‘With discipline, you can move forward at any stage of life’
Guests at the “Corporate Insider: Stories Behind Success” session organized by Career Club at the Agamir Somoy office
Success is not a specific destination. Rather, it is a continuous process of moving from one stage of life to another. Alongside talent, hard work, skills and relationship building, discipline is the most important factor for long term success. Regular work, a willingness to learn and a clear understanding of one’s goals can help people advance in their careers, said Kazi Md. Mohiuddin, Chief Marketing Officer of Meghna Group of Industries (MGI).
He made the remarks at the “Corporate Insider: Stories Behind Success” session organized by Career Club at the Agamir Somoy office in Kawran Bazar in the capital at 11:00 am on Saturday.
Sharing his professional experiences at the session, Kazi Md. Mohiuddin said there is no end to success. Success at one stage of life takes a person to the next stage. Therefore, an achievement should not be considered the final destination of life. Instead, people should set new goals after every achievement and continue moving forward.The editor of Agamir Somoy welcomes the keynote speaker with flowers.
Speaking about the story behind his success, he said an unusual advertisement changed the course of his career while he was studying for his master’s degree at the University of Dhaka. He applied after seeing a recruitment notice from an advertising agency called “Unit.” His salary at his first job was Tk 18,300.
His job interview experience was also unusual. While other candidates arrived with prepared slides, he wrote down his ideas on blank paper and presented them. His confidence, way of thinking and problem-solving ability caught the attention of the recruiters. Eventually, he got the job and worked there for around four and a half years.
He then worked as a brand manager at the Italian Dutch company Perfetti Van Melle for around two and a half years. In 2010, he joined the advertising agency MediaCom and worked there until 2017. He later joined Meghna Group of Industries. Around half of his long career has been spent in communication and advertising while the rest has been in marketing.
Kazi Md. Mohiuddin places particular importance on five areas when it comes to career development for young people.
First, extra time must be devoted to learning. Simply performing assigned responsibilities is not enough. More time should be spent learning how to perform the work better than others. The time invested in learning at the beginning of a career serves as a major investment for the future.
Second, people must understand others. Knowing only, one’s own work is not enough to succeed in the workplace. Effective relationships need to be built with colleagues, senior officials and clients by understanding their “soft” and “hard” sides. The ability to communicate by understanding people’s behavior and needs plays a major role in career development.Kazi Md. Mohiuddin conducting the session.
Third, both hard work and smart work are important. According to him, there is no conflict between the two. There is no shortcut to success. Citing cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as an example, he said having talent alone is not enough to remain successful for a long time. Regular hard work is necessary to make use of that talent.
Fourth, discipline is more important than talent. A person may be talented but that talent will not be useful without regular practice and hard work. Maintaining regular habits of sleeping, studying, working, exercising and fulfilling personal responsibilities over a long period is the essence of discipline.
Fifth, people must have a major goal in life. The clearer the goal, the less impact temporary insults, failures, obstacles or disappointments along the way will have. A major goal teaches people to look beyond temporary failures and focus on long term success.
Kazi Md. Mohiuddin said major success does not come in a single day. Small daily habits eventually produce major results. Talent may help a person move forward at the beginning but regular hard work and discipline help that person travel a long path.
The essence of his experience for young people is that dedicating extra time to learning, building good relationships with others, working hard and intelligently, maintaining a disciplined lifestyle and turning a major goal into a daily habit can make the path to career advancement much easier. Success is therefore not only for the talented. In the long run, those who set their goals and continue working toward them with the same dedication every day are the ones who move forward.The editor of Agamir Somoy speaks at the event.
Agamir Somoy Editor Mustafa Mamun said the objective of the second event of the new chapter of Career Club was to use the media as a platform for social work. Considering regular readers as an asset, an initiative has been taken to develop them as “media ambassadors.” If one person who benefits helps five more people and those five help another 10, the reach of public welfare will expand.
Also present at the event were Agamir Somoy Executive Editor Ehsanul Hoque, Career Club Director Syeduzzaman Rowshan and Creative Research and Event Deputy Head Nazir Hossain.
