The old saying about “A” students working for “B” students and the “C” students owning the company is often a fact in the real world. This is because work skills trump over mere head knowledge.
Most of our colleges are failing to prepare our young people for the workforce.Many college graduates today are not ready for jobs. They lack critical skills, especially in math and science. They often come short in their ability to connect their education to practical application. Even what they have learned in colleges are mostly an accumulation of facts and information, not development of skills. Simply put, it’s not the degree that counts.
Today, our young people need skills that are aligned with the needs of industries in the economy of the State or the world at large. They must have skills that meet the present and future needs of the labor market. Employers basically hire skilled workers who can helpimprove their productivity and competitiveness in the market place.
So, what are some important skills that can propel us ahead?
Language Skills: In my opinion, the Nagas’ inability to communicate with each other in one common mother-tongue is a blessing in disguise because this problem forces us to look for an outside-the-box solution. The first option is an easy one: adopt Nagamese as our official language. But the question we must ask ourselves is, how far can Nagamese take us forward? The other option is to use English, which has become the international medium for conducting all kinds of business. This being the case, every Naga who is serious about international trade and further advancement would benefit immensely if he or she becomes proficient in the English language.
Computer Skills: To be able to compete and succeed in this age of high technology, you need to have at least a mobile phone and a computer with Internet access. In many ways, these items (tools) are your means of production because they connect you to all other elements of wealth building. Having these tools and knowing how to use them (the skills) is absolutely critical to your success. No wonder we are seeing a lot of young people becoming ultra-rich today simply because they are technologically savvy.
Financial Skills: In the words of Robert Kiyosaki, “The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school but learned nothing about money. The result is that people learn to work for money … but never learned to have money work for them.” Financial skills simply mean knowing how to solve financial problems and create wealth. For example, just like a tiny acorn contains the power to grow into a mighty oak tree, a financially skilled person knows how to grow each rupee into a hundred rupees. He values each rupee as a money seed. He makes sure that they are invested wisely by choosing different investment options. He knows how to create multiple streams of income outside his job.
By the way, many of today’s financial problems exist because we didn’t solve the problems when they first arose. Rather than increasing the financial skills of the population, we expect the government to solve their personal problems by giving them more money. We fail to understand that we cannot solve the money problem with money. We can only solve money problems byhelping people learn financial skills.
Marketing Skills: Another very important thing needed for financial success is skills in sales and marketing. Your ability to sell---to communicate to another human being, be it a customer, an employer, or anybody else---is crucial to your success. If you can master the skill of persuasion, you can evoke any response you want and sell almost anything. Management consultant Marshall Thurber says the three secrets to persuasion are brightness, darkness, and frequency. According to him, here’s how this works: First, paint bright word pictures that describe the positive, exciting future that awaits a person who follows your recommended course of action. Next, paint dark word pictures that describe the gloomy and frightening future that awaits if he doesn’t follow your recommendations. You, then, repeat the message (like advertising companies do … again and again) until your audience gets it and automatically does what you have suggested.
Life Skills:Most accomplished people would tell us that 85% of the things you do account for only 15% of your results. And vice versa. As such, financially successful people are known to know how to manage their time wisely and focus on things that produces the most results. That is, they put off the 85% and tackle the 15% first, unlike losers who do just the opposite.
So, why do some people make a lot more money than the rest of us? Is it because they are more academically sharp and advanced? Of course not. It’s because they have the needed tools as well as the appropriate skills.
