Holding Good Ideas

Unless you start from within a container of opportunity, and with capital, finding an income has to be the point of departure. The reality is that there are not enough jobs available. “Full Employment” is the situation where there is no one willing and able to work, who cannot find it because no one wants, needs, or can afford their labour. That is what wealthy countries (the containers in which we manage work and government and social security) aim for. 

South Africa has structural Great Depression levels of unemployment. US unemployment rose to 23% in the 1930s. South Africa's unemployment rate reached 33% in 2021. The lowest it has been since 1994 was briefly 22% in 2008. 

“You have to be creative” is the standard hollow advice, but I am very aware that I have never been an entrepreneur. I took the formal route. I did formal in-demand qualifications and I got one of the scarce jobs. That is how I built my engine. The reality is an engine allows you the freedom to think creatively. When I needed to top up and repair my engine, it became obvious that entrepreneurship (without a big cushion) is not my skillset. I would need to adjust my skills or accommodate different ways of finding an income. 

Good ideas are not enough. Not every good idea is a good business idea. Good business ideas exist within structured containers with sustainable capital. 

Once you do have an income, you are in a fortunate position to take on the challenge of spending less than you earn. To build capital. To build a container. To hold your good ideas.

United States Unemployment

Defining Container

It is horrible not getting the job you want. It is worth remembering you are likely not the only one who did not get it. With so few great jobs, there are normally plenty of candidates for those roles. It would not pay well if we create work-for-work-sake. Just because we want people to have those jobs. There are limits and there are constraints to what is required. Beyond a specific role’s requirements, understanding some generic business skills is important. These are the kind of skills that that are going to be with you throughout your life whatever your “source of wealth” is. However you build your wealth, you need financial literacy. Capital helps you make money. Through financing and risk management. Supporting your skills and knowledge. Developing an understanding of the containers in which all that happens is equally important. The accounting/law/product that creates the shape and form for what you are doing. Detaching a little to understand the things that are not specifically about you and what you do. You need some awareness around that to have a plan for how you are going to build your freedom, your autonomy, and your ability to make decisions. So that one fragile job/opportunity does not become your defining container. 

 

 

Picking an Engine

Once you buy into the idea of building an Engine, the how remains. I think of investing as getting my money a job. As a person, you need to pick an advertised role that meets (or stretches) your qualification set. You need to have a CV that describes your education, experience, and fit. You then apply along with other hopeful candidates. Normally there are too many applicants for the job, and the interviewers don’t know you personally. When investing, the dynamics change. You still need to pick a container. A vehicle in which your money can work. There will still be application forms (checking your identity, the source of funds etc.) but now the shoe is on the other foot. There are more people who want to manage your money than there is enough money for them to manage. The vehicle you choose will depend on your investment philosophy, and your relationship with money and uncertainty. You need to pick something that you can commit to (through the noise), but the decision lies with you. 

Gas Engine

 

Somebody Else

In my job hunting I have had many conversations with friends, former colleagues, recruitment agents, and friendly strangers on LinkedIn. Covid means I have not done the coffee circuit. I probably saw more people in week-long visits to Cape Town than I have seen in the (just more than a) month I have been properly back. Conversations move slowly. Even when there is an obvious vacancy. Corporates have to go through the process of advertising jobs, screening candidates, and rounds of interviews. I am doing the same in reverse. There are periods of silence. There are forms to fill in. People who do not turn up for calls. Sometimes repeatedly. I am still of the view that a job is a bigger deal for the candidate than the company. Someone will fill the role and the company will carry on doing its thing. As Tim Minchin says in a love song to his wife, “If I didn’t have you… I really think I would have somebody else.” For the candidate, it feels like more of a big deal. How you are going to spend a big chunk of your time. Where? With who? Tim’s point probably still holds true if you do not connect too deeply to any single opportunity. Push on with a little yogic detachment. It matters, but it does not define you.

If I didn't have you

Navigating Paperwork

Pushing paper is a core part of finding your way in the modern jungle. My friend Karabo wrote a guest post for my blog a few years ago where she talked about the advantages of coming from a family that valued education. The lessons learnt at the feet of gogos and uncles. Overheard conversations and helping hands. Another friend, Tom, is a Polish-British Soutie. Understanding “Rich Country Poverty” was one of the harder things for me to wrap my head around as a South African-British Soutie. Tom told me of how he volunteers to help people fill in forms. Having navigated (and navigating) my way through applying for bursaries, getting passports, fertility treatment, adoption processes, job interviews and all sorts of paper work… this makes sense. Often asking the same question repeatedly in a slightly different way, with confidence, is needed to maintain momentum. Karabo and Tom’s observations remind me of how important believing you deserve to take the steps, and getting guidance, is in a path dependant world.

A job application dated 1913

Into the Jungle

I spent two years between school and university on a work-travel visa in the UK. I did not know what work I wanted to do, and my older brothers were both at university studying medicine. They talked me out of following their path. I waited tables till I had the money for a plane ticket, then got a job as an assistant teacher at a prep school. That gave me time to plot. I initially considered teaching and architecture, but the teachers I knew complained about how little they got paid, and the architects said they did not do creative work. What drove my final choice was an acceptance that STEM skills get paid more. My maths teacher had mentioned Actuaries, but most people (including some who choose to study Actuarial Science) do not even know what they are. The kicker was there were bursaries available. Not a sexy career choice, but on the menu. The hardest part is finding out what reliably needs doing, then putting in the effort of building those skills. Look at job adverts. Look at career paths on LinkedIn. Speak to people one step ahead of you on a path open to you. Then, good luck. It is a jungle out there and we do not all have the same tools and choices.

On the Menu

I am chatting to a few companies in my job hunt. Like dating, if you do that while employed, it feels dirty. The company I work for has one employee. Me. And currently no clients, other than people reading my free writing. My 2,800 blog posts over 6 years earned me $23.59 (and you need to reach $60 to get paid). So, it is okay. The context shift of coming back to South Africa after 12 years, means it provides an opportunity to get to understand what is going on here on the ground. My head and heart never left, because of Social Media and working for/with companies with South African links while away. My feet did, and it does feel different. Like buying cupboard items when shopping, rather than hand-to-mouth eating. The gaping hole in my “build capital” mantra is that I am not an entrepreneur. I did not make jobs. I took on-the-menu jobs, and reinvested the gap between my pay and my needs. I studied a degree knowing the salary and demand for the jobs that required that. Old Mutual paid for my studies. The most prominent emotion I have is gratitude. You cannot build capital without a job, and South Africa does not have enough jobs. But I am confident it will have one for me. Not all good ideas are good business ideas. Not all people willing to work can find work.

Savoy Hotel Menu

Cairo 1900

Building Bridges

Playing the Corporate Game involves not burning bridges. When it comes to interviews, reviews, and exit discussions, senior people will regularly bemoan the lack of honest, meaningful, feedback. Honest  feedback isn’t the same thing as true feedback. We are all projecting our stuff. So if your feedback is pointed, it is often a reflection on you. That is why people know to hold back. Otherwise they are exposing their bits. Honesty will get held against you in promotions, compensation, and the quality of references you are given. Many references simply confirm the work dates. Many “weaknesses” are “I am a bit of a perfectionist”. So I get why people don’t want to talk about their black lives matter experiences in white majority companies. They don’t want to be the idiot who takes the request at face value. Smart people know that when a boss says, “This is my view, but it’s your decision”. They mean, “Just do what you are told”, but want to lie to themselves that they can delegate. Corporates like delegating responsibility, but not authority. Few people will take responsibility for why we are having the black lives matter conversation. People will be honest when bosses stop playing games.