….God & Guinness

Legacy architecture may be deliberate or inadvertent. Nevertheless, leaders do leave legacies. Personal and business legacies are inextricably intertwined. Since a business is really built on the personal values, convictions, purpose and beliefs of a leader.

Arthur Guinness was an 18th century brewer. In his days, Dublin – his city – was steeped in deep poverty and squalor. There was disease, high death rates, filthy slums, undrinkable water, alcoholism due to cheap gin and deadly religious strife.

Through his brewery founded in 1759, Arthur engaged in vast philanthropic works. He built modern homes, parks, set up trust funds for the poor, hired doctors, refurbished churches, and organized life skills’ classes for his employees and their families.

In his book, The Search for God & Guinness, Stephen Mansfield writes, ‘The Guinnesses knew how to brew beer, yes, but they also knew how to care for their employees, how to invest wealth for social good, and how to create corporate cultures that would change the course of nations.’

To add to Arthur Guinness’ story, Baker also singles out the late Anita Roddick, Jack Ma and Bill Gates – modern day entrepreneurs and philanthropists – and says, ‘It starts as an insight. I don’t think they set out with a deliberate intent of creating a legacy for themselves. But it is because of the vision they had at the time…when it did not make sense to anyone else. And really stood for it. And were willing to risk their resources when everybody else was skeptical.’

We Are All Born Equal

Baker would like his legacy to be premised on certain beliefs and practices that are close to his heart. He explains, ‘Firstly, I believe that we are all born equal. And if subjected to the same chances in life, everyone is a genius. So what drives me is to live my purpose which is to enable and unleash the genius in everybody to do more for themselves and the community.’

Reaching back to his personal experience Baker says, ‘This belief is borne out of my origins from a humble family in a poor country. There was every reason to believe that you could not rise to become the person of your dreams. But the more you rebelled against that conditioning and questioned – how come that person is up there? The more it became evident that it only takes certain conditions, preparation and training. Once you get that and say – I’m not born any different. It is a game changer. It’s up to you to then validate your dream by doing the things that will get you there.’

Baker then summizes, ‘I would like my legacy to magnify the belief that we are all born equal. And to borrow that quote from Lupita Nyong’o – everybody’s dream is valid. We all have genius. We just have to overcome our inhibitions.’

Fairness Is Good Business Sense

Baker continues to detail the foundations of his desired legacy. ‘Apart from being born equal, the second element is fairness. I truly believe that as a business leader, you can be fair. This ensures you are more successful in leading people and creating a solid followership. Being fair does not make you weak. Actually, it makes you stronger. Because you get people to follow you without having to coerce or force them.’

Baker extrapolates and applies this conviction to the government and political space. He states, ‘Being fair is the biggest ingredient for democracy to survive and thrive in Africa. When people get into public jobs and they stop being fair – in the eyes of those who elected them, or in the eyes of those who are deploying them to work – it drives all sorts of vice. This has pulled and held Africa back.’

He draws back to business practices and reflects, ‘Being fair is good business sense. For instance, sometimes we inadvertently sign contentious contracts not necessarily because we are corrupt, but because we are misadvised and our trust is violated. There is an individual on the other side of the table who is privy to this and knows – here is the guy who is signing – and they exploit that. Inspite of such unfortunate pitfalls, I truly believe in fairness.’

Could I Have Done More?

Baker says, ‘The final ingredient in my legacy would be the application of hard work. I am a Christian so I believe in a higher power. But I always encourage people – give it your best. Whenever you choose to do something, give it everything you’ve got. You will ask yourself – could I have done more? The moment the answer is – there is nothing more I could have done to change the circumstances – even if you fall short of the targeted outcome, you will sleep well at night.’

In summarizing his musings on legacy, Baker says, ‘I would like to be known as a leader who inspired people to their true purpose and true genius. As a leader who contributed to the discussions and possibly illustrations that fairness is good practice for everybody. And that it actually accelerates prosperity in Africa. And that to those I could influence I said – apply yourself, and when you do, the results will be what they are. That you will be at ease with yourself knowing that you gave it your all.’

A Poverty-Free Continent

In envisioning a Prosperous Africa, Baker is categorical. He says, ‘Let us deal with poverty. Everything in Africa revolves around the fact that we have allowed poverty to take root. And I use allowed intentionally, because we have got enough resources in Africa to be rich.’

He firmly cautions, ‘Potential is not enough. And we seem to celebrate the fact that we are potentially rich. We are not. We are still poor. We have to deal with that. We however have got resources which we can transform very quickly into wealth.’

Imagining a poverty-free continent, Baker rhetoricalizes, ‘How would that look? That people have a decent meal…access to clean water. Do they sleep in a warm bed? Do they have a place they call home?’

Silence Does Not Mean Peace

Baker also envisions a prosperous African continent as an orderly and just society. He says, ‘…other people call it freedom. I call it rule of law. Not rule by law. That all those who are led or governed know that – I have rights, and I have the recourse to courtroom justice. If I have a conflict, it gets resolved properly. I can sign a contract, and I know that contract is going to be good because it is protected in law. I can claim my rights, and have a place I can turn to if violated.’

Baker observes, ‘Having worked and lived around many countries in Africa we do not have that. And unfortunately as leaders, whether in the corporate world or in the government, we are not alive to the fact that the rule of law is a big driver that can accelerate prosperity in Africa.’

Breaking it down, Baker enumerates, ‘People will feel their money will be protected. Their contracts will be respected. Rule of law means that procedures that have been laid down in a tendering process will be respected. And therefore value will not be wasted through corruption. It will also mean that everybody is equal in the eyes of law. It is not a small class of people who are squandering resources and they know they cannot be apprehended because – what can you do? That kind of environment leads to a quiet, desperate and intense frustration, which may eventually lead to violence. I agree with Professor Lumumba that silence does not mean peace. Silence in Africa does not mean that Africa is at peace.’

Referring to Africa’s brain drain, Baker says, ‘There are many talented Africans who have left the continent to go elsewhere because they feel it is hopeless here. If we practice and enforce the fundamental rule of law, people will come back…resources will come back…our best brains will stay…and everyone will feel they have adequate space in the community to participate in the growth agenda.’

Africa United – A Lofty Ambition?

Baker also dreams of a united African continent. He says, ‘Prosperity is when we truly unite as Africans. It is a lofty ambition, one would be wont to think. But the more we see what makes us the same, and less about what makes us different as Africans…the more we are setting ourselves up for acceleration in our prosperity journey.’

Baker wonders, ‘Why is it so difficult for a Cameroonian to fly into Kenya, and vice versa, than to go to the US? Why is it difficult for a Ugandan to work in Kenya? Or a Kenyan to work in Tanzania? This whole process of visas and residence is retrogressive. We think of implementing one currency across Africa…of course we can decide that. But there is always an articulation of difficulty. Who are we waiting for to tell us to get on with it?’

Baker draws parallels with the USA. ‘The landmass in USA may be equal, and they are only 30% of the population of Africa. And they live a much better quality of life. Why? They are united. They fought their civil wars in the 1700s. But once that was done and they came together, they have done everything possible through their constitution and legal processes to make sure they preserve their unity. An absence of unity in Africa is our biggest impediment to making great progress that we would have had so far. A United Africa is necessary so that we can exploit our true potential and turn that into prosperity.’

Africa’s Leadership Mystery

Calling it Africa’s recurrent quagmire, Baker zeroes in on the impact of leadership in Africa. He says, ‘We have talented people. So that is not the issue. We have masses of people who are desperate to be lifted out of poverty. But leadership at every institutional level has been disappointing.’

Baker believes that an inadequate leadership in Corporate Africa has encouraged capital flight. ‘Because leadership has been disappointing – especially with ethical and integrity issues – the owners of capital walk away from us,’ he claims. ‘So African businesses cannot be as big as their global counterparts.’

Of political governance, Baker says, ‘Leadership in Africa is a major catalyst to the perennial crises. Either we just have not seen a need to create attention and demand for the quality of leadership we desire as Africans; or people are so poor and they have given up.’

Baker urges, ‘But we have to sometimes step back and say – We have the belief. We have the resources. We have the intellect. Why do we allow a few people to keep us in chains? That kind of environment where we are just disorganized, we are repeating ourselves all the time, not moving… is not good.’

Putting Africa’s leadership crisis under a microscope, Baker points out, ‘From the time of independence, every good leader who either ended up being shot or removed from power had the same intent – to build Africa. So clearly there is a leadership mystery which we need to urgently resolve.’

A Prosperous Africa

Baker concludes by underlining the factors that will bring to bear a Prosperous African continent. Referring to them as the signs of prosperity, he says, ‘If there is rule of law, if we deal with poverty, pursue the agenda of a United Africa, and install a good political and business leadership…we are then on solid ground. The rest…we can build.’

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Excerpt from Baker’s Feature: ‘CCA: BUILDING AFRICA ‘ Sustainable Business Coffeetable book