voice than a high paying one where they have no voice .
It is not the smart talkers that end up making smart decisions and living smart lives . It is the smart listeners .
Reacting Instead Of Responding
What is the difference between reacting and responding ? An easy way to explain this is through an analogy : if somebody is not well and they are on medication , if the person is reacting to the medication , then we have a problem . However , if they are responding to the medication , then we are happy . You see , reacting is after the fact ; responding is before the fact .
For instance , consider a gentleman who has always dreamt of working with the fire brigade . He has completed all sorts of courses and prepared thoroughly for it . When he finally finishes all his preparation and is employed by the fire brigade , from day one , he looks forward to a fire . Why ? Because he is prepared . That ' s why such services are called Rapid Response , not Rapid React .
To respond as a leader means you preempt what could happen and act before it does . Many times , when leaders fail to respond , they have to react , which doesn ' t rub off well on the people they are leading .
For example , if as a leader you do not listen and you are not in touch with the pulse on the ground , when things go out of hand you are likely to react and not respond and the more you try to fix things through reactionary measures , the more you will continue to sink . Great leadership is marked by great anticipation . Anticipate trends and behaviour based on data and patterns . If as a leader you are not flowing in the anticipatory gift , you will always be caught flat footed and then people will question your ability to lead effectively .
The ability to read the trends and anticipate the future and then go ahead to prepare for the future that you anticipate is the stuff great leaders are made of .
The Dragon Eggs Are Hatching
There were once some kings who ruled their people with iron hands . They had no regard for the needs and plight of their people . They kept dragon eggs away so that they could never hatch or become a threat to their rule . What these kings did not realize was that the heat they were creating through hardship was what was needed to hatch the dragon eggs . Then , with the right temperature , the dragon eggs hatched , and suddenly there were many dragons that the kings could not control , leaving the kings regretting why they had allowed the temperature to reach the hatching point .
We are witnessing a very interesting byproduct of the tough times being experienced in Africa right now . From Mali , Niger , Burkina Faso , Nigeria , Kenya , Uganda ... A new crop of leaders and voices are emerging . They are brilliant , bold , and politically aware . Above all , they know the constitution and their rights .
They would have been quietly continuing with their normal lives if the kings had not turned up the temperature . No one would have known them . But now the dragon eggs are hatching all over the continent , and the kings have lost control . They don ' t have the bloodlines that the dragons recognize and obey . The kings are in trouble . The people are now listening to the dragons .
This reminds me of a book by Dan Senor and Saul Singer titled Start-Up Nation : The Story of Israel ' s Economic Miracle . When they set out to do the research for the book , they went with a hypothesis that questioned how Israel could succeed in spite of the hostility around it . What did they discover ? They were wrong . The nation did not succeed in spite of the hostility but because of the hostility . This is reiterated by Lee Kuan Yew in the book From Third World to First . The foundations of great nations are laid in struggles and indeed in blood .
Africa has been plagued with tough times since independence but the tide is changing . The heat is at an all-time high . Around the continent right now , Chinua Achebe ' s words seem to be coming to light : Things are indeed falling apart . The temperature has gotten to the hatching point . The dragon eggs are hatching . Unfortunately , because the kings do not understand what is happening , instead of cooling down the temperature , they are increasing it , and more dragon eggs are being hatched . The kings are outnumbered and outclassed by the dragons . Even the alliances that the kings try to form with themselves are doomed . They have no dragons !
We cannot lead like we were led . Times have changed , and the landscape has changed . Let ' s smell the cheese . The dragons are here . It ' s a whole new world . Life will never be the same again . Across the continent the dragons have seen the power they have . In a twist of fate , the all-powerful kings have now become the endangered species .
When Time Overtakes Thinking
The events of the last few weeks in Kenya have been unprecedented and touching . The youth have found their voice and are expressing it loudly ! No throwing of stones , no looting , no violence - just peaceful demonstrations . Unfortunately , the police did not know how to handle this . They are used to demonstrations where people attack them , loot and destroy public property .
I saw a clip of young people holding red roses and the police were tear gassing and splashing water from cannons on them . This is what happens when you have one generation with new thinking and another generation with outdated thinking and methods . A clash of mindsets it is .
Here-in I share three simple ways to ensure that you are not left behind like the stone age . Remember that the stone age did not end because the world ran out of stones . It ended because thinking left the stones behind ! Don ' t be left behind .
When you go to a hospital , you want an experienced doctor to attend to you . Similarly , companies want experienced consultants to turn around and fix issues in their companies . However , another chapter of humanity has opened , which makes the experience a foreign word .
The Rise of the Inexperienced Expert
On November 30 , 2022 , the world changed . Open AI released ChatGPT , which totally redefined and revolutionized how we did many things and brought speed and efficiency to many of our lives . Before November 30 , 2022 , no one , save the product ' s developers and those with deep industry links , knew exactly what was coming .
Fast-forward to today , and if you go on YouTube to search for ChatGPT experts , you will see several people - some with up to 3 million views - who have built their brands on teaching people how to prompt and navigate ChatGPT . You will even see a platform that certifies people using ChatGPT . Isn ' t this interesting ?
Yet before November 30 , 2022 , it did not exist . We live in a world where experience is no longer the king in many areas . In fact , it is only if you expect the future to be an exact replica of the past that experience becomes key . No one has any experience in the future . No one is an expert at what
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