I came across the following two words in an article I read in a leadership magazine recently: Kiki and Weiji. The former word is Japanese and the latter word, Chinese. Both words mean crisis, the first two characters Ki and Wei both mean danger and the second characters ki and ji means opportunity.
In 1959 John F Kennedy, the American president, (then still a senator) explained it in a speech.
Kennedy said when written in Chinese (and Japanese), the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger (Ki and Wei) and one represents opportunity (Ki and ji).
Albert Einstein was also quoted as saying that in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.
In South Africa, we have the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. In addition to these, we have the challenges of power shortages, water scarcity, a health crisis, transport crisis, recent increase in interest rates and rising cost of living driven by the cost of electricity, transport and the war in Ukraine. This has affected not only the most vulnerable in our society, but also organisations, industries and municipalities. It has caused great anxiety and trauma in society with strikes from SARS and increased threats of strikes from NUMSA and other trade unions looming. In 1996 electricity per unit, was less than 10 cents per unit and in 2021 it was R1.10 per unit, fueling the rising of business and household expenses and trauma in society.
There has been no respite in crime and violence, with gun wielding thugs and hijacking – an increasing risk, with criminals taking full advantage of the perilous situation.
So, where are the opportunities that are represented by the characters Ki and ji in these crisis’s?
I don’t have the answers but there are a few encouraging signs.
The slow move to a low carbon economy has been recognised and government approval for now allowing municipalities to source energy from private energy producers. The establishment in 2021 of a presidential climate commission comprising all relevant stakeholders is a step in the right direction. A more secure and cheaper energy source for South Africa will have far reaching socio -economic benefits. During Covid, some companies retrenched staff and are now struggling to meet demand as business starts to pick up again. For example in the travelling and tourism industries, we have seen the effect of this with some airlines going bust and the congestion at international airports as travel demands pick up.
Companies should use the opportunity to focus on training, developing and energising their staff – especially first-line managers and supervisors. They have the ability to motivate workers and enable staff to be more efficient and productive during these difficult times and to capitalize to be more profitable when going through boom times again and power supply becomes more secure.
True Leadership is essential during these times to plot a pathway through the crisis. Opportunities will become available and need to be exploited for a sustainable future. These are the companies that will succeed and be ahead of the curve.
Author: Gerald McKinnon : Chairman of ODI