Walking through history and enabling the future

Yesterday I had a walk back into part of my own history and met someone who was on my list of people I would love to chat to.
I had the privilege to meet the Queen mother of the Bafokeng Tribe. Memogolo (our affectionate and respectful name for the Queen Mother) Semane Molotlegi is an active member of the Bafokeng Women's Society, and has played a major role in the Nation's health and social development.


I have more than 100 years of history in Rustenburg and my Dad had patented a pulley used in the platinum mines. He died when I was young but my roots and history belong there.

I spent some time at the new hotel ( where the English team will stay during the World Cup) with Semane and a few entrepeneurs discussing how we can accelrate skills development in the arts and crafts industry.

She is gentle, humble and cares about her people. Thee is a spirit of excellence in all that is being done in this area. A real signpost of hope for this nation.

The parable of the dinosaur and the chameleon

In the late 1940’s and 50’s after the Second World War a whole bunch of babies were born. These babies formed part of a large species called “baby boomers”. They caused a lot of upheaval in the world. Their parents were happy and excited about life after the war. Business was booming and the Americans even put a man on the moon. These children were growing up with a positive attitude and even believed that they could change the world. Schools and universities were built to accommodate this growing group. Radio was the main medium as they grew up. They would lie in bed at night and listen to programs like “squad cars” Television became part of life for some of these children but computers were not part of their vocabulary.
These babies morphed into workers that believed they could change the world. Work became an obsession and for many this meant working long hours, putting work first on their priority list and mortgaging their families. During this stage of life, computers the size of houses started to appear and very quickly started to change the way people communicated and worked. The pace of this change has been fine for some but for most of these boomers it has been difficult to keep up and understand exactly how this is changing their world.
Otto von Bismarck brought in a great concept that many boomers have been looking forward to. After 40 years of working they can relax, play golf and enjoy all the money that has been invested for them over the years. They were all very sad in 2008 when these investments seemed to have disappeared down a deep black hole. They are not sure what to do now? Should they keep working and let go of the dreams?
They are not so happy at work because they have X and Y young snots who seem to be able to work from a small mobile piece of technology and seem to not have any respect for the way work used to be. Why is change happening so fast? Why can’t things just stay the way they were? These young snots also seem to be happy to work for a few hours and then want to go home. There is a lot of tension in the office and they call us part of a “dinosaur” species. Are we becoming obsolete and bound for extinction?
There are some boomers who seem to be still doing ok. I am not sure why they have managed when most of us are so unhappy. They seem agile, move fast, have a tongue that flicks and catches a sense of all the wonderful things that the younger generation are experiencing. They are learning about some strange new media called Facebook and Twitter and engaging with these young snots. They seem to see the future as a place full of opportunity. They talk about working much longer than they had planned because they love what they do, feel healthy and want to make a difference. Some of them are even going back to learn new skills and are talking about a new career. They seem to be just like chameleons that have changed colour and adapted to this new world.

In time history will look back and we will be able to record which species survived.

In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it…
Throughout history, practically nobody had choices… Now suddenly a large number of people have choices. What is more, they will have more than one career, because the working life span of people is now close to 60 years – three times what it was in 1900
Peter Drucker.

In loving memory of Krishna Khetia

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Aim at the sun and you may not reach it, but your arrow will fly higher than if you aimed at an object on a level with yourself. Author: Unknown

My story with Krishna started at the beginning of 2009. Craig Rowe asked me to help with the mentoring of the Monash SIFE team. (Global Community Engagement for Universities) Krishna was the leader of this team and I worked with her and the team during the year. Krishna was friendly, open and dedicated to making a difference. She led her team with a gentle spirit, always smiling and determined to make a difference in the community.To meet a humble young student who cares about others was a real blessing to me. Being in her presence, it was her quiet determined drive that reflects the characteristcs of a servant leader way beyond her years that most stood out for me.

The week before she went home to Kenya in December I was at a lunch with her and some of her close friends. She shared with me the joy of completing her degree, the excitement of going to Cape Town next year and sharing a flat with her sister and also continuing her studies. She had been awarded the Nelson Mandela Rhodes Scholarship. She was truly a global humanitarian well on her way to helping change the world.

On the morning of the 2nd of January, she died in a tragic accident in Mombassa. What a targic loss for her parents and her sister. Her friends around the globe are devastated and share their pain on a tribute site for her. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/In-Loving-memory-of-Krishna-Khetia/231290048223

I have reflected for many hours on this devastating loss. For any parent this is always our worst fear. My children also live far away from me on different continents. When our journey of parenting needs us to release our children we are told that parenting is about Roots and Wings. This is one of the toughest parenting journeys. Krishna's parents sent her down to South Africa to continue her education. We are called as parents to release our children and allow them to become all they are meant to be. You can certainly be proud of who Krishna was. In her short time of entering into adulthood she achieved more than most adults do in a lifetime.

Thank you for the time I had to spend with her. For the lessons I learnt and the memories that will always remain with me. The one lesson I have learnt as a mentor is that often the person we are mentoring teaches us more and blesses us more than we can ever imagine.

May her memory and her work continue to inspire all that knew her.

Live life aiming at the sun. Make a difference each day, even if it is just a smile and some kindness.

Thank you Krishna. May you rest in peace.