Communicate your organisational philosophy for long-term success
Traffic jam caused by bumps on Thika Superhighway. A judge recently ordered all the bumps to be removed. The road was meant to facilitate the fast evacuation of goods and people, but the bumps have served to defeat the very purpose for which the costly road was built. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE
A column in last weeks’ Business Daily caught my attention. As reported by this newspaper on Tuesday last week, Justice George Odunga ordered City Hall and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNha) to remove bumps and rumble strips along the Thika Highway within 60 days following a petition by Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko.
But I would like to delve into this scenario a bit more. How did we end up with bumps on a superhighway in the first place? This is what happened. Thika Superhighway was one of the flagship projects of former President Mwai Kibaki. Being the Keynesian economist that he is, he sought to increase national output through the project.\
The superhighway would trigger a multiplier effect by creating efficiency in the economy. This would be done through cutting down on time of travel to and from the city. The only problem was that the highway passes through densely populated areas like Githurai.
It was opened for use without any lane markings, road signs or warning information. The government belatedly built footbridges from wood and steel bars and speed bumps were put at certain spots. As usual, matatus [public service vehicles] stopped and picked passengers anywhere, including at intersections, creating traffic jams.
This kind of defeated the whole point of having a superhighway.
Now, having had the opportunity to travel a bit around the world, it is a scenario that constantly kept me thinking. I have travelled on the highway from Incheon to Seoul in South Korea. Closer home, I have done the Addis-Hawassa Superhighway in Ethiopia. Guess what? nobody lives on the superhighway.
The long and short of it is that we thought through the hardware of the superhighway without thinking about the software of the users. And sadly, that scenario plays itself out in our lives, companies and boardrooms every day.
As a base level, it happens in our parking lots every day. How many times have you come across a parking attendant wearing a bright yellow dustcoat written in bold “CORRUPTION IS EVIL “yet at the same time, asking you “utakaa sana?” (How long will you take to come back?)Only a non-Kenyan would fail to understand what the attendant is hinting at.
At a corporate level, it happens when you walk into an office with a fixed set of written philosophies at the reception desk only for you to encounter client apathy, lethargy and even outright rudeness when you interact with the staff.
My point is, whatever we embrace as organisational philosophies aren’t rules. They’re guidelines. They are the underlying plates that guide how we do things in our workplaces. In any business that thinks long-term, the methods of conducting business may constantly change; but the values, culture and philosophies must remain constant.
I was taught economics by Dr Ouma at Egerton University. It was fun finding solutions to everything using formulae and models. But it took me a couple of years to realise that he never taught me the formula of how to get the people with the right software.
And guess what- hiring is more of a headache today than ever. This might come as a surprise considering that scores of job seekers clamber over each other in order to land scarce positions. The influx of new candidates into the marketplace makes it even more difficult for executives and hiring managers to find the perfect people for open, high-impact positions.
At your company, your philosophy must be communicated to all who are working at each and every department. Each staff member must be empowered with the knowledge of the right course to take without having to follow rigid plans or wait to take orders from a ‘boss’.
With a philosophy, you will still make many mistakes. But, believe you me, you will feel very justified because you will not need Justice George Odunga to take you through a journey of introspection.
Mr Waswa is a management and HR specialist and managing director of Outdoors Africa.
