they think. Ive spoken to more
than 200 CEOs and weve
collected an incredible amount
of qualitative data. Weve learnt
how successful people think and
make decisions. Weve used this
to build a consultancy and
develop software to help
organisations grow.
Through the roadshow we
built an SME database, and
we pitched our services to
them. Were selective about
who we work with though.
SMARTS
You need to be serious about
growth. In each workshop we
only have space for 20 SMEs, so
we need to make sure that they
will put in the work. Were there
to help them evaluate the areas
that are stalling their growth.
The next 90 days are spent
implementing those strategies.
At the end of that period,
if theyve seen measurable
improvements, they can join our
annual programme. Its a very
specific model. On the one hand,
keeping it exclusive increases
its value to our clients. On the
other, we have to do our jobs,
because they need to see a
measurable return to sign up
for the full year programme. It
all goes back to the value of
powerful advice from successful
people, and understanding how
business leaders and customers
think.
Advice is only as valuable
as you make it. You need to
teach yourself to be open to
advice; you need to listen.
But you also need to test it.
Not every piece of advice will
work for you. Take what works,
implement it, measure it, and
then be prepared to adjust your
strategies and assumptions.
The things you thought you
knew for sure are often not what
you thought at all. Everything
is a learning curve, and as our
businesses grow, what they
need shifts. As your business
changes, you need to change.
You need to be able to ask:
Is this true for me? And then
realise you may need to revisit
the same point later. EM
READ THIS
Siya Mapokos latest
book, Damn Good
Advice: Why What You
Know For
Sure Is Not
Working is
now available.
Go to www.
siyamapoko.
com for more
information
M A R C H 2 0 1 7 E N T R E P R E N E U R M AG .CO. Z A 13