When you do the common things in an uncommon way, you command the attention of the world – George Washington Carver
Those who are familiar with American history would know very well that cotton plantations were quite popular back in the 1600s – 1900s.
Brief history lesson.
This was the era of slave trade, where some of our African ancestors were taken to the United States and other parts of the western world to labour. In the United States in particular, slaves worked on cotton plantations and even after the eradication slavery around the mid-1800s, cotton was still very much a common crop.
Carver’s observations.
George Washington Carver, an African American of the post-slavery era, with his background in botany soon realised that soil quality would deplete if cotton continued to be the only plant people invested in. He then also realised that given that it was the sole source of income for many locals, and if they did not change the crops they planted, they would be stripped of good soil and eventually this would affect their earning potential.
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He therefore encouraged the planting of others such as sweet potatoes and peanuts. He went further and spent many years developing various peanut-based products to help grow the market for the raw material. What stands out to me about Carver is that he identified an issue that he was passionate about and was able to change lives and make a mark in history for his cause despite the challenges he faced, particularly during a time when racism was prominent on the back of the recent abolishment of slavery.
Familiar expressions.
It is very common to hear expressions like:
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“Reinvent the wheel” - similar to Carver’s famed statement of doing the common things in an uncommon way, which is basically looking for a better way to carry out a process or activity; or maybe optimising it by eliminating its inefficient aspects;
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“Think outside the box” – going out of the normal process and taking a different approach towards achieving a goal;
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“Think like a freak” – (the title of the book by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt) doing things in a completely unconventional way and achieving great results….
Herd mentality.
…but sometimes I wonder to what extent we actually believe in these statements in Nigeria. Using myself as an example, I studied chemical engineering because I thought it was the logical progression for a Nigerian at the time, as the Oil and Gas industry was booming, not because I was genuinely interested in the subject.
I then went on to pursue internships in Finance because, again it was what the Nigerians at my university were doing and what seemed to be the “thing to do” at the time. Talk about herd mentality. However, I tried to break out of this by pursuing a career in consulting because it would expose me to various sectors and I would get enough insight into other industries, which should then inform my career path, as I had not decided at the time.
Working in consulting….not reinventing the wheel.
When I worked in consulting however, I had a problem with the approach in strategy and operations, which are areas that require a great deal of reinventing the wheel, thinking outside the box and thinking like a freak. I remember trying to take a different approach on a project and a team lead categorically said to me “Why are you trying to reinvent the wheel?”
Now I’m not saying that my idea was necessarily a better one. What I had a problem with was the mentality of “why are you trying to do things differently?” because it was this same mentality that led us to give a client in one industry, say oil and gas the same solution as we would to a client in a completely different industry, say advertising.
The trend in Nigeria.
So this mindset is the same one that leads us to choose to study subjects such as engineering, medicine or law and aspire to work in Oil and Gas, or end up in Finance, and then go back to school to get a Masters or other Post Graduate Degrees.
It is very interesting because I used to be along this path, and numerous people continue to be shocked that I gave up what some would view as a lucrative career in Oil and Gas to focus on human capital development initiatives. It is however also encouraging to see many “alternative” courses of study and careers popping up amongst Nigerians.
But again another trend is setting in…. now everyone wants to be a makeup artist or a fashion designer or work in tech, even if they do not have the skills or passion required.
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People who thought outside the box.
Now think about it, if people like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg had stayed in the box and did not attempt to reinvent the wheel or followed the herd, do you think that they would have changed the way we listen to music or interact on social media the way we do now?
Some popular local examples of people who carved niches for themselves include Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, Tara Durotoye, Deola Sagoe, Denrele Edun. If you ever have the time to evaluate these people’s stories you would realise that they each did something very uncommon as a result of their passion and skills and have attained success in following this passion and through hardwork.
Their stories remind me of an interesting quote I saw on the Forbes Instagram page a few days ago. “If you love what you do, and you do it well, the money will follow” (Samantha Willis, Jewellery Designer and Entrepreneur). It takes a lot of confidence and resilience to break out of the mould and become successful doing something that you are passionate about. But people have done it and continue to do so everyday.
Do it afraid.
Imagine a Nigerian in Zuckerberg’s position dropping out of Harvard? How would the typical Nigerian parent have reacted? Now, I’m not saying that we should follow these footsteps, because really, it is not for everyone. The point that I am trying to make here is that we all have our very own unique talents, purposes and callings in life.
Some of us are indeed excellent in conventional careers like engineering, banking, law and medicine…while some are exceptional in creative careers like fashion design, art and writing. We all just need to take a deep internal look at ourselves and figure out what we are good at and what we have a genuine passion for and then we can make a difference in these areas.
Written by Oyin Egbeyemi
Oyin Egbeyemi is an engineer-turned-consultant-turned-educationist, runner and writer.
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