Celebrate Your Process

Celebrate Your Process

At the risk of being labeled unreasonable and perhaps archaic and redundant, I believe that the process is the most underrated component of leadership success. Nobody cares about how you tried to achieve your goal until you achieved it. People are primarily interested in the outcomes rather than the inputs. I believe a man is defined by the type of hurdles he had to overcome before he collected the holy grail. This is why I choose to stick to my guns concerning the power of the process. The process is what makes the champion a champion. A winner without a process is a disaster waiting to happen.

The Process Define Your Durability

Time and chance certainly can happen to anyone. It is possible for a broke man to wake up and he is into millions of maloti overnight. However, I guarantee you that the same person will easily lose that money the same way he got it. Easy come, they say easy go. Most lotto winners are now more broke than before they won the lotto. I always contend with people that it is dangerous to be a leader and be untested. More like putting a virgin in charge of nursing mothers. That is a serious misplacement. You cannot take people to where you have never been. This is why it is dangerous to have novices in serious leadership positions. Charm can propel anyone to the top, but it takes character to dig deeper and stay there. ?I am a firm believer in the due process of success and prosperity. Nothing will convince me that you can succeed without paying the price. I have seen that, been there, and done that, so my experience puts me in good stead. Without the process, we are simply standing on sinking sand which can even swallow us.

Your Process Builds Resilience

The strength of any brand of an important product is usually defined by the rigors of the process involved in its production. Generally speaking the longer the process takes the more enduring the product will be. A case in point is coal which when subjected to a couple of thousand years turns into precious diamonds. The process has a way of fortifying and perfecting staff so that it becomes better. That is why all great people without exception have a sad tragedy that they had to overcome before they were manifested in their glorious state to the general public. Try and consider all the big names you know. There is a reason why they are big. They have paid a price. They were tried and tested through a process. Even Jehovah God cannot trust you if you have not been tested. Scripture states that even Jesus (Who is God by the way) had to learn obedience through suffering. When you feel the pain of achieving something, you will forever treasure it. The importance of every victory is derived from the process you have to undergo.

?Trust the Process and Experience

On any given day, I would rather follow a limping general with scars of war than a bright young scholar with world-changing ideas. Why? Because processes ensure that you know the pain and pleasure of doing what you need to do. Passion is good, in fact, it can even be great but until a man is proven through a process, his ideas may count for nothing. That for me is the bottom line. Experience can never be bought but it can certainly be passed on. Trust the process and you can achieve much. However, that being said life is not about speed, it is about relevance.

The Ghetto is a leadership Mirror

I count myself privileged because I am from the people and was raised by the people. Let me cut to the chase and be clear that I am from the ghetto and so to speak I am a ghetto boy. The ghetto is the finest institute of higher learning anyone can ever get to attend. I come from the cutthroat school of hard knocks. I am yet to see a university that is better than the ghetto. In the ghetto, we used to be told that a man had to do what he needed to do. That is what your boss will tell you in the boardroom, you have to get the bottom line right. The boss will give you a target and walk away from you. You have to develop nerves of steel and shock absorbers to crack it. He is like a ghetto gangster who will give you a target and walk off expectant that you will not disappoint.

The Corporate is the Ghetto

In retrospect when I look at the corporate world, I see a re-invention of the ghetto. The only difference is in the attire and to an extent the coarseness of the language. In the ghetto, the ring leaders were dressed like ragamuffins but in the boardroom, the captains of industry will be dressed in Van Heusen, James & James Pierre Cardin et al. But both parties will be interested in getting the job done. If that does not happen some behinds will be kicked and some heads will roll.??Ragamuffins hate losing as do captains of industry. After all, is said and done, the corporate is the ghetto. The methodology may differ but certainly, the goals are the same.

Memories of my father.

How time changes our perception of matters is quite amazing. As a boy, I never liked my father. I considered him mean, ruthless, and rather cold. Every time I went home crying after losing a street fight, my old pa would shove me out of the house and tell me that he does not raise weaklings. He taught me to fight and win or die trying. A simple message but a tough principle. In the corporate world, you bring in the numbers, or else you are relegated to the doldrums of history. Captains of the industry will only be eager to let you know that a replacement will be ushered in should your performance continue to be on a downward spiral.

What mindset are you developing for success today? Elon Musk is the biggest boy financially on planet earth right now, and when you look at him he is just a man who has decided to live his life dreams. I like what my son says, he submits that he simply grew into an adult toy lover.

Rise and shine, Africa is waiting to see you happen. Your time is now, Christ remains the ultimate leadership force. He is Numero Uno. Walk with him and leap over every wall of limitation.

Dr. Ted Msipa is a Pastor, Business Strategist, Author, Motivational Speaker, and Public Teacher. He is a public personality and a leading voice in personal development in Africa where he is widely traveled.