Lessons from the classroom

Zach Aldwin Milkshake in the Boardroom
“Enjoy your school days,” I was told, “they are the best days of your life.” If that was the truth it would have set me up for one hell (in the really negative sense of the word) of a life. School was not all bad, but it was not all that great either. It was definitely not something I wanted to look back on as the

highlight of my existence.

I guess I learnt a whole bunch of stuff; some of it useful, some of it not, much of it outside the classroom. It also taught me a chunk of things I had to unlearn later because they got in the way of living a successful life.

Here are a few lessons from school that you should forget as an entrepreneur (or as anyone for that matter). Let’s start with conformity. Rows of neat children in the same uniform, with the same haircut, same style shoes, no one able to stand out or be different to anyone else characterises Zimbabwean schools.

Entrepreneurs are cutting edge people; their nature makes a ruckus around them. Conformity is not going to get you to try new things.

Lesson two on the ‘To forget’ list: Rote obedience without asking questions.

The mantra of “monkey see, monkey do” is great for generating carbon-copy minions for a factory setting. Obedience is a solid and admirable quality; just do not mistake it for never being able to seek clarity or understanding by asking questions.

Moving on swiftly to the next forgettable class (one that is tied to number two): Staying quiet and waiting to be told what to do.

If all you ever do is follow instruction then you never learn to think for yourself. If you never think for yourself you will never create, invent, experiment and build.

Nor will you show initiative. You will instead condemn yourself to be a bottom dweller on the rung of life, never moving up because no one has told you that you can (and they never will).

Waiting to be told what to do sees you running an advertising company, sitting in an office waiting for business to arrive instead of creating a campaign and offering it to a company (and if they say no then not getting upset but learning from it and moving forward).

Learning only to pass the test (with the associated fear of failure). Failure is probably going to happen at some point.

The statistics on succeeding at a new business venture are not in your favour. Obviously you can do a few things to enhance your odds but the reality is some ideas never even make it past planning.

Learning to pass the test is doing the bare minimum to scrape by. It by no means is a habit that results you in putting out your best work.

On the flip side there are some great lessons you may have picked up. Experiential learning, figuring stuff out for yourself as you explore the world is an exceptional trait that will see you solving problems.

My grade six teacher taught me this. Her lessons were a riot of fun-making sundials outside, figuring out the value of PI for ourselves were just two of the memorable lessons we went through.

Going on an adventure where you could go exploring was every child’s dream. There was the thrill of discovering something new and amazing with the added bonus risk of getting lost.

That thrill never goes away unless you suppress it with mounds of adulthood.

The childlike wonder that accompanies invention propels entrepreneurs (as opposed to childish tantrums which are far more destructive and best left in your past once you turn three).

Being wrong is ok. Sometimes the teacher does not know the answer. I will never forget one lesson during Form 5 Maths when at the end of a particularly long and annoying calculation the teacher wrote in exasperation ‘etc!’ as the answer.

We all laughed with him but we realised that this was a journey to be taken together.

Teamwork rocks. Surrounding yourself with others who fill in the gaps for you, who generate a synergy that is world-changing is key to success at life.

I cannot do everything myself (even though I may want to). And finally: No one likes the bully.

You can bully your way through school, you can try bully your way through life. You can force others to help you out of fear.

It may get you somewhere, but sooner or later no one is going to want to play with you.

And like I said before you need to be able to be part of a team that is able to operate and flow without fear. Class dismissed!

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