Unlocking success: Dr Iqbal Survè's invaluable lessons on humility and respect

IOL News

28-04-2025

Sekunjalo Chairman Dr Iqbal Survè says humility is one of the key secrets to success.
Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Newspapers
Humility, treating everyone with the same level of respect, whether they are the king or queen or prince, or president, or someone that cleans toilets, continuous learning, and seeking psychological help are some of the tips, secrets, and values shared by Sekunjalo chairman Dr Iqbal Survè, which he described as key to success.
Dr Survè was speaking at a recent gathering of nearly 500 employees who represented various companies under the Sekunjalo Group, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where he expressed gratitude for everyone's contribution to the company.
He shared secrets to success, building integrity, and making an impact on those around you. That, with all his crucial points skillfully embedded in little stories and humour, which occasionally left everyone in stitches.
Detailing the family values he lives by — treating people the same, and key lessons learned as a medical doctor while treating patients and working with political prisoners, before venturing into business, he said family values have to be practised, as difficult as it is to do so.
He said there was a time when he and other doctors had to look after political prisoners, those who were tortured, and who spent a long time in prison.
It started with what was then the rehabilitation programme using post-traumatic stress disorder tools, developed in Scandinavian countries to help people that were destroyed, because yes people are very brave when they go through that — being in prison for 15, 20, 25 years and more for their beliefs and their values, Dr Survè said.
'And I worked with them because it was difficult for them to adjust to their families, difficult for them to adjust themselves. And quietly, with a group of many other doctors and physiotherapists, we did the work to get people back into society. Many of whom became our leaders in the first government of our country post 1994,' he said.
'What did I learn in that period as a doctor from them? I learned how unfair life can be. I learned how beautiful people are. I learned that despite spending time in prison for 25 to 27 years, you have a sense of humour. You make everything look funny. You have an amazing resilience. I learned that you don't put yourself first. You put others first. I learned that families are traumatised, and how difficult it is to adjust again to your family.
'I learned, most importantly, that something which I am still trying to learn today is humility — to make yourself a better person by being humble, and then you treat everyone the same, whether they are the king or queen or prince, or president, or someone that cleans your toilet — you treat them the same,' he said.
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About continuous learning, he shared how he studied while working and obtained three degrees in medicine, something that led to him being roped in as a sports doctor, where he worked with Bafana Bafana, the country's soccer squad.
At that time, the squad, which had the likes of Doctor Khumalo and Philemon Masinga, had lost to Nigeria and Cameroon, who at the time were amongst the world's best soccer nations at that time.
'I said guys, what's wrong, because you look fit, and then I discovered it's in their heads. They didn't have the confidence to play against some of the international teams who were much bigger…and so I started the process with the same techniques that we used on political prisoners, and the rest is history. They went around to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time ever,' he said.
Dr Survè did the same with the ladies' hockey team, whom he taught about focusing on psychology, and they later won a gold medal. Again, demonstrating the importance of focusing on psychology or seeking mental health assistance to overcome the battle of the mind and succeed.
He described being a medical doctor as the best 10 years of his life.
'There is no better career, no better profession than the medical doctor. To have been able to be given the privilege of entering someone's personal life, personal space, physical, emotional, and psychological is a privilege that I always treasured.
'But to get someone to be better, to heal them, help them, to assist them, in overcoming physical illness, psychological illness, emotional illness, was a treasure of mine. I was a poor doctor. I had a yellow beetle, but I loved what I did every day of my life because I made a difference,' Survè said.
On the importance of humanity, he detailed how he never lost a patient in the emergency room as a doctor. He said this was not because he was medically better than any of his colleagues.
'I had a reputation at the hospital for never losing a patient in the emergency room, which is quite challenging. And even when senior people were trying to save patients, they used to call me when I was not supposed to be in an emergency. But sometimes, to help intubate the patient. You know how difficult it is sometimes to put something down someone's throat when they are heavily traumatised with illness.
'And I used to relax the patients, as to say, I'm here to help, if you allow me to help you, I will. The other doctors were quick to try and the patients resisted. So, treat a patient like they are alive and living and then the patient will help himself or herself recover as well. The patient will help you as a doctor, to do your best,' he said.
In 1998, he had to make the most difficult decision of his life. His options were going into government or becoming a professor. He was at the time lecturing at the University of Cape Town. He was also invited to become a professor at two United States universities, one in New York and one in Texas.
He also had an option to continue practicing medicine in South Africa or go into business and make an impact on a far bigger scale than ever.
'Somehow, I thought that with business, when I became a millionaire, I could donate more money and save more people. I could even invest in clinics and all like things.'
The difficulty, however, was in building something on scale without money. He had ideas and networks, but none of that could get him to the top.
'And then I thought to myself, hold on, you are good at understanding the value of people, why don't you use the same principles you had in medicine, and apply them to business? And, though and behold, 18 months later, May 1999. I listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), one of the first black companies in the country,' he said.
Again, highlighting the importance of using the skills you already possess to make a greater impact.
While he encouraged entrepreneurship, he also stated that there is nothing wrong with not wanting to be in a business, but one has to constantly innovate and have the desire to do better wherever they are.
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