One of the things that I like about Johannesburg is the pleasant driving experience at night. I like the drive from Sandton through Rosebank to Braamfontein, with no traffic and my windows down, blasting some of my favourite soulful house tunes. You have to appreciate the good 'non-Malawian' road infrastructure it has, the different channels and routes that you can use to reach a certain destination.
I love finding new routes, just recently a friend exposed me to a route from our place in Northcliff to Sandton that helps you avoid peak hour traffic using Milner Road, turning a few corners, slipping onto Conrad, enduring a bit of traffic on Jan Smuts and William Nicol, quickly disappearing into Sandhurst only to emerge onto Rivonia in Sandton.
My traffic avoidance schemes are magical I tell you, it takes me no longer than 20-25 minutes to get to Sandton even in peak-hour traffic.
How did I learn this? Well, because I’m generally not afraid of the inconvenience of getting lost, in fact I enjoy getting lost.
The trick about finding new routes is one must be willing to attempt those new routes, you know that turn that you've always wondered to yourself, "...where does this road lead to?" But you were in too much of a hurry to take it or you thought “Who wants to waste a few litres of petrol trying to get out of a situation when they can just avoid the situation by using the route they’ve always known.”
I haven't always known my new Northcliff-Sandton route, I always used the traditional route from my place to Rosebank using 7th and then joining Oxford Road, using Bompas or that other road by the Hyatt Hotel. But there’s something about peak-hour traffic that gets the mind thinking, “there has to be another faster way to do this?”
I had to get lost at least 3 times in Sandhurst. Who wouldn’t get lost in Sandhurst with the allure of those imposing mini-castles? I'm sure neighbourhood watch had already marked my vehicle as “a suspicious silver vehicle with MP number plates, driver driving around with eyes wide open and jaw to the floor”.
But those experiences of getting lost, using my mental compass to get me out of the situations helped me discover a totally new and time-saving route.
Getting lost is not all that appealing, I remember getting into a fight with my ex-girlfriend because I tried a new route and she needed to get home quickly because she needed the loo. She got so irritated with me that I had to surrender to the emasculating GPS to help me get home, bearing in mind that I was in fact 2 minutes away from home.
But trying new routes and getting lost is the only way to learn new and faster and better ways to learn a city. Nothing lets you experience Johannesburg as pleasantly as learning ways to evade potential road blocks on a Friday night, or avoiding traffic while running late for a business meeting.
Building a business, professional life, or relationship requires similar boldness. One needs to have the confidence to take the risk and learn new ways of doing things, whether they are new systems, methods or tricks that may not fall into the conventional way of doing things.
I know that sometimes our creativity is threatened or culled by so-called established best practice, and the stoic preachers of the we've-always-done-it-this-way gospel. But what I find in my experience is that many 21st century companies welcome and encourage innovative ideas from their employees or service providers.
If they don't then it is up to us to refine our ideas and present them in such a way that they at least warrant an interest from our management (or client), show them the benefit of your new method or proposition. I find that people always follow the benefit.
But one has to try.
The result could be either one of 2 things:
1) You fail; your new experiment or attempt is deemed an absolute failure and a waste of money. And the previous way is the best. The old tried and tested. "Stop trying to be too ambitious and smart" they will say, "This is the way we have always done it."
At which you will sheepishly shuffle to your desk and follow convention.
Have you lost anything? Maybe a bit of pride, maybe your peers and colleagues mocking your failed attempt but at least you gain knowledge of what doesn't work and the bold knowledge that you’re not a blind follower of convention.
2) The second possibility is that you could, with a little resilience and persistence, find a new/faster/better/cost-effective way of doing things. Which scores you cost-cutting, profit-boosting, boss-impressing results. Hey this could lead to a new contract or moving a step-up the corporate ladder.
Above all else it makes you a bit of a pioneer.
All of this starts with a desire to attempt something and ignoring the fear of getting lost.
So the next time you feel the urge to do something a different don't ignore it, don't fear it, try it out. If it succeeds make sure you send me a pleasant comment and share this post with a couple of friends.
If it doesn't work then....You know what? JUST TRY IT OUT!!!
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