Who Is Using Your Head?

During my undergraduate days in Ife (late 1990s to early 2000s) when recruiters and captains of industry came to campus for career talks, student workshops or seminars, they give us an idea of the kind of graduates they seek. Quite often, top of the list of traits they look out for is 'mental ability'.

I remember vividly one of them pointed a finger at his skull, saying 'we need graduates who can think'. Another stated it more bluntly, "we are looking for sellable heads".

If you ever worked in a consulting or an accounting firm, you know what that means. In fact, the expression "B.O.B.O" was used at defunct Arthur Andersen as an acronym for "Billing Our Brains Out". So you hear something like "Please don't 'Bobo' me".

What was hardly mentioned, however, is the ultimate ownership of 'the head' or the real beneficiary of its commercial use.

From my experience in thirteen years of full-time paid employment, a few thoughts come to mind. Some of these are expressed as metaphors, so you don't have to take them too seriously. But oftentimes in life, you're either using your head or someone else is using it. Only a few times, both are happening.

When someone teaches you how to use your head (either for yourself or for others), it is called education. When someone uses your head for sometime and prepares you to use it for yourself in future, it is called apprenticeship.

When someone is using your head because you are not allowed to use it for yourself, it is slavery. When someone uses your head due to your lack of capacity to decide otherwise, and pays you far less than your due, it is exploitation.

When a person's head is active but unused, it is called indolence, or  redundancy. When the head is not developed to be usable, it is like the buried talent. It yields no return whatsoever.

When you develop the faculties of your head and use them by yourself to create value for others, that is called enterprise.

When your business requires you to engage others, please make sure they learn, grow and can one day use their heads for themselves, or own a part of the business, if they so desire and if you're willing to share the risk.

In all of these, the effective and creative use of the human head and its faculties is not mere labour. It is indeed the highest form of capital.

What are you doing with yours?