TEAMWORK

I think teamwork better exemplified by the Formula 1 than by a relay . In formula1 every one brings her unique skill and strength to the team whereas in relay races, the best result is achieved when everyone in the team is a clone of the best runner. If everyone is your management team is a man, woman, introvert, extrovert or in someway "clones", you're in someway short of the best. Research shows that ~94% of heterosexual marriages are made of men and women who are different in a significant way. Afterall, if they are clones, one is not needed. Diversify your team!

Lessons of Life

I have learnt that there are differences and diversity is not meant to divide. Rather it is an opportunity to see life from across the divide.
I have learnt that teamwork is not about clones, I am learning to work with those who do not work as I do.
I have learnt to be more gentle on those who stumble; very soon, it may be my turn.
I have learnt that speaking up solves more problems than one can imagine; people are willing to comply if someone is willing take the lead.
I have learnt to both talk and speak, either way, to get my points across. The person who seems to be hurting me on purpose may not even be aware.

Our greatest fear .....

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others." -- Marianne Williamson/Nelson Mandela

You don't need "experience"

"....there are jobs that experience is not required: President of a country, husband and an entrepreneur"



Many people I have talked to told me this...."I will work for a few years, gather capital and start my business" Most of them are still working. I agreed with the MTN advert when it said, "go start something."

Enviroment, Economy, Intellectual and Social

Is there a link between the enviroment in which a person is bred and the society they create?
Does this explain the result we see in Africans?

As a man thinks so is he. The intellectual content of a man define his person and his productivity. However, the thoughts are the result of the seed sown by his enviroment (people he admires and the culture).

Is the life and the mentalities bred in the villages in the 50s and 60s facilitated by the economic conditions of people of that day affecting the kinds of societies these people are creating today?

Can this explain the Africa of today?

....Just thinking

Poor People can think!

*Farmers Turn to Science to Boost Crop Yields
*http://allafrica. com/stories/ printable/ 200801080725. htmlallAfrica.com
NEWS8 January 2008
Posted to the web 8 January 2008By Elizabeth Dickinson
Sabon Gari Ganu late last June, farmers in Sabon Gari Ganu village in northern Nigeria's Katsina state divided their plots of land into 56 rows. Using seeds from 16 African countries, the farmers planted each row with a different variety of millet---some small seeds, some round, some dark and some light. Throughout the rainy season, the farmers watched carefully to see which varieties would grow and which would not.

Five months later, the farmers sat down to vote on which seed varieties they preferred. Women and men were each given ballots, either light or dark blue, respectively. Four seeds were chosen. "Our plan now is that the four chosen will be intensively promoted," explains A. Kabir R. Charanchi, a chief agricultural officer for the Katsina state government who works on the project. "We are now going to bring more seeds for multiplication. "

The morale of the news item:
1. Small business people even local farmers can think. It is good to help to fund the research. We may not have to fund relief efforts!
2. SMEs are looking for better ways of doing their business.
3. They are willing to change if you can convince them it works (powerpoint presentations from HBS or IITA may not be the best. Sit with them.)