Good Life, Good Business

Many, especially in Africa, are under the impression that business values and good-person life values do not go together. We have been raised to believe that one cannot be a good Christian and be successful at anything business related. This could not be further from the truth! All the things that make a person a good Christian, also make one a good business person. To reach the upper echelons of any hierarchy, we have to contribute to the largest number of people. Having more friends is of more value than having more money. This is not to say that all rich people contribute to society in a positive way,  but it is to say that most of them have followed principles that are designed for having a better life. A better business is simply a pleasant byproduct. 

Valuing other people’s time is critical to succeeding in life and in business. If you are on time, people feel respected, and you can start your meeting in light of that respect. When we are late for meetings, the people we are meeting are less likely to be receptive to what we have to say. People that are normally good at business are excellent at time management, and I do not mean in keeping busy. They understand that time is much more valuable to us than money, because of its finite nature. So if one wants to increase their wealth exponentially, they need to work on projects and products that require less time, while not cutting corners. Not too many people get rich by saving their earnings received by working for an hourly wage. Most wealthy people become wealthy when they make their assets work for them and not their time. You can have more assets, but not more time. 

The currency of business is trust and this can be seen just by looking at the notes themselves. Most of what money is, is trust, because it is legal tender: it is not backed by any physical commodity. If it was not for trust, industry would be slow, because no one would work before the cash was deposited into their account. This is not the case nowadays, a company can do the work and expect payment at a later date. Banks would not exist, if it wasn’t for trust. Africa struggles with achieving growth, because of low integrity. There is very little internal growth, because local banks are not boosting entrepreneurship. African banks boost consumption, and not production. The only growth that Africa can expect is by receiving credit from the outside, and productivity growth from the inside. 

If we are able to manage all partnerships, we can manage business dealings. We cannot have a “them versus us” mentality when in business. We have to understand the values that are necessary in partnerships like marriage, friendships, and family in order to be good at business relations. We have to think of our employers, employees, shareholders, and customers as our partners. The customer is the most important partner, but the customer cannot be served when we ignore the employees. Some have coined this “stakeholder capitalism.” When we do everything in our power to act in a fair manner towards all our partners, we can guarantee success. We cannot betray their trust, and we cannot lie to them. Honesty is key in having a great partnership. 

We always have to give the job to the most competent individual and not the person that you like the most. You would not visit an unqualified friend to remove a hernia. This is not to say that your “jerk of a star” salesperson needs to be at the top, because the way you treat others is a big part of any job description. A valuable lesson that business-savvy individuals can teach the rest of us is that the greatest of people can make the worst business person. The sad part is when the person is qualified on paper, but not in reality. This means that they understand processes and concepts related to business, but do not understand business itself. Concepts like supply and demand elude them when happening in front of their eyes. They do not understand what service to the customer looks like in practice. This is one of the main reasons why Africa is behind the curve on growth. 

Africans struggle to leave social and/or cultural beliefs at the door. Due to the power of image in African culture, we miss good opportunities, because we choose to venture into business with a clueless individual that has an impressive business plan on a spreadsheet instead of choosing a business-savvy person with an unimpressive-looking business presentation of a plan that is sure to work, written on a napkin. Business-savvy people know that ego and emotions should not be factors in decision-making. They know that family-owned does not necessarily have to be family-run, and they understand that actual revenue is far more important than projected revenue. They know the value of substance over the appearance of substance. 

A good life can only be achieved when we understand the value of others and the value of things. Business-savvy people know the difference between value and cost. They are obsessed with value, not price, and they understand quality. If we know who our friends are and can contribute to them without breaking the law or destroying other ecosystems, we can have a good life. We work in order to contribute to others. If we did not need to work, we would not need others. 

We learn how to relate to people through business relations, and the best practices and principles translate across many avenues. I once heard someone say that, “the difference between marketing and propaganda, is the truth.” This is true on so many levels. All we need to do in life is tell the truth in the most loving way we possibly can. The same goes for business. We cannot create a need, we can only fill it. We have to provide our clients or customers with the goods and services that they need and, if we are lucky, what they want. Try it for a week, practice life values and principles in business. You would be surprised to see just how much transference there is.