Bizlife Smarts

Actuation happens when opportunity and insight go hand in hand. 2022 is an election year in Kenya. However, our landscape is full of slogans and seemingly wise aphorisms, that are simply empty rhetoric.

We have drawn the political battle lines in Kenya, where the central theme appears to be that one must choose the correct alliance in order to be at the table. One of the oft-repeated sayings is that, ‘if you’re not at the table, then you’re on the menu’. However, I don’t subscribe to this. It’s simply not enough to be at the table. You may still go hungry if there’s nothing on the menu for you. The reason I bring this up is competing interests. There are so many, that to try to serve them all will dilute them all. As we go through our 2022 political journey, it will be a useful roadmap of how to, and how not to make strategic choices.

But, although Kenyan politics will be a good barometer for strategic choices, this piece is not really about politics.

The opportunity of the Matrix

It’s not just about having a seat at the table. It’s about what you do when you get there. Are you there to look at the fancy menu options, or to feed your needs? Please don’t misconstrue this. This is not promoting greed or corruption. It’s about realising opportunity. Once you get to the table, it’s not about the menu, it’s about the meal. Let’s put it in a frame we’ve all been through. How many times have you found yourself suddenly thrust into a situation, then lost for words? How many times have you slapped yourself after the fact, for not having made a a different move when confronted or presented with an opportunity? You made it to the table, were presented with the menu, but missed out on the meal.

So…when you earn your seat at the table, will you be awestruck by the menu, or make the most of the meal? If you are familiar with the theme of the movie the Matrix; the blue pill maintains you in the ignorance of the status quo, while the red pill opens up your horizons.

Menu = blue pill

You won’t make much of it, by being simply content to get to the table, and awestruck by the menu presented to you. You’ll deliver few opportunities for your interests, and will not be able to transform it into a meal to satisfy your needs and goals. Unfortunately, too many of us are in blue pill, menu mode. We don’t prepare ourselves to sit at the table. We don’t hone our insights, and prepare ourselves for what we’ll do once we get to the table. The table-setters, can tell from a mile away that you are unprepared for that stage. You won’t be invited back the next time, and YOU WILL then be on the menu.

Meal = red pill

The red pill is analagous to seeing a whole new dimension, that wakes you up to a transformative reality. You don’t arrive at this transformative reality by accident; it is by conscious choice, but also with preparation. When you get to the table with the ‘red pill’ mindset, you will actualise your goals and ambitions. So, what does having this mindset entail when you get to the table? https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/intro_text/chapter%201%20introduction/blue-pill-orred-pill.htm

1. – What are your true beliefs? Question these and challenge them until you find peace with their truth.
2. – Confront your doubts. Play the devil’s advocate. Ensure that you stand as firm as a rock against your doubts.
3. – Goals are nothing without principles and ethics. You can never afford to betray these, no matter the cost.
4. – Put on your cloak of courage. The menu at the table will have inducements, threats, diversions and all manner of things to sway you from your course, and your true self. Only your courage will help you withstand these.
5. – Crystallise the insights of the coming together of your beliefs, values and goals, into a meal that is true, enduring and that will truly make a difference.

After all, a meal is about sharing and building community, not just about eating.

For strategic advisory that will leverage uncommon sense and drive your bottom line, get in touch with us on [email protected]