by Izane Cloete-Hamilton
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble."
The three witches from William Shakespeare's Macbeth chant this delightful little jingle as they add ingredients to their cauldron to make a spell. The toe of a frog (it is not specified if it is from the left or right foot), the fillet of a snake, the eye of a newt, and other yummy ingredients all go into this brew.
Before their appearance in Act IV, the witches have already played an important role. When they first encounter Macbeth, they present him with possibilities of political advancement. Macbeth becomes too willing to accept their words as truth as their predictions come true. He wants their predictions to be true.
Of course, we know the spells and predictions do not really have an effect. The witches simply present Macbeth with tempting, terrible choices, which he is all too happy to accept.
Fast-forward 450 years, and this could be a Hollywood blockbuster—a movie with a clever plot in which the weird sisters create a false market, manipulate massive salary increases, and, in short, devise a strategy to create double bubble trouble.
South Africa, a highly resilient country
But we are not characters in a Shakespeare play or actresses in Hollywood. We are a strategic proposal and pitch consultancy in South Africa, a highly resilient country with many investment opportunities. And more are becoming available as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We know there is recovery, perhaps not full-blown growth yet, but recovery. We know this not only from the pledges made for new investments in sectors that drive innovation, like digital services.
We know recovery is blooming because we work with the difference-makers every day. We sit in their boardrooms, hear their fantastic plans, and we can just about feel their positive energy and determination in the air.
The shift: open for business
Perhaps the fluctuation between upside and downside is like driving uphill in a car: you can't stay in one gear the whole way, and the important thing is that you keep moving.
We feel the upward shift because the volume of bids, tenders and sales proposals we are involved with keeps growing. Our business is expanding quarter on quarter.
Return to Macbeth: Is the expansion we encounter due to the proverbial witches' spell, or is it due to our choices?
Maybe it is too soon to say.
Either way, it is an excellent idea to pursue balance actively. I like how Annastiina Hintsa puts it: "If you're worried about your work-life balance, you're missing the point. "There is just life," she says, "and your work is part of your life. That's it."
A word of caution.
William Shakespeare added about 2 000 words and phrases to the English language. One of those phrases, all the glitters is not gold, implies that not everything that looks valuable or true is like that.
What if the upturn, the wave, the shift really is a witch's bubble brew? We can't say we are not clairvoyant. But we are practical and bid managers, which means we plan, plan, plan.
Scenario planning broadens the mind. It is a wonderfully helpful tool for making decisions under uncertainty.
The most potent tool, though, is your mind, your positive spirit. As leaders, we are responsible for driving away fear and frustration in the workplace, maintaining confidence and keeping a long-term perspective.
We remain cautiously optimistic. We treat each new and repeat client engagement as an opportunity to inspire success. We believe that if we keep adding value and helping our clients grow, the result will be creating and retaining jobs and improving lives.
And this is what it means to ride the wave, then hang ten while we fetch our surfboards.
Sources:
Double Double Toil And Trouble: About The Three Witches' Chant (nosweatshakespeare.com)
Izane Cloete-Hamilton (CPP APMP) is the Director & Master of Inspiration at nFold in South Africa. Izane is a certified APMP Professional, is a compassionate leader who started her career at IBM before honing her passion for winning business at other global and local concerns. Her rare leadership style is rooted in her innate ability to develop people. She has held various senior management positions in business development, marketing, and bid management over the past 20+ years. Izane is skilled in thought leadership, strategy development and visual strategy.
More articles by Izane
Izane Cloete-Hamilton is the Master of Inspiration at nFold, a certified APMP Professional and skilled thought leader and strategy developer. She has held various senior management positions in business development, marketing, and bid management.