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One of the most interesting conversations I had recently was with a risk expert. We were discussing how businesses identify risks before they become problems and put plans in place to reduce the impact. Naturally, I put on my Unsolicited Corporate Advice cap and started wondering, what if we approached our careers the same way?

Yes, we plan and God decides. Life does not always unfold according to our timelines. But there are things within our control that can either increase or reduce the risks to our future success.

Here’s a simple exercise.

Ask yourself: “Where do I want to be in 5 or 10 years?“

Now imagine you have arrived in that future and you did not achieve what you set out to achieve. Maybe you’re not the Senior Manager, Executive, Business Owner, or Industry Expert you hoped to become.

Then ask yourself: Why?

Perhaps you never applied for leadership roles because you doubted yourself.

Perhaps you lacked a qualification that was a requirement for promotion.

Perhaps your network was too small.

Some of those reasons may be outside your control. Economic downturns happen. Companies restructure. Industries change. But many of the reasons will be things you can influence today.

If the future risk is that you won’t become a manager because you never applied for a management roles, start applying.

If the risk is that you won’t qualify for senior positions because you lack a certification or degree, start studying.

If the risk is that nobody knows your work, start building relationships and increasing your visibility.

The future version of you is depending on the decisions you make today. So don’t wait for the problem to arrive before addressing it.

Derisk your future while you still have time.

Until next Wednesday.

#UnsolicitedCorporateAdvice

#CareerGrowth

#CorporateWednesday

#FutureProofYourCareer

There’s a video that gets shared in economics circles (A Beautiful Mind – Bar Scene/Nash Equilibrium). A woman walks into a room in a red dress. She is stunning. But nobody asks her out.

Why? Everyone in the room thinks the same thing: Someone this good must already be taken. So nobody tries. She goes home alone, not because nobody wanted her, but because everyone assumed she was already claimed.

I think about this a lot. Because I’ve seen the same thing happen with opportunities at work/ life.

The bursary nobody applied for. A bursary opens up. Someone with good grades but not top grades, sees it and thinks: they’ll only take people with a distinction. So they don’t apply.

Meanwhile, I’ve watched people who never got a distinction end up at a Big 4 firm. Not because they lied about their grades. Because they applied anyway, and let the company do the eliminating.

The project nobody applied for. Same thing happens with stretch projects at work. Someone assumes a more senior person will take it. So they stay quiet. Weeks later, it goes to someone no more qualified than them.

This isn’t humility. It’s a mistake.

Stick to your job. Companies, bursaries, panels – they are allowed to eliminate you. That’s their role. It’s not yours. Your only job is to bet on yourself and let them do theirs.

The people who get the sponsor, the seat at the table are rarely the most qualified. They’re the ones who didn’t eliminate themselves first.

Before you talk yourself out of applying, check if the door is actually closed, or you just assumed it was. Like everyone at the bar assumed about the woman in the red dress.

She wasn’t taken. Ask

Dear Young Corporate Person,

Actually, today this one is for me.

Note to self: I know there are days when you feel behind. Days when you look at your plans, your qualifications, your ambitions, and wonder why you are not where you thought you would be. I know there are moments when the gap between where you are and where you want to be feels bigger than your progress.

But pause for a second.

You may not be where you studied to be. You may not be where you hoped to be by now. But you are certainly not where you used to be.

So, chin up.

Be kind to your current self. This version of you is doing the heavy lifting. This version is carrying the disappointments, learning the lessons, gaining the experience, and building the resilience that your future self will be grateful for. In less than a decade, you’ll probably read this message again from an office, boardroom, or position you can’t fully imagine today.

Wining suits you, but growth does too.

I need you to keep your chin up so that when the next season arrives, you don’t show yo as your old self. Don’t let discouragement make you smaller. Don’t let temporary delays convince you that you’re standing still.

As Katiso said this morning “We are moving forward. The reverse gear is broken, so you have no choice but to move forward”

So for now, without becoming complacent, keep going. Keep learning. Keep showing up. Keep trusting God.

Chin up, Lerato.

Signed,

Lerato Moepye, Chief Executive Officer, 2036

PS: We made it child. The things that kept you awake at night eventually became stories you told to encourage other people.

For our society to thrive, and for our communities to grow stronger, we need to pass down what we’ve learned to the people around us

You don’t need to start a podcast or a blog. But when the moment presents itself to impart knowledge, take it.

I have no problem with you being the first in your first or friendship circle to access something. My grievance starts when you are the ONLY for too LONG.

Stop gatekeeping lessons. Stop gatekeeping opportunities.

Yes, you got hurt learning some of those things. Yes, it took time. But in this ecosystem, not everyone needs to carry the same cross when you can simply share the spoils.

If you know a quicker way to get through a project, share it. If you’ve cracked how to navigate the system, share it. If you’ve figured out tools that make you better, share them when your symbiotes.

As for me, thank you to my keystone species. The people God used to position me where I am today.

NB: This is not a call to overshare blindly. Have discernment. Know what to share, where to share it, and with whom.

But where you can, pass the baton

We talk a lot about competence in the workplace. Being prepared, skilled, and reliable. But competence alone is not always what moves your career forward.

Boldness is.

The willingness to speak, to ask to step forward; that’s often what separates those who are noticed from those who remain in the background.

God encourages a spirit of boldness.

Not arrogance. Not entitlement. But the quiet confidence that allows you to step forward, speak up, and take up space in alignment with who you are called to be.

And here’s a truth we don’t say enough in corporate: some people have received opportunities not because they were the most qualified, but because they were bold enough to ask.

They asked for the role. They asked for the meeting. They asked for the exposure. They asked for more.

meanwhile, others sat fully capable… but silent.

Even in something as structured as a presentation. Yes, you must be prepared. Yes, you must be respectful. But also: Be humble, and be bold. Own your material, stand in your thinking, speak like you believe what you’re saying.

Because if you don’t stand behind your ideas, no one else will.

Being bold doesn’t mean you’ll always get it right. But it does mean you won’t be overlooked simply because you stayed quiet.

And for some of us, that’s the real work: rewiring ourselves to choose courage over comfort, consistently.

Be bold. Even if it’s new for you.

Not just your body – but your mind, your energy, your relationships, and the systems that keep you functioning

Let me start by being a hypocrite for a minute – because I’m about to speak about something I’m still struggling to practice.

This is not advice about lowering standards or avoiding hard work. It’s about something we don’t talk about enough: the discomfort of holding two truths at the same time.

We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that rest and hard work cannot co-exist. That if you are serious, you must be always “on.” Always available. Always responding.

But that’s not true.

Yes, raise the bar. Yes, be proactive. Yes, stretch yourself. But not at the expense of your health.

Because when it’s time to rest and recover- you need to do exactly that.

I’ve seen people postpone surgeries and therapy sessions because “who is going to do my work”. Work gets done. Health gets delayed. And somehow, the promotion still doesn’t come.

That trade-off doesn’t make sense.

Maybe the real discipline is this: When you work, work wholeheartedly. So that when you rest, you don’t feel the need to explain yourself or you’re not afraid of being labeled “lazy”.

I recently saw a line that stuck with me (shout out to Kato) “The fake urgency created in corporate life for absolutely no reason is one of the worst things humans have invented“

And if I’m honest, I’ve been a victim of it too. Choosing work over my health ecosystem. Work over external relationships. Work over myself.

So here’s a reminder: Protect your health ecosystem (intentionally) because there is no version of success that is worth your health.

Disclaimer: Please note I am not a professional health advisor – Just someone who fumbled around, found out and is now trying to hydrate and stretch between emails

Every day, you are making decisions.

Some of them are loud and obvious. Most of them are quiet… and don’t feel like decisions at all.

But they are.

It’s how you engage with your colleagues. How you show up in meetings. How you respond when things don’t go your way. Whether you prioritise your growth or postpone it again. Whether you take care of your health or tell yourself “I’ll start next week.”

These are micro decisions.

Small, everyday choices that feel insignificant in the moment. But over time, they don’t stay small. They accumulate. They compound. They shape your reputation, your relationships, and ultimately your outcomes.

So if you’re thinking about where you want to go in your career, don’t only focus on the big moves. Pay attention to the small ones.

One micro decision at a time

However small your income feels (is) right now, learn to save and invest it. Not later. Not “when things are better.”

Be careful of credit cards and unnecessary loans (I learned this the hard way). Too many of us spend the early part of our careers financing the appearance of doing well instead of financing our dreams, our skills, or our future freedom. Looking successful is expensive and often short-lived.

We also compare ourselves to people who are not working the same hours, carrying the same responsibilities, or running the same race. Let go of imagined timelines.

Yes, strive for more. Aim higher. Want better. But also respect what you currently have.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy life. Sometimes you should buy that pizza. Enjoy your money. Just make sure enjoyment doesn’t come at the cost of your future peace.

And sometimes – unpopular opinion- you don’t need to share your salary details with your loved ones. That information can unintentionally create expectations, obligations, and pressure that you are not read or able to carry yet.

As you up skill professionally, don’t neglect financial wisdom.

Disclaimer: Not a financial advisor. Just a former member of the “learned the hard way” finance club.

I’ve written about consistency. About upgrading yourself. About guarding your proximity. About speaking up.

But I’ve avoided this one because we have somehow managed to make those two worlds mutually exclusive. As if corporate ambition and faith can’t coexist. As if seeking guidance beyond yourself makes you less corporate.

We have been told this part of life must stay separate from ambition. That it doesn’t belong in corporate conversations. But I think it does.

Most people in corporate have the same information. Same meetings. Same data. Same noise. So, why do some see what others don’t?

”I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes”

I have seen it in boardrooms when pressure rises and one doesn’t flinch. In negotiations where someone won’t compromise, not from ego, but conviction.

I think sometimes the difference is more than information. It is alignment with something higher than the moment.

This thought was inspired by a recent conversation I had with the Mothas.

In many corporate discussions, topics come up that we understand well. We have done the work. We have the experience. We have formed views based on exposure and results.

Yet, we often stay quiet.

This is not always because we don’t know enough. Sometimes it’s because we want to be humble. We don’t want to seem dominant.

But humility is not silence.

Your contribution should also reflect your competence. Long story short, please shine when an opportunity presents itself.

Silence is not always a sign of wisdom. Sometimes, it simply means value is left unspoken.