Giving thanks and reflections

So last week we celebrated Thanksgiving here in the United States. All over the web and places we saw advertising and discussing Thanksgiving and being Thankful!

In order to be thankful, it requires you to be reflective and internally considerate of your history and actions taken by yourself and others. I have much to be thankful for, and if you are reading this, so do you! We have all been granted life and breath this day and this is quite a big thing to be thankful for.

However, I wanted to use this post to look at the process of being thankful, the process of being reflective and introspective, and how this discipline could or should be implemented on a daily basis in all areas of our lives. We need to be thankful for the history, as it has taught us what we know and needed to know for today to be a successful one.

In my years of training and business, I am always amazed how so many people do not seem to learn from their experiences and apply these learned lessons and experiences to their future and future decisions. So I wonder if people truly follow the chain of thanksgiving, facing the reality of truly has occurred in the past.

So what are we doing to prevent our history from repeating itself?

This is a tough question and something that needs to be consciously considered on a daily basis especially during decisions and planning periods. So lets thoughtfully look at the reality of our past, not for judgement, but from a perspective of learning and improving how we do business, being thankful for the lessons, and grateful for the opportunities that lie before us, opportunities that we are well positioned to take advantage of, but only if we apply the lessons learnt from our past!

A new way

Every market and business has its own challenges. I have always seen that no matter what industry or position that you find yourself in, you will come across the part of your job or industry that is dirty and creates many headaches.

To be involved in that position, you either need to know the industry and demands well enough to create solutions that accommodate or overcome these, or make sure that you get compensated commensurately with the aggravations and gray hairs.

The one manager that I used to have in the manufacturing operations that my company ran would always say to me, "Get the laziest person in the company to perform the hardest job, they'll find the easiest and least painful way to get it done!"

As I have said before, entrepreneurs are great and hold special skills sets to solve nagging issues. Not that they are lazy, however their unique way of looking at the world allows for them to see different options etc.

My company is presently working on infrastructural projects in Africa, and it is great to see the new different approach taken by this sector. In an industry steeped in a tradition of payment issues creating huge shortfalls in operational income, the governments and different groups involved are approaching this sector with a whole new mind set.

Now change is not easy and always faces many obstacles, however these solutions will not only increase the collections, over time it will slow the rate of increase due to the more efficient collections and ability for the funds to be collected and pay for the costs of service.

Efficiency and new approaches can reduce costs and increase profits, allowing for investment into areas that can continue to increase your companies profitability and sustainability, what are these areas under your control?

Perception is ...

Perception is, for the most part, is seen as reality. Perceptions are not always correct (we have all judged a book by the cover, and been surprised), and most likely based upon beliefs that may or may not be the reality.

So what are your perceptions about Africa, the African economy and African people? One of my funniest questions asked so often is, "How hot is it in Africa?" to which I so often reply about the snow that falls on the Drakensburg, mountains in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa.

Being a "legal alien", finding myself as an African in the US, I have some across many people that have shared their perceptions about Africa with me. Not every Nigerian is sitting at a Western Union waiting for scam money to be sent to them, not every citizen of Africa lives in absolute poverty in tin houses and certainly not every African is a ruthless war lord, wreaking havoc through communities.

Perceptions point out to me what people do not know, not what is assumed as general knowledge. Perceptions are a form of gossip that we hear round the coffee table in the office or at the kids sporting events as we catch up with those around us. Since these perceptions reveal a lack of knowledge, then I am amazed at why so few people take the time to study and learn the truth about the area or thoughts covered by certain perceptions.

Most people with perceptions about Africa have never been to Africa, and therefore their reality about Africa is not based on truth and facts, rather gossip heard from others including the media. They are not aware of the thriving young people that are peaceful and love community, they love to be part of the global community and to be given the opportunity to show off their intellect and inspiring ideas.

In what other ways have your perceptions about business plagued your career or small business?

Small beginings, great finish!

I was listening yesterday to a news headline highlighting a wealthy Chinese business person that had just purchased a $170 million piece of art. This business person had started his professional career as a taxi driver. Through investments and a strategic approach, over time this gentleman has built a successful operation where he funds 4 museums!

It is always so easy to look at the present situation and think that it will always be such. BIG companies think that they will always hold positions of dominance and market share, and struggling small businesses can easily not see the light at the end of the tunnel. However nothing stays the same way forever.

BIG businesses lose vision and purpose and easily can be overtaken by emerging competitors.Take Motorola for example, when Flip phones were all the craze, they ruled the cellular phone market. In less than 5 years of the introduction of the "Smart phone", it is hard to even find a phone made by them anymore. There are so many examples of companies that go from shinning brands to forgotten and bankrupt losers.

In the same way that a taxi driver can rise to a multi millionaire, so too can small businesses and business owners rise. It takes a lot of hope, a lot of hard work and a lot of reflective study in the approach and business activities undertaken.

Africa is full of small enterprises that will take on the giants, what about you and your ambitions, are you taking on the giants, but more so, are you ready to take them on?

Back to the Future!

Imagine if our politicians and governments were as creative as movie creators. Where would the world and people find itself? Sure we could all be living in space ships in galaxies far, far away, or crammed into Paris as our love comes to town, but what about a movie that thought into the future, a future date, that we recently surpassed, a movie like Back to the Future 2,.

I love to compare what the creators of Back to the Future2, thought up back in the late 80's and what we have achieved by now. There have been many advances in medicine, computers etc. but wouldn't you like to choose fly mode on your car so  that you didn't need to drive into the potholes?

I have been preaching that Africa needs to be far more future and technology focused, building infrastructure that will be sustainable as Africa takes its place in the global economy as a power house.

From Johannesburg to Accra, Lagos to Nairobi, Africa is presently building some technology advancement infrastructure. Have a look at some of the top technology cities in Africa,. 

Without knowing it, Africa is adopting technology at a far faster rate than what is seen in the west. With mobile networks and operations, Africa will be well positioned to continue successfully growing the economy with an infrastructure that will allow for the flying cars and hover boards!

Entrepreneurialism - It is a matter of life and death

Being an entrepreneur in the US or Europe is always viewed as a means to escape the corporate world. A way for those that do not want to conform to the hierarchy telling you what to do! People searching for "Freedom" from the rat race!Sometimes people who go out to create a future and hold their destiny in their own hands are looked down upon and scolded by family due to the risks and apparent failure rates.

Some of us starting a business, do so for social reasons, as a means to create new exciting opportunities through projects, products and employment. But sometimes those entrepreneurs are merely trying to survive. They have very little training and knowledge and expertise to ensure success, but for them it is not a matter of choice, rather a choice of life or death!

The African continent presently has 600 million people under the age of 25 with 72 percent of this youth living on less than US$2 per day according to the Mastercard Research Foundation,. These young people need to find a way to live, they need a solution to having nothing and so they are forced to become entrepreneurs with very little funding, expertise or relationships to leverage.

African's are looking for respect and opportunities, but how can they succeed in general if they not only have nothing to start with, but no education and mentors to guide their new endeavors? 

Africa not always entrepreneurial.

I had posted last week about the successful and sustainable entrepreneurial spirit that I saw in Zimbabwe during my last visit there some time ago. As much as this is the case in so much of Africa due to the fact that governments have left their people to fend for themselves, it is interesting to note the recent uproar in South African universities.

The entitlement attitude seen by these young people is partly due to the lofty promises made by the government. Promises that can not logically be followed through on, but promises that sway voters.

The fact is that nothing in this world is FREE, and it cost someone, something, even if it didn't cost you anything. I believe that there is an education bubble looming in the US, mainly because someone can create a $250,000 debt in obtaining an education, only to earn $40,000 per year. I am not at all against furthering an education, and you can bet that I as a parent will do everything in the world to make sure that my children obtain an education that will enable them to reach for the stars, but with such stagnant wage growth in the US, there is no humanly possible way that a salary of $40,000/year will make a dent into student debt of such magnitude.

I started with how South African students were rioting over being extended student debt over being given FREE education, and so to finish I need to address this issue. Again, nothing is free, but we all need to play a role in creating solutions to the problems that we face. Entrepreneurialism is a solution mandate, which sometimes gets in the way of those just accepting the status quo. I can assure you that there are people in South Africa graduating from University without debt, and without government assistance or wealthy parents, they have seen the challenge of what lies ahead and thought creatively through the options to make their dreams a reality.

What situation are you facing that requires a little more creativity, even if it may mean a little pain?