Changing the way we change

Ashley Dobia Mwanza (inspired by a book ‘Leadership From Inside Out’ by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson)

We must start by looking up and out and not dwell on the down and in.

The “big questions” must be asked and when these are asked they bring into focus, the central purpose, or driving force of an individual, an organisation, and or a country. An individual asks , “what is my purpose?”, a company asks “what business are we in?”, a government asks “who are we serving?”.

“Big questions” seek to clarify a “vision” that inspires, motivates and energises an individual or an organisation. All visions should come in pictures and images rather than in mere words and rhetoric. All the lines may be neatly drawn in, but a sustaining vision will have an attracting, compelling power that will cause people to ask, “How do we get there?” “How can we best carry our mission?”. Simply put, vision means seeing something according to the way we believe it should and will turn out, creating a compelling and sustaining picture of our most desirable future.

“Without a sense of direction, it is impossible to tell a good wind from an ill wind.” People and organisations not forgetting governments will drift to and fro, tossed by every changing wind, unless and until they clarify what they are about and where they want to go. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The plain fact is that transition and change create anxiety, and anxiety is part of the human condition. Mission and vision are not enough, as important as they are, they alone won’t sustain the journey and or the transition.

The road will most certainly be bumpy. You can map out a process and a timeline for change on paper that looks very smooth and straightforward, just like plotting a route on a road map. There are too many variables for anyone to control, and many of those have nothing to do with the plans on ‘paper’. But once we have made a decision about mission and direction, keeping momentum moving forward toward that vision is crucial. So along the way we shouldn’t give excuses but learn to ride the storm. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. To be continued....

Ashley Dobia Mwanza

What does it take for an individual human being to be good? “The world is changing and so we should change with it.” These are words pregnant with meaning spoken to the American populace by their president Barack Obama, these are words that have meaning not only to the Americans (the initial intended audience) but they have a message for us all. The words can be misconstrued, but Mr Obama, simply meant that we have to be as cunning as wolves. We have been misled, abused, oppressed and so we have to be on guard. In some circumstances we have no choice but in those other situations we have to stand up and be counted.

It is not about our contribution, it is all down to the reward/s and or the benefits we will get at the end of it all. According to Aristotle, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, so it will be down to the result and not what we chip in, that is what matters. The current global turmoil has its roots in greed. We are never wrong, or so we think. When the world tanked, fingers were pointed to governments, property developers and financial institutions. But don’t we know when we have had enough? Everything has a limit we expended the resources availed to us and we continue to trudge along that treacherous path, yet we have the audacity to keep on pointing. What a tragedy! Ours is the age of instant everything. We want what we want and we want it now. Patience and moderation are just not part of our cultural virtues.

When the word ethics springs up many are quick to blame someone(governments and companies) for something we have brought upon ourselves. Ethics is an intensely practical discipline, good conduct arises from habits that in turn can only be acquired by repeated action and correction. Ethics starts with you and me. Aristotle supposed, moral actions are within our power to perform or avoid; hence, we can reasonably be held responsible for them and their consequences. He argued that goodness lie in the acts of individuals. And so too I can argue that the bad in society lies in the acts of individuals. If we always wait to be guided in the right direction by them (governments and corporations) our waiting could be for a lifetime because some of the guidance we get only leads us off on a tangent, where again we will need guidance and so forth.

The fundamental cause of the malaise we are in is US (you and me). We tend to think things are sure to get worse because WE think the governments are incapable of doing anything to make them better. It’s about time you and I stopped bickering and stepped up to the plate. Let’s reform ourselves first then point the fingers in the latter if need be. Most problems faced by the world we brought upon ourselves, spending borrowed money, relying (over reliance) on the governments and confusing need with want. This phenomenon is a notice given unto us that we need to re-evaluate our priorities.

Citizens of the world; friends, family and the more basic and true pleasures of life become more dear to us in hard times. We are now at a phase where we wonder whether the glass is half empty rather than half full, you decide. Walk the talk first.