The strength of a man!

The strength of a man is his character. The beauty of a woman is the comfort she brings.

Allan Bukusi  

How to create a productive citizen @ sixteen!

1.       Teach them to fear of God.

2.       Teach them to love their country and their fellow citizen.

3.       Teach them to live with purpose, and

4.       Teach them a trade before the age of sixteen.

Allan Bukusi

Responsibility and freedom

Responsibility and freedom go hand in hand. You will rise or fall to the level of authority and privilege you are able to handle the two.

Allan Bukusi

Whom should I believe?

A pill that took a lifetime of research can cure you in a few days. What some people call a miracle, others call planning. What some call luck, others claim to be hard work. What some call punishment, others call character. Whom should I believe?

Allan Bukusi

THE LOST DECADE

LEADERSHIP IN KENYA: THE LOST DECADE

Thirty-five years after independent, Kenya embarked on an ambitious scheme to reorganize the demographic structure of its productive workforce with dire consequences. One generation after independence, the nation got rid of its (senior) employees and deactivated their participation in the economy. At the time, few people realized the socio-economic impact of slewing off the cream of Kenya productive and most experienced workers would have on the nation's future. In one short decade, the country dismissed its entire leadership potential, talent and competence developed over nearly 30 years and put them out to pasture.

Most of the employees who were retired, retrenched or rendered redundant between 1995-2005 had started work in independent Kenya in their early 20s. They would face the sack 35 years later. By that time however, they had worked hard to develop work, employment and leadership skills to take over jobs held by foreigners  in government and private business. This generation carried Kenya through the Kenyanization programs of the 1970's and 80's. Through strategic leadership development training occupied senior positions in government, private enterprise and national leadership. This generation that struggled to give the nation socio-economic feet, and a national global identity would be shunted out of office under the guise of a "golden handshake" to make way for a younger more talented workforce.

Despite the assumed financial "savings" made by retiring senior staff, the cost of the loss of top leadership to an organization may be irreversible especially if it happens entirely and suddenly – as it did in the lost decade. A whole generation of top leadership was evicted in a masterful stroke of economic logic. The cost of that lack of wisdom is painfully evident today. There is a dearth of national leadership competence between 50-75 years old in national life. This has distressing social implications as life expectancy rises dramatically over time. What happened to the lost generation?  

RETIREMENT, RETRENCHMENT & REDUNDANCY

The retrenchment programs started as a dribble with multinational corporations drawing first blood by sending home senior employees aged forty over. The thinking may have been that they were becoming too expensive to maintain. The movement grew in steam and status as more local organizations began to believe that their monetary problems could be solved by getting rid of old, high cost, top management. By the time the government felt the pressure to comply with restructuring demands, they produced the famous "golden handshake era to facilitate, fast track and cushion the ejection of the victims from leadership.  By the time, the government was done; voluntary retirement schemes and pre-retirement programs had become the vogue in the private sector.

By the time the lost decade was coming to an end, employee sense of job security was at an all-time low as some first time employees experienced retrenchment on their first job, while not a few older employees had been retrenched two or three times. It did not help that major national corporations at the time began their "privatization"  and downsizing programs that deprived thousands of employees  their jobs and deprived thousand more of potential jobs. The net effect of this period in the economy was to literally throw away the most experienced human capital investment and provide little hope for generation Y employees.

THE LOST GENERATION

Unfortunately, the lost generation were not prepared for retirement. They certainly did not feel old, retired or redundant. Many of the lost generation were retired when their children were still in school. Many still had mortgages to pay. Many had not built homes in the village, nor owned homes in the city. Many had no savings to speak of. Most had no knowledge of enterprise and spent most of the retirement money within a year on meaningless economic activity. Many of the lost generation retreated from the socio-economic mainstream into the village and were sidelined from social leadership issues. Without economic power, many of the lost generation lost their voice, authority and respect in family and social affairs, giving rise to the challenges of generation Y and a new constitution.

SOCIAL COST

Suddenly, all over the country, in every village, returned former employees who made an attempt to start life afresh. Many families received disempowered fathers and mothers, who were suddenly unable to provide for their needs. After the gravy train of the golden handshake ran out, the lost generation began to sell lands and properties to recover their self-esteem only further disenfranchising the next generation.  There can be no greater cost to society than a forty year old parent unable to find employment and incapable of enterprise whom society has rendered redundant!

ECONOMIC COST

Millions of non-productive shillings were pumped into the economy as former employees tried their hand at enterprise after a quarter century as employees. The event was comically catastrophic as many employees bought matatus, shops, and started building houses they never finished in a desperate bid to salvage their social status and secure their future income. There is very little more costly to an economy than wasted resources that increase the debt burden of the people.  

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT LOSS

By far the greatest cost the country incurs by "early-retirement" programs is the loss of mature national leadership. In the first 25 years of a citizen's life, he (or she) grows up in a family and consumes national resources. In the next 25 years the (working) citizen generates wealth through employment and enterprise to feed his own family. Between 50- 75 years, citizens having completed brining up their families, generate wealth for the nation. In other words, if the employment and enterprise is well managed, the most profitable citizen in a nation is the one who remains productive between 50-75 years of age! Such a citizen produces more value than he consumes.  If this citizen keeps busy, he also has the moral authority and economic power to provide and determine social leadership.  

 LESSONS FROM THE LOST DECADE

First, retirement at 50 makes a complete nonsense of a nation's investment in education. It takes 20 years to educate an employee (or entrepreneur). By the time they have generated enough wealth to cover the cost of their education they are already close to 50 years old. Retiring at 50 is NOT in the public interest neither does it make economic sense.

Second , employees urgently need enterprise skills. Employees generate national wealth, but are also the main consumers of that wealth. The lack of enterprise skills among employees perpetuates poverty as they consume ALL they produce and create no personal wealth at all.

Third, national leadership policy requiring senior citizens to retire even when they have the capacity and competence to generate wealth needs to be revoked and revised to keep senior citizens included and active in the economy and able to engage and facilitate stability in society. If this policy is not reviewed, it will mean that Kenya (as may now be happening) will perpetually be ruled by young leaders with economic sense and professional competence, but completely devoid of the wisdom of elders whose traditional role was to safeguard the welfare of the whole society.

The nation may need to urgently review its leadership development strategy to facilitate transformation. The events of the lost decade may not have been economically sound, but may also lead to a leadership catastrophe the nation may struggle with for many years to come.  Today's leadership challenges (in Africa) may be a result of insensitive treatment of leadership development strategy in the recent past. However, one myth the lost decade has helped to explode is that (national) leadership is cheap, easy to make and can be quickly produced by a set of certificates.

Allan Bukusi, 2013

Why are many businesses not profitable?

Running a business is an ability. Generating a profit is a skill.

 

Allan Bukusi

What is Transforming Africa all about?

TRANSFORMING AFRICA

Africa will not be transformed by technology or transitional government; neither will religion bring release or relief to the nation unless every man and woman rises to live, think and be more than any law requires. Not by armies and politics, but by intelligence, intent and integrity will the nation become a vibrant God fearing, socio-economic enterprise.

This Africa cannot be forced to be. This Africa must come from the heart. It must be built, not by free slaves, but by the free minds of men. Not by people with education, but by people with spirit and dedication. Not by competition, but by competence. Not in compromise, but in collaboration. Not by men with power, but by men of vision. Not by minerals and natural resources, but by wisdom to manage wealth. By dignity, industry and self-respect will its foundations be laid.

To transform Africa is to start enterprise, to create wealth and to produce value. To transform Africa is to accept responsibility for change. It is to innovate, not live in the past, and not live in fear of the state or the tax rate. To transform Africa is to feel the pride of a nation, to be a blessing and not a burden of creation.  To have an attitude of gratitude and the discipline to work.

This is the Africa I live to see, work for and, if need be, die for. This Africa is free to be all that God made it to be. Where people do not earn a right to live, but have the character to work. Not where democracy reigns, but where people rule in the fear of God. Not where people make plans to receive, but work hard to get and to give. Not where food is always needed, but where enough is always planted.

This is the Africa God has given me, the Africa that was meant to be. Not where a man is free and women seek liberty, but where both men and women accept responsibility.  This is my Africa; a land where sons and daughters, born to the family, live to be citizens and do not need to flee. Where all men are saved from the sin of self-pity and the fear of poverty. This Africa I want to see. This Africa is a blessing to me. This Africa I am proud to be.

Allan Bukusi

Why MEN need to LEAD!

WHY MEN NEED TO LEAD

Allan addressing MEN at The Game Changer Forum, October 2013, in Nairobi

As the opening trainer on this program, I felt a great burden to "justify" why the program is worthwhile. I asked God to help me see if such a justification does in fact exist. My struggle was, "How could I speak to men in private and go out and tell the public I have a message just for MEN?". In today's era, that could easily come across as "sexist".  How would I be able to face a woman, after this session, and explain that the message was, "just for MEN" (as opposed to women) and that I would do it again if I needed to.

I secretly hoped that there would be some women here today so that they can go tell other women that there is a good reason why this program is for men. And that the program is NOT a male chauvinist gathering of an extreme sect of fanatical, conservative Christian men who profess a confused doctrine of self-righteousness leveled against women's empowerment.

In my struggle, I was led back to Genesis, to examine the foundations of humanity. This was so important to me that I suspended all preparations for this training until I had satisfactorily justified this program to myself.  I also invite you to wrestle with the same question and prove me wrong. But if I am not wrong, then we need to submit and commit to be the urgently needed MEN in our world today.

THE GENESIS ACCOUNT;  Gen 1-26-28. Gen 2.25

So what does this account translate to in leadership terms? God created all things, gave men and women equal status and gave them responsibility to rule over everything he had created.  God made them leaders over animals, birds, fish and every living thing. He made men and women equals. They were both naked and were not ashamed embarrassed or demeaned by each other in any way. In other words, there was no advantage of one over the other. I am not sure there is anything that makes two people more equal than when they find equality when stripped of everything – degrees, clothes, jobs, houses and cars. The only concept that comes close to that kind of equality is the equality found in a marriage between  a woman and a man. A man should not be ashamed, embarrassed or believe themselves to be exalted to be a man. While a woman should not be ashamed, embarrassed or feel self-righteous because she is a woman! God gave both Adam and Eve the same (equal) command; be fruitful, multiply, dominate and subdue the earth.

KEY LEADERSHIP WORDS; Rule, dominion, subdue

While "rule" and "dominion" are fairly straightforward leadership terms. Subdue is not. Subdue implies the existence of  "wild, unschooled,  corrupt or incomplete circumstances. It implies potential growth that could become malignant and in danger of becoming chaotic or mutant. Things that need to be subdued, need to be tamed and transformed. God, in fact, sent both man and woman on a mission to complete the job of creation, create order and transform the world into what He intended it to be. If man did not take responsibility to tame and transform the  world , wild growth, corruption, decadence and decay would soon overtake  and destroy not only what God had made, but what he intended to be made.  Ponder this; the dysfunctional state of the world today may be evidence of the urgent need for leadership & transformation!

So what happened next after Gods initial instructions?  THE FALL

Everything went well for Adam and Eve until Satan showed up. His objective; "to confuse the leadership team".  Satan accomplished his mission and so followed the first incident of the most embarrassing statement in the history of MEN everywhere. You know the statement it reads, "The woman made me do it". Satan thought he had won. But that was before half time. The game was about to change.  Gen 3: 1-7

HALFTIME: The Game Changer

Genesis 3: 8-19. There are many lessons that come out of this passage, but we shall focus on those that lend themselves to the challenges of leadership. (Meditate on verses 16 & 17.

1.       Everybody's responsibility is nobody's duty. Neither the woman nor the man accepted the blame for what had happened.

2.       The Man and Woman had failed but God did NOT withdraw their leadership responsibility. God punished all parties concerned, stated the end, (re)defined the goal, clarified roles, re-stated responsibility, reassigned authority and gave specific tasks to each person to occupy and not confuse them. Amazingly, corporate leaders do this all the time. The mission is not abandoned because of a single failure!

3.       The author of the first human leadership crisis was Satan. He refused to submit to God and convinced Eve not to submit to God. Eve then encouraged her husband not to submit to God. However, Satan  was not entirely to blame for man's problems. Both Adam and Eve had independently, jointly and severally disobeyed Gods command. To obey is to submit. What men and many women need to know today is that to SUBMIT is a condition of leadership (see the relationship between Father, Son & Holy Spirit)

4.       New responsibility emerged for Adam to rule over Eve! Man and woman were given specific responsibility, empowerment and authority pegged to accountability. Adam was given authority to provide leadership. If men do not lead, law and order will collapse, chaos will reign and people will go wild. The leadership role for women, will be addressed at the "Women of Purpose" seminar, but the specific message for men is to take authority, take charge and lead humanity! Men need to lead, order and transform the earth. Never again can a man say, "The woman made me do it". God requires leadership from men - first. Clearly, the game (of life) had changed.

THE CHALLENGE FOR MEN

1.       The challenge men face today is no ordinary challenge. It requires a "double portion" of conviction, courage and competence to lead a person who is your complete and capable equal. You can work hard to appear better, but unless they submit, you are both damned and there is very little you can do. However, if they do submit, you have a greater responsibility to provide for them (Leadership is provision).  This, in modern terms, is a "catch 22" situation. It is a delicate situation where you must pay a high price for whichever option you choose. The best thing to do is to choose the lesser evil to accomplish the greatest good.

2.       Men are accountable for the current state of affairs on earth and must take responsibility to reclaim the world and reconcile it back to God. That is an awesome task cannot be done without the skill, will, authority and power from God himself. A team without leadership and without submission is a team without hope.

3.       Today submission is a dirty word and thought to be some great evil, wickedness, weakness and curse. Yet Christ himself, submits to the Fathers will. For many people, the original sin was eating the apple, but the origin of sin is NOT to submit to God. Men and women today do not submit to anyone let alone submit to God.. But when we don't submit who suffers? The answer is;- Men, Women, Children and ALL OF CREATION!  The salvation of the world was earned by submission. Submission is not only an act of salvation but also an act of supreme leadership. Men (and women) of purpose submit to Gods will!

Today, men need the Skill, Will, Authority and the Power of God to restore the world to its original purpose and transform it to its intended design. If nothing else, the understanding of this message gives all MEN a clear, specific  purpose, mission, meaning and identity on earth and a chance to serve Gods purposes in this and every generation until Christ comes.  This is, I believe, is the spirit and the essence of The Game Changer Forum. ......    Commit these things to faithful men – everywhere!