By Amanda Khoza, Divisional Director: Transformation & Inclusion, Liberty Group
“That which has been is what will be; That which is done is what will be done; And there is nothing new under the sun.”
Networks are those connections and pathways that define the world around us; in our communities, relationships and business engagements. The first modern talk of networks was technically in reference to a collection of computer components that were interconnected by communication channels, allowing a sharing of resources and information. Nothing new here – nations have always used their networks to get ahead.
Humans have lived, worked and hunted together forming networks that construct our societies, religions and politics. Now social networks dominate conversations and can enhance or define a business’ ability to expand or export itself. Globalization, free trade and social platforms have opened many avenues for doing business especially where the offering is highly mobile, exportable and transferable. The real buzz is that networks are merely just who you know until you make that count and that’s where collaboration comes in. When you have optimized networks, the world shouldn’t be a Darwinian struggle about winners and losers.
A popular African proverb says that every morning an antelope wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It too knows that it must run faster than the slowest antelope or it will starve to death. The proverb ends by saying that whether you are a lion or an antelope, when the sun comes up, you better start running.
This is a world of winners and losers and yet it needn’t be that harrowing every morning for the entrepreneur – though, how you navigate your networks will definitely determine whether your business gets killed or starves… or keeps running.
Beyond just being connected, collaborators need to be attuned to each other, allowing for innovative interactions, leveraging and expansionary outcomes. Take Wikipedia, which is a repository of information all open-sourced; and with Flickr, one doesn’t need a photographer. These mature, well-functioning eco-systems of sharing are profitable self-interest success stories of collaborative transacting. One benefits individually together with the group. Institutionalizing transacting is becoming archaic and is now rather more about efficient processing and connection rather than bricks and mortar (though these can also facilitate some robust and productive engagements too).
Heard of the “internet of things”? An era where our things like our fridges, doors, smartphones and crockery etc. will share and receive data; this with the intent to advance knowledge about consumers to marketers and business people. We’re not at this sci-fi age yet but so much information is available to connect with, share and use to do business better. Sticking with the digital analogy, a “growth hacker” business strategy which has propelled Dropbox and AirBnB in leaps and bounds relies on the product selling the product. It harnesses that user experience to provide “word-of-mouth” feedback to continuously update itself. This feedback is from information that sits in the digital eco-system of collaboration and that’s the true value of network-business making.
In the business of doing business, no entity is whole as it relies on feedback, as well as sourced services and resources to deliver on its business offering. It makes sense to start making more collaborative use of the networks that an entrepreneur finds themselves in – there’s room for everyone.
Amanda Khoza is the Divisional Director: Transformation & Inclusion at Liberty Group, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a passionate advocate for economic empowerment, financial literacy, and believes in the power of entrepreneurship to make real and lasting societal change happen on the African continent. Amanda is championing a host of initiatives for women entrepreneurs in South Africa, including partnering with Lionesses of Africa on the Lioness Lean In Liberty Sessions programme for intrapreneurs at Liberty, supporting The Mix newsletter each month as an impact partner, and joining with Standard Bank as the impact partners for the Lionesses of Africa Accelerator programme series in Johannesburg.
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