Thursday, September 29, 2005

11TH COMMANDMENT - THOU SHALT NOT IGNORE CREATIVE IDEAS

Awe! Shock! and then an overwhelming feeling of horifficness.!!! Is there a word like that? I know it might be missing from your dictionary, but mine has it. I am horrified. I can't believe it. You know, human beings are funny. They wait for the knight in shinning armor.I read something on the Kenyan Pundit's blog and was just beside myself.She wants to help mentor kenyan girls from this school and yet can't even get audience with the Principal.Why? Because it is obvious she is not a international NGO. When will we learn that great ideas should be grabbed and worked on? When shall we learn as Kenyans, to respect the small person with great ideas?

It has just brought so much memory laced with pain. I get dismissed simply because l have ideas that seem strange.The other day l actually felt it.Dismissed.

Ideas run the world.But in Kenya and in some offices, creativity is trashed.The other day l prayed and asked God to help me get to a place where my ideas are not only appreciated but also funded.When people are not interested in the process they get shocked when the results are not what they were looking for.

Being interested in the process doesn't mean micro managing people.It means you need to get interested in not only the bottom line but also how they get there. No wonder people get fleeced and then you later hear the question... oh my God when and how did this happen?

We need not only to be result oriented but also process-oriented. If you are a boss you need to know what is going on in the organization you lead and l mean know!!It will also help the employees know that you are interested in their ideas. But when you dismiss them with the result orientedness in focus, you are helping dig a grave where your fleeced stuff will be buried.

Funny thing is if an expatriate showed up with the same idea in Kenya, they would get some red carpet welcome and a party would not be a second guess. Yet, you leave out someone amongst you who had an even better idea and who you could pay less than the expat.

Fat irony- same Kenyans keep chanting - buy kenya build Kenya - which Kenya?

4 comments:

Prousette said...

Lovely post, you know why creative ideas are not welcomed form the locals because it is a sign that you have grown too large for the pond you are in. It is a threat to the superiors concerned that they are out of touch with change. That is why we keep having retirees being brought back to work while qualified young people are locked out for lack of experience. You only get experience by beign given a chance to work at it.

Anonymous said...

....Another small person with a big idea...www.mymalaika.com

Anonymous said...

Nice post.The whole african fascination with white ideas good and black ideas bad makes me sick to my stomach.I think it is up to the young folk to do their best to root it out that is even if we get a chance to lead anyhow since these geriatrics will not budge

Anonymous said...

I checked out the site above (www.mymalaika.com) I wonder if the author is getting more support from Kenyans or from the western world...?