Hip Hop, a controversial culture and mindset. "Commercial Hip-Hop" is known for artists like Lil-Wayne, Drake and Rick Ross: Big personal brands which command a great deal of respect everywhere they go. Their lifestyles are often under the microscope and on tabloids, they generate major publicity through their antics and gimmicks, they have ultra egos - some name themselves Slim Shady, Snoop Lion, Weezy. They know how to use their power and influence to exponentially attract their target audience. I want to investigate what exactly makes this culture so popular particularly to the youth market.
Hip-Hop has a rich history its been around since the mid 80's made popular by artists such as Dr Dre, Snoop-Dogg, Biggy Smalls, MC hammer, Tupac, Jay Z, Nas - to name but a few. Many hip-hop artist especially in America are known for their ammassing wealth and unconstrained lifestyles
The movement is one of the biggest industries in the World, with rappers like "Birdman" and "Puff Daddy" raking in networths in excess of R5 Billion. Well, anyone who says Hip Hop is not a lucrative industry and business is oblivious and talking out of ignorance. The clear leaders of the pack being YMCMB(Young Money Cash Money Billionaires) and MMG(Meybach Music Group).
Mainstream Hip-Hop artists are often criticised for being flashy, rebellious and for instigating gang violence, among other atrocities. Hip-Hop artists are naturally unstifled by status quo and very few Hip-Hop record labels, and fashion label owners are even college graduates.
They control assets many graduates would only dream to own:Mansions, Meybachs, Limousines, Ferrari's - you could even swear that it is their birth right. Most Hip-Hoppers are black, the wealthy ones - Black American. All they do is put up a nice beat, lay a chorus and a few bars and the money just comes flying in. These people haven't gone to marketing school yet they endorse big brands like Nike and Adidas, Vercace, Gucci and Aston Martin - the list is endless.
They live the lifestyle many young people want to live, often boasting about how they rose from being hoodlums to being millionaires,"Before-the-Rollie's" . They flash their money apologetically in people's faces and this has a certain charm to their target audience who consistently buy into their products and message.
After listening to their music myself I've discovered the following key deliverables which make their products and music videos so predictable:
1. Money
2. "Bitches"(Beautiful women)
3. Yachts, Boats, Private Jets, Luxury cars and jewellery
4. Expensive Liquor
5. Quality graphics, cinematography
6. Quality Bass line and Sound Engineering
7. Catchy Chorus
8. A Group of other people having fun
9. Beef(rivalry)
10.Partnerships(collaborations)
11.Boasting about how much they got.
12. No song sounds like the other
13. Hits are released frequently
14. Distinct and consistent personal image
Successful rappers, I discovered, cement their influence by sticking together and complementing each others brands, even though they occasionally create "beef" to generate publicity in the tabloids.
It is ironic that the more they boast about how much abundance they have, the more they accumulate abundance. There are very hardworking - "underground" rappers who rap about "real shit" and don't want to be "commercial" yet they are hardly given much attention even though their content is good - they lack the above mentioned deliverables. It is only once they assume a posture of indifference against popular belief and assume unique self confidence that they will rally much attention. They are unstifled - they say"fuck", call their fans"niggers" and talk about "pussy" yet they rally more attention than many other "censored" genres in the world.
These people are far from being Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teressa who both effectively sold us the concept of peace.
Hip-Hop artists are sages of a different kind: For myself in particular they've helped reinforce a positive mindset - prior to writing this, I consistently watched their music videos and gradually started thinking that having a Yacht and Aston Martin is normal. Yes, started thinking its normal! Their music affected my mindset: I was reactive in assuming my identity - their music made me feel rich even when I didn't have food in the fridge.
Immersing yourself in this music may have detrimental effects on some who need a "quick fix" or prophylactic for hard work. To others, like myself, it is surely a good substitute to listening to motivational speaking which mainly affects your conscious mind, however this music affects your subconscious mind. That is why the feeling the music exudes is so addictive for young people still finding their bearings in life.
This is exactly what they sell. They sell ambition and affirm success. They consistently deliver one message indirectly, which is "Freedom!"
- freedom of expression, identity and movement: note that poor people use entreaties and rich people are bold and ruthless. You don't need money to have a rich man's unapologetic mentality, you clearly just need a dose of commercial hip-hop in your life.
It is powerful music which I think if well applied can have a great impact on people's psyche.
Saturday 16 November 2013
Wednesday 29 May 2013
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN A FOREIGN LAND : South Africa - a Ghanaian perspective
South Africa is the biggest economy in Africa which boasts of its prosperous financial sector and expansive consumer market.
This prosperity has subsequently attracted a lot of human capital from foreign countries in Africa to this country. The economic climate is highly competitve - the job market in particular with unemployment being last reported at an excess of 25% of the labour force.
We are indeed perplexed by the fact that despite this tight competition in the labour market our brothers and sisters from other countries still prosper(relatively speaking) when they arrive in this land, taking hold of opportunities we locals take so forgranted.
I will give an account of the perceptions shared by one of the prosperous business men, in his 40s, who came to South Africa with the sole purpose of raising capital in order to establish a booming enterprise back in Ghana.
When you enter his working quarters you feel the warmth of the environment he's created. With his employees always cheerful and in high spirits - sowing beautiful garments which have haboured the favour and admiration of locals. Never compromising, he still keeps to his African style of fashion design.
He gives account of how back in Ghana he had branches of stores where he would distribute and merchandise shoes he would import from China. He tells me of how he would ship even three containers at a time and how easy life was for him in those days. He gives account of how his prosperity came to an abrupt end when members of his extended family refused to continue in using the main family house as collateral for his liabilities with the bank so it was then and there where he had to liquidate all his company's assets in order to pay off the debt he owed to the bank and maintain peace with the family.
He alludes to his amazement regarding how the economic dynamics in Ghana differ in relation to those in South Africa. According to Mr. Eddie - Ghanaians are entrepreneurial people and big business in Ghana is owned by black Ghanaian dynasties instead of white owned conglomerates - according to him - no multinational company may enter the country to be completely owned by foreign investors. He claims that Ghanaians have a total hold on the rudder of economic affairs in Ghana to the extent where you'll never see a Ghanaian working for a foreign national - instead the contrary is true where you'll find even North Africans, say from Somalia, come into Ghana and work for Ghanaians. They have taken ownership of the entrepreneurship in their country.
Ghana vs South africa
Growth entrepreneurship is the order of the day in Ghana - He gives account on how Ghanaian entrepreneurs would employ people with the mind of grooming them to occupy greater managing positions in their entreprises and that employees never expect to occupy one position forever.
He criticises South Africans for their culture of consumption. He says that he is baffled by how South Africans would resort to going to banks for car finance instead of business finance. He says that it is typical for South Africans to go to school and dream to work for big established companies whilst in Ghana it is the norm for people to dream to start a company of their own(though informal) and make it prosper.
He says that the only inhibiting factor to the prosperity of businessmen in Ghana is the weakness of the Ghanaian financial sector and the difficulty of acquiring business loans. He says that this is the sole reason why Ghanaians move out of the country - to lands where they can hopefully earn enough money in order to raise capital for businesses which they intend to establish when they arrive in Ghana. He also acknowledges that the market in Ghana is rather saturated and that the nature of business is such that they are constantly compeiting to stand out in one way or the other.
I then put forth the question of whether there is social security in Ghana and he gave me a very expressive "NO!" We then tacitly concluded that this could be one of the inhibitors of entrepreneurship in South Africa among South Africans.
I also posed the question of their standard of education and he interjected "it is very high!" - which may be arguable but justifiable in terms of Ghana's literacy level in comparison to South Africa's in 2009.
I also asked if he knew any millionairres in person and jokingly if they are ritualists, he laughed and replied with a gesture of great pride in his face he replied yes, He tells about a friend of his who gained acclaim in his land for his monopoly of freight service in the region and how his friend was rather humble and approachable for a millionaire.
He says that his personal journey was never simple and I can personally attest to that - Since arriving in the country he's been toiling and labouring under intense social conditions where he would receive great antagonism from those he competed with in business - starting small as a vendor selling bags and hair extensions outside a mall in his stall amongst other such "local" vendors.
He then found an opportunity to break away from that environment and found an affordable rental space - managed to acquire sowing machines and employ labour. This space was dead but he converted it to such a lively environment.
When I spoke to him I couldn't help but notice how optimistic he was about the prospects of his business in this country even though he was facing trouble with home affairs because of a corrupt home-affairs official who was asking for bribes in order to process his papers. He says that if only he would get his papers it would take less than six months for him to become a resounding success.
He has great plans of building an empire where he even plans to start an academy and teach students soft skills in fashion such as sowing so that those who graduate from his academy may also be assimilated into the business - He accounts that this is the business model in his homeland Ghana - a country which he proclaims to be among the first to attain independance in Africa and has good grasp of the dynamics of the economy.
Ghana might be a country with abundant human capital with regards to the entrepreneurial spirit. But it seems to be plagued with immense political instability which leads the inhabitants of the Ghanaian land to leaving the country for greener pasture where economic pursuits are unhindered by political stagnation.
This leaves us with a question why then does the majority of South Africans never get insync with economic activities as their foreign counterparts do? this by just mere observation. Is this entitlement mentality of South Africans hindering our growth especially among black South Africans. We have labour unions in South Africa always striking for higher wages which are uncompetitive and don't reflect the change in human capital and productivity of the labour force instead these continuous wage hikes hamper job creation
We need to change our consumption culture in South Africa and adopt an investment culture - this by making business financing easier to obtain and motor and home financing less accessible, such changes will in my opinion make a huge difference. An environment where taking progressive risks is a norm is conducive to the development of this country. The political agenda has always emerged above the economic agenda in South Africa whilst that demographic of the population which has always been economically empowered continues with their economic agenda.
Corruption in South Africa has been veiled by the buzz word - "BEE" - where we observe sons of the state's president gain lucrative government contracts/tenders and friends of state heads gain tenders from the public sector. It is truely an animal farm where indeed :"we are all equal but some are more equal than others." How we ought to effectively fight corruption is still to be discovered.
One thing that South Africa can be commended for is its investment in education - from the ground - I can personally testify of the convenience of the student financial scheme through which I have since been able to complete my tertiary education. The question now lies in how exactly will the quality of education be improved especially in rural South Africa and how is a culture of entrepreneurship and personal initiative going to be groomed in a landscape where job-seeking and over-dependency on the government is prevalent.
other related links to this topic
This prosperity has subsequently attracted a lot of human capital from foreign countries in Africa to this country. The economic climate is highly competitve - the job market in particular with unemployment being last reported at an excess of 25% of the labour force.
We are indeed perplexed by the fact that despite this tight competition in the labour market our brothers and sisters from other countries still prosper(relatively speaking) when they arrive in this land, taking hold of opportunities we locals take so forgranted.
I will give an account of the perceptions shared by one of the prosperous business men, in his 40s, who came to South Africa with the sole purpose of raising capital in order to establish a booming enterprise back in Ghana.
Photo taken by Thato Molefe at Vereeniging , 14 April 2013
Within a matter of weeks this gentleman has become an established entrepreneur within the Vereeniging community, having established a boutique and fashion house selling african shweshwe fashion wear and wedding dresses. The location of his business is bingy and unassuming, but the rate of success he has attained thus far easily outshines that of a typical business in the central business district.When you enter his working quarters you feel the warmth of the environment he's created. With his employees always cheerful and in high spirits - sowing beautiful garments which have haboured the favour and admiration of locals. Never compromising, he still keeps to his African style of fashion design.
He gives account of how back in Ghana he had branches of stores where he would distribute and merchandise shoes he would import from China. He tells me of how he would ship even three containers at a time and how easy life was for him in those days. He gives account of how his prosperity came to an abrupt end when members of his extended family refused to continue in using the main family house as collateral for his liabilities with the bank so it was then and there where he had to liquidate all his company's assets in order to pay off the debt he owed to the bank and maintain peace with the family.
He alludes to his amazement regarding how the economic dynamics in Ghana differ in relation to those in South Africa. According to Mr. Eddie - Ghanaians are entrepreneurial people and big business in Ghana is owned by black Ghanaian dynasties instead of white owned conglomerates - according to him - no multinational company may enter the country to be completely owned by foreign investors. He claims that Ghanaians have a total hold on the rudder of economic affairs in Ghana to the extent where you'll never see a Ghanaian working for a foreign national - instead the contrary is true where you'll find even North Africans, say from Somalia, come into Ghana and work for Ghanaians. They have taken ownership of the entrepreneurship in their country.
Ghana vs South africa
Growth entrepreneurship is the order of the day in Ghana - He gives account on how Ghanaian entrepreneurs would employ people with the mind of grooming them to occupy greater managing positions in their entreprises and that employees never expect to occupy one position forever.
He criticises South Africans for their culture of consumption. He says that he is baffled by how South Africans would resort to going to banks for car finance instead of business finance. He says that it is typical for South Africans to go to school and dream to work for big established companies whilst in Ghana it is the norm for people to dream to start a company of their own(though informal) and make it prosper.
He says that the only inhibiting factor to the prosperity of businessmen in Ghana is the weakness of the Ghanaian financial sector and the difficulty of acquiring business loans. He says that this is the sole reason why Ghanaians move out of the country - to lands where they can hopefully earn enough money in order to raise capital for businesses which they intend to establish when they arrive in Ghana. He also acknowledges that the market in Ghana is rather saturated and that the nature of business is such that they are constantly compeiting to stand out in one way or the other.
I then put forth the question of whether there is social security in Ghana and he gave me a very expressive "NO!" We then tacitly concluded that this could be one of the inhibitors of entrepreneurship in South Africa among South Africans.
I also posed the question of their standard of education and he interjected "it is very high!" - which may be arguable but justifiable in terms of Ghana's literacy level in comparison to South Africa's in 2009.
I also asked if he knew any millionairres in person and jokingly if they are ritualists, he laughed and replied with a gesture of great pride in his face he replied yes, He tells about a friend of his who gained acclaim in his land for his monopoly of freight service in the region and how his friend was rather humble and approachable for a millionaire.
He says that his personal journey was never simple and I can personally attest to that - Since arriving in the country he's been toiling and labouring under intense social conditions where he would receive great antagonism from those he competed with in business - starting small as a vendor selling bags and hair extensions outside a mall in his stall amongst other such "local" vendors.
He then found an opportunity to break away from that environment and found an affordable rental space - managed to acquire sowing machines and employ labour. This space was dead but he converted it to such a lively environment.
When I spoke to him I couldn't help but notice how optimistic he was about the prospects of his business in this country even though he was facing trouble with home affairs because of a corrupt home-affairs official who was asking for bribes in order to process his papers. He says that if only he would get his papers it would take less than six months for him to become a resounding success.
He has great plans of building an empire where he even plans to start an academy and teach students soft skills in fashion such as sowing so that those who graduate from his academy may also be assimilated into the business - He accounts that this is the business model in his homeland Ghana - a country which he proclaims to be among the first to attain independance in Africa and has good grasp of the dynamics of the economy.
Ghana might be a country with abundant human capital with regards to the entrepreneurial spirit. But it seems to be plagued with immense political instability which leads the inhabitants of the Ghanaian land to leaving the country for greener pasture where economic pursuits are unhindered by political stagnation.
This leaves us with a question why then does the majority of South Africans never get insync with economic activities as their foreign counterparts do? this by just mere observation. Is this entitlement mentality of South Africans hindering our growth especially among black South Africans. We have labour unions in South Africa always striking for higher wages which are uncompetitive and don't reflect the change in human capital and productivity of the labour force instead these continuous wage hikes hamper job creation
We need to change our consumption culture in South Africa and adopt an investment culture - this by making business financing easier to obtain and motor and home financing less accessible, such changes will in my opinion make a huge difference. An environment where taking progressive risks is a norm is conducive to the development of this country. The political agenda has always emerged above the economic agenda in South Africa whilst that demographic of the population which has always been economically empowered continues with their economic agenda.
Corruption in South Africa has been veiled by the buzz word - "BEE" - where we observe sons of the state's president gain lucrative government contracts/tenders and friends of state heads gain tenders from the public sector. It is truely an animal farm where indeed :"we are all equal but some are more equal than others." How we ought to effectively fight corruption is still to be discovered.
One thing that South Africa can be commended for is its investment in education - from the ground - I can personally testify of the convenience of the student financial scheme through which I have since been able to complete my tertiary education. The question now lies in how exactly will the quality of education be improved especially in rural South Africa and how is a culture of entrepreneurship and personal initiative going to be groomed in a landscape where job-seeking and over-dependency on the government is prevalent.
other related links to this topic
- http://grandioseparlor.com/2008/05/a-chronology-of-xenophobia-in-south-africa/
- http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/19/world/new-south-africa-shuts-the-door-on-its-neighbors.htmlhttp://www.migration-boell.de/web/migration/46_1676.asp
- http://www.politicalanalysis.co.za/2011/11/20/truth-to-the-common-fallacy-that-foreigners-commit-crime-a-media-perspective/
- http://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/anc-too-many-foreigners-in-south-africa-new-policy-on-refugees-proposed/
- http://mg.co.za/tag/gupta-wedding
- http://www.polity.org.za/article/unemployment-and-immigration-in-south-africa-2013-05-24
- http://www.internationalentrepreneurship.com/africa/ghana/
- http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/02/08/cosatu-plans-major-strike
- http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2012/03/06/cosatu-to-shut-down-the-cities
- http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/10/15/illiteracy-on-decline-in-south-africa
- http://www.tradingeconomics.com/ghana/literacy-rate-youth-male-percent-of-males-ages-15-24-wb-data.html
Monday 27 August 2012
KEEP YOUR "BEE"- I don’t need it!
The Raizcorp ‘Pitch and Polish’ event held in Vereeniging: A resounding success!, it is a revolutionary workshop and competition specifically centred on growth entrepreneurship.
Hailing from the Vaal is the emerging young, black, talented entrepreneur Fanelo Peter Maseko who proves my point that indeed Black people are making things happen unapologetically. He is the second runner up of last year's Pitch and Polish competition.
I attended this event for the second time now and I have realised how much things have changed for the
better in South Africa. Black people are taking charge of their destinies as the landscape of contestants and even those in the audience was predominantly black.
Considering that the black community historically comes from harsh economic repression that advertently made black people inferior in the economy and subordinate to their white counterparts. Post 1994 - blacks adopted an obsessive sense of entitlement for handouts by the government, but this is indeed beginning to change, judging from the breed of entrepreneurs I engaged with who attended the event. The internal locus of control demonstrated by these fellow entrepreneurs was amazing.
There seems to be a change in mindset as black people are no longer waiting on the government but are taking charge of their own lives and this of course is catalysed by companies like Raizcorp who have committed themselves to instilling a culture of entrepreneurship among South Africans.
It is always a pleasure being in the presence of entrepreneurs because their thinking is generally skewed towards ‘possibility and risk’ and not towards ‘impossibility and security’.
The contestants had lucrative ideas and the most fundamental theme for me was the realisation that the market orientation of business people has shifted to another level as black entrepreneurs have become more experimental and innovative. What I also observed is that South African entrepreneurs are starting to venture into technology. We heard of very fascinating ideas that all had unique facets of technological ingenuity.
One of those in the panel of contestants is an experienced metallurgical engineer who has found a lucrative way of recycling an industrial by-product into a substitute which will be of paramount significance in the construction industry.
Innovative entrepreneurship is the name of the game and the black community is making their mark, the days of BEE and cronyism are fast growing to an end, simply judging from what I grasped from the contestants and the 300strong audience attending that event.
The facilitator of the workshop is no longer Allon Raiz as was the case last year, it is Eugene who happens to have much in common with Allon Raiz (the main entrepreneur behind Raizcorp). This struck me because it stood in agreement with Allon’s personal philosophy that growth entrepreneurs create systems that help their companies remain lucrative investments even when they are gone, as systems provide reasonable assurance that though they (the entrepreneurs/founders) may be gone but expectations are still met by results and performance will not be compromised.
I attended the workshop expecting him to be the facilitator again but was surprised to find an equally effective individual holding the ties. I observed how systematic the presentation of the workshop was as it didn’t deviate much from the initial workshop.
This idea of creating systems is what has held companies like Microsoft in good stead against their competitors because they’ve remained consistent. They build on what they already have and they don’t randomly change their formulas. Microsoft is comparable with with Raizcorp who, judging from the workshop, have made some improvements yet still delivered as expected this still maintaining their identity. In other words I didn’t see a different Raizcorp but an improved one.
My personal favourite highlight was the 5P’s of marketing; Place, Product, Promotion, Price and PRAYER.
And yes! we all received a free copy of Allon Raiz’s most recent bestseller: ‘What To Do When You Want To Give Up’ available at all leading bookstores.
Follow Allon Raiz on http://www.twitter.com/allonraiz
I was on page 60 in less than 3hours and I am not a heavy reader – it is packed full of surprises!
Friday 25 May 2012
INDIANS WHAT MAKES YOU SO SPECIAL?
What makes the Indian community so special in the South African entrepreneurial context?
Views expressed in this article are not meant to offend, degrade or marginalize any racial, political, social or economic group or individual, but are meant to merely serve as a commentary of unrefined personal perspectives which may be open to review and constructive criticism.Indians and Pakistanis are the most prejudiced group in terms of how their entrepreneurial ethics are generally perceived in my opinion, because I am one to believe that they use nepotism as a tool to elevate themselves in their respective business environments but we know that small and micro business(with 1-50 employees) in the formal sector in South Africa is the main employment creator and accounts for 68% of the private sector employment in South Africa. the Indian community is in my opinion the most visible demographic in that level of business.
The unemployment rate is very high in South Africa but I am one to believe that there are communities in South Africa that are generally not affected by it namely; jewish and Indian and Portuguese. Why? They simply have a culture of entrepreneurship and nepotism, Quite frankly I have never seen an Indian, Portuguese or Jewish hawker before anywhere in South Africa. They are all neatly tucked away in petite establishments like the one shown below if not in big business.
Why do I call it “specialisation”? When consumers, especially those from the black community, go to their establishments they don’t recognise the name of their entities before their race(which automatically become their brand) and that to some extent provides them with reasonable assurance. So in reality when an Indian opens a shop next to an Indian it becomes “Combination” not just “specialisation” because when one doesn't have something available in stock they can always refer you to their Aunty or Uncle next door.
Where would South African business be without them?
The question is:
- are Indians really entrepreneurs?
- Do the close family relations compromise their integrity as entrepreneurs?
- or are they really as resourceful as any other entrepreneurs?
Now I have a case which should convince you that Indian INDIVIDUALS are just as resourceful as anybody else.
SEDA, which is the Small Enterprise Development Agency, is an organisation which helps small businesses have a better value proposition in South Africa and provides a myriad of services that helps start ups to big business grow and get off the ground.
They recently initiated the biggest entrepreneurs’ competition in South Africa which offered a prize pool worth 5.5million rand and hauled more than 5000 valid applications from entrepreneurs from all around South Africa.
The Seda competition, according to one of the speakers at the national award gala event, ranks among the top ten business and entrepreneurial contests in the World in terms of prize money.
The winner of the competition happens to be an Indian but the merits of his business concept are real and his sincere passion for his business is what the judges emphasised to be the main reason for his win. Adesh Naidoo owner of “Clean Streets” in KZN was announced SEDA small business stars competition overall winner at the National Award Ceremony at Focus Rooms in Sunninghill, Johannesburg.
Photo taken 22May2012 by Thato Molefe Above: from left Hlonela Lapuwana(Seda CEO), Adesh Naidoo(National winner), Linda Ngomezulu(Seda chairman)
To echo my new sentiments that our beloved Indian community is as opportune in business as any other community all the three National runner ups of the 2012 leg of the competition are women, two of them being of black descent.
References http://www.seda.org.za/Happening/LatestNews/PressReleases/Pages/SEDAannounceswinners.aspx
Photos taken 22May2012 by Thato Molefe
Above: key speakers at the event: with the Director general of the DTI shown below addressing on behalf of the deputy minister.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Wits vs wits 2
Post #2
Robert Kyosaki
Well it is safe to say that Robert Kyosaki is against the current and former formal education system particularly with respect to wealth creation that is why he established his own brand of financial literacy products under the banner of the Rich Dad Company.
Well one can wonder what happens in the mind of this man, is he just a businessman exploiting a niche and trying to get attention or is his pursuit well founded and based on real passion, revelation and experience.
The education system as we know it has (in my opinion) sustained our civilisation for years but is this sheer coincidence?
He believes that one can never acquire true wealth as an employee, self employee or small business owner; fair enough but what is the validity of him saying that formal education is not for business owners and investors whom he believes are the custodians of “real wealth”.
One can’t make such an irrelevant conclusion because one can interpret this puff as a pass at the employers and investors themselves; does it mean that wealthy people are primarily not educated by the formal education system?
One can ask where if not at the formal education institutions did they learn how to study the markets and know about demand and supply, about markets and inflation is it logical to bastardise the system in this way?
In his book: “ If you want to be Rich and Happy don’t go to school” – which is in my opinion a very attractive and sensationalist title.
Well in his book he presented a number of arguments and I will quote and analyse some of them without disputing on their validity.
current(1993 in America) education system is fraught.
- He says that educators undermine the development of creative and independent thinking with emphasis on the one right answer.
• I say that without emphasis on the right or best answer the independent thinker is more prone to settle for mediocrity and indecisiveness. Kyosaki’s reasoning is flawed because as with all things, it depends on the context, in economics or law for instance; the merits of ones reasoning is weighed against a logical arrangement of facts and in mathematics there is indeed a definite answer but you can’t find it if you don’t memorize the mathematical rules.
- He further generalizes by saying that students are ill equipped to deal with complex and dynamic realities of our society
• I say that students are better equipped to tackle dynamic and complex issues because they have a systematic way of thinking that allows them to see and filter out the ambiguities and identify the real patterns. For instance a history student who has studied the Russian revolution would be better capable of identifying political tactics that are characteristic to totalitarian leadership, and is better capable to blow the whistle before things deteriorate further.
OK I am not going to entertain the arguments in his book any further because I think it is just propaganda as he constantly appeals to his audience’s emotions and is grossly subjective in his arguments; he also misrepresents the formal education system as there is an obvious gap between fact and fiction.
He suggests that his alternative education system is better than the current one. And I don’t think that there is much difference in the 1993 and 2012 system of education considering that I am speaking from the backdrop of a third world country and he speaks from a developed country - which is blessed with prestigious educational institutions which consistently produce world class businessmen.
I think that the creation of wealth is a contextual issue and the relevance of acquiring a degree in order to achieve wealth might depend on geographical or political location among other things.
He argues that people go for formal education in order to be employed or self employed. But how many graduates are not employed in the profession of their choice.
Maybe the failure in the formal education system is really in customising education to complement individual talent from an early age, although it might be flawed but it would mean that people wouldn’t have to go by trial and error when choosing which course to take.
But then again how does one determine talent and what does this have to do with entrepreneurship and wealth or is “talent” just an excuse not to excel in something else? This as I consider why we still see some students excel in all their subjects, and I think that the significance of formal education in wealth creation is that it is where most people develop their work ethic and using the above argument I would say that a polished work ethic surpasses raw talent.
Statistics show that a majority of graduates do not end up working in their fields of study.
I think that it would be foolish to ignore the merits of formal education in a person’s ability to assert him /herself in a business environment and attain wealth. It would be foolish to think that Oprah’s acquisition of a communication degree through formal education did not contribute to her relevance and success as a public speaker (in the casual definition of the word).
On my next posts ( post Wits vs wits) I will delve much deeper into the subject of other factors that contribute to wealth and thus whether formal education deserves to hold such prominence in the wealth creation argument.
Is there a relation between success in sport to economic success, for instance in soccer; the world’s biggest sport many European teams dominate the top 10 world rankings and leagues and there aren’t any African countries. Of course there has to be an imminent interest but what are the merits of economic growth in sports. We will look at the ascent of many nations in sports in relation to their economic ascension looking at a few isolated cases.
Common physical features theories of entrepreneurs and leaders, eg forehead etc.
Or let’s observe the unemployment rate versus the self-employment rate is entrepreneurial flair borne out of economic need for survival?
Is it more volatile in unpalatable circumstances where one develops a survival instinct? or is it rather borne out of a place of comfort where you are privileged to have peace of mind and the resources to make the ideas materialise?
Resourcefulness is the key when it comes to wealth creation there are more self made Billionaires on the top ten of the Forbes list. That must say something about how essential it is for one to bear one’s own authentic entrepreneurial vision and Unique Selling Proposition.
The richest men in all their respective continents are self made and the successors are growing substantially compared to their predecessors.
I will still do more research regarding the above mentioned questions while I continue with my next topic for the month: “The role of unity in wealth creation…”
I will analyse the things that make most partnerships fail and I will zoom in on communities like the Indian community which relatively knows little about nepotism but much about the power of unity in wealth creation.
Robert Kyosaki
Well it is safe to say that Robert Kyosaki is against the current and former formal education system particularly with respect to wealth creation that is why he established his own brand of financial literacy products under the banner of the Rich Dad Company.
Well one can wonder what happens in the mind of this man, is he just a businessman exploiting a niche and trying to get attention or is his pursuit well founded and based on real passion, revelation and experience.
The education system as we know it has (in my opinion) sustained our civilisation for years but is this sheer coincidence?
He believes that one can never acquire true wealth as an employee, self employee or small business owner; fair enough but what is the validity of him saying that formal education is not for business owners and investors whom he believes are the custodians of “real wealth”.
One can’t make such an irrelevant conclusion because one can interpret this puff as a pass at the employers and investors themselves; does it mean that wealthy people are primarily not educated by the formal education system?
One can ask where if not at the formal education institutions did they learn how to study the markets and know about demand and supply, about markets and inflation is it logical to bastardise the system in this way?
In his book: “ If you want to be Rich and Happy don’t go to school” – which is in my opinion a very attractive and sensationalist title.
Well in his book he presented a number of arguments and I will quote and analyse some of them without disputing on their validity.
current(1993 in America) education system is fraught.
- He says that educators undermine the development of creative and independent thinking with emphasis on the one right answer.
• I say that without emphasis on the right or best answer the independent thinker is more prone to settle for mediocrity and indecisiveness. Kyosaki’s reasoning is flawed because as with all things, it depends on the context, in economics or law for instance; the merits of ones reasoning is weighed against a logical arrangement of facts and in mathematics there is indeed a definite answer but you can’t find it if you don’t memorize the mathematical rules.
- He further generalizes by saying that students are ill equipped to deal with complex and dynamic realities of our society
• I say that students are better equipped to tackle dynamic and complex issues because they have a systematic way of thinking that allows them to see and filter out the ambiguities and identify the real patterns. For instance a history student who has studied the Russian revolution would be better capable of identifying political tactics that are characteristic to totalitarian leadership, and is better capable to blow the whistle before things deteriorate further.
OK I am not going to entertain the arguments in his book any further because I think it is just propaganda as he constantly appeals to his audience’s emotions and is grossly subjective in his arguments; he also misrepresents the formal education system as there is an obvious gap between fact and fiction.
He suggests that his alternative education system is better than the current one. And I don’t think that there is much difference in the 1993 and 2012 system of education considering that I am speaking from the backdrop of a third world country and he speaks from a developed country - which is blessed with prestigious educational institutions which consistently produce world class businessmen.
I think that the creation of wealth is a contextual issue and the relevance of acquiring a degree in order to achieve wealth might depend on geographical or political location among other things.
He argues that people go for formal education in order to be employed or self employed. But how many graduates are not employed in the profession of their choice.
Maybe the failure in the formal education system is really in customising education to complement individual talent from an early age, although it might be flawed but it would mean that people wouldn’t have to go by trial and error when choosing which course to take.
But then again how does one determine talent and what does this have to do with entrepreneurship and wealth or is “talent” just an excuse not to excel in something else? This as I consider why we still see some students excel in all their subjects, and I think that the significance of formal education in wealth creation is that it is where most people develop their work ethic and using the above argument I would say that a polished work ethic surpasses raw talent.
Statistics show that a majority of graduates do not end up working in their fields of study.
I think that it would be foolish to ignore the merits of formal education in a person’s ability to assert him /herself in a business environment and attain wealth. It would be foolish to think that Oprah’s acquisition of a communication degree through formal education did not contribute to her relevance and success as a public speaker (in the casual definition of the word).
On my next posts ( post Wits vs wits) I will delve much deeper into the subject of other factors that contribute to wealth and thus whether formal education deserves to hold such prominence in the wealth creation argument.
Is there a relation between success in sport to economic success, for instance in soccer; the world’s biggest sport many European teams dominate the top 10 world rankings and leagues and there aren’t any African countries. Of course there has to be an imminent interest but what are the merits of economic growth in sports. We will look at the ascent of many nations in sports in relation to their economic ascension looking at a few isolated cases.
Common physical features theories of entrepreneurs and leaders, eg forehead etc.
Or let’s observe the unemployment rate versus the self-employment rate is entrepreneurial flair borne out of economic need for survival?
Is it more volatile in unpalatable circumstances where one develops a survival instinct? or is it rather borne out of a place of comfort where you are privileged to have peace of mind and the resources to make the ideas materialise?
Resourcefulness is the key when it comes to wealth creation there are more self made Billionaires on the top ten of the Forbes list. That must say something about how essential it is for one to bear one’s own authentic entrepreneurial vision and Unique Selling Proposition.
The richest men in all their respective continents are self made and the successors are growing substantially compared to their predecessors.
I will still do more research regarding the above mentioned questions while I continue with my next topic for the month: “The role of unity in wealth creation…”
I will analyse the things that make most partnerships fail and I will zoom in on communities like the Indian community which relatively knows little about nepotism but much about the power of unity in wealth creation.
Friday 13 January 2012
Wits vs wits
About WITS vs wits: formal education vs charisma in wealth creation
This article is not meant to condone dependence on formal education in wealth creation and it is also not meant to condone the voluntary reluctance to attain formal education.
The fact is; everyone wants to know what is that which distinguishes the poor from the wealthy besides money.
Formal education’s role in the the advent of Oprah Winfrey
Oprah for example is one of the richest women in the world and has never denied the fact that her education was instrumental in launching her career as a world renowned public figure. She even established an academy for girls practically right behind my back yard in South Africa this indeed shows how much she values education.
She studied a course in Tennessee University through a scholarship which is testament to her academic brilliance. Considering that Oprah was in that time an “black American” in a Caucasian dominated environment she needed to have a bargaining tool that would atone the stereotypes surrounding her and that tool was her education.
The advent of Oprah is quite similar to that of black people in South Africa; a country which was plagued by racial segregation, political and economic repression. “Education is the key” – this is a phrase coined by many South African households particularly black households as education is deemed as a guaranteed way to overcome poverty for the black majority in South Africa. Along with historical inequities in South Africa; black Africans where deprived of that one commodity which is “education”, and this deprivation was the only way to pacify blacks from revolting against the system and a new type of education was introduced which was known as Bantu education (which was later abolished), which is an inferior; slave type of education that was meant to marginalize blacks structurally, till today the ripple effects of the apartheid regime are seen even in the corporate world where black executives are seen as ‘special cases’ and their skills are relatively doubted in comparison to their white predecessors and counterparts.
The fear
Today being in the month of January 2012 with the Matric results having just been released we see thousands of hopeful youths flocking to various institutions of learning; particularly the universities hoping to be admitted. This is a tradition which has now been at it’s peak as each year we see a surge of matriculants qualifying for University admission and likewise we still see a surge in unemployment.
Today there was a headline stating that one student died and 17 injured in a stampede at one of the country’s Universities those involved being late registrars. This not only reflects the desperation people have for acquiring formal education in my country but the fear associated with not being formally educated particularly at a tertiary institution. Although I am indeed among the lucky few who are studying at university, I am also interested in unravelling whether or not education is the only premium for obtaining security and financial prosperity.
Leadership and formal education
Even in politics we see that the most prolific figures like Nelson Mandela (Fort Hare and Witwatersrand University graduate), Karl Marx(who studied at the university of Bonn and Berlin), Martin Luther King (Morehouse College and Boston University) Steve Biko (University of Natal) and many more where formally educated or at least received a bit of tertiary education.
The ability to reason effectively made these martyrs of their own liberation struggles blossom and today we see them as icons of history.
Causality and causation
Is the above just a matter of “correlation doesn't imply causation? maybe by narrowing it down to education, we are not looking at the right variable or we are just looking at a drop and not the entire ocean. Maybe it is an innate character for most leaders to be endeared to receiving formal education among other things but this interest for acquiring knowledge might not necessarily mean that their effectiveness in leadership is completely related to their education.
In my experience education has definitely been an eye opener; as it helped me to see things from a different light, a motivator; as it helped me groom discipline and diligence in order to succeed and ultimately a confidence booster; as it gives me a sense of entitlement to claim my stake in the world.
Role of education in entrepreneurship
What has been the truth over the years is that in entrepreneurship for instance formal education holds a low premium as we see self confessed high school and college drop outs and people with learning disorders claiming high corporate positions.
We also have people like Robert Kyosaki who has practically dedicated most of his life to criticising the formal education system and he explains that among other things that it is tailored in a way that doesn't adequately train one for the real world.
But with the sophistication of formal education these days and the easy accessibility of information through IT, does it mean that today's breed of entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed in business through formal education. Looking at figures such as Harvard educated Mark Zuckerburg, Masters graduates at Stanford university - Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google.
The salutation
On the next post we will try to analyze the flaws in reasoning of the extreme anti vs. pro formal education activists in the creation of wealth. And see if we can strike a balance.
But before I call it a day I would like to salute Aliko Dangote a self made billionaire who earned the status of richest man in Africa and is hailed as the richest African in the world.
This is particularly fascinating because he epitomizes what I believe distinguishes the poor man from the rich man; which is "working faith".
What struck me most about his business philosophy is his sole investment in his country of origin; which is Nigeria, while many of his fellow citizens are moving out of the country seeking for greener pastures.
Who would imagine that the 51st richest man in the world comes from Africa this without aid from foreign countries? His business model was not abstract and complicated as he gradually diversified into the tertiary sector. His philosophy can simply be defined as passionate simplicity.
Although he has acquired a University degree in Cairo his entrepreneurial story reinforces the philosophy that all one needs to become a success is already at one's disposal and that you don't have to look afar reach to find opportunities
This article is not meant to condone dependence on formal education in wealth creation and it is also not meant to condone the voluntary reluctance to attain formal education.
The fact is; everyone wants to know what is that which distinguishes the poor from the wealthy besides money.
Formal education’s role in the the advent of Oprah Winfrey
Oprah for example is one of the richest women in the world and has never denied the fact that her education was instrumental in launching her career as a world renowned public figure. She even established an academy for girls practically right behind my back yard in South Africa this indeed shows how much she values education.
She studied a course in Tennessee University through a scholarship which is testament to her academic brilliance. Considering that Oprah was in that time an “black American” in a Caucasian dominated environment she needed to have a bargaining tool that would atone the stereotypes surrounding her and that tool was her education.
The advent of Oprah is quite similar to that of black people in South Africa; a country which was plagued by racial segregation, political and economic repression. “Education is the key” – this is a phrase coined by many South African households particularly black households as education is deemed as a guaranteed way to overcome poverty for the black majority in South Africa. Along with historical inequities in South Africa; black Africans where deprived of that one commodity which is “education”, and this deprivation was the only way to pacify blacks from revolting against the system and a new type of education was introduced which was known as Bantu education (which was later abolished), which is an inferior; slave type of education that was meant to marginalize blacks structurally, till today the ripple effects of the apartheid regime are seen even in the corporate world where black executives are seen as ‘special cases’ and their skills are relatively doubted in comparison to their white predecessors and counterparts.
The fear
Today being in the month of January 2012 with the Matric results having just been released we see thousands of hopeful youths flocking to various institutions of learning; particularly the universities hoping to be admitted. This is a tradition which has now been at it’s peak as each year we see a surge of matriculants qualifying for University admission and likewise we still see a surge in unemployment.
Today there was a headline stating that one student died and 17 injured in a stampede at one of the country’s Universities those involved being late registrars. This not only reflects the desperation people have for acquiring formal education in my country but the fear associated with not being formally educated particularly at a tertiary institution. Although I am indeed among the lucky few who are studying at university, I am also interested in unravelling whether or not education is the only premium for obtaining security and financial prosperity.
Leadership and formal education
Even in politics we see that the most prolific figures like Nelson Mandela (Fort Hare and Witwatersrand University graduate), Karl Marx(who studied at the university of Bonn and Berlin), Martin Luther King (Morehouse College and Boston University) Steve Biko (University of Natal) and many more where formally educated or at least received a bit of tertiary education.
The ability to reason effectively made these martyrs of their own liberation struggles blossom and today we see them as icons of history.
Causality and causation
Is the above just a matter of “correlation doesn't imply causation? maybe by narrowing it down to education, we are not looking at the right variable or we are just looking at a drop and not the entire ocean. Maybe it is an innate character for most leaders to be endeared to receiving formal education among other things but this interest for acquiring knowledge might not necessarily mean that their effectiveness in leadership is completely related to their education.
In my experience education has definitely been an eye opener; as it helped me to see things from a different light, a motivator; as it helped me groom discipline and diligence in order to succeed and ultimately a confidence booster; as it gives me a sense of entitlement to claim my stake in the world.
Role of education in entrepreneurship
What has been the truth over the years is that in entrepreneurship for instance formal education holds a low premium as we see self confessed high school and college drop outs and people with learning disorders claiming high corporate positions.
We also have people like Robert Kyosaki who has practically dedicated most of his life to criticising the formal education system and he explains that among other things that it is tailored in a way that doesn't adequately train one for the real world.
But with the sophistication of formal education these days and the easy accessibility of information through IT, does it mean that today's breed of entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed in business through formal education. Looking at figures such as Harvard educated Mark Zuckerburg, Masters graduates at Stanford university - Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google.
The salutation
On the next post we will try to analyze the flaws in reasoning of the extreme anti vs. pro formal education activists in the creation of wealth. And see if we can strike a balance.
But before I call it a day I would like to salute Aliko Dangote a self made billionaire who earned the status of richest man in Africa and is hailed as the richest African in the world.
This is particularly fascinating because he epitomizes what I believe distinguishes the poor man from the rich man; which is "working faith".
What struck me most about his business philosophy is his sole investment in his country of origin; which is Nigeria, while many of his fellow citizens are moving out of the country seeking for greener pastures.
Who would imagine that the 51st richest man in the world comes from Africa this without aid from foreign countries? His business model was not abstract and complicated as he gradually diversified into the tertiary sector. His philosophy can simply be defined as passionate simplicity.
Although he has acquired a University degree in Cairo his entrepreneurial story reinforces the philosophy that all one needs to become a success is already at one's disposal and that you don't have to look afar reach to find opportunities
Saturday 17 September 2011
what how to make a trillion is all about
howtomakeatrillion.blogspot.com could have been named "how to break a leg " but we skewed away from convention and decided to call it "how to make a trillion". this is the blog that will entertain, interest, celebrate, inform those who desire to steer away from convention and simply "make a trillion", "make a trillion" is the new idiom which simply means getting out of the ordinary into the extraordinary, giving and getting more than is expected of you.
our theme this month of October is "WITS or wits" as we want to zoom in to what is the reality behind what really makes a successful entrepreneur, does education have anything to do with it? or is it simply an innate characteristic?(are you born with it?).
our theme this month of October is "WITS or wits" as we want to zoom in to what is the reality behind what really makes a successful entrepreneur, does education have anything to do with it? or is it simply an innate characteristic?(are you born with it?).
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