"A Pool of Tears"
In Gladwell se wonderlike boekie “the Tipping Point” gaan dit oor wat ons moet doen om die knakpunt te bereik. Dalk is dit net om met oop ore deur die lewe te gaan en om minder bang te wees?
....dit is 22 Oktober 2001, net 5 weke na 11/9 ..en een dae voor my 50e. Daardie “has been” oomblik wat niemand wil vier nie. Werk nog vir wyle Kumba Resources en geniet elke sekonde daarvan. Egter reeds ’n detail plan en met die opperbestuur bespreek dat die tyd begin uit loop. (dit egter het nog 4 jaar geneem)
Dis 15:30 daardie Maandag middag, onskuldig en pla niemand, toe lui die foon; “Good afternoon, this is Manuela Sanchez from Unisa SBL speaking”, praat sy in ‘n swaar Spaanse Aksent, “I heard from professor Pellisier that you are a Toastmaster and wondered if you could address our MBA graduation ceremony”.
Ek neem die foon en gooi dit op sy mikkie neer. Mens doen nie so iets nie, veral nie as jy ‘n skaam nerd is nie!
Die foon lui weer; “Sorry but we were disconnected “. Sucker wat ek altyd is, gee toe toe en vra; “When?”. “Thursday and we want you to talk about the economic outlook after the 11/9 incident ..”.
Totale paniek..dis onmoontlik om enigiets sinvols in die tyd te doen en wat weet ek nou eintlik van ekonomie af? Ry huis toe net langs die Voortrekkermonument toe sing John Lennon:
“The long and winding road, That leads to your door
Will never disappear, I've seen that road before
It always leads me here, Lead me to your door.
The wild and windy night, That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears, Crying for the day.Why leave me standing here?, Many times I've been alone, And many times I've cried,”
"Has left a pool of tears" .. Hoeveel seerkry is daar nie om ons nie, hoeveel pyn wat ek en jy iets aan kan doen? Presies waaroor Wouter skryf.
Will never disappear, I've seen that road before
It always leads me here, Lead me to your door.
The wild and windy night, That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears, Crying for the day.Why leave me standing here?, Many times I've been alone, And many times I've cried,”
“Ek het dit!!!” Die woorde val van nêrens af op my sleutelbord..die 60’s songs saamgebring met die “Yellow brick road” uit the Wizard of Oz.
Kom toe daar die aand van die 24e, nou volle 50 jaar oud. Die Dekaan, wyle Anton Ferreira (woon in ons straat) sien my; “Ag nee, jy..”. Selfbeeldjie verpletter.
Ons trek daardie middeleeuse jasse aan, paradeer important voor die skare van meer as 500 op maat van Gaudeamus Igitur op die verhoog. Hulle stel my bekend, ek wil flou val en probeer my bietjie statuur behou. Die podium is so groot, net my voorkop steek uit en ek begin wankelend:
“Come gather round people wherever you roam...”
Op ‘n stadium lag hulle baie, hoekom? Die nagmerrie gaan verby en ek sluip na my stoel. Tot my verbasing is die applous geweldig. Skaars gesit toe kom daar ‘n briefie van die vise kanselier, ‘n important Sandtonse miljardêr ..”I want to talk to you afterwards!!”. Naam krater.
Agterna in die robe room kom hy na my toe “You touched my heart, may I please have a copy of your speech?, I want to ponder on it”.
Na die onthaal loop ek na my kar. Hoor voetstappe agter my.
‘n Klein vroutjie; “Meneegg, ek kom van Daggling af", praat sy in die mooiste Weskus aksent, "Ek al die pad met die bus om my seun te kom sien..jy het alles die moeite weggd gemaak.
‘n Klein vroutjie; “Meneegg, ek kom van Daggling af", praat sy in die mooiste Weskus aksent, "Ek al die pad met die bus om my seun te kom sien..jy het alles die moeite weggd gemaak.
Net daar staan twee wild vreemdes gebind deur die mooi van die lewe en ek bied my tissuetjie vir haar aan. Niks sal ooit weer dieselfde wees nie.
Die volgende dag bel Anton; “Kom sien my!”, beveel hy. Daar gekom maak hy my ‘n aanbod om op die Open University MBA program te kom werk. Eers strategie en later ook innovasie. Besoek die universiteit in Engeland en 'n nuwe wereld gaan oop.
Kry vanaf 2006 die professor se werk, 750 studente een vir een mee gewerk in die hart van ons land se besighede. Leer meer as almal saam. Net een geslaan want toe ek hom uittrap oor sy swak taak toe is sy verskoning "Ek was bang om dit te doen.." Die taai klap het weinig indruk gemaak want hy was in 'n vroee lewe vooryman vir die Lions! Wel het probeer en dis wat tel..
Werk toe oor die lengte en breedte van ons mooi land vlieg elke 2 weke iewers heen.
Werk toe oor die lengte en breedte van ons mooi land vlieg elke 2 weke iewers heen.
Dit maak alle deure oop, gaan studeer toe ‘n groepsielkunde diploma, werk sedert 2006 met meer as 7800 mense in groepe; Discovery, Amplats, Sasol, karhandelaars, kerke, skole, radioloe, patoloe... Word die toerleier vir die Goewerneur Generaal van Kanada (bietjie meer important as Jacob.. ).. ...‘n droom word waar.
Nou mag jy vra; “En waar het jy jou MBA gedoen??” Sjjjt.. “If can not make it, then fake it!!”
Dit al die jare mooi gebere, hier is dit:
The 21 st Century: Prosperity or Disaster?
© VDS Brink 2001 Kumba Resources
vds.brink@corvus.co.za
[This material was derived from numerous sources. The book by John Naisbith, High Tech, High Touch stimulated many of the ideas on the content. The idea for the broad layout (Indispensability, adaptability and caring) obtained from a radio interview with Dr AE Rupert. ]
"Master of ceremonies, prof Ngambi, prof Ferreira, honoured guests, ladies and gentleman"
Bob Dylan wrote in the 60s :
“….come gather 'round people
wherever you roam
and admit that the waters
around you have grown
and accept it that soon
you'll be drenched to the bone.
then you better start swimmin'
or you'll sink like a stone,
for the times they are a-changin'…”
In the next 10 minutes I will touch on the changing times we are living in, then speculate on the effect it has on the world and on each of us. Lastly I will share some thoughts in the context of tonight on how we are to approach the immediate future.
Over the years my interaction with the School of Business Leadership was, and still is a delightful experience. Thank you for this opportunity to here at this special moment and to deliver this short address.
We are on the eve of a major war. A war that will have an impact on all of us for years to come. Just go to the nearest Engen station and note the latest fuel price..
There is however another war already raging. it is more devastating than the any other. It is a war for knowledge, ideas and the marketplace.
The battle lines move across national boundaries and often create more misery overnight the any conventional war for the unlucky.
Turbulence of the 2000’s has many reasons behind it; the greatest being the information revolution. The most fascinating about it is that we ain’t seen nothing yet.
In these changing times, who in this room, even not the learned professors behind me, would have dreamt that the rand would be at less the 8 to a dollar?
It is the best seen in the behavior of teenagers.
If we think of it, the past 2 years and the coming 2 years is a unique slice in history. It is the only time ever when teenagers are actually reading and writing! They thrive on email and manage their complicated love lives with SMS.
In Africa is looking towards 2003 with some of hope and optimism. But what about South Africa? Last week we dropped out of the Cricket world cup. Cricket is the second most popular sport in our country. Millions of people were deeply disappointed, unlike Germany, England or Holland no one threw bottles on the field, no one broke shop windows.
We handled it with dignity. We organized a tournament setting new standards and although the scoreboard at Kingsmead was a wet disaster; the bigger scoreboard told a story of a triumph for South Africa
South Africa is a wonderful place. I sense urgency amongst so many to make things work. We are doing better by the day, we are out of the target zone of international fundamentalists, our behavior is improving and the dollars, pounds and euros are flowing in.
Back to the future; The coming of biotechnology will be a bigger thing that Information technology. The topic alone is so involved but will have impact on every sphere of our lives. Growing of artificial limbs and glands, cloning, plants that glow in the dark, frost-free strawberries… The most tomatoes we eat and almost all soya are genetically engineered although Woolworths gives a different view on it. Within the next 5 years biotech will infiltrate almost every aspect of our lives.
The coming of the Hydrogen Economy is expected over the next 20 years. It will be bigger than even the industrial revolution.
Fasten your seatbelts: the future will be fascinating and difficult.
The times are indeed a-changin’
How are we coping?
Come with me to the shelves of Exclusive Books.
“Nine vital food commandments”, “Four ways to a successful marriage”, “The 2 minute health check”, “7 habits of highly effective people”, “become rich overnight: 10 key steps” and even “ 7 secrets to a hot relationship”. The worst one is “how to cope with the teenager in the house in 4 easy steps!”
You do not cope with a teenager, you only survive them!.
It seems that 7 is the winning number.
We swallow hands full of vitamins yet the only vegetables most of us ever eat are French Fries. Our emotional problems are solved over the shelf at Hyperpharm with a magic cure and we believe that our shape and size, looks and behavior can be quickly fixed with it.
May I make a confession here tonight: I spent many hours in the pharmacies of Pretoria looking in vain for a miracle to make me tall dark and handsome!
The world is drowning in an Elastoplast culture and the quick fix. Eventually it leads to disappointment.
Sitting here tonight celebrating the end of a successful study period was not easy.
There was no quick fix; it is the result of hard work, experience and the use of mentorship. All of us knows what it is to attain success: there is no easy way.
There are wonderful books on personal strategy on the shelves, but please do not forget the lessons of old works, notable classical stories. In my view the some the best books on strategy are stories of the brothers Grim and stories like “ The Wizard of Oz “.
In the Wizard of Oz the main character is a girl called Dorothy. Before her was a mountain with the top hidden by cloud. She asked the Tinman and the Strawman: “how do I get to Oz and to the wizard? “. The Tinman answered: “ Just follow the yellow brick road! “ Ladies and gentleman, there are no yellow brick road anymore. There is no simple route towards a future more riddled with uncertainty as ever before.
Business will always be a people contact game. The inherent nature of people will remain the same and people skills will become more important in an uncertain world.
On the surface we look fine yet inside we are still human beings who are afraid, uncertain, love to be loved and hate to be hated. Perhaps the biggest challenge and opportunity lies in understanding this.
Ladies and gentleman: the winners of the future will not be the big and the powerful; it will not be the fast or the rich. The winners of tomorrow will be those that can change direction, are indispensable and can care for others.
All that really matters is indispensability, adaptability and a caring attitude.
Adaptability is unfortunately so difficult because before we can begin something new, we must end what use to be.
Before we can become a different person we must let go of our old identity, before we can learn new things, we must unlearn the old. Beginnings depend on endings. The problem is we do not like endings….
Beethoven lost his ears and then wrote the most beautiful music in all history. A young man in France 150 years ago lost his eyes at the age of 4 and was banished for life to live amongst people with mental disability.
By the age of 10 he designed a written language for the blind and changed the lives of half a billion blind people. His name was Louis Braille.
Natalie du Toit lost her leg. She is today .2 of a second off from qualifying for the Olympics.
The jobs of the future will be more and more without a label. Albert Hammond who sang about his parents this captured in another 1960’s song:
“…..well, they used to sit and speculate upon their son's career,
a lawyer or a doctor or a civil engineer,
just give me bread and water, put a guitar in my hand,
'cause all I need is music and the free electric band.….”
a lawyer or a doctor or a civil engineer,
just give me bread and water, put a guitar in my hand,
'cause all I need is music and the free electric band.….”
It will be less of what we are called and more of what we can do. It is about being indispensable.
Tonight is a milestone for all of us that received our degrees, as knowledge is the first step to indispensability. Indispensability is about taking the new knowledge acquired in the course and to combine it with the unique person I am. In this room are 500 people with 5000 stories to tell. We are all different, exploit it!
Look at those on that side of the room. Without their support it simply would not be possible. At this golden moment, may I suggest that when we get home tonight, cut of the corners of the certificate, write a letter, stick it on it and add a red rose. Give it to your the loved ones who sacrificed so much.
There is a new yellow brick road: the road of adaptability, indispensability and caring for others. This is the road of success in this turbulent world of ours. Embark on it, you will never regret the moment.
Consider yourselves lucky, we are living in the most interesting time in all history. We live in a country on the forefront of change. It is not and will not be easy, yet it will be abound with opportunity. I urge you grasp every moment and make the best of it.
To conclude, I believe that every person has been put on this earth for one purpose and one purpose only. It is to serve others.
It does not matter if you build a bridge, paint a picture or invent a labour saving device or even run a petrol station.
The point is we should try to leave this earth a better than you found it. If we do not do what we can within your own limitations, you are destined to be unhappy
If we do it, our lives would have been worthwhile
I wish you all well!
