So the debate goes: streets smarts vs Book smarts...

About three years ago, my life plan was to hustle dough, climb up the ladder and make cash – be some sort of Kenyan Gangsta (I wanted it to come out in the light of American Gangsta) but definitely it has backfired… Kenyan Gangsta sounds so Mungiki… I will stick to Kenyan Corporate Hustla…anyway, I digress. I was watching Mr. Trump doing his routine job of hiring and firing guys and looking important as a bunch of ambitious cafones ran after him, doing tasks under strict deadlines hoping to be employed eventually. Anyway, in this particular season, half the interns were high school and college dropouts while the other half were ordinary folks who went for Bachelors Degrees, Masters, Second Masters, Doctorates, Second Doctorates, MBA, BMAs, LLB's and all sorts of papers. It was an interesting game as Trump – the rich executive producer of the apprentice – sat back and watched with a smug look on his face.

Old people, akina your father (or your old man) and your mother (or old lady) value education. Young guys (like “us guys”) know that you gatta hustle hard for that cheddar or whatever the rappers say these days. Then as young guys, we show how we have adequate proof. Bill Gates made it despite dropping out of school, Mark Zuckeberg also did it…we go ahead and list the likes of Njenga Karume locally. Shule si lazima,na hautanishow. Degree nasaka kufurahisha mzazi…blah blah blah…

Okay, kids….sit down and listen and listen good. What you never knew is that most of the guys who dropped out of school failed and failed miserably in their so called hustles. Most of the billionaires in the Forbes list actually went to school and had good education – pretty much more than 70%. So if you and your hard hardheadedness want to be among the way below 30%. Be my guest. Education does not guarantee you a good life, but it takes you miles ahead to establish a footing for good life. In Kenya, it is even harder to make it without a good education. Point of correction on Bill Gates and Zuckeberg…these guys, despite not having degrees, they were so good in what they do. Very good that they had the confidence of dropping out of school. No, do not get me wrong, I am not saying that you aren’t that good – these guys were in the “best in the world” league at whatever they are doing. And do you really think that they will employ people who do not have a formal education?

I am not saying that without formal education you are doomed. I am saying that you will have to work twice or thrice as hard to make it. Attitude is never a substitute for competence. Bob Collymore is one street smart guy who is running the show at Safaricom as the CEO. Michael Joseph took the study road, both of them are competent, but their stories are completely different and dynamic. There is no one sure way to success. To some people, books were not meant for them, but they are blessed with a knack of seeing opportunities and they make shrewd businessmen. Others with formal education are equally astute. Though I see the need of formal education, I think one still needs a bit of street smartness to get through in business. Attitude is never a substitute for competence, it is a complement.,NEVER!