South Africa’s World Cup, Ubuntu and Lessons in 21st Business Management

So the first World Cup in Africa is over, South Africa did it, a triumph of belief!

I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it was that within a short space of time, South Africa has moved from being pariahs of the world to being World Cup hosts, a fantastic story of change and something to be proud of for all the people of the “Rainbow Nation”.

Another thing the people of Southern Africa should be proud of and something the world of business might like to emulate is the notion of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is an all encompassing philosophy for the ‘rainbow people’, whilst they were filming human interest stories from communities  it’s something I wish the world’s journalists could have brought to the attention of the masses.

Most Nguni languages in Southern Africa will say:“umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu [a person is a person through other persons, or I am because we are]”.

South Africa didn’t have the best players at the World Cup and they weren’t even necessarily thinking they could win the whole World Cup but boy did they try. When you saw the Bafana Bafana players singing en-masse before the match it was more than just for entertainment-it was about togetherness, pride in the nation and belief in the cause.

Ubuntu is a community spirit which stands in sharp contrast to the individualistic greed and chaos that has fuelled the global economic crisis. It’s the community spirit which countless governments are preaching to us as being the way we’ll get out of the economic travails we’ve experienced, it’s about being engaged.

In our age of the “Wicked Problems”- we need a theory of global management consistent with our common human nature. Central to human nature is Identity and The need to belong. The place to begin in developing such a theory is the philosophy of New Brand Tribalism-it’s a shameless plug but something I believe in.  Your global management teams should regard the firm as a community, not a collection of individuals and siloed functions.

“If we were the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most wealthy, the most powerful person – and then found all of a sudden that we were alone on the planet, it wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans”(Bill Clinton)

Communities are bound together by belief and brand’s have an opportunity evoke that belief.  It’s time big business understood that the purpose of management in the 21st Century is promoting the common good of the brand and keeping the community in mind.

“Organizations infused with humanness, a pervasive spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness will enjoy more sustainable competitive advantage”  (Managliso, 2001).

What great stories of community have you got to share with us, we’d love to hear them.

Oh and well done to Spain for becoming the new World Champions.

Watch the Great Man himself Nelson Mandela talk about Ubuntu: What is the meaning of Ubuntu? – The Ubuntu experience explained by Nelson Mandela