In a conversation with her daughter, the acclaimed African business leader, Strive Masiyiwa, (@StriveMasiyiwa), a Zimbabwean, and an award winning entrepreneur
and CEO at Econet Wireless, was alarmed when his daughter reported a lesson from her teacher that in 25 years,
most of the jobs, that will be available will be in
companies that do not yet exist."
He said:
Twenty years ago, the Internet barely existed: The giant companies like Google, Alibaba, Facebook,
and countless others, did not even exist! There was barely a cellphone
industry, and now even that has been overtaken by the Social Media giants.
As a young man, I remember giant companies that
seemed to have been there forever that have either faded away or just no
longer exist.
There are many people, who find it so difficult to cope with change. People who cannot cope with shifting dispensations,and always want to see things, as "they were"; and it is not just old people. I see it even in young people.
When I thought prayerfully about what my child's wise teacher had said, I realised that even in our skills, each one of us must be constantly upgrading those skills. There is absolutely no one exempt: no, no one is exempt.
Whatever skills you hold, they will be obsolete, within 5 years. Even if you are a teacher, the things you know and are teaching, and the way you teach will be essentially obsolete within 5 years! If you are a leader, even of a nation, the "leadership craft" too is changing!
The other day, I was listening to a commentary on the coaching methods of football managers. It was just amazing to see how the techniques of the younger managers, had so revolutionized, the game. The football game is not the way it was played in the 1970s, even if you think Pele was the best, the modern player is quicker, fitter, and more skilled on the ball; that is a scientific fact!
As a youth in Africa, you need to understand that if you are to increase your "earning capacity", and not find yourself, overtaken by youngsters like my daughter, you must be upgrading your skills, constantly....permanently.
There are many people, who find it so difficult to cope with change. People who cannot cope with shifting dispensations,and always want to see things, as "they were"; and it is not just old people. I see it even in young people.
When I thought prayerfully about what my child's wise teacher had said, I realised that even in our skills, each one of us must be constantly upgrading those skills. There is absolutely no one exempt: no, no one is exempt.
Whatever skills you hold, they will be obsolete, within 5 years. Even if you are a teacher, the things you know and are teaching, and the way you teach will be essentially obsolete within 5 years! If you are a leader, even of a nation, the "leadership craft" too is changing!
The other day, I was listening to a commentary on the coaching methods of football managers. It was just amazing to see how the techniques of the younger managers, had so revolutionized, the game. The football game is not the way it was played in the 1970s, even if you think Pele was the best, the modern player is quicker, fitter, and more skilled on the ball; that is a scientific fact!
As a youth in Africa, you need to understand that if you are to increase your "earning capacity", and not find yourself, overtaken by youngsters like my daughter, you must be upgrading your skills, constantly....permanently.
No comments:
Post a Comment