Open Doors

As we move into 2009 should we be optimistic or pessimistic? There are plenty of reasons for both perspectives, in South Africa and elsewhere. The ‘credit crunch’ and associated market impact has left millions of middle class people around the world feeling anxious and uncertain, not least about their savings and investments for retirement years. Those millions of poor around the world, who have little to start with, are less vulnerable to the immediate impact, but are likely to see a slow-down in whatever development assistance may have reached their communities.

Conflict, in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere continues to stand in the way of prospects for democracy and development and in many ways appears to become more intractable. We face significant environmental and security challenges globally, and HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases ravage families and communities particularly in southern Africa.

But there are signs of hope. We have a new President in the US who seems committed to multilateralism, signalling a possible break from the policies of George W Bush (now the most disliked US President in American history). A withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and the closing of Guantanamo Bay would be a good start.

Zimbabwe is still in crisis, but is probably moving into the end-game phase, with Mugabe slowly losing his grip on power and signs of disaffection within the military and his own Zanu-PF party.

In South Africa, we have a new political party (the Congress of the People) that, while it still has to articulate some policy directions that differentiate it from the ANC, offers hope that a realignment of the opposition can offer prospects of a credible alternative government in the future. We have a general election in 2009 from which a changed political landscape will emerge, and while the ANC will likely be the winners, we will also see a more ‘normal’ political dispensation coming about in which people cast their votes less along historically determined racial lines of allegiance, and more to reflect real political choices.

For now, the government led by Motlanthe, has shown prudence and caution in managing the country and the economy. The Minister of Health, Barbara Hogan, has won support from civil society and the media for her commitment to seriously addressing HIV and AIDS and moving away from the denialism of Thabo Mbeki and her predecessor.

But these are really just straws in the wind! In 2005, Shell produced a set of Global Scenarios for the year 2025, continuing a 30-year process of developing future scenarios for the global and business environment. The 2025 scenarios were developed as a consequence of changed thinking on global questions following 9/11.

Exploring issues of market efficiency (or lack thereof), social cohesion or disconnects, and global security (defined broadly to include terrorism, poverty, environmental degradation etc), and the trade-offs that will have to be made as the world grapples with these issues, the Shell scenario team identified 3 possible scenarios: Low Trust Globalisation, Open Doors and Flags.

Low Trust Globalisation is characterised by legalism, increasing regulation, intrusive controls and oversight – a kind of ‘big brother’ scenario. Open Doors envisages increasing cross-border integration, voluntary regulation, a growth in public-private partnerships, and global networks addressing policy issues. Flags offers a retreat into nationalism and ‘laagers’, conflict over values, ideology and religion, and a break on globalisation.

These scenarios are offered as likely trends in a global ‘jet stream’, that recognises the existence of localised ‘weather systems’ in which particular parts of the world may gravitate more to one scenario than another, and which also recognises the potential for different ‘navigation’ strategies.

The scenario team worked with economic forecasting units in Oxford and Washington to project economic growth rates under each scenario. The Open Doors scenario provides the highest likely growth rate of 3.8%, leading to 40% higher levels of economic prosperity under this scenario than in Flags, and 17% higher than suggested by Low Trust Globalisation. While these are not forecasts, they nonetheless provide food for thought and a degree of incentive for anyone concerned with creating a better world.

The Shell Scenarios recognise the particular challenges in Africa as well as the opportunities that exist here. Institution building is identified as a critical variable for Africa if resources are to be effectively harnessed to development. This means building government capacity and accountability, improving donor-recipient engagement, and improving the prospects for public-private partnerships that can contribute to development.

'Born frees' complete primary school

Today the first of the ‘born free’ generation in South Africa completed their primary school education. I attended the final assembly at my twin boys’ primary school. It was moving to see the children, many in tears, bidding farewell to each other as they all depart to go their separate ways to high school in January. These children, now teenagers, are the children born in 1995 – the first full year of democracy in our land.

They entered primary school in 2002, and, then, it was hard to predict what kind of children they would turn out to be. Now we can tell! Different generations have been broadly categorised over the years in terms of their values, ideas and characteristics. These categories are based mainly on middle class urban generations over the past 100 years or so, and have been broadly defined (in American/European terms):

GI generation (born 1930-1945), Baby Boomers (born 1945-1960), Flower Power (born 1960 – 1975), Generation X (born 1975 – 1990), Millenium Generation (born 1990-2005). In South Africa, the millenium generation are seen as ‘born frees’ – those urban, generally middle class children growing up after the end of apartheid.

So what can we say about this generation? They very much represent the future of our country. From 2015 onwards they will be entering the workplace, bringing with them new ideas as a result of having come through a (relatively) non-racial education system. The exciting thing is that these young people are generally free of the prejudices and perverse norms that were encouraged in the apartheid education system. They are comfortable with diversity and cherish the values of our Constitution that support non-racism and non-sexism.

Further, they value strongly their individual identities as people, their unique talents, and their distinct but frequently overlapping cultural and religious identities. They see themselves first as South Africans, whether Indian, Muslim, Jewish, Afrikaans, Zulu, Chinese or whatever.

They are courteous and polite, and respectful to their teachers and to each other. At the same time they are not afraid to ask questions, be critical and to assert their own ideas. They are ingeneous and very computer-literate - indeed when they enter the workplace they will be the first employees to have been using computers since they were 5 years old! They are AIDS-aware and can become an HIV-free generation.

These teenagers appreciate the history of their country, although they cannot fully understand what it would have been like to go through an apartheid education system and not to have friends and school mates from different backgrounds. They do feel privileged to have been alive in the time of Mandela.

They are incredibly brand-aware (Ama Kip Kip!) and mediate their relationships via Mixit and Facebook - for the most part doing so responsibly.

So what does this mean? Perhaps my overriding sense is one of huge hope and optimism for the future. Our country will be safe in their hands as they grow up and take their responsibility as citizens and leaders of the future. There is no doubt that they will face huge challenges in continuing the process of rebuilding and developing the country. They will also have to play a leading role in ensuring that the whole continent of Africa is able to move beyond poverty and conflict, and walk the world stage in addressing global challenges, particularly relating to the environment.

Learning from the UPU

One of the most interesting international bodies, which predated the United Nations and models international cooperation, is the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The UPU was formed in 1874 and essentially regulates the international postal system. The system is based on the universalist principle that people around the world, no matter which country they come from, should be able to communicate with anyone else – anywhere else in the world. And not only that, but people should be able to do this by buying a stamp in their own country for international postage, and their letter will be delivered to any postal address anywhere – regardless of the actual cost of delivery in the country of destination. And all countries are responsible for setting their own postage rates.

Obviously the cost of delivery of a stamp sent, say, to an address in London will be different from the cost of delivering a letter in Alaska or Siberia. So the international postage rate set in South Africa takes no account of the cost of delivery elsewhere in the world. And some countries may have more incoming international mail than outgoing – meaning that they could potentially suffer a financial loss by being part of the system. In the early days of the UPU it was assumed that the international postal system would balance itself in this regard.

In fact, postage use is closely related to economic development, and generally developing countries have more incoming mail than outgoing, and have tended to experience the financial burden. So since 1969, this aspect has been regulated through the terminal dues arrangement, whereby countries are compensated for imbalances in postage volumes.

Another aspect of the universalist aspect of the UPU is that it has never excluded any country for political or other reasons. South Africa, for example, was excluded from the UN, but never from the UPU. This meant that the International Defence and Aid Fund was able to use the postal system to send remittances into South Africa to provide financial support for prisoners’ families during the apartheid era – simply by connecting people through postal addresses.

Of course, the UPU deals with post, but also with parcels, postal orders, registered mail, customs clearance arrangements, international reply coupons, telegrams and much more – all of which require international cooperation and agreement amongst all the 191 members.

The UPU, then, effectively establishes what it calls a ‘universal postal territory’, which facilitates easy commercial, business and social exchanges between people and organisations around the world. (The internet also tries to do this, but excludes much of the world). As such the UPU is a fine and long-standing example of international cooperation based on reciprocity and mutual interest that we can learn from, as we move with hope into a new era.

What a day for a day dream!

Well it has been quite a day. 5th November is my mother's birthday (happy birthday Mum!) and we also celebrated Guy Fawkes Day when I was growing up in England - an odd celebration in which the English celebrate the man who tried to blow up the House of Parliament.

And this morning we wake up to the news that Obama has won the US Presidential Election! Apart from the significance of electing a black President, it appears that a new spirit and consciousness has awoken in the American people. It was amazing to watch on our TV screens the images of Americans in tears hanging on every word in his victory speech. And how different his words from the cynical, mocking, arrogant and sarcastic language of George Bush as he led the US into the war on terror during the past 7 years.

So for now let us celebrate for America and her people!

I hope Obama's words of humility will soon be translated into policies and strategies that take the US away from an aggressive and militaristic foreign policy. For now, US warships and gunboats patrol the seas, and her young men carry guns in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. US embassies are targets, and much of the world lives in fear. A lot needs to happen.

And maybe we can find some learning in all this about leaders and politics. How fickle it all is. Bush was very popular - just a short time ago. Some people who voted for Bush now voted for Obama. Many people who voted for Obama would really have preferred Hilary Clinton. Some Hilary supporters voted for Palin. Obama got the breaks this time around. He had four times as much money to spend as McCain. Let us hope we are lucky and that something substantial and real can be created this time. If not, then I fear the world will descend to new lows of cynicism.

I attended another lecture this evening. My Professor (I like to think of her as "my" Professor!) - Adele Thomas - delivered her inaugural address at the University of Johannesburg. Her lecture was entitled "What questions would Socrates ask? Universities and their internal governance". Adele gives a devastating critique of the internal governance of Universities in South Africa and elsewhere from an ethical perspective, and highlights the need for imaginative leadership in stimulating the development of what she calls 'institutional moral responsibility'.

This moral responsibility, she argues, is "founded in institutional integrity" - meaning an understanding of the institution's morals, values and commitments that is based on a rigorous and continuing process of internal dialogue and introspection about what the role of the university should be.

The address was by its nature admittedly discomforting to an academic audience. The question arises whether university institutions can rise to the challenge of critical self-reflection, which might mean descending from ivory towers!

Morality and ethics in public life

It was a real privilege tonight to attend the Helen Joseph Memorial Lecture delivered by Professor Kader Asmal on the theme of ‘Law, morality and ethics in public life in South Africa’. I am fortunate to count myself as a former student of Professor Asmal at Dublin University, and so this was not the first lecture of his that I have attended!

Asmal spoke eloquently of the need to create an ethical society, based on tolerance and mutual respect founded on a sense of a common shared destiny. He made a passionate plea for people in public life to take a stand on issues of morality, and not to fudge the distinction between right and wrong. Calling for respect for the institutions of democracy, he made a strong case for cementing our young democracy by assuming civic responsibility. Working simply according to rules is not enough, he argued, citing the bizarre ‘conflict of interest’ when MPs under investigation in the Travelgate scandal are able to brazenly vote for the abolition of the Scorpions – while what they did was not illegal or in breach of conflict of interest rules, he argued that they should have recused themselves from the vote. He also cited as unethical the 27% pay increase awarded to the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Tito Mboweni - a pay increase that is four times the upper limit of the inflation target band set by the Reserve Bank!

Asmal made a strong case for businesses, universities and other institutions to make clear breaks with the practices of the past where they do not serve the new democracy, in the same way that the Constitution of South Africa and the Bill of Rights make a decisive break from our apartheid history.

Asmal of course has been a long-standing member of the ANC, and until last year was on the ANC National Executive Committee, so his voice on these matters is important and carries weight. In the context of our current political context, his call for people to make decisions on the basis of what is right and what is wrong, rather than on the basis of personalities, or who is left and who is right, is refreshing.

Measuring, reflecting, knowledge management, M&E and learning

It was really interesting this week to work intensively with one of our clients who is playing a leading role in stimulating a learning culture in her organisation. After working together for a day and a half we stopped to reflect on the learning process and she shared 2 important new insights. One is the importance (for her) of the fact that we were not working with pre-determined models or frameworks that she needed somehow to 'transplant' into her organisation, but instead were focusing on her particular organisation throughout, and what could be useful or appropriate there. The second insight related to her own learning process and what had made it powerful, and her realisation that the learning for her had been especially successful because it was collaborative, and she had participated actively in creating her own learning.

For me this second point was especially interesting, as it validates the idea that learning is best when it is a social process in which people engage and are involved together in working to learn, solve problems and be creative.

Too often we fall away from real learning opportunities, and rely on more linear approaches to capacity building, assuming that organisations learn in the same way that learning happens for us in school or as students, and that employees can then be 'taught' how to do things.

And frequently we then get caught up in a demand for 'measuring impact' of change and learning processes. I recently interviewed Nancy Coulson, an independent health consultant who works in Southern Africa, about the question of 'monitoring and evaluation', or 'M&E'. We have shared a concern that M&E processes, and the drive for measuring, can mitigate against real learning opportunities, and that M&E has become a self-sustaining 'industry' - particularly in the development sector - in which thousands of people are employed in almost ritualistic endeavours to assemble and package data and information in order to 'prove' to absent sponsors or donors that a specific project is working well.

See Nancy's interview here:



Yesterday we had one of our Kessels & Smit days in Johannesburg, and I realised how privileged I am to be working with such great colleagues. Philippa Kabali-Kagwa was with us from Cape Town, and I am very excited that she has now also joined the blogging community. I have added a link to her blog Shift is Happening on my list of recommended blogs. 'Shift happens' has become something of a key phrase in our company recently, incorporating the idea of change (and its inevitability), but also as an affirmation of the richness that comes with persevering through difficult change processes.

SoL comes to SA, fun and games in the ANC

Yesterday I attended a meeting about setting up a South African ‘fractal’ of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL). This is an exciting initiative, aimed at bringing together people (consultants, researchers and practitioners) who are passionate about organizational learning, and who wish to share this passion with organizations in this country. A small group of people are leading this process, and it is planned to have SoL established by early next year. In the interim, interest is being sounded out with local companies and organisations, and a number of learning events are happening in which interested people are starting to share ideas about learning. One of the interesting things for me is that SoL recognises the idea that learning is a social process, which is consistent with how we see learning in Kessels and Smit The Learning Company.

We continue to live in interesting times in South Africa. It appears very likely that a number of high profile ANC figures will establish a breakaway party in the next few weeks. Mosiuoa Lekota (formerly referred to by ANC people as ‘Comrade’ Lekota, but now offered the designation ‘Mr’ Lekota) has declared his intention to call some kind of national convention in 3-4 weeks and sees this as a process of ‘serving divorce papers’ on the ANC. What does this mean? Is this the long predicted spilt?

The real question is whether any new party will offer a new or different set of policies to the electorate. Mere difference of style or leadership will not be enough to win significant political support, however disillusioned some sectors of society may be with the pace of service delivery. There is little sense yet that a breakaway faction will offer an alternative set of policies or a different programme from the current government, even while Lekota espouses a core allegiance to the ideas of the Freedom Charter. What is more likely is that the breakaway group will make alliances with the United Democratic Movement – led by former ANC member Bantu Holomisa – and other opposition elements. In this sense, my feeling is that the significance of the breakaway is that it will ultimately represent more of a continuing realignment of smaller opposition groupings, rather than establishing a real and credible alternative government.

But then, I may be wrong (as we know from previous blogs)!

Cry the Beloved Country

On a regular basis I come across new initiatives aimed at building and supporting a better and nicer South Africa. Sometimes these are government programmes, but as frequently they are initiatives taken by ordinary people, by non-government organisations, or by the private sector. A good example is the SATheGoodNews initiative (see their website on my recommended list). It is possible to subscribe to a weekly e-mail update from SATheGoodNews.

Another good example is the Stop Crime, Say Hello initiative. Like many other good ideas this is small and simple! Stop Crime, Say Hello encourages people to greet each other in the course of their daily interaction. It sounds simple, even naïve. In some ways it is troubling that we have to see this as important, but a small idea like this can be the first step in building a connected and connecting society. There are parts of the world where people avoid connecting and greeting each other – infamously the London Underground is a place where people do not greet even the person sitting next to them. This can be one of the first symptoms of a sick society – where we lose the opportunity to greet strangers.

A reluctance to greet a stranger can arise from fear – a fear of not wanting to know, of being afraid of what happens when we get to know people and share what is going on. So we retreat and let our fear take over. And fear starts to govern all our relationships. Alan Paton, in his Cry the Beloved Country, wrote about the fear of bondage and about the bondage of fear – we have known both in South Africa of course.

By staying in our fear, we victimise ourselves and disempower ourselves as people that can take responsibility for our future. So, how to liberate ourselves from fear. Three ideas are important here. One is to accept responsibility for our situation (we alone can change things). The second is to take the first steps to move away from our fear – and this is where the Stop Crime, Say Hello initiative is important – it encourages us to take some first steps to get to know each other, and to build bridges with strangers. This is the first step to building new social capital in society. The third idea is that we have to decide to trust. Trust ourselves and our ability to change ourselves and our situation.

If we embrace these three ideas we can liberate ourselves from our fear (of others, of our situation). Alan Paton acknowledged the cry of our beloved country “for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear". We have freed ourselves from the fear of tyranny, now we need to free ourselves from the tyranny of fear.

Networks – what’s it all about?

My LinkedIn profile shows that I am “connected” to 46 other people. These 46 can connect me with around another 3,600 people, and through them I can connect with 599,400 others (i.e. with 2 introductions). This is a potentially incredibly valuable network – even the 3,000 who are only one introduction away. Some people in my network are connected directly with over 500 others, so the size of their wider networks must be immensely huge!

And yet I don’t know what to do to mobilise this potential! Through LinkedIn I have made a good connection with one other person that I did not already know – Reut Schwartz-Hebron (you can find a link to her KindExcellence blog on the left). I hope that Reut and I will be collaborating on a couple of writing projects together. But what about the other 599,999 people? We all have such incredible networks, if only we can find ways of really connecting with each other. Ideas welcome!

I wrote my last exam this morning for my MSc studies in Public Policy and Management through London University. These studies have been a good, if solitary, learning experience for me, and have given me deep insights into public management theories. Part of the value of the programme has been its comparative nature, and I have had the opportunity to read case studies from all over the world. A particular focus of the programme has been on theories of New Public Management, and an exploration of the tensions between rational, linear processes and more chaotic, ‘garbage can’ processes that need more flexible, iterative thinking. The importance of learning processes for public agencies has also been highlighted.

It appears that our new cabinet is receiving some luke-warm and tentative support, which is good news. Barbara Hogan is the new Minister of Health and her appointment has been widely applauded. It is good news that she has now said that she is making HIV and AIDS her top priority (and what an indictment that this is finally happening only late in 2008).

of blogs, small farmers and new Presidents

Well it seems I was wrong about Ms Baleka Mbete, and that the likely new President will be the current Deputy President of the ANC, Kgalema Motlanthe. Which just goes to show that I should not pretend to be a political analyst. Steven Friedman does that job very well, and I was impressed by his opinion piece in yesterday’s Business Day.

Currently I am involved in an interesting collaboration with 2 Dutch people – Sibrenne Wagenaar and Joitske Hulsebosh. We are together doing some research with IKM into different approaches to the evaluation of knowledge management strategies. This has involved a desktop literature study, and we are also interviewing people. We will be publishing a paper, and our findings will be presented in Holland in November and in Namibia early next year.

This collaboration has been interesting as we have done a lot of work together online, using tools such as Skype, Google Docs and blogging. This has been a new way of working for me and has led me to see the potential for using the internet as an interactive collaborative tool as well as a search engine and a networking forum.

I did have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with Sibrenne and Joitske when in Holland recently, and this certainly makes online collaboration easier, but increasingly I can see the potential for online collaboration and working over distance when one does not have the opportunity to meet one’s colleagues in person. This raises challenges in terms of how one builds trusting and cooperative relationships, minimising the opportunities for misunderstanding and conflict, without ever having met the other people.

I am also involved in developing another project together with my new Kessels and Smit colleague Julian Sturgeon. Julian is involved with an organisation called Resource Africa.

Our proposal is to investigate alternative forms of capacity building in the development sector with the intention of developing new and sustainable learning methodologies.

The ‘Empowering Emerging Farmers’ (EEF) project seeks to develop supply chains for agricultural products that can be marketed through the fair-trade mechanisms. Resource Africa’s role in the project is to assist emerging farmers to set up production systems and to develop management capacity in the community-based organisations.

With Julian, we are developing a systemic learning approach in which the project will aim to achieve the following:

Firstly, we will introduce a systemic organisational learning approach using different projects that are willing to particpate. Secondly, we will focus on measurable changes in the performance, creativity, sustainablility and impact of key organisations within the system - an example here would be a Common Property Association engaged in supplying fruit to the fair-trade system. Third, we hope this will result in a sustainable learning approach that can be applied in the arena of land reform and small-scale agriculture.

This is an exciting initiative and provides the opportunity for us to expand our work in a developmental context with a social learning approach.

Choose your title for this first blog on the post-Mbeki era: Packing for Perth; In for the Long Haul; Politicians Come and Go; Seize the Moment...

I write this as the breaking news comes through that President Thabo Mbeki is being 'recalled' by the ANC. Well, Presidents and Prime Ministers come and go - and like good soldiers some get knifed in the back (Thatcher), some fall on their swords (Blair), some try to re-invent themselves (Clinton).

But South Africa is a young democracy (less than 5,500 days old) and we have not had much experience of this kind of thing. Mandela retired after one term - that was it. Now Mbeki, who refused to do the decent thing and go quietly, and kicked out in what is effectively a mutiny at the gates of the Union Buildings. It may well be that other Cabinet members follow him - certainly Deputy President Ngcuka will not stay around.

So what next? We will live in interesting days for the next while as the dust settles. The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Baleka Mbete, is likely to be appointed as Acting President for an interim period. But we will need some certainty soon.

My hope is that the new President will lead a more collective and accountable approach to governance and policy-making. Of course, there is the potential now for a more pro-active approach to addressing issues of poverty, crime and HIV in the country, and a foreign policy that builds on the achievements of the Mbeki-era in peace-making in Central Africa to support a genuine and sustainable way forward for the people of Zimbabwe.

We also need to move beyond the 'big man' perspective on leadership. There are people of calibre within the ANC who can move into new positions in government - they come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. A good indication of how South Africa will move forward will be whether we can move beyond patrimonial politics and bring people into government because of their skills and abilities and not as reward for loyalty in past battles.

Social capital and building our society

The World Values Survey, mentioned in my previous post, paints a grim picture about levels of trust in South Africa. However, this survey probably does not give the full story. The Survey asks a simple question:

“Generally speaking would you say that most people can be trusted, or that you can’t be too careful when dealing with people?”

with the following response options:

1. Most people can’t be trusted
2. You can’t be too careful when dealing with people
3. Don’t know

Tracy Jooste’s article (also mentioned in my previous post) suggests that one of the difficulties with this question is that it offers no positive response options, and she argues that trust is a situational concept that cannot easily be measured in a general sense. A more nuanced approach is called for. While people may give a negative response to a generalised question, if you ask them about particular engagements (eg. with neighbours, members of their community etc) you may find different responses.

Social capital exists in trusting relationships between people in their interactions in communities, organisations and society in general. It is increasingly recognised worldwide as a valuable form of capital, (although the value of it is harder to measure than financial or physical capital).

South African economist JP Landman has argued in Business Day that social capital is one of four factors that can lay the basis for sound economic development of the country. The four factors he identifies are: a growing economy; ‘re-creating’ social capital; strengthening institutions, and enforcing rules (I guess with underpinned by the concept of the rule of law).

I especially like one of his comments: "It's nice to live in a society where people are getting richer, but it's also nice to live in a society that's getting nicer".

Realising the full potential of stimulating social capital development requires a new focus. Currently, we as a country put huge resources into human capital development – essentially training people in specific skills to be able to meet the skills shortages in the country. In relative terms, we put practically nothing into creating social capital. Increasingly there is evidence showing that stimulating social capital can bring returns by way of increased innovation, creativity and smart thinking – all badly needed if we are to be able to solve complex problems in this country and the continent.

Affirmative action going backwards?

The latest Employment Equity Commission Report (2007/8) makes disturbing reading. The Report indicates progress being made at normalising the demographics of the South African workplace through the implementation of employment equity plans in companies employing 50 people or more.

While progress in bringing in previously disadvantaged people to senior levels is still slow, there is worse news at the middle Professionally Qualified & Middle Management levels.

At these levels the representation of black people generally showed a decrease of 8.7% from 50.0% to 41.3%. The representation of white people increased by 8% from 49.2% to 57.2% over the same period.

As these are the levels from which the next cadre of senior managers are recruited, the indications are not good for creating a more representative senior manager level in the short-medium term. It makes one wonder what is actually happening in companies if the reported numbers are going in the wrong direction?

While this is not good news, it does make one wonder about all the whinging from white people who claim that they cannot get jobs due to reverse discrimination.

Social capital alive and well in South Africa!

There was a nasty accident on Glenhove Road this morning involving 2 cars colliding at a junction. What was interesting was that a number of people - pedestrians and other motorists - immediately stopped to help. One was on the phone within seconds to call the emergency services, some others were immediately attending to the two drivers involved, another person started directing the traffic safely round the scene. Without any apparent coordination, people immediately took on roles that seemed to them to be useful at the time. I chose not to stop as I was a distance away, and my take on the situation was that everything was quickly under control and there was no useful additional role that I could play at the time.

This is in a country that apparently, according to the World Values Survey, has low levels of trust and in which people are supposed not to trust strangers (trust is generally understood to be a key aspect of social capital in a community). Tracy Jooste has conducted research in the Western Cape (www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0002147/index.php) that suggests we need a more nuanced understanding of 'trust' and that despite the generalised distrust of strangers in the above Survey, people are quite willing to trust neighbours and workplace colleagues.

The incident above confirms for me that we have an abundance of trust and willing engagement in South Africa, and that it shows itself everyday in smaller and larger ways, if only we are willing to recognise and appreciate it, and see that it is the people who make up our land.

What goes around...

Well someone said to me the other day about living in South Africa that we live in interesting times, and it is certainly true reading the newspapers this morning! One of the things that strikes me is that we need to move beyond our conception of a centralised state. This idea did not serve SA well under apartheid, and it does not serve us well now. Unfortunately, our current (but for how long?) President, Thabo Mbeki, has adopted a 'democratic centralist' approach to how he has run the government and the country, and has appropriated significant power to himself and a few people around him. It appears, from yesterday's judgement in the Zuma case, that this included effectively giving instructions to supposedly independent state institutions such as the National Prosecuting Authority.

We now live in the 21st century, and centralisation of state power, and indeed the centralisation of power in organisations, is no longer, I believe, a sustainable way to manage our affairs. It will not work in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Iraq or the United States.

So, while Jacob Zuma may not be an ideal person to have as incoming President of the country, the ANC conference in Polokwane was important in that it re-established the control of the party over an increasingly remote and disconnected government. And now Mbeki's pigeons are coming home to roost.

What can we learn from all this? I would suggest that sharing power is important if we want to create sustainable organisations and societies. The idea of 'the big man' is past. Further, we have to move beyond the idea that support and loyalty (based partly on fear!) can be bought through systems of patronage, and build societies and organisations in which people are genuinely committed to each other through bonds of trust and shared responsibility for our future.

Welcome to my new blog spot!

This is a space where I will share lessons from my personal learning journey. I am fortunate to be connected with a special firm - Kessels & Smit - The Learning Company, and have the privilege of helping to establish the company in South Africa from my base in Johannesburg. Since starting this process at the beginning of 2007 I have been joined by Andrea van der Merwe and Philippa Kabali-Kagwa, and we are currently also being joined by some other consultants. We have also found some great clients to work with over the past year and a half.

Much of our work is about learning - for ourselves and for and with our clients. I will share more about this, but I guess our starting point is that we take the view that powerful learning opportunities can arise when people connect with others about things they are passionate about.
We also work in an appreciative way, and try to bring appreciative approaches into our work and personal lives as well.