LETTERS FROM HIZEN-3 (2)

                                                                                 

Letters from HiZen-3  ( 2 )

Dear Child,

I hope by now you have read my first letter, and taken the time to reflect on it. ‘ Treat People right, but don’t expect them to treat you right in return’.

Anyway, I promised to tell you the origin of the Culture Matrix called FAST(IN), and how I used it to determine how to approach different issues in my life and work.

So, this is the story

Culture Rule 2: Make sure what you know is complete and correct.

I am what people will call a gullible man, what anyone tells me is good enough, I don’t bother to check if what I know or what I have been told is complete and correct. You can just call me a lazy person when it comes to gathering information before deciding on what to do.

This culture of mine changed, when i graduated from the university many years ago, and I was eager to face the world and conquer it head on. 

I first tried my hands on getting a job as an administrator of a supermarket. Things were quite easy those days, so it did not take me long to get one, and after working for several years, I believed I was finally living the dream.

The money was good, the people were good, and the supermarket was doing well.

One day a friend of mine came to the supermarket and told me what I was earning was little compared to what I could earn if I decide to go into business for myself as a cylinder manufacturer. He said it was what he was already doing, but he wants to expand, and he needed a business partner.

He said the business was divided into different 3 sections, I should take the first and he would take the second and the third. So, as I produce, he would take my products to make his own; thus, he would pay me for my portion of the manufacturing, i would always be in business.

It sounded so nice, within moments I began to imagine all the money I would make. I trusted him completely. 

He said the business was capital intensive, so I would need some money to use to buy the equipments. When he told me how much I needed, I saw it was obvious i needed more money.

I decided to ask friends and family to help me with the funding. They were quite shocked at what I was planning to do.  

When I approached my uncle for money, he looked up at me and asked these questions.

1. What do you know about this business?

2. How many people do you know are succeeding in this business?

3. How long did it take them to start making money?

4. Would you need training for this business?

It was then it occurred to me that all i knew was what my friend had told me. I needed to do some digging myself. 

I must confess it was hard at first, but after 3 weeks of research, I got some shocking news.

1. People who go into that business are technical oriented individuals.

2. A lot of people who go into it don’t make money until after 18 months of investments.

3. Maintenance cost is really high.

4. Good Machines are hard to find.

It now made sense, the information my friend told me was not complete, he left out so many areas.

With this information, I simply called my friend to find out if he knew about all I just got. He was shocked at what I had dug up. He tried to tell me all that didn’t matter, but I had already made up my mind. NOOOOOOO THANNNK YOU!!!!!

Dear Child, that lesson made me realise that whatever i wanted to do, I had to gather information in every area as possible, thus, I needed FACTS , NOT JUST OPINIONS. 

That made sense: FACTS, NOT OPINIONS. How many times have you made decisions based on opinions of others, yet you never took the time to gather the facts, and made sure those facts are complete and correct. 

Such bad habits on not making sure the information was complete and correct, has destroyed marriages, businesses, relationships, job opportunities, family relationships, the list goes on and on.

So, I got my first letter ‘ F ‘ Facts, not Opinions.

 Dear Child, please make sure you don’t jump into conclusions on anything, take the time to get as much information as possible, and ensure that information is complete and correct

Thus, Culture rule 2 : Make sure what you know is complete and correct.

If not for this culture rule, i might have quit my job, and gone into a business I knew nothing about, but relied on what my friend told me; not taking the time to find out about it myself.

Please learn from me, don’t make the mistake I almost did. Apply this culture rule everywhere, I know it means you have to do some digging of your own , but it is worth it in the end. I promise you.

In my next letter, I would tell you how I got the next letter for the culture matrix

Remember, your culture is everything.

Love. 

HiZen-3