Culture Lessons From One Of The World's Top-Performing Companies Doreen Kosi unpacks the personal success mindset that drew her to SABMiller and AB InBev, and reveals what it means to be a part of a winning team.

Vital Stats

• Player: Doreen Kosi
• Company: SAB and AB InBev
• Position: Vice President: Legal & Corporate Affairs — SAB and AB InBev, Africa Zone
• Visit: www.ab-inbev.com; www.sab.co.za

When SABMiller and AB InBev merged in 2016, two organisations known for exceptional systems, processes and a winning attitude became one. Incredible growth and an enduring long-term vision are proof that the right culture can go a long way.

Doreen Kosi unpacks the personal success mindset that drew her to SAB, and reveals what it means to be a part of a winning team.

These are her lessons.

Anything is possible. If you put your mind to it and ask for help when in doubt, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself. As a leader, you don't need to always have all the answers. That's why we build strong teams made up of specialists in their fields; we all need to learn from each other. I've found it's important to steer your team, but also to be led when necessary. Ultimately, real success is achieved when we work collaboratively.

Quick collaborations build solutions-orientated teams. SAB/AB InBev has an open plan office culture. As an exco member, I don't have an office, I have a desk. In my previous positions, I'd arrive at my office, close the door and start working. Since joining this organisation, I've realised how collaborative it is to work in an open plan environment. Instead of sending emails to discuss setting up meetings, you can address an issue then and there, in five minutes, and find a solution. It encourages team members to reach out, share thoughts and ideas, find solutions, make immediate decisions and move on to the next challenge or task.

Partnerships drive success

Beyond your own organisation, when you work with the collective you stand a better chance of succeeding. More minds are better than one because they bring about diversity of ideas and ways of doing things. Surround yourself with positive people and support them as well. When you build partnerships between corporates and SMEs, you increase the chances of leveraging off one another, learning lessons, sharing risks and driving shared success and growth.

When you all grow together, your impact on job creation and improving lives increases. But, it's important to take ownership and be accountable for your own actions and results. When you do this, you have a collective commitment to improve the lives of more people in more communities, and also to build communities by developing people and creating authentic and sustainable jobs that can be measured.

Top players encourage best-of-breed behaviour. When everyone is working side by side, and you have an office full of top performers, the bar is constantly being raised. You're exposed to best practice and you start shaping your own behaviour accordingly. Don't hide your stars.

Expose their way of thinking and doing things to everyone around them. Pay attention to what top performers are doing around you as well — what can you learn from them, and how can you adjust your own style to get more done?

Top performers are drawn to winners. Long ago SAB and AB InBev made the decision to focus on cultivating a winning culture, and it's worked. This is a company of winners and owners. It's a place where results and personal goals are aligned. There's an overriding culture that if you're focused on results and have personal accountability, you cannot fail.

There's a huge amount of focused energy when you walk through the doors of any SAB/AB InBev office around the world, and it's because of this. When you create an organisation of winners, other winners want to join you. The result is a team of high performers drawn to each other, all pushing each other to greater heights. If you don't accept mediocrity, if you're driven by the exceptional, and you build your teams with people who hold the same values, eventually, you'll attract more of the same individuals.

Understand your personal philosophy and live by it. If you want to build a team of winners, or join one, you need to be disciplined in your goals. You need to strive to manage yourself well in all aspects of your life, and to be emotionally intelligent. I have a dual philosophy I live by. Make decisions, stick by them and live with the consequences; and "lift others as you climb'. This isn't my original quote, but I believe in it strongly.

Hand-in-hand with self-discipline is resilience

One fundamental truth that experience has taught me is that successful professionals and entrepreneurs are resilient and not shy to get up when they fall. They pull themselves together and start over again, no matter how many times they fail. Never give up. The less successful are those who give up when things get tough.

Believe in yourself

There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. The one pulls people towards you, the other is a turn-off, so be careful how you build and embrace your confidence, but whatever you do, believe in yourself. To the point above, it's how those who fail get back up and try again. Understand your worth. Never sell yourself short. Self-motivation is key.

I think it's clear that I believe in the value of teams and partnerships, but you can't add value to a team if you aren't confident in your worth and what you bring to the table. Confidence also opens up many possibilities. When you're confident, the possibility of people warming up to you and being open to supporting you are very high. And don't forget: Success is hard work. Work hard, be authentic, persist and develop a thick skin. Things won't always go your way.

Personal growth is key if you want to be successful. Never stop learning. If you can, learn something new every day. Concern yourself with what is going on in your surroundings and recognise the phenomenon of global citizenship. SAB/AB InBev has such an incredible growth and innovation culture that we drive within the organistion, but ultimately it starts with the individual. For example, we have a global Best Practice Programme.

Any team can submit a "best practice' solution, and if it's tested and is better than the current solution, it will be rolled out across the organisation. It means we are all constantly looking for ways to improve our systems and processes, we focus on innovations, and we're competitive.

But most importantly, you can't develop best practice solutions if you aren't personally focused on growth. The two go hand-in-hand. We learn all the time. Knowledge evolves and we cannot stop the hands of time. Networking opens new possibilities and ideas and builds contacts from which you could benefit. When your networks expand, you have a bigger pool of resources and support. This works for both individuals and entrepreneurs.

Simple steps to successful entrepreneurship

Doreen offers her top tips for building a successful career and business:

• Define your own success and become a champion of your own dreams.
• Clarity breeds action. Identify what you want to do. Do a proper due diligence of the market and identify gaps carefully before you start up. Have a clear idea of how you want to close those gaps and convert your idea into a bankable business idea.
• Keep your idea simple and do not shy away from repeating the same actions until success is imminent.
• Have the courage to get started. You might not get everything right but do start anyway because unsuccessful aspirant entrepreneurs fail, along with their ideas, for fear of acting on their dreams.
• Have a game plan: Be realistic about your idea and craft a solid strategy around it before execution.
• Map out a measurable execution roadmap and keep it in constant check.
• Focus: Do not become distracted at all costs.
• Always go back to basics and ensure constant relevance of your plan. Use the time to ensure that you are ready to adapt when the need arises.
• Recognise stumbling blocks and understand them for what they really are.
• Use your fear to your advantage: Embrace your fear because it will take you out of your comfort zone.
• Find positives in negatives and work on them to reach your success.
• Be ethical and fair in your dealings with others.