There is something unique about us. Us South Africans. We love our weekends, our braais, our rugby and our inherent ability to bounce back. As a nation, we have weathered and surpassed many a political and economic struggle over hundreds of decades. And we keep on.
It’s called Resilience. And truly, it’s what makes us South African. It’s also the heart-centre of KHUSA Consulting. Back in 2018, when my career was hit with an unexpected global acquisition, and I had to face the imminent distress of retrenchment, I really only had two choices: 1 – to succumb to the inevitable or 2- to let my “South Africaness” shine.
I chose the latter. Partly because I had to still provide and survive, but mainly (I think) because Resilience is part of my South African DNA. It’s what we know.
Take our Boks for example. Their brief 18-month journey to win the 2019 Rugby World Cup, despite their double defeat in previous years, moved them to clinch the champion title for the third time, ascending from 7th in the world to the number 1 spot. That’s Resilience.
At KHUSA we call it South Africaness: the capacity and enthusiasm to recover rapidly from difficulties. It’s a toughness that sits within us; a springboard of tenacity that leads us to possibility, and ultimately to greatness.
As South African decision makers, we’ve been asked to adjust our leadership and our policies. As South African employees, we’ve been asked to adjust our thinking around our leadership and these policies. In the past year, we’ve all been forced to make some hard choices. We’ve been forced to reshape, relook and reset our task forces to accommodate a global pandemic.
Having only incepted KHUSA in early 2020, a global pandemic was certainly not part of our start up strategy. But it happened. And again, as a new team we were faced with the same two choices – to succumb or to step into our South Africaness. So, we laced our boots and walked onto a field that had no goal posts, only possibility. KHUSA risked the demise of its own start-up business with a call out through COVID-19 to rebate 100% of its commission to help SA employers put food on their employees’ tables. We made a difference. We thankfully also made it through the rise of COVID-19 – and we learnt how integral Resilience was to become in any Organisation.
As companies we cannot afford any longer to hold on so tightly to the old way. We can’t expect to harness resilience or effect flow in our Organisations if we don’t take the time to recalibrate our terms and conditions. In fact, let’s delete our terms and conditions and open ourselves up to re-evaluation, so we can make space for the bounce back.
Resilience is vital to the survival of our future economy – and in business it comes in the wake of finally dropping the red tape. It happens when we stop ticking the boxes and make room for conversation instead.
By lifting the gates on rigid policies and stale processes, we as a nation can cultivate more fluid, less rigid, more risk-ready business centres that support adaptable fee structures and diversification of employee benefits; that keep strategies current and employee benefits relevant and not redundant.
This is what we stand for at KHUSA.
We’re getting real with you about the dangers of an inelastic economy; the staleness of big corporate mentality, conservative hierarchies and poor communication structures; Gate keeping is blocking the magic. Traditional methods of business are losing their footing. They’re blindsiding communication and flourishment – and most of all they’re crushing our Resilience.
As we navigate our 2021 reality, Resilience is more than a word – it is a way of doing business; it’s more relevant now than ever before – and our South Africaness depends on it.
Roshan Chiman
CEO KHUSA Consulting