Clive Simpkins=20
True marketing expertise takes years to develop.=20 Academic theory is often very different from the reality=20 of business. =20
Astonishingly, almost as soon as a superb base of such=20 expertise is in place in a corporation, the pool of=20 talent or the individual talented marketer is retired.=20
In some regions of South Africa –the eastern Cape for=20 example — the unemployment rate is close to 60%. Less=20 than 30% of the country falls into the economically=20 active sector and there is at present little prospect=20 for the training or skills development of the=20 economically inactive.=20
Theoretically, there are insufficient mentors, teachers,=20 and skilled artisans and craftspeople in South Africa to=20 make much impact on the vast numbers of untrained and=20
The reality however, is very different. We have=20 perpetuated a situation in which the moment an executive=20 reaches sometimes even 55 years of age, the terriers in=20 the organization are yapping at his or her heels to=20 retire and make way. This simply doesn’t make sense if=20 retirement means Plettenberg Bay or a cottage on the=20 west coast.=20
Neurologically speaking, business brains aged 55 are=20 very rich sources of information. They have a phenomenal=20 networking, cross referral and synergistic database=20 capacity. This is precisely the time when that brain=20 should mentor and nurture other brains.=20
There’s an amazing marketing opportunity for two things.=20 One being a college at which the mentors are all retired=20 business people and senior citizens. The other is a=20 public speaking and educational speaking circuit using=20 such people.=20
The economic future of our country depends to a large=20 degree on the growth of entrepreneurship. A corporate=20 job is becoming, and will continue to be, a rarity,=20 particularly for career endangered species like white=20 males. All the more reason to encourage people to think=20 independence, own business, innovation. So the present=20 debate about the future of the Small Business=20 Development Corporation (SBDC) becomes all the more=20 pivotal since it reflects the swing.=20
It is true that the present SBDC structure tends to=20 reflect apartheid demographics, with predominantly white=20 Afrikaner males at the helm. Instead of turning the=20 whole issue into a popular political mud-slinging=20 opportunity, let’s alter the structure of the top but=20 keep this body going and relevant. It is the perfect=20 vehicle for orchestrating the senior citizen and skilled=20 business person mentoring programme.=20
Graduate schools from universities and concerned=20 educational institutions should get involved in a co- operative project in which he SBDC is given new life,=20 meaning and relevance as a grandparent mentor=20
Junking structures and organizations simply because they=20 echo past inequities simply doesn’t make sense.=20 Transformation is the key. Sometimes a minor remodelling=20 will ensure immediate relevance, viability and reward.=20 Care must be taken not to pander to annihilation and=20 development protagonists.=20
Our country needs more people in business to sustain=20 themselves and contribute to the economy. Bring out the=20 retired business people, revamp the SBDC as the=20 mechanism and let’s get our people trained.=20