In an era of stiff competition, success can only be achieved if one makes the right moves at the right time and in the right direction.

In today's world, where competition is growing like never before, the only way to beat the heat is to ensure you are a step ahead. It takes quite a lot to be successful. As a trainer I have come across many successful people from different fields, people who have tasted and retained success for a long time. On carefully analysing their success stories I have been able to categorise their secrets of a successful career into seven heads.

Most of what goes on as business in an organisation is, in fact, communication. And, anything that is not communication is probably dependent on something to initiate communication or keep it going. For instance, business is dependent on communications. Your ability to communicate and the way in which you do so is very important for your career. This is why one needs to master the art of communication, both verbal and written.

This is more of a leadership trait. It includes persuading and negotiating skills. Persuasion means convincing and encouraging people to do what you want them to do, as against being pushy and aggressive. Negotiation on the other hand is a field of knowledge that focuses on gaining the favour of people. It is a very powerful tool, especially in conflict ridden situations in your professional as well as personal lives.

Simply put, this means getting things done. At the workplace it means managing things, people and of course, managing yourself, that is, your time, resources and money. To be able to achieve success one needs to prepare and train oneself in the art of effective management.

It means knowing how to recognise and define problems, implement solutions and track and evaluate results. As people in business: we come across speedbreakers everyday. Effective problem solving skills will help you become the backbone of any team, which in turn will help your career prospects.

It is said that intelligence is central to both the right and left modes of the brain. But it is sad to see a majority of people give more importance only to the logical approach in problem solving. What is really required, is a blend of logical and lateral thinking processes together to generate new ideas and solutions, and having an open mind.

It means one's ability to relate to people, help them and facilitate their work flow. Given the corporate work environment, how many people can work as loners? Interdependence today is of greater value than independence. Being an effective team player is an important asset. Taken to another level, this skill also stands for the art of networking.

If, in spite of possessing all the above mentioned skills, you fail to achieve success it may be because you are poor in the numbers game! You must have your figures, statistics and accounts in place. You must be shrewd with money matters. In fact, I can go as far as saying that the bottom line is money and remember the old adage, money begets money.

Well, there you have them....the seven mantras to being successful. So, go ahead and use them well and hopefully we'll see you right there on the top!