Firsts Baba Isa|24 June 2017
46. About 4 years ago, when I was attending the Thinking School in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, an Indian facilitator who was born in Kenya and has grown to become a big and successful businessman, with businesses all over Africa and the middle east, told us that the biggest problem of African businesses and young business people is our inability to collaborate and build partnerships.
I still agree with him.
Most young people are struggling because they lack the skills of working effectively with others. Everyone wants to be the boss, chairman, chief executive officer and commander in chief. We want to be all, have all and chop all.
Most big brands and companies out there are collaborations and partnerships. But we have perfected the greedy attitude of going solo; cheating others, using and dumping them as we go. How sad.
One of my friends told me a sad story of a very talented photographer who was using her as a model for his shoots. This friend of mine helped him in gaining a lot of publicity, especially on Facebook; then suddenly the guy thought he has arrived. He just dumped the girl (my friend) and moved on.
And I just wonder: You already have a beautiful, photogenic model, who is driving traffic to your photography, why not partner with her and build a mighty business? No. He wants to own everything, control everything and chop everything.
47. Folks don't want to run with someone else's dream. They want to build theirs, even when they cannot or they should not. The only projects or ideas that make meaning to them are the ones that bear their names and signatures. How petty.
Greed is an architect of smallness. You mustn't plant a tree, look for one already planted and nurture it. You mustn't propound a theory to be great; you can achieve greatness by understanding and propagating an already propounded theory. You mustn't start a business to be rich, you can become rich by joining an already established business.
48. We must also inculcate the habit of defining our business relationships. Don't put your money, ideas or efforts into a business, political or even personal relationship that is not strictly defined.
It is arrant stupidity, not love or trust, to start a business relationship without entering, signing or executing an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding that will regulate the business relationship.
Anyone who is trying to convince you not to sign an agreement or collect receipts for transactions is having a plan to cheat you in future or is clearly a dumb businessman who is not worth doing business with.
The best sign that a business relationship is going to flourish is the willingness of the parties to sign and issue documents and keep records.
49. We must investigate the tenets of our culture if we must make progress as a people. Culture is the way of life of a people at any given time. The way people lived 100 years ago is their culture but that must not necessarily be our culture today. 100 years is a long time.
People shouldn't dictate how we live our lives from their graves. 19th century lifestyles and methods cannot deliver 21st century progress. You can't live in the present, with a past culture and hope to deliver the future.
50. As a person, a people, as a state, as a nation, no one will take us seriously unless we start taking ourselves seriously.
"Finally whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy… think on these things. "
THE END.
#JustMyThoughts
By Firsts Baba Isa (FBI)
