Decide Today for Tomorrow

From personal growth to business development, the decisions you make today will build your legacy for the future

When was the last time you looked back at your career and thought about the path that you followed? While much is said about having a plan, getting the “right education” and then dutifully climbing the corporate ladder or opening the door of your very own company, I would be surprised if many people can actually say that’s what happened in their lives. While an outsider might class someone else’s success as a series of lucky breaks or a case of being in the right place at the right time, the truth is often grittier than that; instead, some of the world’s most successful businessmen and women have started somewhere near the bottom, were hungry for more and worked themselves into positions where growth was inevitable, even if it meant starting over a few times.

While luck and hard work do factor in, so does foresight; if you see yourself as, say, the future CEO of a company or owning your own business, in order to get there you’ll have to “feather your nest” with the skills, abilities, relationships and stamina that you’ll need when you do make it to the top. You may need to squint to see it in the here and now, but this vision of the future needs to guide all of your choices. Sometimes these choices are obvious (like sacrificing a weekend with your friends to work), but other times you just have to believe that the path you’re on will build your future in the best way possible.

In other words, you’re building your own legacy, something that will have a rolling impact on the business you work for, your family, your friends or others, long after you’ve moved on.

What’s interesting is that legacy building isn’t limited to individuals; in fact, the world’s most successful businesses also put strategies into motion that often don’t come into full fruition until much later. While individual legacies are, to a certain extent, driven by internal forces, a business often has external factors to consider when building the next stage of its development.

Another way to say it is that strategic business decisions are not made in a vacuum! In my experience, economic conditions, current events and human welfare are three of the most significant elements that must be factored in when determining not only the immediate next steps but also what shape any future next steps may take.

At the moment I see many businesses making what, in my view, are knee-jerk reactions to the current economic climate by (for example) cutting staff and therefore compromising on quality, or in other cases drastically reducing margins in order to meet unrealistic expectations from other companies who are likewise not clear on what’s required to build their own legacy. My prediction is that when the economic tide turns (as is always does), the companies that are left standing will not be those who have reduced their work force to below the bare minimum – since they won’t be able to meet the basic needs of their customers – nor will it be the margin cutters, as they will have essentially sold themselves out of business. So while in the here and now, a minimal staff/cut price approach may at first glance seem like the best solution, will it actually build a solid foundation for the future? I don’t think so. 

Also at play are considerations about current events. Along with the rest of the UAE, we at Transguard are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to welcome the world to Expo 2020. Certainly, the need for skilled security, facilities management and hospitality staff will be significant during this 6-month exhibition, but for me what’s equally as important is bringing in people from around the world who we can train to the highest possible standards, deploy at Expo to exceed all expectations of customer service and then when Expo ends, redeploy to other contracts where these skills will be valued and highly prized. This goes a long way to ensure that Transguard will continue to be a business leader, but more importantly it allows these individuals who leave their home countries to work for us to continue to build the future of the families they leave behind.

Does this require significant investment in a time of economic uncertainty? Yes. Does it create additional opportunities to grow our company long after an event like Expo 2020? Absolutely. As with the aspiring CEO or business owner I mentioned earlier, it is the temporary sacrifices that often create the strongest building blocks for an enduring legacy; in other words, the decisions and actions we take today are laying the foundations of Transguard’s legacy for our staff.

Another way a business can grow its legacy is with its people. Again, spending time and money on training, developing and promoting talented staff members is an investment in the future, and it applies to employees at all levels of the business, from site-based workers to white collar senior management. In particular, when it comes to site-based and junior employees, being intentional about their well-being through CSR initiatives and other programmes leads to a happy, motivated workforce who may one day play an even more significant role within your company’s future leadership.

To me, that’s the key – a legacy may start with a very narrow focus (like an individual), but when done properly it has the potential to have a positive impact on infinitely more lives.