The Greatest Inventor of All Time

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Architectural styles have changed.
Weapons have improved.
Computers have become smarter.
Yet grass remains bladed and sometimes green.

Ideas and dogmas have intensified.
Wars have become more complex and illusive.
Life itself has become what it has become.
Yet death is still, I suppose, bitter sweet.

People, in their garments and stuff look prettier.
Especially on the HD screens and glossy magazines.
Men too have found the need to make themselves look pretty (or whatever they call it).
Yet sex is still, I suppose, a road to heaven and hell.

I marvel at these inventions.
I am in awe of their Inventor.
I am perplexed by their mystery
and comforted by their constance.

Discrimination is the Glue of Unity

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I find that unity is stronger within a group when discrimination against another is clear.

Discrimination is the prejudicial or distinguishing treatment of an individual based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or category, such as their age, ethnicity, gender/sex, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, skin color, or other characteristics.

First I want to clarify that my appreciation of the word “discrimination” leans more towards “distinguishing” rather than “prejudicing”.

In business, market segmentation is a form of discrimination.  We find that companies that have a clear value proposition aimed at a specific market perform better (because they do not waste resources pursuing customers that will not appreciate their value proposition).  This technique of market discrimination is used excellently by First For Women.

Our company, donebyEXPERTS (pty) ltd, was recently contracted by the South African Council for Business Women to implement an enterprise social network (which reduces administration and improves member interaction).  The council is doing an incredible job of helping women all over South Africa unlock their potential and claim their position on our economic landscape.  However they are discriminating against men.  This discrimination against men is the glue that keeps their members together.

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Therefore when the competition (or the group to which discrimination should be targeted) is not clearly defined, unison is difficult to maintain.

In a sense the value of our pursuits is embedded in the depths of our struggles.  The long walk to freedom is only valuable because of discrimination; but more importantly, discrimination was the glue that maintained unity throughout that long walk.

Hence I find it important for companies (and people) to always discriminate or identify that thing which is discriminating in order to harvest the glue of unity.

Discrimination is like the contrasting black sky that makes stars come alive or the white space that gives a black dot it’s centre.

The Chemistry of Greed – Part 2 of 2

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In the previous instalment I explored the idea of the incremental cost of gratification in greed.  Doing the same thing over and over again does not produce the same degree of pleasure, hence it becomes necessary to do more to get the same level of gratification.

I subscribe to this idea having observed many miserable rich people.  I observe their need to do more (make more money, get a faster car and a woman with bigger boobs) for the same whiff of gratification.

In spite of all this, I find that there is a way that requires less and less input, but gives more and more gratification.

I can elaborate…

I spend a lot of time exploring and contributing towards the world of entrepreneurship through speaking, gatherings and my writings, not only on this blog, but also on other people’s websites.  As a matter of fact I can get easily carried away and end up spending many hours talking about business and some of the nuances in the life of an entrepreneur.  The same applies to music, design and philosophy [for me].

My question is, why does this not get boring after some time?  I found that the gratification comes from contribution rather than consumption.  When we consume, we tend to need more and more to get the same gratification.  However when we contribute towards a cause we believe in or a tribe we belong to our gratification multiplies.

I think the idea of positively affecting a person who shares similar values or is grappling with something that one has already conquered is gratifying beyond measure.  Giving to people who share the same struggle is like giving to oneself (but better).  For this reason, businesses that focus on being the best at solving their customers’ problems tend to last a lot longer than those that chase bottom line.

When Steve Jobs was fired from apple, the company almost folded within several years. They had added many product lines and “things” that customers were not in tune with with – they were chasing the bottom line.  But when Steve Jobs came back, it was a matter of 2 years and he turned the company around to become what is the most valuable company in the world today.  Similar stories are everywhere…

Focus on consumption inadvertently causes greed, which makes people miserable.  Contribution offers the same gratification as consumption (and greed) but the gratification multiplies over time and it makes people happy.

Contribution is the cure for greed.

The Chemistry of Greed – Part 1 of 2

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Greedy1 (1)When something we interpret as good, our brains manufacture chemicals that make us feel good. Naturally we are inclined to want more of the feel-good-stuff and we endeavour to do more of that which makes us feel good. However the impact (the feeling good) decreases every time we do the same thing. Therefore we need to do more in order to pursue the original impact.

I can elaborate…

In high school I got my first investor, she was my mother, who invested R200 ($18) so I could signup for a program that allowed me to sell prepaid-airtime using my cellphone. At the time this technology was new and scarce and it allowed my customers to buy airtime more conveniently. The money I made from that business gave me my first taste of independence – I could buy things I wanted without having to ask anyone.

But I couldn’t buy myself the same things because the marginal benefit I would get would decrease. So I had to buy myself “better stuff”, which inadvertently cost more in order to sustain the same level of gratification. This meant I had to work harder and make more money to get the same gratification.

Even though time and experience has taught me that there’s more to business than simply making money and blowing it, the fact is I get a thrill when I earn money to spend on what I choose, primarily because it feeds the same “gratification” that was created by a R200.00 business.

Greed is a result of the input cost of pleasure growing but the pleasure itself remaining constant. It costs more and more for the mind to create the same chemicals to make one feel good. As a millionaire it eventually costs a Ferrari to get the same thrill that one got from buying their first car.  I call this the Chemistry of Greed.

Part 2 of 2 coming soon…

Symbiosis

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When I breath in, the tree breathes out.

When I breathe out, the tree breathes in.

Some people keep us alive by being themselves.

Even without knowing, we keep them alive by being ourselves

Open Letter to Apple – Too Many Limitations in South Africa

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To whom it may concern.

I would like to lodge a complaint with Apple South Africa for not clarifying the limitations of iOS based products and services in this country. These limitations lead to one purchasing a device at a price that is not in-line with the value that can be derived from it.

The limitations listed below form the basis of my complaint:

  • Siri Limitations
    Siri cannot perform many of the tasks that make it valuable to the extent it was showcased when it was launched at the WWDC 2011 and 2012. Firstly Siri cannot provide turn-by-turn directions or assist in finding locations in South Africa. Secondly, Siri cannot find restaurants. Thirdly Siri cannot check movie listings at the cinema. Siri cannot find information about local sports. I would like to emphasize that these are some of the key selling points of Siri that are show cased Apple’s events and all over the internet. However they cannot be accessed or used in South Africa.
  • The South African AppStore
    The iOS apps on their own are good but the real value is added by 3rd party apps. To be more specific, the most popular categories in the AppStore are games, education, entertainment, lifestyle and books. Howevr these are precisely the categories that have major limitations if one were to compare, for instance the U.S and the South African AppStore. Therefore this also limits the amount of value one can access for an iOS device.
  • LTE / 4G
    The apple devices use an LTE range that is not widely supported in South Africa. Inadvertently there is only one telecommunications provider out of four major operators that support the range that apple devices works within. This means CellC has a monopoly on the LTE network for apple devices and we, as consumers can be easily subjected to price manipulations. Albeit the aforementioned, the fact remains that I, as a consumer will continue paying for a device that supports LTE even though I may never be able to access it unless I forcefully support the monopoly.
  • Private Hotspots on iPad
    One is not able to create a personal hotspot using an iPad. According to an article on mybroadband.co.za it is inconclusive as to why this feature is not enabled. This means one is forced purchase more data to use in other devices even though the iPad supports this functionality innately. Once again as a consumer, I pay for something that is available but cannot be accessed.

These are some of the limitations on the key features of the iOS devices in South Africa. Consumers like myself are paying a lot more than what the device is worth in terms of the value one can derive from it.

The table below is a price comparison of the 16gb iPad 3 wifi + Celluar in South Africa and in the U.S

U.S Price R.S.A Price
$629 (R5475.88) $735 (R6399.00)

As a matter of fact, South Africans are paying almost 17% more than Americans for a device that cannot perform some of the key tasks as indicated above.

Therefore it is only fair that Apple South Africa do one of two things. Apple should enable South African consumers to access more promised features by making adjustments to devices, software or even policies. Either that or Apple must drop prices for all iOS devices to make them commensurate to the value that can be derive.

I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanking you in anticipation.

Vusi Sindane.

Understanding Capital and Capitalism

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What is capital?

“In economics, capital goods, or real capital are those already-produced durable goods that are used in production of goods or services.” – Wikipedia

20121208-153946.jpgSimply put, this means anything that is already produced that can be put into the production of something else is capital. Therefore knowledge in the information era is a form or capital. Stones in the Stone Age are a form of capital. Roads in the city are also a form of capital.

A person who uses a piano for its purpose of creating music is a pianist. Therefore a person who uses capital for its purpose of creating goods and services is a capitalist.

The trouble is not capitalism as a system. The trouble are people with a moral deficiency that use the system to commit immoral acts. As it were, a person can use a gun to harass people, another can use the same gun to defend his neighbour from burglars.

Money or any other form of capital for that matter cannot put itself into production. There must be a human being whom, as an expression of their freedom, chooses what to do with capital. If their choices are immoral, then that person is immoral, however we must make it clear that that person is not the system. To an extent that there are Christian ministers that exploit people in the name of spreading the gospel; those ministers are unethical and immoral but that should not be used as a basis to judge Christianity.

Once we dispel the myths around capital, as entrepreneurs we can harness it freely to add value to other people without feeling like thieves.

What’s your story?

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People buy into your story before they buy into anything else because stories give a context and a sense of belonging. How easy or difficult is it for someone else to tell your story and thereby help you create relationships with people you’ve never even met?

I can tell you the story of an illiterate 14 year old who could not attend school because his parents couldn’t afford it.  He decided to visit the local library and flipped through a science book with instructional pictures of how to make a windmill.  He didn’t have the parts described in the book, so he started scavenging at local scrapyards for parts that looked some-what the same.  After some time, he built the first source of electricity in his village.  People travelled long distances just to listen to radio at his home, among other things.  Today an irrigation system is built using his windmills; and many electrified schools exist because of his will.  This is the story of William Kamkwamba (born 1987).  What’s your story?

I can also tell you the story of a man who was arrested 6 times for debt related reasons.  He sold his children’s school books just to buy material to continue experimenting with his life-long obsession.  He made a lot of money, but lost all of it because his products were not fully developed.  Having lost all credibility, by mistake, his concoction fell into a fire in the dead of winter while he was experimenting and that’s where vulcanized rubber comes from.  Unfortunately he died before he could reap the rewards of his life long struggle and 30 years later his brother in law honoured him by founding the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.  This is the story of Charles Goodyear (1800 – 1860).  What’s your story?

Great stories turn customers into contributors to a cause they believe in.  Hence it is important to ask the question why;  why am I doing this?  Over time one peels the layers of reason and eventually becomes one with their purpose in life.

What’s your story?

The Sales Process is a Microcosm of the Whole Business

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Analysing a company’s sales process gives one a view into the whole company, how it operates and the organisational capital that governs it.

For example, some time back a colleague of mine asked me to accompany him to a sales call – the objective was to sell a new website to the client.  I cringed throughout the whole meeting and almost choked on the juice they offered us as he blasted the poor lady with jargon and went on and on about solutions without knowing what she actually wanted. Yeah, it’s a website but still, there are always underlying reasons why people want such things.

I eventually intervened and asked client where she would like to see her business in the next 5 yrs. She said she’s retiring from the business and handing over to someone else in a year. I immediately knew why she wanted the website. She actually didn’t want a website, she wanted a system which is web based that would automate a few of her administrative tasks in order to make the handover a little easier…

Selling is about listening and understanding the problem and then working together to find the best solution!! In fact, a sales process is a microcosm of what an entire business is supposed to be doing.

  1. A business is supposed to listen to the market and its customers to find out what is needed (Market Research)
  2. That information must be relayed to people that create solutions (Innovation & Product Development)
  3. Another team must communicate the solutions back to the customers (Marketing & Sales)
  4. and another delivers on the promises (Operations)

Irrespective of the size of a business, be it a one-man-show or a holding company with a complex structure of subsidiaries.  They are all doing the same thing in principle.

Therefore to get a glimpse of the company, just accompany one of the sales guys to the field; watch closely, that experience will give you a window into the company.

Donald Trump: The Art of Perception

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Donald Trump is the master of assembling complicated property deals.  Having read through his fascinating book, the art of the deal, I ran across a very important paragraph that talks to a critical principle about business –  PERCEPTION.

When Donald Trump was assembling his first Casino-Hotel project, he got an amazing offer from Holiday Inns.  They wanted to partner with him because of his track record for building on time and within budget.  However on this deal Holiday Inns was particularly interested because they thought he had made a good progress in construction.  So the day came when the board of Holiday Inns had to do a site visit…

One week before the board meeting, I got an idea.  I called in my construction supervisor and told him that I wanted him to round up every bulldozer and dump truck he could possibly find, and put them to work on my site immediately.

Over the next week I said, I wanted him to transform my two acres of nearly vacant property into the most active construction site in the history of the world.  What the bulldozers and dump trucks did wasn’t important, I said, so long as they did a lot of it.  If they got some actual work accomplished, all the better, but if necessary, he should have the bulldozers dig up dirt from one side of the site and dump it on the other…”

What people think is very important because they make decisions based on that.  The beauty of mastering perception is that you can influence what they think in order to bend the odds in your favour.

I remember negotiating a very important deal when I was 19 years old ( Fresh from High School ).  The deal was about implementing a reporting system worth almost half a million Rands.  To tell you the truth, I had no idea what I was doing (considering what I know now), but I told my client that I’d be bringing the A-Team and that I was the best.  He believed me firstly because it was our first deal (so it was a clean slate – a great opportunity to set the bar) and secondly because I kept the focal point of our negotiations on his problems and not mine.

As a 19 year old kid I had no credibility and no experience but I used the power of perception to my advantage and it worked.

I must stress though that at the end of the day the true test is whether or not you can deliver on your promises.  There’s no point in bending odds when you can’t deliver – that’s just blatant theft!