Professionals who care
MICHAEL YOUNG
Michael Young is a trainer, coach and contracts engineer in the HVAC industry. He graduated from the
University of the Witwatersrand in the field of Mechanical Engineering (B.Sc Mech Eng) in 2008 and
qualified as a Professional Engineer (Pr.Eng) in 2013. Michael is passionate about promoting knowledge
and helping other young engineers grow within the industry through his training workshops and
coaching sessions.
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE
AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER!
By Michael Young
I was watching the movie ‘Blade 2’ the other day as I love watching
supernatural movies involving vampires and vampire slayers.
M
y favourite scene was when Whistler had a discussion with
Blade and asks him if he trusts a certain vampire. Blade’s
response was ‘Keep your friends close but your enemies closer’.
This statement resonated with me for the rest of the day as it
held so much truth about how society is structured and operates.
We are all very quick to tell friends our deepest secrets, let them
into our lives and assume that friends will never betray us.
Our enemies on the other hand are kept at a distance. We
shelter ourselves from them and dare not divulge any information
as we fear that they may use that information to harm us.
So, what is the key distinguishing factor that separates a
friend from an enemy? Is it a lack of trust? Is it a question of liking
them or maybe it all comes down to how they treat us in the
present as well as how they have treated us in the past?
When it comes down to business, we need to reflect and
ask ourselves, “Do our clients trust us? Do they like us? More
importantly, do we treat them in the correct manner?” When
answering these questions, we need to be critical of ourselves and
accept that how the client views us may be very different to how
we view ourselves.
Yes, I know, it’s sometimes hard to accept that we have
flaws and we feel people may hold grudges against us. But no
one is perfect, and the goal is to continually change to become
someone better in future.
The reason I brought this topic up is because in the business
world, everything revolves around trust, goodwill and credibility.
Development of these three factors can either cause your
business to grow or kill your business very quickly.
So, where does this fit in when becoming professionally
registered with ECSA? Outcomes 7 and 8 address the aspects
of meeting legal requirements and to conduct engineering
activities ethically.
64
RACA Journal I April 2020
The easiest way to gain trust with a client is to always make
decisions and to control your actions in an ethical manner. I know
it’s hard to control your actions when someone blames you for
something that was not your fault or tries to hold you accountable
for penalties on a project.
The key thing to remember is that even though others may
be unethical, you don’t have to follow their example by being
unethical as well. When things go wrong, go back to the basics.
Review the design and see if it complies with standards. Present
only the facts in your defence and fight for what is right and just.
Facts are facts and when an enemy attacks you, facts will
be your shield to safeguard and protect you. Remember we all
have choices in life and being unethical is a choice one makes.
Never lose your way and go down this path as being unethical
will tarnish your brand within the industry and destroy your
reputation within minutes.
Become trustworthy, become credible and more
importantly, always help others as that creates good will.
Becoming professionally registered with ECSA is not a
qualification, it’s a way of life. So, let’s make the HVAC industry
great by taking the first step to becoming ECSA registered by
attending our free one hour training webinar. Call 073 17 123 11
to secure you seat now as we will only be accommodating 20
callers. We will review your reports and help you better serve
the HVAC industry.
I can’t wait to chat to you then.
Wishing you a successful month ahead. RACA
www.hvacronline.co.za