Mahatma Gandhi’s Famous Quote And My School Slogan

Although my Senior High School grades warranted a place at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, my attempt towards a degree course in Communications was sadly unsuccessful. My disappointments knew no bounds on realizing that my name had not been picked for interview, a condition precedent for gaining admission. 

But for the messages of encouragement from family and friends, only God   knows how the shock that came with the news could have been managed.

Myself and my elder brother who had joined me on a school hunting spree, were directed to the African University College of Communication at Adabraka by a friend. He spoke highly of the school and recommended that I picked admission forms before it was too late.

This recommendation gave a refreshing lease of life into my ambition of entering a Communications School at the time. Nevertheless, all wasn’t settled. The fact that this recommended institution was Private plunged me into a state of dissonance.

At the time, the few Private Universities were reputed as charging colossal sums in fees and other incidental expenses. Indeed, students who attended such schools were tagged as having silver spoon in their mouths.

 Considering the prevailing financial circumstance at home, the thought of even announcing the school to my Auntie, Mrs. Beatrice Boateng, a retired Teacher who has been the financial pillar behind my education, was so costly for me to entertain. Truth be told, I was equally doubtful of the prospects.

As fate will have it, I gathered the required momentum to announce the school to some members of my family. This did not come without opposition. Even some of those who would never be part of footing a Private University bills objected to it in no uncertain terms.

But as fate will have it, my doubt was short-lived. Once again my Auntie is ready to bar the perceived huge financial burden to repose her confidence and investments into my education. The story of how her confidence in my education ended is self-evident and need not to be told.

Purpose

I do not intend to run my avid readers through the up and downs of my University life. Such will be so boring a tale to tell. After all, school ‘Wahala’ cannot be patented, as many students faces almost similar sets of challenges.

In this piece I want to explore how one of the greatest quotes by Mahatma Gandhi encapsulates my school’s slogan and how it played out in shaping the personality that I have become, even though I barely noticed ,while a student.

I dare say that for anyone who has walk through the walls of the African University College of Communication, the ‘Discover Yourself’ slogan is one the school’s brand properties that will usually and consistently greet you. No one, however snobbish they are, can escape it. 

Not only does the slogan meet you while you sing the school’s Anthem, you are exposed to it once you read any of the school’s literatures.

Personally, it wasn’t too difficult to commit it to memory. As a regular attendee of many of the extra-curriculum activities, the slogan was always thrown at me. In spite of this, little did I realize and notice that this slogan is crystalized by a favorite and life-changing quotation by Mahatma Gandhi.

How?

One of the world’s greatest leaders with indelible footprints, Mahatma Gandhi, was once quoted as having said that: ’the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others’. This succinct statement, I confess, is one of the life changing and action-provoking quotation that has shaped the kind of personality that I am.

For this purpose and in keeping with the topic, I will want to couch it this way:

‘‘The best way to discover yourself is to absolve or dissolve yourself in service to others.’’

I find that Mahatma Gandhi’s quote as rephrased above, crystalizes the ‘Discover Yourself’ slogan that some of us merely memorized as students of the African University College. The nexus between what Gandhi said and what my school’s slogan states is so strong.

Indeed, while the slogan is a declarative statement, Gandhi’s legendary quotes shows us how to fulfil the declared statement.

How My Days in School brings the two to Life.

It is not my intention to unduly project myself by cashing in on these two powerful brands, my school’s slogan and Mahatma Gandhi.

I recount some of the sacrifices and services that I rendered in this piece in order to bring to life how I have lived the bill of self-discovering, without noticing.

For this to be simpler, I have captured what I discovered about myself under three thematic areas: Music, Leadership and Intellectual Contribution

v   

Music

I discovered myself in music by absorbing in the task of fixing the challenges that confronted the existing music group in my school. When I was talked into joining the school choir in level 100, the school had no set of instruments. It was my first time seeing a choir rehearse without an Organ.

When I registered as member of the Echoes of Africa, I decided to bear the responsibility of remedying this challenge.

I decided to use my personal Organ for the purpose, because the choir did not have its own office, I had to shuffle it(the Organ)between the school and my house anytime the group had to rehearse.

 For lack of financial support, I will usually strap the Organ at my back and walk through the Awudome Estate to Circle so I could board Trotro’ to school. Sometimes, it was more convenient walking with it strapped behind me than bearing the stress of public transport with it. 

It got to a point when I became so familiar walking from my Kaneshie residence to school with the Keyboard strapped behind. Except an occasion warranted that we performed, this was the physical stress that I had to endure to ensure consistent rehearsals.

Beyond this I will spend time planning, picking and choosing songs for rehearsals with the able assistance of some of my committed Executives.

As for whether or not I could play the Organ with dexterity, it was never in doubt. I have been doing that since my Primary school days. However, I discovered ironically that while I did not have a good voice I was a good choirmaster and composer. 

For many of the songs that we rehearsed, I composed them. I composed the school Anthem, counting on the lyrics Mr. Kojo Yankah,(President of the School) Benjamin Adu Kumi and Gloria Appiah -Kubi presented made available to me. I also composed and taught a graduation song and another song in commemoration of the school’s 10^th Anniversary.

In the run up to the 2012 elections and declaration of the Supreme Court’s verdicts in the landmark petition by the opposition party, I composed two different peace songs for these events. Without any financial support, we footed the cost for recording the songs.

These songs received massive airplays and widely patronized especially on YouTube. Perhaps, that was our widow’s contribution to the call for peace at that critical moment of our country’s history.

Through the thick and thins, I discovered that I was born to be a good composer. Indeed, my ability to bring this less resourced group to its feet after years of being in a lapsed mode speaks to my organizational ability.

Of all what I discovered, my awareness of the power of Team spirit and an unwavering resilience, are most significant.

v  Leadership

While a student I served my people creditably in many capacities. I was the Class representative, a responsibility that taught me many leadership lessons. Little did I know that I could lead a class of matured, many of whom were old enough to give birth to me. I may never have known how to manage all their egos and challenges, had I not absolved myself in such a service.

I also headed the IPR chapter of the school and under my leadership the membership of the association increased appreciably. But for the lack of commitment on the part of some of my executives, the group would have been the best on campus.

I was appointed the Chief Justice of the students’ representative council in the 2013/2014 academic year. That responsibility helped me to discover and put to use my critical thinking cap. The avalanche of petitions that the judicial council received at the time, required that I am critical and impregnable in my verdicts. I discovered how invaluable integrity is for anyone seeking success in leadership.

But for an uninformed court action by some diabolic students with unbridle political ambitions, my tenure as the head of the judicial council will have gone down as one of the best, having diligently adjudicated many of the petitions I received.

v  Intellectual Contribution.

I knew little about my ability to Teach until my Statistics lecture requested me to help some of colleagues out on a topic, having performed creditably in his Mid- Semester paper. This was when I was in level 100.

Surprisingly, a group discussion which was organized for few colleagues of mine grew in leap and bounds till I ended my undergraduate programme.

It became an unofficial academic calendar of a sort. Every two weeks in the run up to the semester’s Examination, a discussion class on all the subjects for the semester were discussed. It wasn’t long and this revision classes became the toast of many of my colleagues, even those in the Evening and Weekend streams.

I had to find a way of combing for other information that will always give my patrons a reason to participate. To this end, I could not only fall on my lecture notes. The responsibility of shouldering other people’s academic dilemmas.

The feedback I received from my colleagues after every paper was so impressive and encouraging. Indeed, the escalation in the numbers of attendees’ which compelled me to divide the class, sometimes, was a good performance benchmark.

I look back with so much content as my attempts at helping my colleagues consequently exposed a hidden potential.

Conclusion

I knew I could have gone faster had I decide to keep to my shell. But I take solace in the fact that I went far by doing the exact opposite. Indeed, I take pride in the fact that I have been able to live by the real import of my school’s ‘Discover Yourself’ slogan.

May be as students, many of us did not pay attention to the imports of what the ‘Discover Yourself’ slogan was, but looking back after school, I have come to realize how central and life -changing the slogan, especially when analyzed within the lenses of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous quote, is.

To me, the potentials I discovered while engaged in all these services is invaluable. That is why I was never bordered by the fact that I lost out on a whisker, the opportunity to read the Valedictory speech at my graduation ceremony though I scooped the best student in Strategic Communication and Overall best student in Communications awards.

Five Dangerous Misconceptions about New Recruits

BACKGROUND

My eyes on this occasion lands me a date with three organizations that I have worked in, mostly as an intern. In all of these places, I made some key observations which I find worth sharing.

The issues that I discuss in this piece are critical and central for Organization seeking to obtain and retain the best of talents. I expect that while this will be good for those in the highest echelons of Organization, the piece will also be key in helping young people to be conscious of issues that will confront them as they begin their journey into the hurly burly of work life.

DISCLAIMER

I am not an expert in Human Resource. Indeed, except for some few courses in employee relationship that a degree in Communication Study exposed me to, I cannot claim profound knowledge in the subject area .Furthermore, my accumulated work experience does not exceed two years to warrant me an authority status in discussing issues regarding employee relations. But beyond these limitation, I think my working stints with three organizations, however few, equips me to share a fair and erudite   opinion on this critical subject.

PURPOSE

In this piece, I discuss five Misconception that affect the employer-employees relationship. In view of my limited work experience, I will narrow the scope of this piece to how these misconception affected new entrants or recruits. My purpose is to put the spot light on how some misconceptions about these new recruits affect work output, employee relations and retention of new talents.

They don’t Know Anything Yet

Many organizations have a very hierarchical and almost conservative structure and systems. Their inclination to always pay attention to with people with accumulated work experience, on many occasions, they fail to rope new entrants into critical discussions, thinking they are not there yet. 

While I have no doubt that experienced hand can make meaningful inputs in any assignments or activity, I do not think that a snobbery disposition towards new entrants is the smart thing for many viable Organization to do. Personally, in all the three organization I have worked in mostly as intern, I had suffered a similar fate.

 In deed on some occasions, I was told in the face that I couldn’t perform a task even though the opportunity had not been presented. But, I take solace in the fact that in all these Organizations, an eventual opportunity naturally presented itself for me to prove my mettle. In one day after a presentation, one of my bosses in another department intimated; ‘‘Samuel, I never knew you could talk. You surprised me. Keep it up’’.

In instances that the opportunity is presented the motif has not always been noble and sincere. I have observed that some workers for reasons best known usually grant new entrants opportunities with the view to expose how inexperience they are. In some occasion, this strategy backfires. Where the contrary happens, some of these workers use it as a justification to sideline new entrants from any meaningful engagements, rendering them mere stooges and redundant in the work place.

If Organization were smart and sincere enough to carry along their new entrants, they would be amazed at the potential. Yes, they may fail on some occasions. But that should not be used as a yardstick for predicting or preempting their subsequent performance. Indeed, for any organization that cares about the professional advancements of their new recruits finding out the latter’s weakness and strength should be critical to them, key as such is in helping to build effective employee relation, reduce stress and enhance performance.

I cannot end this piece without paying glowing tributes to the Managing Director of Ogilvy Ghana, Gil Kemani. He embodies my recommendations in this regard. His inclination to engage and listen to the opinions of new recruits, even interns, is a legendary and a feat rare among many of his contemporaries.

They are all the Same

‘’All graduates are the same. They are as inexperience and over ambitious.’’ This presumptive misconception about new entrants is not too hard to hear. It is true, that new recruits may have students’ similar academic backgrounds, similar graduating classes, similar courses and many similar variables. But I don’t believe it is wise to box them together, without paying attention to their individual capabilities and aptitudes. While doing this may be convenient job classification and assignments, the danger in perpetuating this stereotype is far reaching. Not only does it cloud Organizations from paying attention to individual’s capabilities, strength and weakness doing same also affect how the individual needs and expectations of these new entrants are managed and leveraged.

Individuals need to be appraised individually. In fact, commonality of their academic backgrounds or credentials should not always be the rebasing denominator. Accepting that people are individuals before they become part of the whole will help organization to be able to predict and harness the talents of the new entrants they recruit.

They Always Have to Justify their Inclusion

From the advertisement period to when people are employed, it appears most of the consideration is aimed at assessing whether a new recruits is capable or merits the chance they are given. But after recruitment, the tide naturally turns. Organizations eventually assume the responsibility of justifying why they also merit the talent that they have recruited.

Indeed the motivation for applying for a vacancy varies from one individuals to another. Although the incentives for applying for a job is largely driven by financial motives, there are other variables that one Organizations needs to be aware of so their relationship with their employees doesn’t become merely transactional. 

For some, they want their motivation for applying for a job is to satisfy their innate need for social belonging. Others may be do same on account of their deference and preference to the employing Organization. For others, they apply to test how effective their CVs are .Others also feel their resumes are flamboyant enough to warrant flaunting. Whereas as others will stay because they feel that they are adequately resourced to be able to effectively discharge their roles, others will apply because that will grant them their personal and professional advancement.

If Organizations cared about why people apply for a job, they will have been more tactful with the talents their recruitment exercises affords them.

Let me state as a matter of emphasis that financial incentives and high unemployment rate are not the only reasons why new recruits apply and stay in an unfulfilling job. To this extent I argue that the burden of justifying one’s inclusion is shifts from the new recruits to the employer. Once they are employed, they look up to Organizations to for reasons why they should fully surrender give out their intellectual and physical endowments to one Organization and not the other.

They have no option than to be Loyal.

For an Organization to bet their own credibility on a new recruit, the least the latter can do is to be disloyal to their Organization. Morality and ethical considerations requires it. While this is the ordinary normative thinking, Organizations must be aware that many people need many reasons beyond their employment to remain loyal.

Once I read a quote from a friend’s face book feed. Unfortunately. I cannot recount or even recall who the quote was credited to but I recall an instructive part of the quotation which read: ’an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of talent.’’ The import was that loyalty is key or even better than talent.

While I agree that loyalty is central, I equally do not think it is mutually exclusive to talent. Organizations needs talented and loyal manpower. Having one in isolation of the other is problematic.

The two are however different not only in meaning but in terms of how each is obtained and retained. While talents can be poached or bought at a huge price, loyalty must necessarily be earned.

Many Organizations want their employees, especially their new recruits to be loyal and stay with them through the thick and thins, but they in the other coin fail to recognize that loyalty must be earned and not part of their monthly take home salary .In every relationship, including the one that must exist between employees and the employer, the need for the employer to work hard to earn the loyalty of employees is paramount for its sustenance.

New recruits are very susceptible. More vulnerable. Once they have make a decision to be with an Organization, they need to be sure of many things beyond their monthly salary. Uncertainties usually throws them into a state of dissonance  but once they see glimpses of trust, transparency, and sincerity and are treated with respect, they become settled and loyal to the Organization . I   have no reason to doubt that this observation equally applies to existing workers.

There is no need to Credit for their Works.

I had many interactions with many of my contemporaries, those in different Organization. For many of their whining and kvetching, I observed a common line run through them. Thus, usually their complaints are with this renditions: ‘I did this and I was never credited for it’’.

Rewards are key for performance reinforcements, as our psychologists tells us. Rewarding and crediting new recruits with new approach idea and not allowing organizational structure to cave them in their ingenuity cannot be overemphasized if in efforts towards retaining them.

In some Organizations, processes are so bureaucratic that little attention is usually paid to those-in most cases new recruits- who begin kicks ideas off.

In their bid to impress during interviews, they minced no words in making a case for their capabilities. Anytime, there are not credited or rewarded, they feel their inputs do not matter.

Of course, they cannot be blamed. Society and their years in basic and high education have conditioned them in the believe that ingenuity, creativity, resilience and hard work are to be rewarded

Organizations that have reward mechanism or ensures that efforts of their new recruits are duly acknowledged and recognized stand a better chance getting the best out of them.

Let me end on this note by lauding my Director, Mr. Kenneth Kwawu. Uncle Ken will seize every chance to reward and heap loads of praises on you even when you did what you are expected to. Unlike others, he mastered the act of sharing credit and rewarding ingenuity.

Samuel Osarfo Boateng,

samuelcreasta@gmail.com

233270644157.