Are you a milker or milk drinker?

Milking the Opportunity

I worked for less than six months at the factory. It was a short stint that brought me down to earth with a resounding thud. The grand designs and illusions I had concerning me and my working career came crashing down. I think God knew I urgently needed that detour. It taught me a lot about success, opportunity, advancement and achievement.

At this famous factory I met a messenger who had worked there for 17 years. I was a brand new upwardly mobile executive proudly working my way into management. This human being (the messenger) did not strike me as much of a threat - least of all as a threat to my career. At most he would have been a stepping stone. However, by and by, I came to discover, that this minor being lived in his own house 50 kilometres away, owned three manyangas (latest edition public transport vehicles) and, of course, owned a piece of land on which he kept some dairy cattle... But he was just a messenger who (in my opinion) could not possibly have any coherent ambitions in life leave alone of a corporate career.

I had serious difficulty reconciling my thoughts about this fellow and I finally gathered the courage to confront him with his obviously incongruent achievements. Meanwhile, I was driving an attractive mid-range reconditioned automobile (company loan) that was popular among young executives with an insatiable desire for petrol, lived in suitable area in town (rented house), owned a TV (bank overdraft) and a recently acquired fridge (hire purchase). I was also in the process of securing more credit to buy the latest sofa set to complete my house furnishings... Just to help you identify with my pain and internal turmoil, this fellow's (messenger) gross salary was equivalent to what I paid in tax, yet he had achieved during his career what I hoped to achieve at the end of mine.

If you were me you would need to confront this fellow in order to maintain your sanity. And of course confirm that he was not a threat to your career. I did. I caught up with him one day and asked rather cheekily; What are you doing here?... Judging from what I hear you don't need this job. What are you doing here?...What he answered me was classic. You will never get this response anywhere, except from a person with messengerial tendencies. He said....
Young man all those things out there...house, matatus, shamba and all...were born out of this job and as we speak right now I have not milked all the opportunities this job provides me. If they (management) ask me to go I will go happily. But before they do I am going to milk as much from this opportunity as I can...
The words sank deep, hard and convicting. No - this fellow was not a threat to my career. I - was a threat to my own career! I may not have worked for 17 years but I was definitely passed half way. At the rate at which I was accumulating debt I would have to struggle to reach zero before I could own anything. All the while I thought my career was advancing nicely up the corporate ranks. Instead of milking the opportunity I was busy drinking the milk. I was prospering in a manner that threatened my Personal Development.

...Do you know what is so unfair about all this? It is the fact that the "small guys" are always better at milking than the "big guys". In fact I doubt whether any of the big guys know how to milk. If a cow stood in front of a big guy he would not know what it is. How do we become so blind to opportunity!?... If I would have it this fellow was indeed a "stepping stone" to my success.

Excerpt from My First Job, ISBN9966-809-07-4 By Allan Bukusi.
Reproduced with permission get the book from Book Point Nairobi or contact mdi@mdi.co.ke