“Ubuntu is a concept we have in our Bantu languages at home. Ubuntu is the essence of being a person. It means that we are people through other people. We cannot be fully human alone. We are made for interdependence, we are made for family. When you have ubuntu, you embrace others. You are generous, compassionate. If the word had more ubuntu, we would not have war. We would not have the huge gap between rich and poor. You are rich so that you can make up what is lacking for others. You are powerful so that you can help the weak, just as a mother of father helps their children. This is God’s dream.” – Desmond Tutu
Sitting at the African Hospitality Institute out in the bush, I had the occasion to read this excerpt. It made me think. God calls us to an abundant life. That’s not solely limited to riches or material wealth, but includes a life of generosity and compassion. Expressive Business Strategies (EBS) is really about ubuntu. EBS is made up of men and women blessed with abundant lives by God. Much of what we have to offer out of our abundance is our knowledge and we freely give that back to the people. It is our essence as people that we share and pour into the lives of others. What we see lacking in our world is a foundation of moral, ethical businesses on which to build a God-honoring society. If we can make up for that lack out of our abundance and inspire a new generation of business leaders whose thought is developing a business community filled with integrity than we have achieved transformation. God has given us abundance to help. In helping we link our lives into the interdependent family of God and we catch a glimpse of God’s dream for mankind.
EBS is about transformation. It’s about sharing. It’s about compassion. It’s about being generous. We don’t do this to simply “feel good”. We do this to connect with people and show them the pathway to transforming their own everyday world.
In Uganda, we had the chance to teach 100+ entrepreneurs out in the village and at two locations in Kampala. People were inspired. People were excited to go out into their region racked by recession and poverty and make a difference. It was humbling to share and see the transformation take shape. There are many moments of breakthrough that we could share, whether it’s about teaching folks business planning, or telling them about networking. One moment stood out to me when my friend Mike Smay, during question and answer, looked at the people and said “Be the one”… What was communicated is simply that transformation begins by making a conscious choice to be different, act differently… to think differently… on your OWN… Make a difference by choosing to be different in your business. I think at that moment, several of the students realized that complaining about their lot in life doesn’t really do any good. Complaining about the government, doesn’t do any good. Complaining about competition doesn’t do any good. If you want to have abundance, than start to do good on your own and inspire others to follow.
Sometimes when we go to teach it’s not all the fundamental stuff that effects change, it’s a single comment that makes all the difference. So we go, to share a perspective, to inspire and to live “ubuntu” for the developing nations of this world.
