Wanted: revolutionaries and champions

IN DOING consulting work in the mining industry, I come across all kinds of business challenges. Mines have in their employ men and women whose only job is to come and make things better. This is called optimization and can take the form of business process reengineering, six sigma, capability maturity modeling, organization redesign and development, change management or a complete revamp. These men and women must of necessity have the heart of a revolutionary and the stamina of a champion.

Revolutionaries operate by both insight and foresight. They are visionary and intuitive by nature. Champions have the pedigree and passion to last the whole distance. The revolutionary will see the future, and the champions will take us there.

The world is in urgent need of optimization. We need men and women who will rise and makes things better. These need to be revolutionary at heart and champion in spirit.

The Challenge

The world is tired of ‘chef revolutionaries’ whose measure of success is the size of their belly. Neither does the world want any more smooth-talking and debonair Wall Street investor savvy wheeler dealers. Nor politicians who bicker over who will sleep in the main bedroom when the house is on fire. Life can be more serious than that. Let’s start a war of making the world a better place not just for today but tomorrow. We have a generational responsibility to bequeath to future generations a better world.

At the current rate, there is a risk that this could potentially be a generation that impoverished the world – environmentally, socially, economically and politically. God forbid. With so much advancement around, it is incomprehensible that we have more poor people and less healthy people than we had 50 years ago. The world is sick and needs to be fixed. This kind of sickness needs more than a pain killer, but urgent radical surgery.
 
Real Revolutionaries

I want to challenge, even provoke you to be stirred to say “Not under my watch”. History records men and women who stood up and said “Not under my watch”. The Mandela’s, Gandhi’s, Mother Theresa, Masiyiwa Family (through Capernaum Trust), Gates Family Trust, Buffet and others come to mind. We need the proverbial Daniel’s, Nehemiah’s, David’s and Deborah’s who will rise and slay the ‘Philistines’ of economic greed, poverty, political mediocrity, debauchery and destructive consumption.

Real revolutionaries are driven by a desire to make a generational impact. They seek to pursue grand societal goals even at the expense of personal advancement. This is contrary to latter day self proclaimed “revolutionaries” whose sense of entitlement has condemned whole nations to abject economic and social depravity.

You too can make a difference. You just need to take your place and play your part. The real revolution starts with you in the way you think and act. Change that village or town even if it means planting trees. Think beyond yourself for a change. What will future generations say about you, if at all?

Spirit of Champions

Champions are usually not super humans. They are common men or women who are driven by a desire to achieve a goal. The mark of champions is the ability to identify a goal and work towards it. What need is within your reach community, town, village or nation that you could address. It’s not about money, Gandhi had none – are you willing to take “response – ability”?

The world is crying for champions. Champions take ‘response-ability’. They respond to a need using their ability. Mother Theresa was a champion for the poor who turned Calcutta upside down.  Mandela was a champion for the oppressed. Kenyan Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai is a champion for Kenyan forests (sustainable development) Indian scientist Vandana Shiva is a global anti GMO campaigner.

They are all ordinary individuals who have set extraordinary goals for themselves.  The point is you can also play a part. Let me end by quoting one of my favourite quotes by Wangari Maathai: "In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now."