GETTING OVER THE 3RD WORLD SUCCESS PSYCHOLOGY

As a student of politics and international relation I learnt in school that the primary psychological disposition of most if not all 3rd world countries have always been to catch up. While this has been the disposition of most African economies it is impossible to deny that it hasn’t also been the disposition of the average African business. This been the case, the approach would have been a good one if development was a fixed position in time and space but unfortunately this isn’t the case. And unfortunately so, over the last 60 years, our so called catch-up psychology is yet to pay off and for most of it, most African economies and businesses have been eating from the bottom of the pot, left with nothing but scrap.

However there is a need for what I call the 3rd world success psychology. This shouldn’t be confused with sheer economic materialism drive as many tend to confuse success with materialism these days, although with success does come material wealth. One thing that African businesses and the continental economy as a whole must realize is that our primary approach toward economy and business which is influenced by the catch-up psychology isn’t going to work because by the time we think we have caught-up we would only wake up to realize that we have been left behind once again hence the need for us to review our approach and precepts towards business growth and economic development.

When it comes to business development or economic growth psychology does play a crucial role as a determining factor which dictates how far one can or can’t go and as growing economy or business we seem to be better placed unlike what many would think to achieve success faster than most. I know this sounds clique but actually it is true. For starters as come-ups we already have a blueprint of what works and what doesn’t and likewise we have the pages of history full lessons of success and failures and how best to avoid them thus this put us in a vantage position. However more than this, is something fundamental which can be traced to the very nature of man himself which is that when men/businesses/ economy have gotten to a certain point, they have a tendency to get comfortable and become ok with the status quo and also try to perpetuate the continued existence of this status quo that has them on top. And with this status quo comes an acceptable knowledge base and behavioral pattern. As a matter of fact each and every economic or social status quo is built and driven by what they deem as an acceptable knowledge base and social behavior.
As upcoming business or economies it is fundamental that we understand that as long as we continue to work within the framework of the accepted knowledge base we cannot really go as far as we may truly desire. My kind of 3rd world business psychology is one that says that we shouldn’t be afraid to go where no one has gone before and it starts by going past the knowledge of today and in quest of the knowledge of tomorrow which in turn will demand some level of research and development.

As growing businesses and economies it is not ok for us to be ok with the global business templates because to do so will only imply that we will only remain at the periphery of the global hierarchy of states and society. Rather we must reach beyond the comfort and confines of today and press forth for new ideas, new thesis or better still combing two seemingly opposite ideas to beget a new synthesis because unless we do so, we will never discover anything new which will propel us to the position where we can easily reap the good form the global market. To survive either in business or in the global economy one thing is central; a competitive advantage and how can we have any form of an effective competitive advantage if we refuse to entertain new ideas of how to do things? Man isn’t the strongest of animals as you know but he appears to be amongst the most surviving specie after the crocodile and the reason for his survival can be found in his ability to always reach forth for something new. The same principle applies to business and economic growth, as come-ups we must never be scared to go into the dark where many haven’t ventured, we must not be scared to blaze new trails and new paths. We must learn to work with the present structure but the aim of going beyond it. We must ceaselessly put forward new theories, new philosophies and start to entertain nascent ideas and concepts and in doing so we must never be scared to fail as well. Contrary to what you many think it is good and healthy to fail like they say a smooth sea never made a good sailor.

My opinion about 3rd business and success psychology is one that is far from catch-up but one steep in venturing into the dark of new ideas and new thoughts and ways of doing things and as a matter of fact I am not the only one who shares this opinion; Google ventured into uncharted territories and came out a success, so did apple et al. so what are we waiting for?