 |
| Africa - Business Educational Forum-West Pokot, 2018 |
Paraphrasing Charles Swindoll's popular published statement on
"Attitude" in which he suggests that circumstances, past failure and
other situations people experience, i.e. education, money and other events of
life are only side considerations to life's success, joy and happiness. His
statement concludes. "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me
and 90% how I react to it."
As a consultant who has spent a life time dealing in the realm
of "Change" in corporate culture and leadership development, the past
two weeks have been a case study for me on the impact attitude has on people
and organizations.
A simple definition to begin please.
Attitude: a settled way of thinking or
feeling about someone or something, typically one that is
reflected in a person's behavior.
While working with organizations and individuals over the past
30 years, the excuses for why they can't succeed
have greatly outpaced the considerations of how and why they could become
successful or change the culture in which they exist. Often people quit before
they start because of their attitude and view of the government, the
management, their family upbringing, their ethnic heritage, racial bias,
economic or educational status etc.
During my recent two weeks work in the northern region of Kenya,
an area of abject poverty, I was privileged to work with business people who's
outlook on life and their future was genuinely positive. To be clear, these
people in many cases, are existing at the bottom two levels of the triangle of
Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Need Satisfaction." (google it)
These interesting and brilliant individuals are not ignorant of
their circumstances, nor are they delusional about the challenges facing them.
However, their attitude was encouraging to me considering the dissatisfaction
of so many people I know around the world who have so much more to work with,
yet appear satisfied with letting circumstances dictate their lives operating
in concert with their negative attitudes.
The group I worked with in Makutano were hard working engaged, and eager to learn.
They have visions of improving, but not unrealistic expectations, because
they are aware of the inherent systems and circumstances which will slow the
process for them. They have no illusions of building the next Wal-Mart empire or becoming the next Bill Gates.
So what is the reason for
such an attitude? With my limited time, I had to make a quick study of it and
here is my initial conclusion.
1.
A prevailing evangelical Christian culture with
the absolute belief that life is NOT about this world and the
stuff it provides.
There is a huge difference
between Joy and Happiness and most people can't distinguish between the
two. I'm not certain I've ever met a group of people who have so
little materialistically, but who are so rich in joy as these I met on this assignment.
Now at this point in
today's writing some will scoff at this notion and will agree with Karl Marks
who said "Religion is the sob of the oppressed creature, the heart of the
heartless world..the opium of the people." But I argue this is
not religion for these people, but rather a conviction based on their
unshakeable belief.
2. An
unwillingness to identify other people and systems as the enemy.
They view government
corruption and a poor economic system as hurdles to climb. They do
have strong political views, but don't appear to be consumed with the
differences. There have been killings during election times, but those events
were more tribal differences rather than economic fundamentals.
3. Educational opportunities are
sought for "practical" application to life growth, not an end- all in it's self.
4. A strong work ethic but not at the expense of family, friendships and community.
It's what Covey
describes as putting "First things First." Having the right priorities
clearly identified and acted on.
5. Being "content."
A value that is missing so
much with so many people. How much do you need to be content? Seems like
few ever reach that level of satisfaction. When the people I
worked with in Makutano die, they will take out of this world the
same amount as the richest millionaire I know..Nothing!
Like everywhere else in
the world, Africa has it's issues. I think they are like Haiti and urban areas
of the West in that they rely too much on the generosity and
emotional sappiness of Americans. Pulling on the heart strings
for those willing to give without accountability.
But for those I
worked with, that was not the case. Just some folks who want to grow their
business using the resources they have and doing what they can. Because "attitude
has a lot to do with it" in.......
Finishing Well
No comments:
Post a Comment